Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Josh groaned. Maybe Baby and Maybe Baby 2: Baby B Tripping were a part of his career he would rather forget. “No. That was not my finest moment. In my defense, I was young and hungry. Like actually hungry.” He chuckled as he sat back. “I’ll understand you have a family and you like to talk to them. And I’ll try to cool the caveman act with Burke. The truth is the guy kind of scares me.”
“Was it an act?”
“No.” That was the hell of the thing. “It was an instinct, but it’s not one I have often. I try not to be too possessive of anyone or anything. I happen to know it can all go away tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” she replied. “I suppose I know that, too.”
“Was there something else you were concerned about? I tried to keep the business side to the work contract and the D/s to the personal. You do have days off, but I would like forty-eight hours’ notification in order to make plans. You’ll receive your schedule on Sundays, and I expect you to follow it as much as possible. You coordinate security with Shane and Declan, but first and foremost, you’re with me. You will receive a weekly allowance…”
She held a hand up. “Let’s call it a salary.”
“This is not part of your salary,” he replied flatly. “This is part of your upkeep. You’ll receive an allowance for clothes and anything else you need to maintain a flawless appearance when we’re out in public.”
“And when we’re private?”
“When we’re private, I’ll prefer you with little to no clothes at all,” he admitted.
“Then maybe the back of your house shouldn’t be made of glass,” she pointed out with a grin, referring to the floor-to-ceiling windows that ran all three floors of the house and offered picture-perfect views of the Pacific.
“Luckily, I also have shades that come down with the push of a button,” he replied. “Mrs. Glendower only comes in twice a week. She leaves food with instructions on heating, and she cleans on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Otherwise, it’s you and me and the bodyguards, who know how to knock before entering.”
“All right.” She glanced back down at her plate as though she wished it wasn’t empty. “I saw in the contract that you already set up appointments for me. Hair. Nails.” She picked up a pen and scratched through one section. “I’m not getting Botox, Joshua.”
“It was merely an appointment with a dermatologist. Everyone has a dermatologist. I wasn’t suggesting you get anything at all done, simply giving you the option.”
“I’ll do all the mani-pedis and blowouts you like, but don’t try to change my face,” she said. “I will take the gym membership, although there’s such beautiful nature out here I’ll probably jog every day.”
Damn it. He reached over and put a hand on hers. “I think you’re gorgeous.”
“But you require perfection.”
He pulled her hand in between his. “I don’t. Look, I had that contract brought up when you were a nameless, faceless woman. I told the lawyer to draw up language that covered all the bases that could possibly be needed. I’ll cancel the dermatologist and change all your appointments over to an exclusive spa I know. Facials and mani-pedis and mimosas.”
“I thought I wasn’t allowed to drink.”
He winced. “Again, written for a nameless, faceless probably alcoholic woman. Kay, I’m not an optimist. I’m kind of the opposite and prepare for the absolute worst. It’s not a pretty part of me, but it’s who I am. So here…”
He let go of her hand and turned the contract around, quickly slashing through the mandatory self-care section that also stated if her breasts weren’t acceptable, that he would pay for the augmentation. Jesus. What had he been thinking? He wrote out to the side.
Party A will be clean and presentable at all public functions.
He initialed. “That’s all I need.”
“Does that mean I don’t get the clothes?”
Finally, something he could give her. He’d been starting to worry that he was going to fumble his way through the entire night. “You can have all the clothes you need. I promise. Your personal shopper will be here in the morning to get you ready for next week. Before we head to the set in Mexico, we’ll go out to Rodeo for the day and get anything you need.”
“Cool, because my wardrobe is probably not up to snuff red-carpet wise.” She glanced down at the beach, the end of day light making the sand shimmer like jewels.
The silence lengthened between them. As did his cock because they were leaving the small-talk portion of the evening. She was lovely and she’d passed his tests. She wasn’t running away as fast as she could, so she seemed to have accepted him.
There was no reason to not have her.
The need for his restraint was gone and he could indulge.