Lies in Love by Ava Wood Page B

sure he would have hesitated to drag her up to
his apartment and take advantage of a very coincidental situation. He
had never shared his bed with a woman, nor fantasized about a woman in his bed, but his mind was captive there now. The things he longed to
do to her body; to kiss every inch of those delectable legs, to taste
that sweet little sassy mouth of hers, to bury himself deep inside of
her and just get lost; the way he was lost now. Brent was right.
Taking this job was a very bad idea. He was consumed by her, likely
because she didn’t succumb to his charm or fall at his feet.
She had no idea of the things he could do to her. It was the only
reasonable explanation he could come up with for his fascination.
    He
threw his arm over his eyes, remembering that he would see her again
tonight and on a date, no less. He hadn’t been on a date since
high school. He had no idea how a real date played out anymore. His
usual “date” paid him ,
not him fronting money to take her out. He wasn’t even sure she would
talk to him. She still hadn’t told him her name, not that it
mattered. He knew who she was. He knew more about her than she would
most likely find reasonable. Calling her Petal, though, that was a
ballsy move. He hadn’t heard that name since his childhood when
his grandfather used it as a term of endearment for his grandmother.
He wasn’t even sure why that was the
name her called her. He just knew that somehow it fit. He considered
getting out of bed when Brent came pounding on the door.
    “Get
up, man. You’ve got a call.”
    Landon
pulled on his lounge pants and plodded to the living room, running
his hand through his hair as he went. He grabbed the cordless phone
from the kitchen bar and answered, “Hello?”
    “Where
you been, kid? You didn’t check in after your last job. I was
beginning to think maybe you’d run off with her” A
full-body laugh rang over the line.
    Quincy,
shit. Landon
imagined Quincy reclining in his dinner jacket, checking in on all of
his escorts. He was nearing fifty and out of the game for some time
now, serving as more of a father figure to Landon than anyone since
his father checked out. He owed a lot to Quincy for inviting him into
his company. “Hey, man. I’m sorry. I’ve been
working through some personal shit.” Like the fact that he
wasn’t sure he could go through another job like the one with
Lady Vanna.
    “I
get it man. I just worry. It’s not like you to not check in.”
    “I
know, man, I’m sorry.” Landon cleared his throat,
building up courage to ask for something he never thought he’d
want. “Quincy, I was wondering if I could take a few days. I
need some time to think, to clear my head.”
    Quincy’s
gravelly voice was gentler than usual. “Sure, Landon. You know
if you need anything, you call me.”
    “I
will, Quincy. Thanks.” Landon hung up the phone and started
back to his room when Brent stopped him.
    “What’d
Quincy want?” His tone was judgmental.
    “The
usual. Just checking up on me. Wanted to know why I hadn’t
checked in.” Landon took another step toward his bedroom when
Brent’s gruff voice stopped him again.
    “You’ve
been thinking about that girl, haven’t you? I told you not to
go on that date.” Brent rounded the couch and approached
Landon. “She turned you down, didn’t she? She turned you
down and now you can’t get her out of your head. You won’t
until you fuck her. And then what?”
    “You
don’t know what you’re talking about. I just needed a few
personal days.” Landon didn’t want to even look at Brent,
always the critical one. He had an answer for everything and right
now it was just too much.
    “I
know how this works, man. There’s a reason we do things the way
we do. You aren’t supposed to get attached. No emotion,
remember?”
    No
emotion. Is that really how they were expecting to live? Was Lady
Vanna right? Brent may have been slightly shorter, but Landon could
feel him standing over