Fixed on You by Laurelin Paige Read Free Book Online Page A

hesitation, Alayna,
and I understand. Perhaps this would be a good time to discuss payment.” I
admired how he could move from moments of magnitude to straight business with
such fluid ease. Me, I had whiplash. I didn’t even have time to wonder what someone
got paid to fake a romance before he continued. “I understand you have a
substantial amount of student loans. I’d like to rid you of that debt.”
    I laughed. “That’s way too much,
Hudson.” He had no idea how much I’d needed to get through school. No idea how
heavy of a burden they were on me now.
    “Not to me.”
    “It is for me.” I sat forward,
challenging him. “It’s eighty thousand dollars.”
    “Eighty four thousand two hundred
and six, to be exact.” 
    I froze. How did he know that?
    As he often did, he answered my
unasked question. “I own the bank that holds your loans. I looked them up
today. It would be very easy for me to have them written off. No actual money
would exchange hands, if that makes you feel better.”
    “That’s an awfully generous
payment.” Too generous. And just like I jumped to buy a lottery ticket whenever
the pot got particularly high, I wanted to jump on his offer. But nothing that
paid that well ended in good.
    “It’s worth it to me to see this
project succeed, Alayna.”
    My answer was no. I’d already
decided. It had to be no. There was too much risk at entering into an
arrangement—any arrangement—with him.
    But I couldn’t help but want to
know more of the details. “What exactly would you want me to do?”
    “Pretend we’re a couple. I’d
invite you to several gatherings where my mother would see us together. I’d
expect you to hang on my arm and behave as though we’re madly in love.”
    “And that’s all?” I couldn’t
imagine it would be that hard to pretend to be in love with Hudson. And that
was the problem with the whole damn thing. Pretending to be in love with
someone who already affected me so intensely was a big fat trigger for
obsessing.
    “That’s all.” His shoulders had
visibly relaxed. He thought I was taking him seriously, that I was considering
his ridiculous idea, and I almost wondered if I actually should. 
     I swallowed. For eighty thousand
dollars there had to be more he expected. Since he wouldn’t spell it out, I
tiptoed around the topic myself. “This pretend relationship—to what extent
would I be expected to perform?”
     “Don’t pussy foot about it. You’re
asking about sex.” His eyes darkened again. “I never pay for sex, Alayna. When
I fuck you, it will be for free.”
    There it was, the promise that I’d
both longed for and feared. His stark declaration had me squirming in my seat.
I had never been so aroused and so confused all at once. We were at my work,
for Christ’s sake! I had to start my shift in less than half an hour, and all I
wanted to do was respond to his crude remarks with equally naughty behavior.
    Somehow I forced my mouth to
speak. “Maybe I should go.”
    “Do you want to?” It was an
invitation to stay.
    “I’m n-not sure,” I stuttered. “Yes.
I think I should.” But I didn’t move. I couldn’t.
    Hudson took advantage of my
weakness, pressing me to indulge him with reasons. “Because you’re
uncomfortable with my proposition? Or because I told you that I’m going to fuck
you?”
    His profession had no less impact
the second time. “I’m…yes. That.”
    He cocked his head, contemplating
me with puzzled eyes. “But I‘m certain that’s not a surprise to you, Alayna.
You feel the electricity between us. Your body language expresses it quite
well. I wouldn’t be surprised to find you’re already wet.”
    My cheeks heated.
    He flashed a wicked grin. “Don’t
be embarrassed. Don’t you know I feel the same?” He shifted in his seat. “If
you were to carefully read my body, you’d see the evidence.”
     I knew then that he was hard. My
sex clenched with the knowledge. If my brain hadn’t completely