Chapter 27

Jay

It took a lot to make a man like Jay Canton nervous. After securing multi-million dollar deals on a daily basis, he had learned to keep his cool in tough situations. But that was no match for the buildup in his chest as he rode nervously in the backseat of his Mercedes Maybach.

Meetings had went on without him the entire day, his mind unable to focus on anything other than Kasey. There was a sinking feeling following him, as he worried she would cancel, right up until the moment Danny pulled into a narrow driveway with a one car garage. Jay rushed to get out, hoping to knock on her door and escort her to the car, but Kasey was closing her front door before he could even get to his feet.

She was always two steps ahead of him, and he liked it. From the moment he laid eyes on the red dress with matching high heeled sandals, Jay knew all of the worrying was worth it. Kasey was stunning, and every one of her curves was on full display, but tasteful as always.

“You look amazing,” the words fell from Jay’s lips as he held the car door open.

“Not so bad yourself, Canton,” she breezed by him, climbing into the back seat.

“This is a nice place. I like this neighborhood,” Jay remarked, as Danny drove out of the small development he had invested in a few years back. He wasn’t aware that Kasey lived in the area until his assistant gave him the address. His thoughts wandered, hoping she got the best deal on the property, debating whether to ask about her closing price.

“You don’t have to act impressed. I know it doesn’t compare to your house. I supposed you live in some mega mansion,” she joked, but the way she looked at Jay sparked something within him. Kasey had the uncanny ability to make him feel naked—as if she already knew everything about him.

“Do you want to see my place?” He could barely believe his ears. Jay never took women to his house, but Kasey wasn’t just any woman, and a part of him wanted to share parts of him he usually kept reserved. He wanted to show her how willing he was to open up and prove his trust, despite his actions when she worked at Passions Publishing.

“What about the restaurant?” she asked, her eyes narrowing to suspicious slits.

“I can order food in, and then you can see where I live,” he shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal either way, but inside, Jay’s heart was beating double time. He feared he might sweat through his designer suit as he awaited her decision.

“We can go to your place on one condition,” Kasey waved her pointer finger in the air.

“And what’s that?” A small smile crept across his face as he felt himself relaxing, she had the ability to calm him, something no one else seemed to master.

“I need to know this is a business dinner,” she said, her face suddenly serious.

“Of course. I’m not going to try any funny business with you, Kasey.”

And he wasn’t. Jay knew he had to earn his way back into her trust, and he was willing to put in the work. Kasey was worth whatever hoops she forced him to jump through, and when he showed up at her home, he knew it would not be an easy task.

“I’m serious,” he added, when Kasey began to smile.

“Okay. We can go to your place and order Thai or something,” she said excitedly. “Do you like Thai?”

“I once spent a summer in Thailand, I could never have enough Thai food,” he couldn’t believe his luck. Not only did she want his favorite cuisine, but Kasey was going back to his place.

What first felt like the beginning stages of a panic attack had smoothed into an excitement he could barely contain. Thankfully, his home was not far from the development Kasey lived in, which was part of the reason he’d invested in it.

“This is a nice neighborhood,” Kasey said, as she peered out the tinted window while Danny punched in a code to open the white iron gates.

“This is my house,” Jay corrected her.

“All of this is your house?” she screeched in disbelief.

Glancing around, he began to understand why someone would think it was more than one residence. There was the main house, where Jay lived alone. That structure was enough to impress, and far too much home for one person. Then, there was a guest house, in addition to the pool house, a large atrium, and a sports center that doubled as his gaming room.

“I don’t really use most of it,” he seemed to realize as he identified the use of each building.

“How could you,” Kasey responded under her breath.

Jay wasn’t sure what to say. Most women would be impressed, but Kasey seemed a bit turned off. Maybe she thought he was wasteful, or gaudy. He couldn’t be sure.

Carefully watching her every move, he led Kasey into the foyer before inviting her into his large kitchen.

“Do you cook?” she asked, her voice small in the marble filled room.

“God, no. This is really the only thing I use in here,” Jay chuckled, while opening a drawer to retrieve a handful of menus.

“But it looks like this kitchen gets used fairly often,” she ran her fingernails across the counter top, while Jay tried to detect the emotion in her voice. Was it accusatory? Could she think he had women coming over to cook for him? The thought made him chuckle again.

“Chef,” he held his hands up in surrender.

“Of course. Give me those,” she seemed to relax reaching for the menus.

Her hand brushed against his, and Jay had to remind himself that this was to be professional, otherwise he’d ruin it and never gain her trust back.

“You order for us, since you’re the expert,” she handed Jay a menu to a Thai restaurant and he accepted the challenge.

After placing their order, he led Kasey to his living room, which housed a massive bookshelf. Slowly, she eyed every book, asking questions about some and sharing her opinion on others. He was impressed by her knowledge of the field that played such a major role in his life, and it served to remind him of how much Kasey knew about the literary field already.

Thinking to change things up, he asked a question. “What do you like besides books?”

“Wow. I haven’t thought of that in a while. I guess I like helping other people achieve their goals. Right now, I do that as an agent, focusing on authors, but I enjoy the act in general. There’s something very special about convincing someone to believe in themselves, and then seeing the look on their face when they achieve a dream they once thought impossible,” she glowed with pride, as if recounting a specific experience.

“That makes a lot of sense. You have a connection with writers that doesn’t have much to do with the dollars and cents, which is really rare.”

“I imagine it can’t be the ideal characteristic for an employee,” she giggled nervously.

“Actually, it is. Because that deeper connection always translates to sales, but sales don’t usually translate to a deeper connection. I didn’t know how valuable relationship building could be until I met you and saw firsthand what you could do. You taught me a lot,” Jay absentmindedly answered, reaching to grab a misplaced book resting on the shelf.

Kasey took the book from his hand, drawing his attention before asking, “What else have I taught you?”

Their eyes were locked, and Jay could feel his body temperature rising. Kasey’s breasts rose and then fell slowly. The sight of her nipples piercing through the thin fabric of her dress made the blood rush to his cock. Her eyes drifted to his lips and he knew she wanted him.

Just then, a loud ringer cut through the tension brewing between them and Jay broke their mutual gaze to attend to the food delivery. Walking to the door, he decided to tone things down. He knew how fast his adrenaline was rushing, and that could only lead to one place. The last thing he wanted to do was make Kasey uncomfortable, and since he told her it would be all about business, he knew he needed to change the course they were headed in.

He set their meal up in the dining room, against his inclination to relax on the sofa. In Jay’s mind, it made the meal more formal, although they never did talk business, choosing instead to share more about themselves.

“That was delicious,” Kasey said, after trying a few of the dishes Jay ordered. The dining room table was filled with options, since he chose to order some of everything on the menu.

They’d talked through the entire meal, getting to know more about each other. Kasey shared how Thailand was one of her dream destinations, and Jay told her about his beach house on an island, extending an open invitation for her to go whenever she wanted. The offer shocked him, but in a way, he knew she was the type of woman who would only want to stay at his home if they were traveling together.

“You haven’t given me a tour,” Kasey said, once they’d both finished sampling the dishes.

“Of the house?” Jay was confused. Why would Kasey want to see his place?

“Yeah, it’s humungous. I want to see what you need all this space for.”

Jay felt a bit insecure for the first time, hoping Kasey wouldn’t judge him for his wealth. Slowly, he walked her through the first level of his home, pointing out the different rooms for her to peek in—his library, private office, television room, home theatre, and wine cellar seemed to impress her, although it was always difficult for Jay to read Kasey.

“Is your bedroom on this level?”

“My bedroom?” Shocked speechless, he repeated the question, trying to calm himself. Just the thought of Kasey in his bed made blood rush to his cock.

“Yeah. I want to see where you sleep,” she shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal to her, probably some sort of way for women to tell everything about you if they saw how you decorated your room or something. Jay struggled to calm himself as he led Kasey up the grand, winding staircase before opening the double doors to his bedroom.

Nervously, he turned around to see what she thought of his bedroom—decorated in different shades of gray with a splash of white mixed throughout.

“This is it!” He smiled, but the amusement melted away as fast as the words left his mouth. Kasey had allowed the thin straps of her dress to slide down her shoulders, creating a red puddle at her feet.

Jay couldn’t think, he couldn’t speak. All he could manage was to rush to her, finding her lips with haste. He had dreamed of this moment for weeks, and feeling her soft skin beneath his fingers was all he’d imagined it to be.