Page 10 of The Wages of Sin

The car zipped up the floors, leaving me a full minute to spare as I walked down the hallway and arrived at the door. Still, I found myself hesitating before I pushed the bell.

Part of me had wanted to turn down the job when Jane texted me this morning. I still wasn’t over last week’s humiliation. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the image of the client’s ridiculously hot body out of my head. The idea of spending another couple of hours in his presence, trying to avoid awkward contact, was enough to make me break out in a nervous sweat.

But the horrible truth was I couldn’t afford to prioritize my own comfort.

Not only had the man’s unexpected tip allowed me to scrape by last week, but I’d also been able to double the amount I squirreled away in savings under my mattress. My conscience wouldn’t allow me to say no to another week like that. Not even if it came with the price of swallowing my pride.

I drew in one last deep breath and pressed the doorbell. The door opened a moment later.

“Mary.”

Oh, God help me. His voice was just as deep and rumbly as I remembered it.

I fought against the urge to look up as the client stepped back to let me pass. I refused to let this week turn into the same shitshow last Tuesday had. This time, I was determined to be the model of professionalism.

“I apologize for arriving alone, sir,” I said, already making my way through his stainless steel and leather living room toward the kitchen. “Something important must have delayed Rose.”

I caught his shadow out of the corner of my eye, leaning against the arched entryway into the kitchen. Turning my back on him and getting to work took more resolve than I’d imagined, but I forced myself to grab a bottle of surface cleaner and started spraying down the stovetop.

“Rose isn’t coming.”

I froze for a moment before catching myself.

“No?” I asked before reaching for a sponge and scrubbing the non-existent stains.

“No.”

It should have ended there…and with any other client, it would have.

Rose’s employment was none of my business. I was here to do a job and nothing else. Besides, I was already pushing the limits of the no-talking rule as it was.

But for some reason, I couldn’t seem to swallow down my curiosity. So, not to seem too nosey, I slowly counted backward from five in my mind before asking, “Why not?”

When no answer came, I figured I’d simply waited too long to ask. It was arrogant to assume the client had nothing better to do but stand around and gossip with the help. He’d probably quietly stepped away the first chance he got.

Just to make sure, though, I peeked over my shoulder.

Shit.

He was still there, standing just inside the entryway, his face as perfect and ruggedly handsome as I remembered.

Though, to be honest, I’d been doing a hell of a lot more than simply remembering him this last week. I’d been fantasizing about him every night since the day I left, imagining those perfect lips on mine, those strong hands roaming over my skin, that powerful naked body of his propped up over mine.

Heat rushed to my face, and I spun back around before it had a chance to show. Overcompensating for the mistake, I scrubbed even harder at the already sparkling stovetop.

“I asked Jane not to send her.” His voice was closer now. Even though I hadn’t heard his footsteps, it sounded like he was right behind me.

A wave of goosebumps spread up the back of my neck, and I couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder one more time.

Again, I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or relieved to see that, while he was indeed closer, he wasn’t directly behind me. The center island counter was still between us.

“Then who is going to be my partner today?” I asked.

“No partner,” he answered. “Just you.”

The goosebumps multiplied, spreading all the way down my arms, right down to my fingertips. For a second, I stopped scrubbing…and not just because that deep voice of his was so damn sexy.

“Um…that might be a problem, sir.”

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