Say You're Mine (The Gallaghers Book 1) by Layla Hagen (digital ebook reader .txt) 📗

desk. I have the key with me. Can he come up here?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, I just remembered. My brothers have a copy. He could get it from them, if it’s easier.”

“I’ll coordinate everything. When’s your second appointment?”

“Ten minutes after the first one ends, so in one hour and forty-five minutes.”

“I’ll get you the laptop by then,” I promised.

“Perfect. Then I’ll do the first one on my phone.” She looked around the living room, pointing to a corner of the sofa. “I’m claiming that as my work spot.”

“Whatever the lady wants.”

She batted her eyelashes. “I like the sound of that.”

I gripped her hips from behind, walking with her like that toward the couch.

“I know it’s selfish, but I’m happy you can’t leave,” I admitted.

She chuckled, tilting her head to one side, baring her neck. I kissed the soft skin there until she shuddered in my arms.

“It’s terribly bad, but I kind of like it too,” she whispered. When we reached the couch, she turned around, pushing me away with one finger. “Now, don’t go unleashing those excellent seduction skills. I need my mind clear for the session.”

“Oh, now you’re agreeing that they’re excellent?”

She shrugged one shoulder, smiling playfully. “I didn’t want to admit it right away. Might give you the impression you have lots and lots of power over me.”

Gripping her waist, I pulled her flush against my torso. I kissed her lower lip, moving slowly from one corner to the other, savoring her. Goose bumps covered her arms.

I leaned in sideways, brushing my lips on her earlobe.

“I think the case is settled,” I whispered before planting a quick kiss on her neck.

“No! No it’s not.”

“Want some more evidence?”

“Lots. But not right now. I need a clear mind for the session, remember?”

“Vaguely.”

She sat on the corner of the couch with her legs tucked next to her.

“You’re not going to make it easy for me to work, are you?”

“You’ve pegged me all wrong. I want you to be productive.” I wanted her to never leave the penthouse, but I didn’t say it out loud. It sounded crazy even in my own mind, but that was the effect Isabelle had on me. She made me want crazy things I hadn’t even considered before. “But since you’re here, I’m going to spoil you all day long.”

“Oooh, that sounds dangerous.”

I brought her coffee but moved to the bedroom once her call started, wanting to give her privacy with her client. I took my phone from the rehearsal room, where I always left it overnight, and saw I had a message from Sasha at six o’clock in the morning.

Sasha: Heads-up, the press got wind you’re seeing someone. You’ve been photographed with Isabelle coming out of the cottage. You can’t see her face in the pic, so they don’t know her identity yet, but this will make waves for sure!

I swore, clenching my fingers tightly around the phone. I had to talk to Isabelle, but first I called Paul, arranging the pickup for her laptop. He was already in the area, waiting to drive her, so a few minutes later, the plan was in motion. Paul came for the keys. Isabelle was going to have her laptop in an hour.

The question was, how long was it going to take for the press to get bored and leave? I’d experienced everything from them sticking around for two or three hours to them spending an entire day and night in front of my building.

It had been a very long time since I’d been photographed with anyone. The media was rabid, and this was new, so their payout was big. Damn it! This was exactly the kind of thing that would get people to click. Unfortunately, I knew the truth of it all—they’d stick around for a while, I was sure of that.

I made a few calls, to Sasha and then the guys, so I could get a better feeling of the situation. None of my bandmates had any press outside their homes. Sasha was trying to track down all the pictures to see if there were any that revealed Isabelle’s identity. Sometimes tabloids didn’t post their best photo from the get-go. They wanted to drum up excitement before going all out, which kept people buying.

I wanted to be prepared for any scenario, protect Isabelle any way I could. Thomas was the most sympathetic to the situation and a great help.

“Dude, this can be uncomfortable, especially for Isabelle. They drove Cami nuts.”

I remembered that only too well. They nearly broke up because of it.

“I’m trying to stay calm.”

“If it helps, Cami could talk to Isabelle, give her some tips. The situation is similar, since Cami was almost an average citizen.”

“Almost” being the operative word. Cami had been a TV show host a few years ago and knew the ropes.

“Think she’d be okay with that? I’d really appreciate it, and I think Isabelle will like it. That’s a good idea. Thanks, man.”

After finishing the conversation, I took a shower, then spent some time in the rehearsal room to kill the next half hour. I waited to go into the living room until I didn’t hear Isabelle’s voice anymore, which meant she’d finished the session.

“Hello, handsome,” she whispered when I stepped inside the room. “What news do you have for me?”

“Paul is on his way with his laptop. Can you do all your sessions today online?”

“You think the reporters will be out there the whole day?”

I sat next to her on the couch, pulling her feet in my lap.

“I don’t know. Probably not. But it’s a good excuse to keep you here all day.”

A smile inched on her face. “You’re terrible.”

I pulled her toward me until her thighs and then her ass were in my lap. She turned around clumsily, trying to prop her knees at the side of my thighs. She lost her balance, nearly tumbling backward. I caught her, one hand on her waist, the other on her back.

She smiled sheepishly, clasping my shoulders tightly.

“Oops.”

“I’ve got you.”

“My hero.” Grinning, she shimmied