He walked from the bathroom; his emotions were turbulent as he got dressed and left his bedroom. He was grateful she waited to emerge until he was finished. This woman had made him leave work in the middle of the day, had made him forget condoms, had made him want and do things he never did.
Maybe he should send her back after all — job paid in full. That would be much safer for his sanity. But even as he rode back down to the parking garage, he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
He wasn’t nearly finished with Jewell Weston. Just a few more days would do the trick, though. Ignoring the pang that idea caused, he focused now on anything but her. Instead of driving back to his offices, he decided to head to the work site of a large mall his company was building.
What he needed right now was a hammer and nails so he could pound out his frustration on inanimate objects. He sure as hell hoped he didn’t run into either of his brothers, because there was no way he could explain his black mood or the chaos now ruling his thoughts.
Chapter Seventeen
Jewell had known she was innocent about the way the world worked, and even about human nature — but downright stupid, too? Why had she felt the need to put on that show for Blake? How could she not have realized there would be consequences? She should just be his perfect little servant for the next few days, and then go back to her place of “employment” and forget all about the man.
Apparently she really had needed more training. Until now, she hadn’t understood why Ms. Beaumont normally had the girls train for so long. But Jewell couldn’t believe it would have worked in her case. You had to have your soul broken and rebuilt with their so-called training. And she couldn’t imagine never being able to think for herself. But unlike most of the girls there, she had no intention of staying for long, despite the outrageous sums of money involved.
She knew her own worth, which wasn’t in cold cash, and knew that an escort service wasn’t where she belonged. So if she did just roll over and become the submissive little woman that Blake wanted, wouldn’t that forever change her? Wouldn’t that make her less of a person? Right now, she was a mass of confusion.
No matter how much she thought about it, the answers wouldn’t come to her. She had to get dressed and get out of his apartment for a while. She just needed a walk — that was all. A breath of fresh air, so to speak. It was past time for Jewell to get the heck out of the apartment. She couldn’t stand the stuffy place for even one second longer.
As she opened the front door, she was stopped short by a giant of a man who was holding a key out, about to insert it into the lock.
“You must be Jewell,” the man said, and she drew back a step, then her eyes narrowed and she took a good look at his face.
She knew that face. She’d seen it a dozen times as she’d passed by the picture on Blake’s wall. It was one of his brothers. And though Blake was a tall man, his brother had a few inches on him. She didn’t know which one he was.
“Tyler Knight,” he said, holding out his hand when she still said nothing, leaving an awkward silence between them.
She finally found her voice and accepted the hand that was hanging in midair, waiting for her decision. “Jewell Weston.” What would be the point in lying about her name? He already knew who she was.
“So you’re the girl scrambling my brother’s brain this week,” he said with a laugh after releasing her hand.
“I wouldn’t say I’m scrambling his brain. He’s a tough egg to crack,” she said, being careful not to say too much. This was Blake’s brother, after all.
“Ah, Jewell, you are most certainly scrambling his brain,” Tyler told her before pulling her out the door and firmly shutting it behind him. “Where are you off to? I didn’t think my brother would let you leave the apartment.”
She wasn’t sure whether he was serious or not, but he was more right than he knew. Blake would probably be furious that she was leaving, but she had to get out of there for a while. She’d just have to deal with the consequences.
“I’m free to do what I want.” She wasn’t, but there was no way she was telling that to another living soul.
“Good. We’ll go have lunch. I’m starving,” he said, placing her arm through his.
That made her more than a little uncomfortable. “I was just going to go for a quick stroll. I don’t want to be gone too long.” Blake would be home by six and she couldn’t be gone when he arrived.
“Nonsense. Everyone needs to eat, and I refuse to eat alone. You can fill me in on what you’re doing to my brother.” He didn’t give her an out; she had to come with him.
When they reached the outside of the building, Tyler was still holding on to her and pulling her along with him. Once again, her options were limited — she had the choice of following him or falling on her face if she stopped and he didn’t.
“Are all three of you bossy and used to getting your way?”
Tyler kept on walking, but he laughed and threw her a nice smile. “Pretty much. What would you like to eat?”
“I’m easy,” she said before wincing. Yeah, she was pretty damn easy. At least now she was. Talk about a depressing thought.
“All righty. Then sushi it is,” he said as he approached a shiny black sports car — did all three brothers go for the same type of ride? — and held the passenger door open.
“Perfect.” Raw fish didn’t exactly float her boat, but maybe some company wouldn’t be so bad.
Once Jewell had settled into her seat, Tyler rushed over to the driver’s side and hopped in, then revved the engine and pulled out into traffic.
“So, is Blake treating you well?”
She didn’t know how to answer that question. Had Blake sent his brother to quiz her? Was Tyler going to report all her answers? She had to be very careful.
“I can’t complain. You know this isn’t a relationship, right?”
“Any time a man and woman are together, it’s a relationship, babe. Don’t fool yourself.” He turned and winked at her, nearly giving her a heart attack when the car swerved a bit across the centerline.
“Well, I’ll only be with him a few more days.” She wasn’t going to say he’d picked her up at an escort service, but she didn’t want Tyler to think that they were going to bond and she was going to be around for a while.
“I’m not so sure about that,” he said with a secret smile that seemed to say he knew a lot more than she did. She wished he would fill her in on what he did know.