Hunk for the Holidays by Katie Lane Page B

had been with James for a lot longer than that and enjoyed every minute of it. Did escorts charge overtime? And if they did, when did it start? Midnight? Two a.m.?
    There was no use worrying about it now. She would have to wait until he took her back to the office. Unfortunately, all she had at the office were credit cards. And she was pretty sure he didn’t take those. She kept a couple hundred in her underwear drawer at her apartment, but that meant she’d have to tell him where she lived. Surprisingly, the thought didn’t bother her as much as it had with the other escorts. James just didn’t seem like the stalker type.
    He probably had women stalking him.
    Cassie cleared her throat. So how did one broach an indelicate and embarrassing subject? Straight on, she guessed.
    “I don’t have any money with me.”
    He went from looking offended to looking confused.
    She swallowed. “So if you could take me home…”
    The offended look came back with a touch of anger. “Oh, right, you don’t have any money for the cab.” He crossed his arms. “As if I’d let you take a cab.”
    The entire cab thing threw her, but she just couldn’t bring herself to explain that she wasn’t worried about the money for a cab as much as the money for hot sex. So she kept her mouth shut and decided he would have to be angry for a little while longer. At least, until he got her home.
    After what seemed like a good five minutes, James took a deep breath and slowly released it as if he had come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t going to get one extra penny for their sexual encounter. It had to be a real blow to his ego.
    “Okay, Ms. McPherson.” He held out a hand for her to precede him to the door. “Your wish is my command.”
    Cassie did have a wish. A wish that wasn’t likely to be granted. Especially when it concerned a certain sexy escort not being an escort at all, but rather, being just a regular guy who happened to like her as much as she liked him.

Chapter Nine

    The side streets were slick and icy, but James maneuvered through them without any problems, which was pretty good since he drove with one hand. In the other, he held a scrambled egg and burnt bacon sandwich. Cassie had declined breakfast. Not because she didn’t like her bacon a little overcooked, but because her stomach still felt queasy and she didn’t think she or James could go through another puking session.
    Although she felt a lot better than she had the night before. At least today she could move. She snuggled down in the shearling jacket James had loaned her and took another sip of coffee from the travel mug. She had watched him prepare it in the kitchen and learned he liked his coffee black, exactly like she did. She also discovered he worked out of his home and took the job of escort very seriously. The only rooms that were furnished were the den, his bedroom,and one small guest room. The other rooms had desks with computers, copy and fax machines, and a lot of paper.
    There was much more involved with being an escort than Cassie realized.
    They didn’t talk much on the ride to her condo. James ate, and she sipped her coffee and listened to the Christmas carols on the radio. The freeway had been sanded so it didn’t take them long to reach lower downtown, or LoDo as the locals called it.
    Her condo was located in a converted warehouse. Patrick lived on one side of her and Mattie on the other. Converting the warehouse had been her father’s idea. Obviously, he’d thought that tucking her between her two brothers would keep her safe from all the big bad wolves in the world.
    She shot a glance at James. He had finished his sandwich and now sipped his coffee. He looked over at her, and she saw her reflection in the dark lenses of his sunglasses. She looked like hell.
    “You live here?” he asked.
    Cassie knew it didn’t look like a residential building. The outside still looked like a three-story warehouse. It was all brick with shops on the