A Million Dirty Secrets

  I agreed, but hyperactive, road-rage types who were strung out on caffeine shouldn’t be allowed behind the wheel either, for that matter.

  She whipped into a spot just vacated by another vehicle. And when I say “just vacated,” I mean the other car was barely even out of the spot before she parallel-parked without slowing down, running up on the curb and forcing some of the pedestrians walking on the sidewalk to scramble out of the way.

  I managed to wrench my fingertips out of the dashboard, where I was sure there would be lingering imprints, and got out of the car. I would have been perfectly willing to kiss the ground had it not been so grotesque. Public streets and sidewalks were like petri dishes cultivating death cocktails.

  Polly popped her sunglasses on, threw her purse strap over her shoulder, and said, “Let’s go, chica.” Her three-inch heels and short dress, which looked like it was made for a little girl instead of a grown woman, would’ve been a big no-no for me, but she pulled it off without a hitch. Seriously, the woman was too cute with a side of come-here-lovah-boy.

  We went into the first shop, and the ladies behind the counter recognized her immediately, even calling her by name.

  “Friends of yours?” I asked.

  “Professionally, not socially,” she said under her breath. “You might say I’m a frequent flyer here. Plus I tip very well.”

  “Ladies,” she said, turning back to them and holding up Noah’s gold card, “if you would be so kind as to hook my new friend up with your finest.”

  I was rushed into a dressing room to strip, and before I even had all of my clothes off, garments were being slung over the door. I groaned inwardly, because shopping just was not my thing, but I had to admit that I felt sort of like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, being fussed over like that.

  Polly stood outside the door praising things she approved of and scoffing at things she didn’t. I thought I was safe in my own little room, closed off from the rest of the world, but Polly wasn’t having that. She pushed open the door and strolled right on in like I didn’t have anything she hadn’t ever seen before. I supposed I didn’t, but still, I might have wanted to retain a wee bit of privacy.

  I was beginning to learn quickly that in Noah’s world, apparently my body was a free-for-all. So I gave up caring and let what my mama gave me hang out like I was a centerfold to be envied, though I was far from it.

  “So,” Polly sighed as she sat down on the bench in my dressing room and watched me. “Tell me all about how you and Noah met.”

  “Um, I guess like anyone else does,” I said, trying to figure out the contraption of a dress that she’d handed to me to try on next.

  “No one meets in exactly the same way. Everyone has a story. Give me the details, girlfriend,” she said, helping me with the dress.

  And then I got giddy because her curiosity was going to let me play with Noah a bit. He had told me to say as much as I wanted. “Well, he’d probably kill me for telling you this, so I’ll have to swear you to secrecy.”

  “Bitch’s honor.” She put her middle and index fingers directly under her eyes like Samantha on Bewitched. She won me over completely with that little maneuver—a psycho after my own heart.

  “I met him outside a drag queen show,” I said in a hushed whisper. “He was so pretty that I thought he was one of the performers.”

  “Noah Crawford was at a drag queen show?” Polly shrieked, and then started giggling when I cupped my hand over her mouth and shushed her.

  “He said that he wasn’t familiar with the area, wanted a drink, and wandered in there by mistake,” I embellished. “He was outside smoking a cigarette when I showed up, and I’ve always secretly wondered if it was because he’d just gotten his rocks off.”

  Polly and I laughed together, and it felt really nice.

  “Then what?” she asked, hanging on my every word.

  “Well, I might have given him the ‘uh-huh, like I’m going to believe that’ look, at which point he proceeded to ogle the girls,” I said, flexing the boobage. “Just to prove a point, I’m sure.”

  “You do have nice tits.” She shrugged, as if to say, That makes sense.

  “So anyway, he asked me out for a drink, and because he was so cute, trying to prove how manly he was, I let him fuck me. I haven’t been able to get rid of him since,” I laughed.

  “Well, I’m glad to hear he’s finally decided to settle down somewhat, especially after what happened with Julie,” she said, adjusting my tits in the dress. I think she secretly wanted to grope them. I wasn’t the least bit offended, if that was the case, but I was curious about what she’d said.

  “Julie? Who’s Julie?” I asked, eager for any intel on Noah’s past. Not because I cared, but because I wanted the ammunition should the need for it arise later.

  “No one. Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything,” she said quickly. “Hey, you are absolutely smoking in this dress.”

  Way to change the subject, little sneaky one. I’ll have to keep my eye on you, I thought.

  ~$~

  I couldn’t even begin to tell you how long we spent shopping. I let Polly choose the majority of the clothes, and all of the shoes. I wasn’t opposed to looking nice, and I actually really loved all the cute shoes she picked out, even though I knew they were a safety hazard for someone like me. She refused to let me buy any underwear because Noah wanted to do that part. But really, couldn’t a girl just get some regular cotton panties?

  Finally Polly decided we should break for a late lunch.

  “So, tell me a little bit about yourself,” she said, digging into her salad.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I don’t know. The basics, I guess. Where are you from? Who are your parents? What do you do? That sort of stuff. I mean, Noah even kept your name hush-hush,” she said with a roll of her eyes, clearly aggravated by his refusal to give her any details about me.

  “That’s because I’m in the witness protection program,” I said nonchalantly before I took a bite of my sandwich.

  “You’re what?” She dropped her fork.

  “Yep,” I said, doing my damnedest not to crack a smile.

  My attempt was futile because the look on her face was simply priceless, and I lost it, practically spewing bread crumbs all over the place.

  “You little liar!” she laughed. “You almost had me there. Now, tell me the truth.”

  “Okay, the truth is I’m from Graceland and Elvis Presley is my father.”

  “Elvis and Graceland?” she said with an arched brow. “Aren’t you a little too young to be his kid?”

  “Uh-uh. Haven’t you heard? He isn’t really dead. He’s off with Tupac and Biggie, popping pills and smoking ganja.”

  Polly sighed and rolled her eyes.

  “Would you believe Michael Jackson and the Neverland Ranch?” I asked in my best Maxwell Smart impersonation. “I’m white enough for that, right?”

  “All right, smartass,” she said, throwing a cucumber slice at me. “I get it. You obviously don’t want to talk about yourself. But why is that, Lanie? What are you hiding?”

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” I pointed an accusing finger at her. “Noah already warned me all about your conniving little ways. Don’t try to go all supersleuth on me. I’m really just not that interesting. I come from a small town, and I moved out to LA because I had big dreams of breaking into the porn industry. It just didn’t work out.” I shrugged.

  Polly choked on her water and I couldn’t help but laugh at the look of shock on her face.

  “I’m kidding … about the small town.” I giggled.

  That earned another huff from Polly, but she finally dropped the subject when I asked her to tell me about herself. Apparently she had no secrets whatsoever. She even told me about the sexual position she and her husband had tried out the night before, and said I should try it with Noah. But what she didn’t know, and could never know, was that I was a virgin hooker and really had no say in what Noah and I
did in the bedroom … or on the dining room table … or in the limo … or in the bathtub, for that matter. Not that I’d know what the hell I was doing in the first place.

  At last lunch had been eaten, the little black strip on the back of Noah’s gold card had been worn down, and the trunk of Polly’s car was almost too full to close. We were on our way back to the Crawford estate and I hadn’t given up one morsel of information, so I was pretty darn proud of myself. I wasn’t sure Polly had actually believed anything I’d told her all day, except maybe the drag queen show tidbit. Honestly, she wasn’t as tough as Noah had led me to believe.

  We pulled to a stop in the circular driveway, and Polly stopped the car right in front of the door. She didn’t get out, though. She turned to me and pulled her sunglasses down, looking over the top rim. “I like you, Lanie. I really do. And I can already tell we’re going to be great friends,” she started. “But let’s get something clear. You need to understand that Noah is more than just a boss to me and Mason. He’s our friend, and Lord knows he doesn’t have many of them. He’s been hurt before, and I can’t stand idly by and let something like that happen again. So as long as you’re being good to him, I won’t pry into your personal life.”

  I put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a serious look. “You’re a terrible liar, Polly, but I’ll try not to hold it against you.”

  Her mouth dropped open as if she was offended, but she knew she’d been called out. Just then Samuel came out to help us with my bags. I gave Polly a wink and got out, leaving her sitting there with her mouth still hanging open.

  I thought it was sweet that Polly was so protective of Noah. If only she’d known the truth behind our relationship, she wouldn’t have been so quick to give me the “if you hurt him, I’m going to have to kick your ass” speech. She never actually threatened me outright, but she was most definitely warning me.

  “This isn’t over, Lanie!” she called from the car as Samuel and I made our way into the house.

  “See you tomorrow, Polly!” I called over my shoulder with a giggle, then disappeared inside the house.

  I went up to Noah’s bedroom and started going through the bags. I had no clue where to put my things, but something told me that most of what Polly had picked out wasn’t supposed to be balled up and stuffed in a drawer somewhere. I went to his closet and opened it up. I’d like to say I was shocked by the meticulous way he had everything stored there, but I wasn’t. I saw neat rows of shoes, each pair polished to perfection; his dress shirts were arranged by color, as were the suit pants and jackets, all sheathed in plastic dry cleaner’s bags. But the real kicker was that everything was spaced so that nothing touched anything else.

  He was such a super freak.

  So what could I do? I grinned and bit the corner of my mouth. Then I shoved all of his clothes to one side and hung my clothes up alongside his. If he didn’t like it, he could just give me my own room.

  ~$~

  By quarter of six, everything was put away and I was waiting by the front door, as Noah had instructed. Kind of ridiculous, if you asked me, him expecting me to just stand there like June Cleaver, waiting for him to come walking through the door. I supposed he’d probably get a real kick out of it if I took his briefcase from him, handed him his sweater, and kissed him on the cheek before leading him to the den to sit in his favorite chair where his slippers and pipe were waiting. Not bloody likely, Ward.

  The click of the doorknob brought me out of my TV Land fantasy, and I stopped biting my cuticles. Noah looked like hell warmed over, but the smile on his face was instant.

  “Hi, honey! How was your day?” I asked with the biggest, fakest, most sarcastic smile I could muster.

  Noah huffed out a laugh and set his briefcase down on the table. He ran his hands through his hair as he cocked his head to the side and regarded me. “It was shitty.”

  “Aw, poor baby,” I cooed, poking out my bottom lip to mock him. “Sitting behind a desk all day in a cushy air-conditioned office while other people wait on you hand and foot sounds absolutely grueling.”

  “You know, I like your mouth better when it’s got something in it.” He reached for the front of his pants and undid his belt. “So why don’t you come here and make my day a little better?” he said as he pulled out his cock.

  My mouth dropped open, and I imagined I had the same look on my face that Polly had had in the car earlier.

  “Yeah, just like that, only on my dick.”

  “Right here? In the entryway? But I’m not sure the cook is gone yet. What if someone sees us?” I said with a frantic rush of words. I may have been panicking, but Double Agent Coochie was already on her knees with her hands raised in prayer, begging me to just go with it.

  “Well, now, that would be part of the allure, wouldn’t it?” He reached out and pulled me closer to him. I could feel the movement of his hand against my stomach as he stroked himself. Noah’s hot breath washed over my face, his lips mere inches from mine. “I bet that turns you on, doesn’t it, Delaine? The fear of being caught on your knees with my dick in your mouth?”

  The tip of his tongue snaked across my bottom lip and barely flicked at my upper lip, teasing me beyond distraction. “I’m going to introduce you to things you never even dreamed of doing before,” he murmured. “Forbidden things that I guarantee you’re going to love.”

  I suddenly remembered that I was still without panties, and Double Agent Coochie was now drooling all over my thighs. The man had a wicked way with words.

  Caught in his trance, I sank to my knees in front of him and took his cock in my hands. He groaned when I licked my lips and then gave the head a sensual kiss, capturing the little pearl drop of pre-come on the tip. I made a big show of swallowing it, like I was savoring his flavor. That earned me yet another moan.

  “You like that, Noah?” I asked in a deep, sultry voice.

  He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand and then gently entwined his fingers in my hair. With one swift motion, he pulled my head forward and pushed his cock into my mouth.

  “Yeah, I fucking love it.”

  I made fast work of him, sucking and licking and bobbing, practically swallowing him whole, just the way I remembered he liked it from my first night there. I grabbed his hips and pushed and pulled him, faster and faster. His head dropped back and he balled his hands into fists in my hair.

  “Too much. Too quick,” he grunted as he tried to pull away, but I wasn’t having it.

  I grabbed his cock again and pulled him forward. If he was going to pull away, he was going to do it without his dick attached to his body, and I was pretty confident he didn’t want that. I could feel his pulse throbbing in my mouth and I relaxed my throat, taking him as deep as I could, while desperately trying not to gag on him.

  He growled, and then I felt the hot semen spurt down my throat. His movements became jerky and I looked up at him, seeing his face scrunched up like he was in pain. Looks could be deceiving. As much as I hated to admit it, he had a very sexy come face.

  When his grip on my hair loosened and his body began to relax, I slowly backed off, licking him along the way. Then I let his cock go and watched it bounce lifeless.

  “You were paying attention. Good girl.” And then he patted me on the head like a dog before tucking himself away in his pants.

  That arrogant son of a whore!

  “I don’t know about you, but I’ve really worked up an appetite. Let’s eat,” he said, clapping his hands.

  Noah

  All fucking day long I’d been trying to conceal the constant hard-on in my overly expensive pants. Christ, you’d think if you paid that much money for something, it would come equipped with some fancy gadget to help out a dude with just this sort of situation—Go Go Gadget Cock Block or something.

  Pfft, whatever.

  I kept imagining Delaine naked, trying on different outfits and spiked heels … all … damn … day. Plus, David Stone wasn’t exactly my favorite person in the wor
ld to hang out with. The fucktard jumped to conclusions and acted like every little dip in the market was the end of the world. Scarlet Lotus was a resilient company and had always stood strong. This little crisis would be no different.

  So I was glad to finally be home, and I was even happier to see that Delaine was waiting by the door. Truthfully, I’d never thought she’d follow my instructions and be there, but she was. And she was running that smart-ass mouth of hers, making my dick even harder than it already was.

  Not a very wise move on her part. So I stuffed something in it to shut her up. I deserved a big pat on the back for thinking quickly on my feet.

  And it had felt incredible, too. When I tried to back away and she grabbed me and forced me to stay put? Goddamn! My million-dollar baby was learning to crawl, and I think I might have gotten a little tear in my eye.

  I was perfectly aware that my patting her on the head like a dog was going to piss her off, but that was what she deserved for acting like a bitch.

  As my punishment, I suppose, she was silent during dinner. She wouldn’t even answer outright questions, and that pissed me off more, but I let that shit go, because I was planning some punishment of my own. Eager to get to it, I insisted she join me in bed right after I rushed her through dinner. She was stripped buck naked and waiting for me under the covers when I finished in the bathroom. Just as she should be. Just as I had paid her to be.

  “Are you angry with me?” I asked as I sauntered across the room, wearing nothing but a smile.

  She didn’t answer. In fact, she actually rolled over and turned her back to me. Fuck that. I would not be ignored. Not in my house, and most certainly not in my bed.

  I slid in next to her and rolled her on her back. “Don’t ignore me, Delaine. I don’t like it. Especially when I’ve paid millions of dollars to be lavished with attention.”

  Her eyes flickered to mine. “I’m not your bitch.”

  “You’re anything I want you to be,” I reminded her.

  Before she could say anything else, I covered her mouth with my own. Her lips were unyielding and her body stiff. She was going for the dead-lay play. I had to hand it to her because it was a brilliant plan, but I’m sure she must have forgotten how traitorous her body could be when at the mercy of my capable hands.