Rules of Harte (Harte Series #1) (2 page)

Julian:
Do you?’-

Eva135:
I’ve only asked one.’-

Julian:
Is there more you would like to ask?’-

Eva pushed her chair back from her desk and tapped her pen on her knee. Well of course
, she had questions. She had loads. Did this guy just wait around all day for women to click on his website? Who was he? How the hell does someone become an escort? Why the hell does someone become an escort?

Eva135:
Ok. What’s your name?’-

Julian:
Julian, I thought that was obvious.’-

Evangeline’s cheeks flushed. Even cyber conversation made her look stupid.

Eva135:
How old are you?’-

Julian:
Don’t be greedy, Evangeline. You’ve had your question. It’s my turn. Why do you want an escort?’-

Eva135:
How do you know my name?’-

Julian:
Again, Evangeline, if you would like an answer to your question you must answer mine first.’-

Eva stood up. Did he seriously expect an answer? She paced the floor dramatically and was only drawn back to her screen by the subtle tone of a new message.

Julian:
Are you still there?’-

Eva135:
Yes.’-

Julian:
Good. I thought you had run away.
Are you going to answer my question?’-

Eva135:
I just answered one of your questions. It’s my turn again. Aren’t those the rules?’-

Julian:
Feisty. I like that. And you understand rules. I like that even more. Okay, Evangeline let’s play by some rules.’-

Eva135:
How do you know my name?’-

Julian:
Your user name, it’s not hard to work out. Really, Evangeline. I find it hard to believe you don’t have a better question than that. I like you so I’m going to let you take another turn.’-

Eva135:
Isn’t that against the rules?’-

Julian:
My game, my rules. You’ve just used another question. It’s my turn.-‘

Evangeline poked herself in the knee with her pen. Da
mn he was good at this, but she had studied psychology for three years, there was no way she was going to let him beat her. She was ready to up her game.

Eva135:
Okay, Julian. Your question.’-

Julian:
Why do you want an escort?’-

Eva135:
I don’t know if I do…’-

             
Julian is offline.

Eva star
red at her blank screen for a long time. She didn’t consciously want Julian to reappear, she just couldn’t drag herself away from her desk. Finally, when life outside the office window diluted to a random passer-by every ten minutes or so, Eva decided she’d better go home before she ended up on the late train with all the weirdo types that scared her. She grabbed a marker from her desk drawer, scribbled the mobile number onto the back of her hand and dashed out the door, almost forgetting her coat.

             
She couldn’t get her conversation with Julian out of her head. She was so curious it hurt. She imagined him in her mind. Tall, six foot, maybe a little over. And tanned. She allowed him dark, almost black, wavy hair and bright blue eyes.

             
The station was ridiculously busy as commuters brushed past her. She almost missed the Dart but the man ahead of her got his briefcase caught in the door, and she managed to quickly slip inside. She looked at his tired face. She guessed he had a wife and three kids and he just wanted to get home after a long day at work to kiss his kids goodnight. He certainly wasn’t Julian. She began to look around the train. Every man on board became a possible escort. The handsome suited guy reading his Kindle, he could be a secret escort, she thought. She smiled at him but he didn’t look up.

             
The guy towards the back of the carriage looked delicious. His smart black crombie accentuated his tall, slim physic. She followed the line of his coat all the way up to its thick collar beneath his five-o’clock-shadow. He looked very Julian-like. He caught her eye and Eva quickly darted her stare to the ground. Her cheeks blushed to the point of burning. She had taken the same route home from work for the past ten months and never once before analysed its passengers. Tonight, however, they were all up for her perusal. She was horny and she needed satisfying. Any man who passed her was going to be appraised until she found someone she was happy to fantasise about.

             
At the next stop, the elderly women beside Eva got off, and the handsome stranger from the back of the carriage made his way towards the empty seat and sat down, his thigh brushing gently off Eva’s. He quickly apologised and she smiled in return. She was beyond words, already undressing him in her mind. First she caught his tie between her teeth and tugged it from around his neck, then scurried to unbutton his shirt and reveal his tight abs. She was just about to grab his crotch when he leaned a little closer to her. She took a deep breath and savoured the smell of his rich, spicy aftershave.

             
‘You okay?’ he asked softly.

Eva’s eyes sprung open and she jumped upright.

‘Fine, yes…fine,’ she stuttered, mortified.

‘It’s just you sound like you have bad asthma or something. I have an inhaler here if you need it.’

Damn, Eva thought, blushing. He just killed her fantasy. She didn’t want to think about fucking a guy that would be out of breath after the first half an hour.

‘This is my stop,’ Eva said
, instantly wondering why she felt the need to explain herself.

She stood up and felt the moist patch in her knickers press against her skin as she walked. Suddenly
she was glad she had worn mostly dark colours. She’d die if anyone could see her urgency.

             
Eva raced to turn the key in her apartment door. The ache between her legs had now become an overwhelming need. She rushed to the bathroom, dropping a trail of her clothes behind her. She ran the shower and stepped inside. The water kissed her skin as she ran her hands all over her body. She shook a little inside. Who the hell was Julian, she thought. And why was he taking over every thought she had?

             
She spun around to face the faucet and turned the pressure higher. The water pounded against her nipples until they stood erect and tingling. She reached between her legs and gently parted her labia. She wanted to touch her clitoris without any distraction. She knew exactly how to touch it. Slow at first. Softly stoking the bud, just enough to make her muscles clench. She reached down with her other hand and pushed her middle finger inside her tight, wet opening. The muscle gripped her finger and pulsated hard on her hand. She wanted more, she needed more pressure. She gently pushed her index finger in too. It hurt. She was so tight, it pinched, but in the best possible way. The pressure was intense. She rubbed her clit faster and rougher, gasping as it hardened beneath her finger until the spasm started. It was strong and pulled her forwards as the walls of her pusy contracted strongly on her two darting fingers.

             
She released her body from her grip and panted until she relaxed again. She sighed deeply and suddenly felt dirty. She had masturbated again. She promised herself last week she wouldn’t. But she had needs. When the ache was that strong, she couldn’t stop herself. It was all Julian’s, whoever-he-was, fault. How dare he flirt with her and then vanish. She was angry, but not because he disappeared. She was furious that she cared.

Chapter 3

Eva arrived in the office early the following morning. The glow of last n
ight’s pleasure hung to her cheeks like a gentle slap. She was glad she had a busy morning ahead. She wouldn’t dare check her personal emails until the afternoon. She looked at her hand. No traces of Julian’s phone number remained. She’d accidently washed it off. Not that she cared, she decided. She wouldn’t have called him anyway. Not even when she pulled her skin in all sort of directions in the hopes of catching a faint glimmer of the digits.

             
Mia passed Eva’s desk and although Eva looked up and tried to make eye contact, Mia marched ahead, ignoring her. She carried a takeaway coffee from the posh barista place across the road. The smell teased Eva. She walked past the window every morning but never had the nerve to go inside. It was always full of impressive business types. Tall, handsome men in smart suits and pretty women in classy, work-wear. Eva didn’t feel she fitted in. She had enough people stare at her daily at work. She didn’t need it when ordering a simple cup of coffee too.

             
Mia glided on her impressive, black-patent, high heels. They were so shiny, they caught the light, and their red sole clashed with her cerise camisole. Eva could never understand why people would pay outrageous amounts for designer shoes. She had the same pair of brown, leather slip-on’s for months, and she wasn’t in any hurry to exchange them for something that made her walk like a chicken on stilts. Even if that chicken caught the eye of every man in a ten mile radius. Oh hell, who was she kidding? She’d love a pair of seriously uncomfortable shoes.

             
Mia raced from desk to desk, gathering up all the important people in the office. The popular people. There were so many cliques in the office, it was worse than Eva’s old high school. When Mia had herded about five or six of the usual suspects into the boardroom, she slammed the door behind her and pulled the blinds. Eva wondered what was happening. Something important, no doubt, and she was as in the dark as always.

             
That was it. Mia’s office politics were driving Eva crazy. No matter how much Eva tried to tell herself she didn’t care. She did, of course she bloody did. It pushed her buttons, and in that moment, her trip switch blew. She typed up a strongly worded email and sent it to Mia. He finger hovered over the recall button for so long, she almost got a cramp, but fuck it, she was an independent woman. And she wasn’t going to be bullied any longer. She powered down her PC and stormed out of the office.

             
Lunch came and went in a blur as usual. Eva added an extra lap into her jog in the Phoenix Park. She was hot and sticky returning to the office and didn’t have time to grab a shower. She threw her work clothes back on in the down stairs toilet, leaving her bright pink sports bra on underneath. She sprayed some perfume, even in her hair and reluctantly headed back to her desk.

             
The lift doors opened to reveal Mia sitting behind Eva’s desk, swinging from side to side on Eva’s swivel chair. She looked super pissed off.
Ah shit, the email.
Eva panicked, her hands becoming uncontrollably shaky. She was suddenly far sweatier than her run had made her.

‘He wants to see you,’ Mia said through gritted teeth while Eva was still half way down the hall.

‘Who?’

An audible hiss rippled across the office and Eva felt the eyes of the entire floor burn into her back.

‘Mr Doe, Eva. ‘

Eva wobbled a little
, her legs suddenly objecting to holding the weight of her body.

‘He wants you in his office in five minutes.’

Eva ran her hand over her over-sleeked ponytail, and straightened her skirt. Mia didn’t acknowledge her dishevelled appearance.

‘
Go, Eva. Did you hear what I said yesterday? He’s not someone you keep waiting…okay?’

             
Eva nodded so hard her neck cracked. She raced back to the lift. It was only when she was standing alone, behind the closed lift doors that she realised she wasn’t breathing.
Fuck, shit, fuck
…she wasn’t ready for this. She was a good girl. She didn’t fuck up.

             
She shakily pressed the button for the top floor and waited. She pulled the scrunchie from her hair, turned her head upside down and shook so hard she almost fell over. She pulled her cardigan tight across her chest, yesterday’s coffee stain didn’t seems so bad now in contrast to her luminous, pink bra shining through the thin, white silk of her blouse. ‘Not today,’ she said, ‘…not today’.

             
The décor was different on the top floor. It didn’t look like an office, more an elegant foyer in a boutique hotel. It was intimidating and inviting, all at the same time. The floor was highly polished, cream porcelain and Eva’s loafers squeaked as she walked. The high overhead ceiling housed recessed lighting and the walls were splashed with hand painted murals that Eva could only imagine cost a small fortune. A large, teak reception desk sat alone at the end of the long corridor. There was no one there.

             
A pretty chaise longue sat opposite the desk, and two beige leather chairs called invitingly to her. She sat down for a moment but quickly hopped back up when she heard laughter. It came from behind the huge, floor-to-ceiling, double-doors.

             
Eva jumped as one of the doors creaked open. A tall, striking, strawberry-blonde appeared through a gap so narrow, Eva couldn’t see inside the room behind her. Eva instinctively looked her up and down. The top buttons of her blouse were undone and her long hair was tossed and fell loosely around her face. Suddenly, Eva understood the laughter. It was stereotypical, she knew. The stuff of magazines and movies. ‘High powered business giants with bodies like boulders shag stunning secretaries regularly to make themselves feel good. The secretaries go with the motions, thinking they’ll tame him, they’ll be the one. But he’s using them, until the next younger model comes along.’ Eva wished so much that someone wanted to use her like that. Of course, her feminist side instantly rebelled against the fantasy, and she scolded herself for entertaining the thought, even for a moment.