"Porter?"

"Kane." He corrected.

"Yes."

"Say it." He taunted.

"I will." I evaded. Why did it seem so weird to think of him by his first name?

Because all of this is weird.

"Are you going to loan me the money?" My head dropped back against the seat, bunching my blonde hair around my face as I peered at him.

"You haven't told me what I'm getting out of it."

"What do you want?" I tossed my hands. "A great appraisal this year?"

He laughed outright. A deep, barking, masculine sound that immediately told me that something so menial mattered very little to this version of Porter.

"I take it that's a no." I said sullenly.

"It's a no to that. Sell me something, Boss Lady. Thought you were good at this."

"Are you saying you want me to fuck you?" I hissed in annoyance.

His head whipped to me. "First of all, if we did, it would absolutely be me fucking you. And secondly, no. I don't exchange favors for sex. I can get that for free."

I was stunned to silence. Giving him a long look as I realized that was very likely too.

I thought of how Teresa stared at him, and Rita was always there with her coffee pitcher.

They fawned over him.

How did I not see it before?

Because I hadn't seen his raw animal appeal before.

"What could you possibly want then?"

He shifted the car and then glanced at me sideways. "Move in with me."

I gasped and sat forward. "I thought you didn't exchange favors for sex!"

"I didn't say sex. I said live."

"Why would you want me to live with you."

He went deathly silent, and I was getting the distinct sense that he had no intention of telling me. But I had the feeling this had to do with a good deal more than sex.

Live with him?

Of all the things, I thought he might say, that seemed the most insane thing I could've never imagined.

Why would he want that?

To seduce me.

I was pretty sure that Porter had very little sexual interest in me.

"Tell me, Porter." I coaxed.

"I'm not telling you shit." He said a bit venomously though he didn't raise his voice. Shifting again he added. "You can't even get my name right."

I winced. Kane.

Why am I so bad, at this?

I used to have a gift for persuading boys to give me things I wanted. That was before I married Logan and he destroyed my self-esteem.

It had taken a long time after our break-up to build myself back up.

"It's just weird for me to say."

"It's my name." He said flatly.

"I know..."

"But?"

"It's not how I think of you."

He turned his head to give me a look that I'd have sworn saw straight through me. "How are you thinking of me now, Angel?"

Why did I shiver when he said my name in that drawling way?

I turned my head and stared out the windshield.

"Move in with me. I'll loan you the money."

"Why?" I asked again.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. I'm not much into being someone's sex slave."

"Intriguing as that sounds, Punkin'..." His gaze dropped to the long length of leg exposed by my skirt riding up while I sat in the seat.

I shifted and tugged it down.

"Told you, not into exchanging for sex."

"Then quit beating around the bush and tell me why."

"I like the presence of a woman in my apartment." He said softly. Looking back out the window again.

"Presence?"

"The smell, the feel, the presence..."

"I-I-I'm not sure that I'll meet that criteria."

"You'll meet it, Honey. You're all woman." He said it as though it were fact, more than a compliment.

Still felt like a compliment though.

"You're guaranteed to be painting your toenails while you watch some girly show. And showering with flowery shampoos and wiping your body with some kind of aloe or cocoa scented lotion and leaving tiny shoes around and playing music that will destroy every fragment of my manhood."

I was a little taken aback. All of those things are probably true.

But why does he say them so reverently.

"Why do you talk about it like that?"

His dark profile glanced at me then back out the windshield. "The presence of a woman?"

"Yes."

"Wasn't much of it in my house."

"Growing up?"

He nodded. "My dad and my brothers."

"Mom passed?" I asked gently.

"Left."

"But you said women are easy to come by."

"They are." He said dully. "But they all want more than to live next to me."

That's fair.

Looking at him now I was very sure he wouldn't find women willing to settle for that.

They'd all want to climb on him.

I wanted to climb on him.

I shook myself. Banishing the tiny, horny voice in my head.

When was the last time I had sex?

Sadly, it was Logan. Awhile after our broke up, I'd given in.

Once. And regretted it ever since.

All I could think was how dirty and oily he seemed. I no longer saw him the same as I had when I married him.

I could see how conniving he was, now.

"We're here." Porter pulled around the side of the bustling club.

I stared at the long line out front.

A guy with a clipboard was stopping people at the doors. Scanning the clipboard and writing name before deciding who went in and who waited.

"They're not going to let me in." I murmured. I'd never actually been here.

My name certainly wouldn't be on that board.

"They will." He parked the car. And rubbed a palm over the dashboard to ensure it was clean.

Glancing around I noticed that the whole car was immaculate. It smelled clean. New. Though I was sure everything he owned would smell like that for years after he had it.

"How are you so sure?" I queried. Trying to focus on the conversation.

He shrugged. Changing the subject. "You never answered me."

I didn't agree to live with him. I was stalling.

"How long are you talking?"

"Few weeks." He shrugged. Not really giving me the specifics, I hoped for.