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Sine
I toldmyself to be clinical, to separate what I felt when I was close to Alix from the sexual energy in the club. We’d agreed to be professional.
That hadn’t stopped me from taking the time after work to scour my favorite thrift stores to find the outfit I’d worn last night. It had been a nice compromise of sexy while still being me. The shorts had been a bit shorter than I normally liked, and the top more form-fitting, but the expression on Alix’s face had been worth it.
If he’d been paying more attention to my own face, he would’ve seen a similar appreciation for his attire. Jeans that hugged his thighs and ass without being obscene, and a short-sleeved shirt that left no doubt to whether or not he had a six-pack.
He did.
He’d been careful at the club not to touch me, but I’d felt the heat of him as if we’d been skin to skin. A part of me had wanted to lean into him, not only so I could enjoy his touch, but also to stake a claim. He was there with me. It didn’t matter if I’d put down rules to prevent us from crossing that line again. He’d come with me, and he’d leave with me, even if it wasn’t for the reasons I wished.
I could admit to myself that I wanted him. A purely physical reaction.
At least, that’s what I managed to keep telling myself until we walked out of the club and Alix had gone and done something sweet. There’d been a pair of young women in their mid-twenties giggling and swaying as the doorman flagged down a taxi, and Alix had asked me to wait for him as he went over to the cab. He’d leaned down, giving us all an eyeful of that firm ass and a strip of tanned skin at his waist, and spoken with the driver for a few minutes before straightening and coming back to me.
When I asked what he’d been doing, he almost seemed embarrassed but had still told me that he’d given the cabbie some incentive to make sure the two women arrived at their apartment safely. Naturally, I asked how he’d know if the guy followed through on his promise, and the look he’d given me said it all. Alix was a man who was accustomed to people doing what he asked – or what he ordered.
As I walked into the studio, my stomach twisted into knots, only easing when Alix appeared, his expression showing a strange sort of relief, as if he’d been afraid I wouldn’t show.
“I have your contracts for you,” he said, gesturing toward the table. “You can sign both or just one.” He gave me a lopsided smile that spoke volumes about how uncertain he was. “I’m just hoping you’re not here to tell me to shove both jobs.”
“I’m not,” I promised, meeting his eyes. “I’m planning to sign both.”
The statement surprised me more than it probably should have. Until that very moment, I’d still been debating the merits of modeling for him.
After I signed and initialed all the places marked out in both contracts, he spoke again, “May I ask what it was that made your decision for you?”
“Last night, when you paid the cabbie to make sure those girls arrived home safely,” I answered honestly, “it reminded me of something my brothers would have done.”
He gave me an odd look. “So, you agreed to be my model because I remind you of your brothers?”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Not exactly.” I leaned against the counter. “One of the reasons my family didn’t want me to come to the States was because they were afraid I wouldn’t have anyone to look out for me. I’m the baby in the family, and with one older sister and six older brothers, that’s an awful lot of looking out for.”
“If I had a sister, I can’t say I wouldn’t feel the same way.” His eyes didn’t meet mine though, and I wondered exactly what was going on in his head.
“I came here for school,” I continued, “so I was barely eighteen. Mam has cousins in the city, so that was the only reason she and Da didn’t raise more of a fuss, but after visiting them a few weekends, I decided it was better worth my time to work rather than going out to see them. They’d all been born here and had a much more American way about them.”
“I’m guessing that’s a bad thing.” He sounded amused.
I rolled my eyes. “I only mean that my parents had wanted me near family so I didn’t lose sight of where I come from, and my cousins didn’t exactly meet that standard.”
“I’m not following how this connects with what happened at the club.”
“I’m getting there. Don’t be getting your knickers in a twist.”
The teasing note in my voice had his eyebrows shooting up. Or maybe that had been my unintentional reference to his underwear. Either way, I liked that I’d surprised him.
I kept going with my story. “About two weeks after the last time I’d seen my cousins, I was working as a receptionist on the night shift at an office building downtown. One of them, Nigel, is a couple years older than me. He came by one night at the end of my shift, asked if I would get a cup of coffee with him. It was late, but Nigel and I had always gotten along, so I went. Turned out, he just wanted to borrow money. I didn’t have any, which I told him when we were standing outside at three in the morning. As soon as I said it, he hailed a cab. I walked to the subway.”
Alix’s hand curled into fists. “He left you alone at three in the morning while he took a taxi home?”
I shrugged. “He didn’t think of it as putting me in danger, I’m sure. He doesn’t have any sisters.”
Alix took a step toward me, eyes blazing. “I don’t give a damn if he has sisters or not. I’m an only child, and I would never leave a woman alone at night, especially one...” His voice trailed off.
I looked up at him, pulse taking off at a gallop. “Especially one what?”
His gaze locked with mine, and I could fairly feel the electricity between us. I wanted him to finish the sentence, but at the same time, I didn’t. If he said it was because I was like a little sister, or because he thought I was in more danger due to being a girl...
