Sawyer sat one of her plates down in front of R.J. and the other in front of Briana. The other two plates were sat in front of Ax and his companion. Sawyer started to go back to help with the remaining plates.
“Sit down, Sawyer.” Kaden’s firm voice brought her to a standstill.
“I—I won’t be a second.”
“Sit down.” He stood up, pulling a chair out for her.
“Ms. Jordan can handle the rest. Have a seat, Sawyer,” R.J. broke in the staring contest between her and Kaden.
She looked at the young woman, noticing her worried frown and gave in, taking a seat at the table.
She looked across the table to see Ax trying to hide his amusement as he ate his food, at the same time that a plate was slid in front of her. Giving into her own hunger, she began eating.
The food was good. The potatoes were creamy and so was the undercooked meat she had managed to save while making a quick pan of gravy. The asparagus she had roasted melted in her mouth. The silence at the table was due to the fact that everyone was enjoying the food as much as her.
“Can I get anyone anything else?” the sweet voice of R.J.’s assistant had her smiling as the young woman nervously waited for everyone’s reaction.
“No, thank you, Ms. Jordan. That was delicious. We’ve missed having a good meal lately and that made up for it. I’m looking forward to breakfast,” R.J. said as an afterthought.
Sawyer barely hid her laughter at the look of panic crossing her face before she could hide it. Sawyer decided to set her alarm so that she could rise early enough to help her.
The woman disappeared back into the kitchen as they rose from the table. Sawyer was still angry at Kaden for ordering her around, but he ignored her as he went into the other room with two of the other women guests. Sawyer had no intention of watching the women flirt with him for the rest of the night, instead deciding to go to bed early.
She caught Briana before she went into the formal living room.
“I’m going to go to bed.”
“It’s pretty early,” Briana protested half-heartedly. Sawyer felt that the woman wasn’t anxious for her company, either. R.J. must have told her why she was with the band, or perhaps she simply stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the other women.
Sawyer went up the steps to the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She went to the drawers and pulled out one of the new nightgowns that had been purchased for her. Getting changed, she enjoyed the feel of the silky material sliding over her skin. Her nipples tightened against the material. Sawyer ran her hand through her hair as she went to her bag, pulling out her brush before passing it through her long hair. Brushing her hair had always soothed her.
As she continued to brush, she walked barefoot across the carpeted floor, going to the window and pulling the curtain open. She stared out into the night, seeing a large pool lit up. R.J. and the band must have gone outside to enjoy the fresh air. The pool area was well lit, so Sawyer had no difficulty making out who sat around the pool.
Kaden was sitting on one of the lounge chairs with a pretty woman sitting next to him, while her hand was casually rubbing his thigh.
“I wonder if she asked his permission?” she said into the silence of the bedroom.
Almost as if he could hear her voice, his eyes lifted to the window she was standing at. Sawyer froze in place as his gaze took in the gown she was wearing, her hair framing her face. The hand holding the brush dropped to her side, realizing belatedly it was the movement of her brushing her hair that had drawn his attention to her window.
She dropped the curtain, taking a shaky step back. Setting the brush down on the nightstand, she turned out the light before climbing into bed. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the escalating tension between her and Kaden. She had been around several good-looking men the last few years as a waitress, but had never experienced the desire to get to know any of them. It was a constant battle, however, to stay away from Kaden. The only thing saving her was her instinctive dislike of him. God help her if she ever discovered he was a nice guy under that sexy body.
Chapter Ten
Sawyer was busy in the kitchen when R.J.’s assistant came in.
“You shouldn’t be in here. Mr. Cross wasn’t happy that you helped out last night. R.J. had a talk with me after dinner.” She went to the counter to pour herself a cup of coffee, taking a piece of stuffed cinnamon toast. Sawyer watched her in amusement, noticing R.J.’s talk didn’t stop the woman from taking advantage of the available food.
“Ms. Jordan.” Sawyer paused. “What’s your first name?I can’t keep calling youMs. Jordan.”
“Just call me Jordan.” Her twinkling eyes laughed at Sawyer. “He doesn’t want us getting friendly. That’s not in my job description,” she mocked R.J.’s snobby attitude.
Sawyer rolled her eyes. If the young woman knew just to what depths R.J. would sink to keep the band happy, his professional façade would be exposed.
“I can live with calling you Jordan.” Sawyer went to pour herself a cup of coffee before taking a seat at the kitchen table.
They sat and talked for several minutes, and Sawyer discovered she liked the woman. She was around Vida’s age. She also was friendly, bubbly and wanted to prove to R.J. that she could handle the job as his assistant.
Kaden came into the kitchen as they finished their coffee. When he went to pour himself a cup, Sawyer escaped without a word, trying not to wonder if he had spent the night with the woman she had seen him with the previous night. Stir crazy and not wanting to return to her room, she went out the front door. It was pretty outside. Wanting to stretch her legs, she wandered around the side of the house to the pool area. Bored, she sank down onto one of the lounge chairs, trying to think of something to keep herself occupied.
“Are you going to run off if I take a seat?” Kaden stood next to her chair, waiting for her answer.
“N —no, and I—I wasn’t running. I was finished,” Sawyer clarified.
Expecting him to sit down in the lounger next to her, he instead sat down beside her hip, facing the house. He had put on a pair of sunglasses; the dark lenses stared down at her, giving him a ruthless appearance.
“How did you get to the pool?”
Confused by his question, she frowned up at him. “I walked?”
“I know that,” he said impatiently, “but I was in the kitchen, and I could see the only other entrance to the pool and you didn’t come out that way.”
“I went out the front door. I wanted to take a walk. I walked beside the house and it led back here,” she explained. She couldn’t understand why he looked angry. She hadn’t tried to leave; she had just wanted out of the house for a few minutes.
Sawyer looked up at him cautiously, wishing she had just gotten up and gone back indoors to the safety of Jordan’s company.
“Don’t go back out front again unless me or one of the other men are with you. Alec let some of the men go home while we’re on break; there’s only a skeleton staff for security.”
Again, through no fault of her own, she was confined. She had no more freedom here than she’d had on the bus.
“Why are you looking so unhappy? The other women seem happy enough to be here.”
“I’m bored. I’m sorry if I don’t find hanging out with your band entertaining,” Sawyer snapped.
“What did you do before you were kidnapped?”
“I worked; I was a waitress. I shared a small apartment with Vida.”
“To me that sounds boring.”
It was. Vida was constantly studying, and with no other friends, she had often found herself at a loose end.
“What did you do to keep yourself occupied?” Kaden questioned her perceptively.
“I cooked. Vida constantly studied, so I cooked when I became bored. I would take what I made to the homeless shelter down the street.” Sawyer didn’t realize she had let it slip that she didn’t live in one of the safest areas of Queens City.
&n
bsp; “I see. You didn’t want to go to college with your friend?”
Sawyer shook her head regretfully. “I hated school. I was never good at it and was happy to get out of high school. I didn’t want to tie myself down to four more years of misery.”
“You’re planning on being a waitress for the rest of your life?”
“No, smartass, I don’t. When Vida graduates this semester, we had plans to travel. I was going to learn about different cuisines. I planned on going to cooking school once we decided where we were going to settle down.”
“How were you planning on supporting yourself when you went to school?” Kaden asked her.
“I took care of all the bills while Vida earned her degree. She was going to take care of expenses when I went to school. We had it all planned out.” Sawyer’s lips trembled as she thought of the many nights they had sat planning their future together.
“What if one of you met someone and decided to go your own way?”
“We wouldn’t do that to each other. We both want to travel too much.”
“You’re getting to travel now,” he reasoned.
“It isn’t the same. No one lets me cook, and when I do, Jordan gets in trouble.” Not so subtly she was letting him know she hadn’t appreciated his interference last night.
“Ms. Jordan didn’t get in trouble for your helping to cook. The guy’s were too starved for that. What I don’t want to see again is you serving anyone.”
Sawyer frowned up at him. “It’s what I do. I enjoy it. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“So it’s just my orders you don’t want to take?”
She didn’t think his twist on her words was funny.
“Let me up.” Sawyer tried to get up from the lounge chair, but Kaden—who had continued sitting by her hip—put his hand beside her opposite hip to pin her to the lounger without touching her, effectively preventing her escaping back into the house.
“Why is it that you’re always running away from me when you don’t have any trouble talking to Ax, D-mon or Sin?”
As his hand reached out, his thumb brushing her cheekbone, she jerked her face away from his touch.
“Did I give you permission to touch me?” This time it was Sawyer throwing his words back in his face.
Kaden gave a low, seductive laugh. “Did that make you angry, Sawyer? I didn’t mean to make you angry. Which do you appreciate more: something easily given, or something you have to ask for, something you crave?”
“I didn’t notice that woman sitting next to you last night asking to touch you.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Did you see me touch her back?”
Sawyer had to admit to herself that she hadn’t seen him touch the woman back.
“Do you want to know if I fucked her last night, Sawyer?” Kaden asked, leaning down to whisper his question in her ear.
Sawyer trembled under his seductive spell. She had never been so intensely pursued by a man before. She’d had several that had flirted with her—even Rick when he had been luring her into his sick web of lies had made her feel wanted—but she had always been aware that he would forget about her five minutes after leaving the restaurant. She had eventually agreed to go out with him because he had discovered her desire to eat at one of the finer restaurants in town whose chef had recently won a prestigious cooking award.
“N—no, I don’t,Kaden. I—I don’t care who you fuck,” Sawyer lied to both of them.
“I didn’t. I believe Alana ended up in Sin’s bed after he finished with Megan.”
“How benevolent of him to share himself around,” Sawyer said, disgusted.
“I believe that’s what he thinks. I, on the other hand, have learned that quality is much more exciting than quantity, so I spent my night taking cold showers and jerking off, thinking about you.”
Sawyer’s eyes flew to his, seeing that he wasn’t joking. “S—stop it,K—Kaden.”
“Stop what, Sawyer? I haven’t laid a hand on you and I won’t until you beg. I just want to let you know, tonight when you’re in your thin gown with those nipples hard, that all you have to do is come next door to my room, and I’ll give you what you’re craving. I’ll sink my dick in your tight little pussy and ride you all night long. All you have to do is ask me nicely.”
Sawyer felt the heat build in the area he was mentioning. She almost stretched out underneath him then and there. The only thing holding her back was her anger at the way he had refused to let her contact the police and an instinct inside her that was screaming that he wanted her total capitulation, which she couldn’t give.
“I—I will never beg for you, Kaden, but if you get bored waiting for me, why don’t you hold your breath while you’re waiting.”
“That remark is going to cost you a punishment when you give in, Sawyer.” Kaden stood up. “I have some work to do, so if you’re bored, go and have fun in the kitchen if you want, but remember what I said, Sawyer. I better not catch you handing anyone a glass of water if they’re dying of thirst.” His hard gaze had her nipples tightening. She was so angry at her body’s betraying response.
“Go fuck y—yourself.” His eyes dropped to her nipples before he gave a mysterious smile.
“Why is it you only stutter when you get nervous?” He didn’t give her time to answer, walking away from the lounge chair and leaving her a hot mess.
She ran an anxious hand through her hair, trying to gather control of her body now that he had gone. One thing was for sure, her trying to stay out of his way had been an epic fail. She was going to have to come up with a better battle plan or she was going to be in trouble trying to resist a man who had enough sex appeal that a freaking nun would throw her panties at him, and Sawyer sure as hell was not a nun.
Being given free rein of the kitchen allowed Sawyer a sense of control that she hadn’t experienced since her kidnapping. Jordan helped out by making a run to the grocery store with her list. While she was gone, Sawyer threw together a light lunch that Jordan could serve them when she returned.
Going upstairs, she showered and changed before going back downstairs to help Jordan put away the groceries.
At lunchtime, she forced herself to leave Jordan to go to the dining room, taking a seat at the table. It went against her personality to sit and let Jordan do all the work, but not wanting to be banned from the kitchen, she gave in to Kaden’s demand.
After lunch, the women decided to go into town for an impromptu shopping trip.
They didn’t even ask if she wanted to go, which she was thankful for.
“Let me change my shoes.” Mila, D-mon’s girlfriend, moved away, throwing the women at the table a warning glance before leaving the table. If the woman wasn’t such a bitch, Sawyer would have told her D-mon was a horndog, but since she was one, Sawyer felt no compunction in not giving her a heads up.
“You don’t want to go? I thought you’d jump at the opportunity to get out of the house,” Kaden said as she rose to leave the table.
“No, thanks. I’ll give it a pass.”
Sawyer didn’t try to explain. She had always found it difficult to make friends with women. These women here didn’t want to be friends; they wanted what time they could get with the band, without an outsider trying to get inside their little group. Sawyer really couldn’t blame them; they had to fight against the fans’ attention all the time. Why would they want to during the band’s alone time? She might not like the other women, but she could understand them.
Sawyer went upstairs to her room, planning on taking a nap. Hearing voices, she went to her side window and watched as the band and their guests climbed into two large cars. Kaden was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and sunglasses. The sun glinted on his hair. He was striking just standing there among the other men. Alana was standing next to him and they were talking before they slid into the car together.
Sawyer ignored the twist in her stomach before she went to the bed to lie down. Jordan had told her that she had been given the night
off, that as they had made plans to eat out for the night. Alec had paid her a visit before he had left, warning her to stay in the house or by the pool.
Sawyer stretched out on the bed with nothing to look forward to other than another boring night. While the band partied in town, she had remained hiding in her room. Just once she wished she could find the courage to actually go out and be carefree, but growing up in the poorest section of Queen City had shown her the harsh reality of life. It was a lesson that her mother had constantly warned her of, without having to utter a single word.
Her mother had no other option but to move into the large low-income apartment building after her father’s death. While his death had been unintentional, the apartment building had been filled with children being raised without fathers. There hadn’t been a single man trapped by low income within those vicious walls, unless they had been living off one of the women, desperate for their company, or a son who was perpetuating their father’s example.
She had watched Vida’s mother suffer through each failed relationship, while Callie had never even known who her father was before being left in her mother’s sadistic care, using men like used newspaper over and over again.
As she grew up, she had seen the consequences of foolishly loving someone. She had sworn that she would be smarter, wiser. She wouldn’t fall in love and become destroyed. She wouldn’t be held back with invisible chains, her heart held prisoner. She would be free.
Chapter Eleven
Sawyer woke up from her nap energized. Remembering the swimsuits in one of the drawers, she picked out a black one and changed into it before she could change her mind.
The security was at the front gate and Alec had gone into town with the band. Jordan had wanted to use her free time to catch up on some of R.J.’s work, so Sawyer had the house to herself.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had gone swimming. Grabbing a towel, she went downstairs to the pool where she dropped the towel on one of the loungers before cautiously going in. She was pleasantly surprised when she found it was warm, which made her jump in. Coming up out of the water, she laughed, shaking her hair out of her face before she began swimming the length of the pool. Enjoying the silky feel of the water against her skin, she paused to catch her breath, leaning against the side of the pool.