Page 4 of Up in a Blaze (Polished P & P #4)

CHAPTER FOUR

HENRI

A figure dashed by the waiting area to my left and took my attention away from a very busy game of solitaire on the computer.

When I saw Sawyer rushing toward the break room, I stood and moved toward the tech room.

After a quick knock, I poked my head in.

“Mon amour, can you please watch the front for a moment?”

His fingers stopped flying over the keys, and he pushed his chair back to stand. No questions were asked as he made his way to me. I rocked up to my toes and kissed him quickly.

“Thank you.”

His reply was to kiss me again, palming my ass.

I skipped off to the break room and entered. Sawyer had just sat down with a tray in front of him. He didn’t look up at I approached. He was too busy hiding the packets of food he picked out from under the table in the bag he held between his feet.

My heart broke.

The poor boy was hoarding food for a reason.

“Bonjour,” I called loudly to one of the escort girls, who waved in return with a smile while she ate. I saw Sawyer jolt and pull his hand up onto the table, picking up a spoon. He stared down at the table while he slowly ate the hot dishes.

Pulling out the chair opposite him, I sat. “Bonjour.”

His cheeks flooded with heat as he glanced up and down quickly. “Hi.”

How could one as shy as him be in the sex work industry?

“I never asked, but would you wish for me to call you Sawyer or Pixie?”

He shrugged. “Either.”

“How are you settling in, chéri?”

He watched his spoon as he slid it through the stew. “Fine.”

“I wanted you to know that if there was anything you ever needed, I am willing to help. If you do not wish to speak to any of the big burly bikers, who are pussycats deep down but can seem scary, I will always lend an ear to listen.”

Even when I saw how stiff he was, there was still a small smile on his lips when I’d called the bikers pussycats.

Finally, he nodded once. “Thanks, Henri.”

“You are welcome, chéri. You can also let me know if you have any clients you wish to never see again. Like the managers here, I won’t allow anyone to hurt you, Sawyer. In any way.”

He bit down on his bottom lip just as it trembled, and he cleared his throat.

My stomach churned at the thought of someone already hurting him. “I have my own security who I can count on if you need backup.” I smiled gently. “He may look like a handsome but grumpy ogre, but I have him wrapped around my pinkie.”

It was true. My Blaze would do absolutely anything for me.

“I, um, I’ll let you know.”

I nodded. “Do you still live at home, Sawyer?”

He nodded, then shook his head, then shrugged.

I smiled softly.

“I….” He blew out a breath as his gaze flicked up to me and down to his plate. I really wondered how this boy took clients to have sex with when he was so nervous having a conversation.

Then again, there were a lot of men who liked the timidness from others.

He shook his head, lips thinning. He wasn’t ready to talk, and I worried if I pushed anymore, he wouldn’t eat and would instead leave.

Slowly, I reached over and brushed my fingers against the back of his hand. “I’ll leave you to your meal, chéri. But please do remember we are here for you.”

“Thanks,” he whispered.

My stomach tightened when I turned and left the poor boy there, knowing there was something going on in his life that I believed wasn’t good for him.

Would it be wrong of me if I asked mon amour to trail him?

I didn’t know what best suited in this situation. Did we push to help and risk losing him altogether or wait for him to come to someone?

Loyal stood at the front counter talking with Blaze, but I knew it would be Loyal doing most of the talking. Blaze preferred to speak when necessary, and it was never much.

When we’d first started dating years ago, he’d been worried I would end up annoyed with how little he spoke. But I learned I did enough talking for the both of us and that when Blaze did speak, it was always meaningful.

Well, that was most of the time, except when he teased me in some way about my attitude. The little liar liked everything about me.

“How’d it go with Pixie?” Loyal asked.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. Blaze stood from my chair and ushered me into it. “He’s not ready for help, but I do worry there is something happening.” I frowned. “He was hiding food in his bag.”

“Shit,” Loyal bit out. “Doesn’t look like his home life is good then.”

“I tried to ask if he still lived at home, but he didn’t give me a straight answer.”

“Don’t the managers do a background check on all the employees?” Blaze asked.

I hummed. “Maybe it would be good to speak to one of them.”

Loyal tipped his chin up. “I’ll go talk to Saint. Catch ya later.”

Nodding, I spun my chair to my man, pouting.

“What?”

“He is so young to be walking around here with the weight of the world on his shoulders, mon amour.”

His finger slid under my chin and tipped my head back a little, and his thumb glided over my bottom lip. “Tell me what you need, and I’ll do anything to deliver.”

My heart galloped. This man was so intimidating to most. Too scary and silent. But he was my world.

And I was very grateful I reached out to him when Dusty had been kidnapped or else I would have lost my chance to be with the love of my life.

“Mon amour,” I whispered.

He ducked down, pressing his lips to mine, and there he said, “You’re mine, Henri. Mine to tease. Mine to fuck. Mine to mark. But also mine to take care of in every damn way.”

The need to have him fuck me right then and there pushed at me and had my cock fattening.

“When we get home, I need you to tease and fuck and mark me as soon as we’re through the door.”

There was a deep sigh, but we didn’t look away from each other when Tech said, “And it’s a few hours until that time, so can we get back to it, Blaze?”

My man didn’t move or say anything.

“Henri,” Tech whined.

Smiling, I kissed Blaze’s jaw. “We will talk more at home, mon amour. Go to your friend. He misses you and craves your attention?—”

“Fuck off, I do not,” Tech snapped.

I loved taunting that man. It was easy rile him up. I knew nothing would happen between either man. Tech was very much heterosexual. I just knew Blaze enjoyed his company as they worked side by side on their devices.

Blaze made a noise in the back of his throat, kissed me hard, and left to follow Tech back into their computer room.

It still amused me that Blaze had forced Tech to move their toys here. However, I was sure Tech knew that Blaze would be a horror to work with if he wasn’t close to me when working the front counter at the escort agency.

Honestly, my beau’s possessiveness was such a turn-on. But I was just as fiercely protective and needy about Blaze as he was me.

The front doors opened, and I looked over with a smile. “Welcome to Polished P & P. How may I help?”

The gentleman made his way over with a blush to his cheeks. “I have a booking.” He must have been new since I’d never seen him before. Unless he only visited infrequently.

“Certainly. Who are you seeing, chéri?”

His gazed flared. “No. I’m, um, I’m not seeing a Sherry. I….” He blew out a breath, and the blush spread. I wanted to hug the man.

“Non, I am French. When I say chéri, it means sweetie or darling.”

He winced. “Oh, sorry.”

“No need to be. Your name and who are you seeing?”

“Brody Mullock, and Carnal,” he whispered.

Surprise had me blinking up at him. Carnal was a femboy with attitude, and this gentleman radiated anxiety. Winking, I grinned. “Perfect.” I added that Brody had arrived in the system, since it didn’t show Carnal was ready. “Your man will be down to see you shortly. Just wait over there for him.”

He nodded. “Thanks.” With his gaze low, he made his way over to the waiting area. He dropped down into a chair and hunched his shoulders.

The doors opened again, and a woman swayed her way up to the desk.

“Hey, honey. I have an appointment with Hunter.”

“Of course, chéri.” After clicking a few buttons, I said, “I’ve let him know you’re here. Just take a seat, and he’ll be down shortly.”

She winked and went over to a couch to sit. I watched her take out her phone to scroll through some things.

The doors opened again. It was another client. Obviously, the previous customers had left when I was speaking with Sawyer.

What I liked most about the job was meeting all the different people who wanted to spend time with our prostitutes. I would love to know if they were different from the other clientele that just wanted an escort for a date or company. I didn’t get to meet any of those, though.

For the next while, I was busy greeting people and taking calls. I was able to schedule recurring clients with their favorites, but if there was anyone new contacting the agency, I passed them over to a manager. There was a lot of screening before they allowed someone new to enter the premises.

Clients used to be able to book for home visits, but that stopped a while ago because management didn’t want to risk the employees any longer. It was a good call as I’d heard there’d been a few incidents that could have been disastrous if it wasn’t for the security they had with them.

I took a sip from my water bottle as I glanced to the waiting area. Carnal’s guy was still sitting there. He should have been down here half an hour ago to collect him.

Picking up my phone, I pressed the button for Saint’s office.

“Yeah?”

“Carnal’s client is still waiting. Do you know why?” If Carnal got too far behind, it would mess up his next couple of appointments.

“There was a situation with the previous client. It’s been handled, so he’ll be down shortly.”

I supposed it would be bad if I asked what happened. Probably. Instead, I said, “I will inform this man down here.”

“Thanks, Henri.”

After hanging up, I stood and walked over to the gentleman. “Excuse me, Mr. Mullock.”

“Brody, please.” He straightened in his seat.

“Brody, I am sorry for the delay. Carnal shall be down in the next few moments.”

“Okay.” He nodded, and his gaze flicked to me and then the elevator just as I heard the doors ding open. I turned to take in Carnal strutting out in a short leather skirt, a mesh top, and ankle boots. He smiled over at Brody as he walked over, running a hand through his black hair.

“B, it’s good to see you.”

Brody stood in a rush, blushing. “Yeah, um, you too.”

Carnal bumped his hip against mine as he came to a stop. “Thanks for minding him, Henri.”

“It was no trouble, chéri. He’s a cute one.”

Brody’s blush spread down his neck.

Carnal snorted, reaching out and taking Brody’s hand to drag him close. “Don’t let your man hear you say that, or he’ll get cranky.”

I cackled. “But I like it when he gets cranky.”

Carnal grinned. “Of course you do. Later, Henri.”

“Au revoir.”

Brody waved awkwardly before Carnal led him to the elevator.

I cocked my head to the side, watching them.

Carnal said something to Brody that made him grin and blush, ducking his head down until Carnal threaded his fingers in Brody’s hair and forced the man to look at him.

Carnal said something else, and Brody’s reply had Carnal smirking.

If they were strippers and offered a private dance together, they would make millions. Everyone would want to see them together.

I gasped at my own thought.

Strippers.

The club was already involved in prostitution, so why wouldn’t they venture into exotic dancers as well?

An excited thrill rolled through my belly.

I wanted it.

I would invest money into the business, and I was certain with my guidance we could make it thrive. After all, I’d owned and run my own stores, but I also had dancing skills from school, and then when I went to college, I did pole dancing to keep fit.

There was also my natural talent for makeup and design. I could already picture how I wanted the place to look. Blaze did say I always had a vivid imagination. Oh, we could do themes like college students, cops, paramedics.

Gasping, I widened my eyes. We could do role-playing taboo shows, pretend the dancers are step-related while they put on a show together. If anyone wanted a private dance with that type of theme, we could charge so much more.

My mind spun with all different ideas, and I was sure some of the employees who worked here would be interested. Stripping could also be something they prefer over attending to clients.

When the doors opened, I turned and waved. “Bonjour.” I made my way over to the desk and asked, “Welcome to Polished. Can I take your name and who you’re here to see?”

For now, I had work to do, but later, I would bring my idea up with Blaze.

Hopefully he loved the idea, because I really wanted to be involved and not just as an investor.

I could sew some costumes, help with makeup, and help them with moves to seduce the customers. I excelled in all fields.

There would be much to organize, but the possibility was exciting.