All of her expectation sounded reasonable. Emmie wanted me to cook breakfast and sometimes put lunch together. I was responsible for the grocery shopping and there would be a list of needs/wants. “Please. When you shop for this house, be sure to stock your own fridge while you are at it. Don’t you dare let me find out that you are paying for groceries out of your own pocket! That is unacceptable.”
“I…” How did I respond to that? I didn’t like taking handouts, but this woman didn’t make it sound like it was. “Okay.”
She smiled. “Good. Don’t ever argue with me on that. I’d hate to have to fire you because of it.”
I held up my hands in surrender. “I swear, I will not argue with you on that.”
She cocked her head to the side like she had when we first met. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t argue?” I shrugged and she laughed. “Good. I don’t want some meek little mouse scared of standing up to me.”
“Don’t worry. I’m nowhere close to meek.”
She was scribbling again on her notepad, and then she tore off a corner of the page and offered it to me. “This is a weekly number. If, after the first week, you decide that it isn’t enough… And really, I kind of expect that to happen so don’t be afraid to come to me and talk about it… We can revisit the numbers.”
I didn’t take the paper at first. I was curious as to why she would say that. “Why would I think that you aren’t paying me enough?” Fuck, she was providing me a place to live and food in my fridge. All my personal needs met.
She sighed. “Drake’s bathroom is… Well, just promise me that you will come to me if it gets to be too much, okay?” She waved her hand at me. “Please, take it.”
I finally took the piece of paper from her and glanced down at the number written across it. That was when I was positive that I was still home in bed. Fuck! I hadn’t made that kind of money in a month at my old job. And she wanted to pay me that a week? What kind of mess did Drake make if she was willing to pay me more?
“Do you accept?”
“I…I…” I clenched my jaw to stop the flow of stammering. Sucking in a deep breath I nodded. “I accept.”
Chapter 4
Jesse
My head was killing me by the time we got back to the house. I had spent the day pounding the same song out over and over on the drums to the point that my ears were ringing with the beat. I wanted a handful of ibuprofen and a shot of Patron with a desperation that I knew Drake felt too.
Shane pulled the Escalade into the driveway beside of a beaten up gray Corolla. The thing looked like a death trap, but I wasn’t going to judge. My first car had been missing the entire passenger floor boarding. I just hoped whoever Emmie had hired to help her out around the house had gone shopping because I wanted food that didn’t come out of a carton tonight.
I was the last one to enter the house. Drake took off straight for his room, probably to find one of his Jack Daniel bottles. Shane muttered something about a run to clear his head, and Nik was already yelling for Emmie. “Where are you?” he called out.
“Back here in the office.” I heard her yell back.
I took my time. The movers had done a good job setting all the furniture up that Emmie had chosen. The living room looked comfortable, cozy even. The long, dark brown sectional faced both the big screen hanging in the corner and the wall of glass that looked out onto the beach. I figured I wouldn’t be watching much television with that view to distract me. End tables with red lamps on them sat at each end of the sectional with a round, glass coffee table in front of it. The walls were bare, but Emmie wanted to hang up Demon’s Wings posters and all our awards over the years. She had probably been too busy to even care about the walls today.
I heard Emmie laughing and then someone else joinedin. The beat from today's song finally seemed to clear from my ears at the sound of that laugh. It was all husky and teased my ears with its sexiness. Without even realizing it, I started down the hall toward Emmie’s office. I had to see what went with that laugh.
Nik was standing in the doorway when I reached the office. Emmie was saying something, apologizing I think. It would have been something I would have gotten my phone out to record if I wasn’t so intent on finding the bearer of that sexy laugh. But Nik stood in my way, blocking my view of whoever was setting in front of the desk.
“I guess Rich is still blaming me for you guys canceling the winter tour,” Emmie was saying. “So… I’m sorry for being a bitch this morning when you had to go into the studio. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I don’t know what to say.” Nik shook his head. “I’m speechless.”
“That Rich would do something like that?”
“No. That you would actually admit that it wasn’t my fault…” He suddenly ducked and I was taken by surprise when a half empty bottle of water smacked me in the chest.
I grunted. “Good arm, Em.” I bent to pick up the bottle then pushed Nik out of my way so that I could enter the room.
I wasn’t expecting the woman sitting in the chair. In fact, I was so surprised I nearly stumbled at the sight of her. Her laugh had deceived me. That sexy laugh had absolutely nothing on the goddess sitting there with her long cinnamon hair flowing around her shoulders and those big chocolate eyes that melted me when they met mine. Even sitting down, I knew she wasn’t tall, maybe five and a half feet. Her white button down top was just a little snug across her breasts and I instantly wanted to taste them.
My reaction to her stunned me. I had never gotten hard like this. Even after a show, I was more jacked up on the adrenaline of playing for a hyped up crowd than the actual need to get between a woman’s legs. Right now, I was hard as a rock after only a few seconds in her presence.
“Jesse, this is our housekeeper, Layla Daniels.” Emmie introduced us. “Layla, this is Jesse Thornton.”
She stood and offered me her hand. I towered over her but that didn’t seem to intimidate her. I even got a grin… God, that grin! “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jesse.”
My hand swallowed hers when I took it. Her skin was soft and warm and I felt an electrical current zap through my blood straight to my dick at the first touch. “The pleasure is all mine, Layla,” I assured her. God damn, she was so beautiful.
Would Emmie kick my ass if I seduced this little goddess?
My gut told me yes, but my dick said that it didn’t care.
Those chocolate eyes darkened to black, and I saw her nostrils flare ever so slightly. I have seen that same reaction millions of times from an endless supply of women. Layla was just as affected as I was. That thrilled me.
The next moment she pulled her hand away and turned back to Emmie. “It’s getting late. The girls are probably wondering what happened to me.”
“Okay. I’ll see you first thing in the morning then.” Emmie stood. “Thanks for all of your help today, Layla. I could have gotten it done without you, but I’m so glad that I didn’t have to.”
Layla grinned. “It was fun. See you tomorrow.”
I actually turned to follow her out, but Emmie grabbed my arm and held me back as Layla made her exit. When she was safely out of sight I frowned down at the pregnant woman holding on to me. “What?”
Her eyes were both amused and serious. It was an odd combination. “Please, don’t fuck the housekeeper. I like her, and if you do something that makes her quit I will break your favorite drum sticks.” I glared down at her. She knew how to fight dirty. “I mean it, Jesse. No playing around with her. She’s not like the girls you are used to.”
Fuck, I knew that. One look at her and I knew that she wasn’t going to be like the women from my past. I wanted more than just one night with that little goddess.
“Jesse…” She punched me in the arm. “Please?”
I blew out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t promise,” I told her honestly. I would never lie to Emmie. Never. “I…want her.”
Layla
The rest of the day seemed to go by quickly after my ini
tial shock wore off. I helped Emmie instruct the movers, while she divided her time between the men and answering her cell phone. I realized early that she was a little ball of energy, and was left wondering where she got all it from, especially as pregnant as she was.
Once the furniture was the way Emmie wanted it the movers left, and I was given a shopping list half a mile long. “I’m sorry to put this on you today, but the fridge is bare and we are all sick of eating out of boxes.” She sighed. “Do you know how hard it is to get good Chinese with bacon on it?”
“Umm… No, not really.” Bacon? What?
Emmie laughed at my wide eyes. “It’s a pregnancy thing. I have to have bacon on everything or I’m not happy. And if I’m not happy, this little girl isn’t happy.” She rubbed her hands lovingly over her bump, something I had noticed her doing a lot of today. “So it’s bacon or nothing.”
I noticed on the list that bacon was underlined a half dozen times with exclamation points. The number six was next to it. “Is this a weekly shopping list?”
“Yep,” She handed me a credit card that had her name on it. “I’ve already alerted the right people that you will be using my card occasionally. Just sign your name and bring me back the receipt.”
It took me two hours to get the shopping done. When I returned to the beach house, Emmie was in her office with the door shut. As I unloaded my car and put away the groceries, I heard her voice rise every so often as she yelled at whoever was on the other end of the conversation.
It was just after six before she came out and asked me if I would make her a sandwich. She looked tense and I hadn’t seen her eat anything all day. Concerned, I pulled out the fixings for a turkey sandwich. “Go sit down, Emmie. You look beat. I’ll bring the sandwich to you. What would you like to drink?”
She sighed tiredly, her supply of energy having been depleted for the moment. “I don’t care,” she mumbled and went back toward her office.
I quickly put together a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a little mayo. I put a pickle on the side and because she had said that she had to have bacon, I wrapped a few slices of the microwaveable bacon in a paper towel and nuked it before putting it on her sandwich too. A bag of pretzels and a glass of milk, and Emmie’s snack was ready. I found a tray and carried it in to her.
She was leaning back in her chair, eyes closed, when I walked in. “When was the last time you had anything to eat?” I asked as she took a small bite of the sandwich.
“I had some toast this morning.” She grimaced. “I know, I know. I need to take better care of myself. Trust me, baby girl here is making her displeasure known.”
“Can I get you anything else?”
“You can fix yourself a sandwich and join me. I hate eating alone.” She took a larger bite of the sandwich. “And maybe another one of these bad boys.”
I grinned. “You got it, boss.”
For the next twenty minutes we chatted and ate. I hadn’t realized I was hungry until I sat down and took the first bite of my sandwich. Emmie inhaled her first one before I returned with the second. By the time we had swallowed our last bites, I felt like we had begun to develop a kind of friendship.
I took our dishes back to the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher, but Emmie called me back no sooner than I had the door to it closed. “Come keep me company,” she called out.
I had barely taken my seat when I heard the front door open and what sounded like a herd of buffalo storm into the house. Emmie’s eye lit up. “My guys are home.”
The way her green eyes sparkled told me that she loved them all. I wondered at the story behind them but kept my curiosity to myself. Someone called out for Emmie from somewhere, and I watched in complete fascination as those sparkling eyes darkened with something like passion. “Back in the office,” she called back. “Crap, I’m going to catch hell. I have to apologize for this morning.”
“Not something you do often?”
Emmie laughed. “I don’t like to give them that satisfaction.”
I couldn’t help but return her laugh just as the door was filled up with the delicious sexiness of Nikolas Armstrong. “What’s so funny?” His voice was just as sexy as when he sang.
“I’m sorry, Emmie blurted out.
Nik looked stunned. “About?”
She grimaced and told him about our day. Apparently, it hadn’t been Nik’s fault that he had to go into the studio this morning after all. Rich told him wrong, knowing that Emmie would be stuck with the movers on her own. Pay back for Demon’s Wings canceling their winter tour.
“I don’t know what to say.” Nik shook his head. “I’m speechless.”
“That Rich would do something like that?”
“No. That you would actually admit that it wasn’t my fault…” Emmie picked up her half full bottle of water and threw it at him with a precise aim that impressed the hell out of me. Nik had the good sense to duck.
The bottle hit the chest of pure male perfection behind Nik, causing the man to grunt. “Good arm, Em.” He bent to retrieve the bottle before pushing past Nik who was snickering.
Okay, I have to admit that I have always considered every member of Demon’s Wings sexy as hell, but I’m a freak for bald guys. Even with the little bit of scruff on his normally smooth head, which told me what I had always wondered about—did he shave it like that because he had to, or because he wanted too? Answer? Because he wanted to!
My reaction to him surprised me. If I see a bald guy I was usually interested enough to take a second look. Something about him, when those brown eyes caught mine and he shook my hand, the way that I felt like I was struck with lightning at just that innocent touch, and… I was ready and willing for him right then and there!
Then I remembered who he was and pulled away. Rockers were bad news. I knew that because my mother had had a thing for them. I was the result of her first journey into the world of hard rock and roll. Just as both my sisters were her continued need to be a rocker’s plaything. Rockers spelled trouble in my book, and I was not going to go down that road… No matter how wet my panties suddenly were, dammit!
I made an excuse to Emmie and got the fuck out of there. All the way home, I kept telling myself that I would have to stay away from Jesse Thornton…
I used my key to unlock the apartment door and was almost trampled when I walked through the front door. The first thing I was going to do with my first paycheck was get us all new cellphones so that we could stay in touch. Lucy was pale and Lana had a scowl on her beautiful face. I instantly felt guilty for having worried them. It was after eight, but I had always been home by six, even on my most busy of days.
“Where have you been?” Lana demanded, sounding more like a mother than our own mother ever had. She had taken care of Lucy for the first four years of the little girl’s life, so she was used to worrying about someone other than herself. Lana was strong and was extremely mature for someone so young.
I pulled the bag of greasy hamburgers from behind my back and offered it to her as a peace offering. “I come baring food and good news.”
“You got the job?” Lucy was already jumping up and down with excitement.
“I got the job,” I told her, hugging her close and dropping a kiss on top of her sweet smelling hair. Lana must have already helped her with her bath. “Let’s sit down and talk. I have some news.”
We sat down at the little scarred up kitchen table, and I handed out the burgers that I knew that they loved but we hadn’t been able to afford often. There was a saucepan with mac and cheese on the stove, so I knew they had already eaten, but the girls would never turn down grease and saturated fat.
I was going to miss this apartment. It had kept me safe and worn for the last five years. I liked it’s warn wallpaper and the dull, egg color paint on the walls. It was small, only a one bedroom, and barely housed three females. The girls took the bedroom while I slept on the worn, old sofa that I had inherited from the tenant before me.
I waited until they had inhaled the first half of their burgers before telling them about my day. I wiped my mouth and fingers on a napkin and took a sip of my bottled water. “So… I got the job, but they are hiring me straight out instead of through Stan.”
Lana’s brows rose. “Is that good or bad?”
I grinned. “It’s good. It’s really good, Lana,” I assured her. “We’re getting health insurance, and they are paying me triple what I would make working through Stan for a month…in a week.” Lana’s eyes got huge and I nodded. “So it’s a good deal.”
“Where will you be working?” she asked after swallowing a mouthful of beef, cheese and veggies.
“Malibu.” I didn’t know how she was going to react when I told her about us moving, but I had to do it now. “My boss has a guest house and she wants me to move into it, so that I will be on call twenty-four seven. She knows that I have you girls to take care of, and she said that it was okay.”
Lana nearly choked on the food in her mouth when she swallowed too quickly. I pounded her on the back a few times to help her catch her breath. Her eyes were watering but she was able to wheeze out a strangled, “What?!”
“Does that mean we’re moving?” Lucy asked, her little brow puckered up.
I nodded. “Yes, Lucy. We are moving, and our new place is right beside of the beach.”
She clapped her hands together. “That’s so cool!”
“But we can’t move!” Lana objected. “I mean that’s awesome and all, Layla. Really. It’s the beach, who wouldn’t want that? But I can’t transfer now.”
“You won’t have to. Lucy is going to have to change schools, but you won’t. You can use my car and drive to school. I won’t need it.” If her eyes got any wider, I was sure they were going to pop out of her pretty head. And I hadn’t even told her the biggest news yet!