Chapter Three
“Say what?” My eyes widened as I stared at him and the smirk on his face. “You’re the bachelor?” I swallowed as I stared at him in shock. “As in you’re the guy getting married?”
“Well yes and no.” He laughed and grabbed my hand.
“Don’t touch me.” I pulled my hand away from him, still in shock.
“This is my bachelor party, but I’m not getting married.”
“What?” I looked at him, feeling confused.
“I like to have the parties for fun. See who I can meet.”
“Who you can meet?” I frowned.
“Girls like you.”
“Girls like me?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”
“Girls who are down for some fun and to have a good time.”
“I’m not down for any fun and I’m not having a good time.” I shook my head, feeling slightly let down. Was this something he did often?
“I never force anyone to do anything they don’t want to do.” He stared at me seriously and pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. “I have five grand here for you and you can walk away.” He handed it to me. “Or you can be adventurous and make a lot more.”
“You mean have sex with you for cash?”
“No.” He shook his head.
“Then what?”
“You’d have to trust me and wait and see.”
“I don’t know that I trust you.”
“Understandable.” He nodded, his arm still outstretched and the cash a mere inch from my fingers.
“How many times have you done this?” I asked him quietly, wondering why I was still standing there like some sort of fool.
“Once.” He nodded. “I’ve only done this once before.”
“You’ve only had one fake bachelor party before?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’ve had many fake bachelor parties. I’ve only met one other woman at a party that I’ve wanted to come to an arrangement with.”
“And what happened?”
“That’s not important.” He shook his head. “So what do you say?”
“You can’t buy me.” I licked my lips. “Plus I don’t even know what I’m agreeing to.”
“You have to be patient.”
“I don’t even know your name.”
“Grant.”
“Like President Grant?”
“Like Grant Slate.” He stepped back. “My name is Grant Slate. I’m just a man that wants to get to know you better.”
“Most men that want to get to know me better ask me if they can buy me a drink.”
“Can I buy you a drink?”
“They don’t offer me five grand a drink.”
“I’ll offer you fifty thousand dollars to spend one week with me.” He paused. “And the drink of your choice.”
“And you’re not expecting sex for fifty grand.”
“If we sleep together, it won’t be because of money.”
“I’m crazy to even be here right now.” I shook my head and looked down at the ground. “This is just crazy. I don’t even know you. You could be a serial killer.”
“I’m not.”
“Like you would say if you were.” I rolled my eyes and sighed. “I should go.”
“I’m not stopping you.” He took a step towards me and stared at my lips. “You have beautiful eyes, even with the mousy glasses on.”
“My glasses aren’t mousy.” I swallowed as he stepped towards me again.
“No, they themselves aren’t mousy. I should say that you have beautiful eyes, even when you wear glasses that give you a mousy appearance.” He removed my glasses again and leaned down. “Very beautiful and vibrant. When you’re angry, they almost seem to be spitting darts of green fire at me.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t get so close. You don’t want to get burned.” I whispered as his lips came closer to mine.
“I don’t burn.” His blue eyes glittered as his lips met mine again. This time, he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into him as his lips started a war on mine. I felt his tongue slip inside of my mouth and I capitulated easily, sucking on his tongue and enjoying the warm sensuality that was passing from him to me. It felt easy to surrender when it was with a man like Grant. Even his name was sexy. Grant Slate. Shit, I knew I was in trouble. I’d always been the smart girl. I’d never had casual flings or just fallen head over heels for someone. Yet, there was something about Grant that infiltrated my senses and my brain. When he finally pulled away from me, my body felt like putty and my brain was fuzzy. I held onto his arms to steady myself.
“You can’t just kiss me.” I gasped finally coming back to my senses.
“You didn’t seem too concerned just now.”
“That’s because you, you just, you just...” I sputtered out, not even sure what to say. “I think I need to leave.”
“Do you want to leave?” He ran his fingers through my hair. “Do you really want to leave? Or is a little voice inside telling you that you should leave?”
“Yeah, my common-sense is telling me to get the hell out of dodge.”
“Out of dodge?”
“It’s slang.”
“I know the saying.”
“So why ask me what it means?”
“I wasn’t asking you what it means.”
“You’re difficult.”
“I’m difficult?” He smiled at me. “You’re difficult.”
“I should go.”
“With or without me?”
“I don’t even know what you want with me. So, I’m going to have to say without.” I shrugged and I could see the disappointment in my body reflected in his face. What did he care? He was handsome and obviously rich. He could have any girl he wanted.
“That’s a shame.”
“Why is it a shame?”
“I think we could have a lot of fun.”
“I don’t know what fun you’re talking about Grant Slate.”
“Then why don’t you let me show you Evie Peaches.”
“My name isn’t Evie Peaches.”
“Would you prefer me to call you Peaches and Cream?”
“Ugh no. That guy was gross.”
“Unlike me, right?”
“You’re not gross.” I said honestly and sighed. In any other circumstance, I’d be quite pleased to have met him. I’d be excited that someone so good looking was into me, but this wasn’t a normal meeting or situation. No guy had ever offered me fifty grand for anything. Shit, no guy had even offered me a twenty. I’d been on dates where the guy had expected me to pay.