CHAPTER SEVEN
Marly
Jude pulled aroundthe back of a nightclub, swinging into a spot near a small set of iron stairs and an unmarked brown door.
A woman wearing a black skirt, patterned tights and a black corset stood outside with her foot propped into the cracked open door. A sliver of ambient light leaked out into the night, creating a yellow illuminated wedge onto the paved parking lot.
Jude held the car door open, offering me his hand out of the deep bucket seats. “Where are we?” I asked, wrapping my fingers around his warm palm. It sent electricity zinging up my arm and I tilted my chin to look up at him as I stood.
His grip on my hand tightened and he froze, his stance turning frigid. “LnS… from your contract. The one you said you read.”
Shit. “Right. LnS. Guess I spaced for a second.”
Instead of looking up at him, I busied myself, digging in my purse for a stick of gum. Anything to stay occupied rather than engage in another staring contest.
He grunted a single, gruff sound. His voice, hoarse and heavy, skimmed the air between us so thick, I could have run my fingers through that punctuated grunt. Then, he lifted his finger, curled it under my chin and tugged my gaze to his. The movement was gentle, but one glance at those green eyes was like whiplash cracking at the base of my neck.He knows, a whisper echoed in my mind and I swallowed hard against my sandpaper throat. But more terrifying than the fact that he might know I was lying, was the swell of lust that rose from my core; building and growing like my body was a pressure cooker and Jude was the valve refusing my release. My toes curled within my heels as his finger stroked my jaw. “Just to sum up that contract… You are not allowed to discuss anything or anyoneyou see inside. Not even to Omar. That contract can’t be scratched out and initialed. LnS is very particular. You understand?”
I nodded. Not understanding… because stupidly, I didn’t read the fucking contract. “I understand,” I lied, closing my eyes momentarily against the stroke of his fingers. For all of a second, I wished they would coast down my neck, between my breasts, across my navel, until he reached between my legs. My eyes shot open with a deep breath. What was wrong with me? The whole point of this method research was to move away from people thinking I slept my way to the top.
I took a step back, away from his touch. The absence of it left me chilly and… and alone. Which was ridiculous. He was literally right there in front of me. “Um, just curious… what if I do tell someone? Omar, or my agent—”
Jude’s expression widened, horror filling his eyes and he shook his head. “You can’t. There is no ‘or.’ There is no ‘what if’. You simply can’t do it.” He turned, walking away.
“Yeah, but…”
“But nothing,” he hissed, spinning to face me. Each breath lifted his chest, then collapsed with his exhale and the rims of his eyes narrowed.
My spine stiffened. Oh,hellno. I stepped into his personal space, shoulders back and eyes glaring. Who did he think he was? I barely had a second to acclimate to my new surroundings and he was already yelling at me?Well, fuck that. My scowl deepened as I brushed against his chest. “Do not yell at me as if I’m below you. We are colleagues. We are equals. Andthissubmissive thing is just acting. Don’t fucking forget that just because I’m a damn good actress.” Okay, yes, part of this was my fault. I should have read the fucking contract. I should know inside and out what I was getting myself into. But this attitude he was giving me? That shit had to stop. “I have every right to ask questions. I’m walking into an unmarked door with a man I barely know.”
His set jaw twitched as he glared at me. I held my ground, crossing my arms until the tension melted and he ran a hand over his face. “Sorry,” he mumbled on a sigh. “You’re right. It’s a touchy subject for those of us who are members. Upstairs, it’s very exclusive and we all have images and personal lives to protect. You can understand that, right?”
Oh, yes. Good lord, could I understand that. I nodded—it was all I could do, since I didn’t trust my voice to answer just yet.
“Good,” Jude rubbed my arms, his hands gliding down my bicep to elbow, then back up again. “I’m sorry.”
“You said that already.”
“Well, sometimes the important things need to be said twice.” His fingers curled around the backs of my arms with a gentle squeeze and despite the cool evening, heat flared in my core. How in the hell was I going to keep my cool around this man for a whole week?
As his hand slid from my arm down to my lower back, it hovered just above the waistband of my jeans. He walked us over to the corset-bound woman waiting at the door and nodded a hello. “Chloe,” he said, dropping a peck to her cheek.
“Mr. Fisher, it’s nice to see you back. Do you have the contract?”
I smiled at Chloe. She was all hardened beauty and pure business. And I loved that about her. If only I could be more like this Chloe chick, maybe this industry would stop walking all over me.
“Here you go,” Jude said pulling one of the contracts I had signed from his folio. “Here is your copy and I’ll give Marly hers back once we’re inside.”
With a quick scan of the paper, Chloe nodded, opening the door for us. “You know the way. I’ll lock up behind you.”
As Jude led the way down a dark hallway, he reached behind, holding out a hand for me to take. I ignored it. We weren’t in character yet. And the last thing I needed was his hands on me more. Touching me. Heating me. With a glance back, Jude seemed to get the picture and fisted his hand, shoving it deep in his pocket instead. “Your first task,” Jude said, holding open another unmarked door leading to yet another dim-lit hallway, “is to take that wig off and wash that makeup off your face.”
“I—what? But no one can know—”
A thick breath lodged in my chest as he jerked to a stop, turning slowly. “No one will say anything. But people here will know who you are.” Jude’s face tightened into a scowl that was deep and beautiful in a way that onlyhecould make look sexy. He scanned my face, his eyes roaming slowly over me like some sort of human lie detector. “Tell me, Marly… what did the contract say about the common room?”
Shit. He was quizzing me.Because he knows. Come on, Marly. You skimmed that contract… recall something useful.“That… it was the area where all patrons of the club can meet.” Okay, so that was a pretty lame guess. Anyone could have deduced that.
“And what is not allowed in the common room?”
