Rent-A-Stud (4 page)

Wondering would keep his cock half hard all evening.

He meant what he’d told Breanna earlier today on the phone—it was not Coopers’ Companions’ policy to come on to their dates. Zach had always lived by that rule and had never been tempted to break it.

Jade tempted him.

Why? What is it about this woman that affects me so much?

Zach shut Jade’s door and walked around the front of the car to the driver’s side. Once behind the wheel, he looked at her. She glanced at him, but her gaze quickly skittered away again.

His heart did a funny jog in his chest.

Silently, Zach backed out of the driveway. He drove two blocks before he pushed a CD into the player. Soft saxophone music filled the car.

“Music okay?” he asked.

“It’s nice.”

“You like the sax?”

“Very much.”

He glanced her way as he slowed at a yield sign. “Do you like to dance?”

“I do, but I’m not very good.”

“I have trouble believing that.”

“You’d believe it in about five seconds. That’s how long it would take me to step on your foot.”

Zach chuckled. He liked her sense of humor, and her honesty. “Will there be dancing tonight?”

“Yes.”

He looked at her again, longer this time. He could hardly wait to hold her in his arms. “I’ll take my chances.”

Jade shifted in her seat so she could see him better. The dim glow from the dash gave her enough light to easily make out his features. Bre hadn’t been exaggerating when she called him gorgeous. His medium brown hair brushed his shoulders. She’d never been partial to long hair on a man, but she had to admit Zach’s hair was very sexy. She wondered if it felt as soft as it looked. Straight nose, strong chin with a hint of cleft, square jaw, full lips…they all combined to make him positively yummy.

Jade had always had a weakness for blue eyes. Zach’s were the color of a cloudless sky an hour before sunset. One look from those intense blue eyes would make a woman vow to do his every bidding.

Her gaze slowly traveled over his body. He wore a tuxedo as if he were born for it. His jacket hung open, giving her an unobstructed view of his body. She admired the wide chest and flat stomach. She especially admired the healthy bulge between his thighs that not even the perfect cut of his trousers could hide.

Jade couldn’t help the small sigh that escaped her lips. Such masculine beauty. Too bad she could enjoy it for only a few hours.

But for those few hours, she
would
enjoy it.

She’d made the decision as soon as she slid into his car. Knowing a man ten years her junior would be her escort for the evening had made her feel…wicked. She’d immediately worried what her coworkers at the hospital would think when she walked into the gala on Zach’s arm. Then she decided she didn’t care. He was a handsome, sexy man who’d been hired to be her companion for the evening. She had every right to enjoy herself…and him.

That didn’t mean sex, of course. She had no intention of being intimate with a man who’d had sex with who knew how many women.

Even though it would be so nice to feel a man’s hands touching her again, his lips on hers, his tongue darting into her mouth, his hard cock sliding into her wet pussy…

A jolt zinged through her clit. Two years of celibacy was a long time. She missed that closeness, that intimacy, with a man.

He turned down the volume on the CD player. “Is this the first time you’ve hired an escort?”

“I didn’t hire you, my daughter did.”

“So it
is
the first time?”

“Yes. My brother usually escorts me, but he’s in Florida on a deep-sea fishing trip.”

“Are you uncomfortable having me for your escort?”

“I was, at first.”

“No more?”

Jade had always believed honesty to be important. Although she barely knew Zach, she saw no reason to change that belief. “You’re a very handsome, sexy man, Zach. I’m going to enjoy being with you tonight.”

He glanced her way and smiled. “Good.”

Realizing how that could have sounded, Jade quickly continued. “I didn’t mean I’m going to
be
with you. I meant at the gala. I’m going to enjoy your company at the gala.”

“I knew what you meant, Jade.”

“Oh.” Heat filled her cheeks. Of course he knew what she’d meant. Just because she felt attracted to him didn’t mean he felt the same way. Why should he? She was ten years his senior. The women he usually dated were probably his age or younger—women who had firm bodies with smaller breasts that hadn’t been affected by gravity yet.

He expertly handled the luxury car over the side streets heading toward downtown Fort Worth. The car, the tuxedo, his mannerisms, screamed money. Apparently he made a very good income as an escort. Jade couldn’t help but wonder how he’d gotten into this type of business in the first place. “Have you done this for a long time?”

“Done what?”

“Escorted women.”

“About ten years.”

It surprised her to hear he’d started as a rent-a-stud so young. “You were twenty?”

“Twenty-one.” He stopped at a red light before looking at her. “How do you know my age?”

“Breanna told me.”

Zach didn’t say anything for several moments. “Does my age bother you? It shouldn’t. Age is a number. It’s no indication of who you are as a person.”

“That’s easy for a thirty-year-old to say. It’s a bit different for a woman pushing forty.”

His gaze passed over her hair, her face, her breasts, before he looked into her eyes again. “You’re a lovely woman, Jade. You’ll be lovely no matter your age.”

A warm glow filled her at his compliment. He certainly knew all the right words to say. But he
should
know all the right words after ten years of practice.

Realizing he’d probably used those same words on countless other women deflated her attraction a bit.

Face it, Jade. Whatever he says to you is memorized. He’s the same as an actor, and has been for ten years. He’ll say whatever he thinks a woman wants to hear.

The light turned green and Zach passed through the intersection. He’d paid compliments to other women, even when they weren’t true. It was his job to make his date feel special, and sometimes that included some exaggeration. He’d never felt guilty about “fudging” a little. As long as he made his date feel good about herself, that’s all that mattered to him.

He meant every word he said to Jade. Somehow, he had to convince her of his sincerity.

Another red light gave him the opportunity to face her again. “All women are beautiful, Jade. Some are more physically appealing than others, but each woman is special in her own way. She becomes even more special as she ages. I truly meant what I said about age being a number. Yes, it’s a cliché, but it’s true.” He draped his left wrist over the steering wheel. “You’ll be forty soon?”

Jade nodded. “On May 13.”

“Does turning forty bother you?”

“No. Getting older is better than the alternative.”

“That’s true.”

“There’s another cliché about life beginning at forty. I guess I’ll find out in a couple of weeks.”

“Are you where you want to be? Job, home, family, that kind of thing.”

“In some things, yes. In others, no.”

“What’s missing in your life?”

A sharp beep from the car behind him startled Zach. He’d been so focused on Jade, he hadn’t noticed when the light changed to green. Pressing on the gas pedal, he drove through the intersection.

He noticed she didn’t answer his question.

The hotel where the gala would be held sat on the next block, so Zach didn’t have the chance to question Jade further. He assumed her marriage was one of those things that hadn’t worked out the way she wanted. No one got married with plans of getting a divorce.

He wondered if she still loved her ex-husband.

He followed Jade’s directions to the parking garage. After traveling up three levels, he found a parking space within ten yards of the elevator.

“How often do you get a parking place so close to the entrance?” he said after putting the gearshift into Park. “My luck is good tonight.”

“You haven’t danced with me yet.”

“You’re still determined you’re going to step on my foot?”

Jade raised one hand, palm toward him. “I so solemnly swear.”

Zach chuckled. The more time he spent with Jade, the more he liked her. He couldn’t remember ever feeling such a strong connection with a woman. “I’m still willing to take my chances. After all, dancing will give me the chance to hold you in my arms.”

He watched her gaze roam over his face as she bit her bottom lip. He waited for her to speak. When she remained silent for several moments, Zach spoke. “Is something wrong?”

“No. I was just…thinking.”

“About what?” he asked softly.

“Nothing important.”

Reaching over, he lightly touched the back of her left hand. “You can talk to me, Jade. I’m a great listener.”

Jade looked down at their hands—his tan, hers much lighter. It seemed…natural for him to touch her. She didn’t like that. She didn’t like feeling this attraction for a man who paid compliments to women for money. He could call himself an escort, a companion. No matter what name he used, he was still a rent-a-stud.

“We’d better go in,” she said, sliding her hand from beneath his.

By the time Jade had gathered up her purse and wrap, Zach had rounded the car and opened her door. He held out his hand to her. It would be rude of her not to accept it. Placing her hand in his, she let him help her from the car.

Once standing, she was trapped between the car’s door frame and Zach’s body. A zing sizzled through her clit again when she looked up into his eyes. She wanted to be in his arms, and not just on the dance floor.

That would
not
happen. She wouldn’t be the next in a long line of his conquests.

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?” he asked. “You…pulled away from me.”

“You’re my escort, Zach, that’s all. I won’t fall for your practiced lines of seduction.”

He frowned. “‘Practiced lines of seduction’? Where did
that
come from?”

“After ten years, I’m sure you know all the words to say to make a woman melt at your feet. Well, I won’t. I want that clear from the start. You’re my escort to a business function. That’s all.”

His eyes narrowed and anger flared through them. He lowered his gaze for a moment. When he looked at her again, the anger had disappeared. Now she saw no emotion at all.

Zach held out his arm to her. “Shall we go in, Ms. Talmage?”

Chin high, Jade cupped her hand around the bend of his elbow. Silently, he directed her toward the elevator.

Chapter Five

Zach behaved like the perfect gentleman. Jade couldn’t find fault in anything he did. He took her wrap to check when they entered the ballroom. He asked her if she wanted a drink, and headed to the bar to get the glass of red wine she requested. He smiled often, said all the right phrases, made small talk with the people who came up to speak to her.

She hated every moment of it.

The Zach in the car had been funny, charming, flirtatious. He’d made her feel comfortable and eager to spend more time with him. This man was a rent-a-stud.

Jade endured it for twenty minutes before she couldn’t stand being near the mannequin Zach had become. Unfortunately, the head of surgery and his wife had cornered them and Jade didn’t know how to gracefully get away from them. Doctor Douglas Lassiter loved to talk, and his wife, Marianne, loved to talk even more.

“You should see it, Jade,” Marianne gushed. “Doug designed it himself and had it built while we were on our cruise. It’s
huge
. Crystal water, live plants, rock formations.” She shuddered and sighed. Jade wondered if she’d had an orgasm. “It’s almost a shame to swim in it.”