Warning: Cheating, referances to drugs, references to prostitution
Summary:

Kat watched from the window as he held the photograph. She could see the subtle shake in his tight grip. She wasn't sure what to even say.

"I'm sorry," she finally said after the long silence.

The man with the photograph sat at the end of one of the two twin motel beds. He let out a sound, a mixture of a sigh and sad groan. He took a second to rub his face with his hand.

"You didn't know..." he said into his palm. The palm that held his wedding ring.

"I know" Kat said, not wanting the silence to come back, "but I feel.... bad for being the one that had to tell you...."

She fidgeted with the camera in her hand. The same camera that had caught a picture of the prince's fiance; with another man. The same prince that was sitting on her shitty bed in her shitty $60 a night motel room. The same man she followed to pay for it.

He huffed a slight laugh. "Well at least you did it before the actual wedding" he said putting the photo down on the bed. It must have been hard to look at after all. He stood up and made his way to the minibar before pulling out the tiny bottles.

She watched, almost impressed, at how he down bottles two at a time before remembering it was her name on the room. She raised her hand in an attempt to stop him from draining the few funds from her bank account. "Wanna go to a real bar?" She said with humor.

"You think that's a good idea?" He said look at her patiently. He was famous. More than famous.

"Better than spending $50 on a shot...." she said gesturing to the menu above the tiny fridge.

He picked up the foldout paper. He sniffed as if laughing at a joke nobody said. He pulled out his wallet placing a couple hundreds on the fridge before putting the paper trifold back down. He nodded, again she could see the weight of his grief.

"Lets go to a bar then" he said casually.

"After you, your majesty"

That at least made him crack a smile. "You can call me by my first name..." he said as he put on the jacket that got him there.

"Right, Prince Dimitri?"

He actually smiled that time. "Dallas is fine."

That's when Kat was reminded why he was such a selling point for the tabloid. He was handsome. She couldn't deny that. But he was also royalty, so it would be a crime if he wasn't handsome, she supposed. She swallowed any kind of attraction she felt, before giving him a smile back.

"Dallas it is."

-🖤🖤-

The trip to the bar was a bit more complicated than planned. Not wanting to take his bodyguards with him, they went through the pool side entrance. He had his face covered with a mask and a hat as they climbed into Kat's beat up Corolla. She peeled out the parking lot quickly, the sound of her bumper hitting the pavement as she drove off.

He told her the guards would wait until night and as long as they were back before midnight, it would be fine. Very Cinderella. Kat set a timer on her phone just in case. There was no way she was going to royal jail for that.

It was only the late afternoon. The sun was just barely setting and the wind was cooling in the Los Angeles heat.

"Do you.... have a preference?" she said almost lamely. Like where the fuck do you take a prince to drink?

His voice was a bit muffled behind the mask. He was probably overheating in all the layers. "Anywhere I can't be recognized I guess..." he said, not sure either. Maybe they should have stayed in the room, "or at least with people who won't tell...."

Kat paused at the stop light. She thumped her thumbs against the steering wheel. "Well" she said after a moment of thinking, "I have an option for the second one but I don't know if you'll like it..."

Dallas turned to look at her, hard to tell what he was thinking behind sunglasses and a mask.

"Just trust me" she followed up confidently.

The rest of the drive was quiet. He just looked out the window as they traveled the street roads further and further down south. That was fine. She was still trying to come to the fact she had a prince worth more than her car at full value sitting next to her. They didn't exactly hang out. He hired her to follow his future wife and she did. Every week she would check in with him at that same motel and she would run through the pictures she had taken. Guess she was just too good at the job, because eventually she found what he had been looking for. He basically paid her to break his heart. Kind of dark when she thought about it too long. So instead she didn't, she just drove.

When they got to the big building, the neon had been switched on. The sexy ladies danced against the orange light as the strip club sign blinked from the fried bulbs. It was comforting to Kat, but she could see the stiff way he was getting out the car; it wasn't so much for Dallas.

"A strip club?" he whispered, pulling her back against the car. "Are you insane?"

"Relax" she said rolling her eyes, "Senators, business men, anybody you can think of strolls through here. They keep their mouth shut, and even if they didn't, the only paparazzi they like is me."

He paused, hand still on her arm. It was like he was putting a puzzle together with her face. She blinked at him. "They're your informants, aren't they!" He said a little too loud, making Kat shush him.

She leaned forward. "Seriously?"

Dallas swallowed. What was he so nervous about?

"We'll get a private room,"she said with a sigh, "nobody will even know we're there."

"You know how that sounds right?" He said.

She sighed through her nose again. "You wanted a place nobody would say if they saw you. And this is the place," she said the warmth from the palm on her arm was starting to become distracting. She leaned in closer, any closer than that she would be kissing his chest. "The longer we are out here, the more likely we are to be seen. Grow some balls and come on. Naked women aren't going to hurt you."

She slid out of his grasp easily and walked toward the building. Nervously, Dallas followed after her. He kept his hands in his pockets, as Kat waved security to get in. She strolled straight up to the mostly empty bar. She knocked her knuckles against the counter.

"I'm coming, I'm-- kat!" The woman behind the bar voice changed from irritation into immediate welcoming excitement. "Where have you been, girl! You didn't tell me you had a date tonight."

She gestured to Dallas who was standing there incredibly awkwardly. He didn't know where to look as he was practically glued to Kats side. It's not like anybody could see his eyes anyways with the sunglasses. Kat covered her mouth for a moment pretending to cough. He looked so stupid standing there in his awkwardness as another woman tried to talk to him.

"Oh you know me, girl!" Kat said casually, alluding to her real purpose, "Less dating, more business."

"Ah" the bartender, Cindy, said with a knowing nod. She glanced at Dallas who was still doing his best not to be rude to the stripper trying to get a dance from him. Kat sighed but confirmed with a nod. "Room 4 is booked but I can give you 2 if you don't mind the ceiling mirror."

"Who took room 4?" Kat said, irritated that someone else took her favorite room. It had the best couches!

"Lottie."

"Ugh fuck bitch-Lottie"

"Honestly fuck bitch-Lottie"

"Not even room 1" Kat almost whined.

"Reserved" Cindy said, taking the room 2 placard and waving it in front of Kat's face.

Kat scoffed but took the plastic door hanger. That room was such a pervert room. "Don't worry about sending anybody over, I'll be our bottle girl tonight. "

"Ooo!" Cindy teased, "lucky man!" She winked at them as Kat headed off to the room number. Dallas was quick to be behind her. "I'll put it on the tab!" She yelled after them.

Kat waved back at her before unlocking the room and heading inside. She closed the door behind them before putting up the plastic sign. The room itself was not one of her favorites. The couches were newer making them stiffer. The dimmer barely worked and the ceiling mirror made it feel more sleazy then it truly was. The nicest part of the room was also the corniest: the theme. Hearts. Hearts everywhere. On the wallpaper, on the ceiling. Heart shaped table, heart shaped furniture. Even the ceiling mirror was in a heart shape.

Dallas stood there. He looks so odd and out of place, it was pretty funny. Rather than laugh in his face she swallowed it down.

"Preference for drinks?" she said, trying to get out of the room without bursting into a fit of giggles.

"Whiskey...." he said rather quickly, "vodka if you have it. Full bottle."

She could see the red on his ears. It was unbelievably adorable and she didn't know how to handle it. He was a huge towering man but he was standing there like he's about to combust at a heart shaped couch. "I'll see what I can do," she said quickly, going back out of the room.

She walked to the bar asking for the bottles and then taking a moment to order her own. She made small talk with some of the dancers as Cindy loaded up her tray.

"He walk heavy?" she joked, raising an eyebrow.

Kat snorted. "I'll let you know," she said as she hauled the tray against her hip. She could hear Cindy's laugh as she opened their room.

Dallas was still standing but he had taken off his jacket and hat. He jumped a little when she had come in but when realizing it was only her he took off his mask as well.

She did her best not to freak him out and started placing everything on the table. She sat on the large heart loveseat and laid out the shot glasses to pour them each one, but before she could, Dallas took the fresh bottle of vodka and cracked the seal. He unscrewed the lid and took a large drink from it. He took, in fact, a fourth of the bottle down. Honestly, Kat hadn't seen anything like that in a while.

He let out a sigh as he placed the bottle back on the table. He was a bit out of breath before he sat down next to her. Their legs were touching from such a small seat. "Sorry" he said, wiping his chin with the back of his hand.

Kat blinked at him, hands still on the two shot glasses. "No it's alright," she said with a bit of a laugh, "it looked like you needed it." She still poured herself a shot. Better now before he downed the whole bottle.

Her face screwed up a little and she heard him snort.

"It's cheap vodka," he said as went for it again.

"Well it's a cheap strip club," she said, taking her actual ordered drink. She noticed him looking. "Long Island" she offered, holding it out.

There was a moment of hesitation before he took the long glass. He used the same straw as her and he sipped it.

"It...." he said, handing it back, "not very good."

She laughed. "You're lucky I don't tell Cindy you said that."

He laughed with her. "The bartender, she your friend?"

It was interesting that she could start to hear his accent slip in. Maybe the vodka was what he needed. He at least seemed much more relaxed. "Yeah, we go way back. We used to work together."

He took another swig, before letting out another sigh. It probably burned. "You used to be bartender?"

Kat barked a loud laugh. "No," she took a longer sip of her drink, "no not at all!" Dallas looked at her, almost seemingly confused. Kat laughed harder, "I was a dancer."

She saw it almost immediately, the glance down to her body. She was used to that. It didn't help that they were drinking together in a love room at a strip club. Normally it was sleazy, a look that made her grip a can of pepper spray. She wasn't used to how ashamed he looked after looking at her like that. She blinked. "Ah."

"Sorry!" he said, jumping a bit, the red of his ears displaying his embarrassment. He looked away, straight at the wall in front him like a toy army soldier. His grip tightened around the bottle in front of him for a moment, before taking a long drink. She was going to let it go when he spoke again.

"That was inappropriate," he said stiffly, letting the bottle stand on his knee. He paused before mumbling, "I shouldn't have done that."

"It's alright" she said with a shrug, before taking another drink from her glass, "when you sell your body, you get used to people trying to window shop." Didn't mean she liked it, but she was used it. Besides, it was usually easier to swallow when the other party was attractive.

She could see air release from his chest as he shoulders relaxed a little. He didn't look away from the wall though. "It was still inappropriate," he said.

She snorted. She glanced him over, this time taking in all of his body in her slightly drunken mind. Strong arms, strong pecs she could see even under his generic t-shirt he used as a disguise. Well fitted jeans, not too right but gripped his thighs nicely when he sat. Well secured belt, bit of a cowboy look with his work boots that looked too scuffed to be a prince's. He looked so regular.

"Do you want a lap dance?"

He choked and Kat burst from holding in her laughter. He looks taken aback, but then again Kat had a bad habit of just saying things.

"I'm sorry?" He said, wiping his chin.

"Well if we're going to be inappropriate-"

That does get a bit of a laugh out of him, even if it's an awkward one. She could see his face red, but didn't push it. Kat just couldn't figure it out.

She tilted her head, still slightly laughing. "Are you like... religious or something?" She said very directly.

Dallas paused mid-vodka shot. "What?"

"I mean you looked like you were going to burst into flames just coming in here," she shrugged again leaning back on the soft chair. She could feel the warmth in her chest blooming from drinking. She was a lightweight, and Cindy was heavy handed.

"No I....." he still wouldn't turn but she could see him take the bottle to his lips. He swallowed his own words. His ears were red.

Her nosey nature hated that. She raised an eyebrow.

"You what?"

He paused, the leg that was touching hers, moved against it. "I'm not religious, no...." he said softly.

She hummed. "Are you gay?"

He actually laughed at that. Like a full laugh for once. "I don't know but all that but I like women if you're asking that."

Kat snorted as she laughed at him. She knocked her leg against his.

"You sure?"

He finally turned to look at her. She could tell he was trying to hold her gaze but his eyes still drifted down, lingering on her body before they quickly looked away. At this point he had to be buzzed. She felt her breath pick up a bit, but refused to acknowledge it. She couldn't take him staring at her. It made her stomach tingle a bit in excitement and she giggled at the thought. That's the last thing she needed right now. The alcohol already made her brain confused.

"I'm sure."

"Then what is it?" She said leaning forward, and sitting up. She drank the last of her drink before attempting to open the Whiskey bottle. After a moment of struggling the bottle was taken gently from her and the cap was cracked. He handed it back to her just as gently. "Virgin?"

He laughed at that too, shaking his head. He sniffed as though thinking for a moment. "Promise you won't laugh?"

She raised an eyebrow, taking the bottle and pouring two shots. She handed him one. "Pinky promise," She said, looping his pinky in hers, before taking the shot. He did the same. She made that same face where she screwed up her eyebrows. Jesus what was this shit. She shivered, slamming the cup down the same time he did.

"Pretty women make me nervous," he confessed. She blinked at him. Her cheeks expanded a little as she tried to keep it in. He pointed at her. "You said you wouldn't laugh," he said accusatively.

"Seriously? Just pretty women?" She fought every little giggle that escaped. "You don't seem nervous around me," she continued, knocking her knuckles against his bicep, "does that make me ugly? "

He barked a laugh that almost sounded crazy. Like he was told a joke nobody else heard. "No... no-no," he laughed more, "no, you were the worst. You're gorgeous. I had to keep looking at pictures of you to get used to that. "

She let the compliment slide by laughing at his absurdity. If she focused on it, she would go insane. What kind of person confesses to that? What did he even mean by looking at her picture; was he literally desensitizing himself to her. That sounded so ridiculous. Sweet but also incredibly creepy. Luckily they were both drunk enough not to notice or care about her moving past the subject. "You have pictures of me?" She said, punching him in the arm, harder this time.

They paused to take another shot together.

"We had to investigate you to hire you," taking the last of the entire vodka bottl as a horrible chaser. He placed it on the table with a sigh cutting through his laughter.

Kat narrowed her eyes, before glancing at his jacket. "Is it on your phone....? She said teasingly as she moved the edge of her seat.

They were definitely both drunk since before she could even launch her body off the chair to grab his jacket, he grabbed her by the waist and dragged her back to the chair. He kept her there, looming over her. His arm blocked her as his hand held the side of the small chair. They were way too close but way too giggly to notice. Her hands rested against his chest but they pulled him in rather than pushed him away. She could feel his swaying from being as drunk as she was.

"Is that why, hahah, you never talked to me in person at first?" She said trying to solve a puzzle half laughing.

"Its easier over the phone," he said laughing back at her, "not by much. You, hahaha, have a nice voice."

"Even my voice!?" She couldn't stop laughing, it was just so ridiculous. It didn't even sound sarcastic, he sounded sincere which just made her laugh more which made him laugh more. He had rested his head against her shoulder, almost trying to make it stop but the shake of his shoulders continued.

"You know that sounds insane right?" She bubbled out in laughter.

He snickered. "Are you making fun of me? For my condition?" He said, in a voice of false disbelief.

Kat tapped her chin, trying to pretend to think but her smile never faltered no matter how much she tried to restrain it. "Uhmmmm..." she said, mocking him, "yeah actually."

He shrugged. "I mean it's kind of your fault," he said, his face dangerously close to bursting into laughter again.

She sighed sarcastically. "You're right!" She said with one hand resting on her forehead, the other on Dallas' shoulder, "I should have been less gorgeous."

Dallas lost it at that. Him being the first to laugh, made Kat immediately follow him into a fit of nonsensical giggling. She didn't know how long they sat there just laughing. They were still giggling when his lips hovered over hers. There were still slight giggles when she leaned up and kissed him. It wasn't until she stuck her tongue in that they were less laughing and more exchanging long breaths. Her hands came up cup his face and she could feel his short beard under her fingers and palm as she kissed him softly. She could taste vodka on his breath and she could tell he definitely wasn't a virgin from how he kissed. It wasn't until she moaned against his mouth that he broke the kiss abruptly.

She followed him as he pulled away, before falling back against the loveseat. The other hand that caged her, held the seat behind her head to protect it. He didn't get far as Kat still had her hand on his shirt and she became aware of her legs sitting on his as she tangled them together.

"Sorry..." Dallas said and Kat almost burst with laughter again. She held it in, only letting a few snickers escape.

" I kissed you ," she said, her tone obvious, "shouldn't i--"

"I kissed you back," he interrupted with a small sigh, "and you're drunk..."

"So are you..." she countered again, fingers messing with his shirt.

He practically rolled his eyes in the way he rolled his shoulders. "Except I'm the one... getting married," he said evenly.

Kat huffed, looking less at his face and more at his shirt. The way she was practically pouting and grumbling didn't help her drunk case. "Yeah well... she cheated first."

"Doesn't mean I should..."

"But you already kissed me..." she was practically whining at this point but way too drunk to care.

"Kat..." he said firmly.

She groaned. She was getting drunk frustrated. The worst kind of frustration. "So, you're actually going to marry her?" She asked, bunching up his shirt.

"I have duties-"

"Uuggh"

Dallas snorted as she refused to let him go. "I'm a prince. It's arranged."

Kat rolled around a little bit. "Yeah and it fucking sucks."

He let out a sigh, pulling her closer instinctively. "Yeah it does fucking suck."

Kat sighed but let him go. She crossed her arms. She didn't want to be here with him anymore. This whole thing just made her drunk brain irritated. "Whatever," she said, disconnecting, "we should go back to the motel. This was a bag idea."

Dallas watched her for a bit before pulling back. She felt cold and it made her more mad. "Right..." he said with a nod, "I'll call Sullivan..."

At that point Kat didn't care. She reached for the Whiskey bottle and took 3 shots in quick succession. And from there she had a mixture of memories as she emptied that bottle of whiskey. She knows she was carried out, though she wasn't sure by who. She knows he paid, because he had paid even her past tabs. And she knows Sullivan was actually the name of one of the body guards as that familiar black SUV picked them up. She remembers complaining about her car and was told it would be taken care of, but as soon as she hit the soft expansive leather, she knocked out.

-🖤🖤-

The pound on the front of the motel door did not help her hangover at all. Kat practically crawled off her bed to at least find some pants to put on as she lay in her underwear and a tanktop. She put the same ones on from the night before, remembering a bit of her shame but the knocking not letting her dwell in it. Not bothering to put on anything else, threw open the door.

"Alright alright, What the fuck!? I paid for the week," she shouted expecting that slimy man from the front desk. Instead she was greeted by tall men in dark suits and sunglasses.

Her immediate reaction was to run but as she had the worst headache of her life, they grabbed her first. One man took her by each forearm, practically lifting her feet off the ground from how tall they were. It didn't stop her from kicking and making a bunch of noise.

That was until they got close to the car and she saw Sullivan.

"You! You!!" She yelled as she was shoved into the van. Her knees were knocked against the seat as another man entered the other side of the SUV, squeezing her in the middle. She felt like she was going to have a heart attack.

Was she going to die? Was she going to be sent to death for kissing a Russian oligarch? She expected to be assassinated unexpectedly for a shit article, not all this. She was doing her best to keep breathing as she rode. The entire car was quiet until they reached a very expensive looking hotel on the outskirts of Beverly hills. The whole time she was thinking of ways to beg for her life.

Dallas seemed to like her. The way he had kissed her at least made it obvious he was attracted to her. Jesus Christ. She knew how to flirt but she didn't know if she could do this.

She was pulled from the van the same way she was put in. Practically lifted off the ground as they pulled her through the main foyer of the hotel. Kat didn't really have time to be impressed at the beauty of this place. It even smelled expensive which really hit her nose in the worst way. Nobody looked up or even glanced at her, as she was dragged through the room.

"Kat?"

The guards halted almost immediately. She wasn't dropped but she was let down to stand on her own. She could feel the cold tile on her bare feet. She didn't even get a chance to grab shoes.

The contrast of how underdressed she was compared to how nicely dressed he was almost comical if she didn't think she was gonna die in the next hour or so. Dallas was wearing nice black slacks and a nice periwinkle dress shirt. He had his jacket in his hand as he had been adjusting his watch. His hair was combed back and his beard was clean and combed. He looked just as nice cleaned up as he had dirty last night.

The guard stayed way too close to her as Dallas walked over to them. "What are you doing here?" he said softly, only to her. He looked her up and down, almost as if checking for any injuries.

A couple of things happened in Kat's brain.

Their accidental not-date rebound drink session showed she kind of liked him and the relief she just felt only reinforced it. But that was a massive can of worms she didn't have time to digest about an almost married man. He, also, did not seem to want her dead. As a matter of fact he looks as confused as she did. And lastly her hangover was starting to catch up with her making her feel nauseous.

She could barely speak for a moment trying to keep her puke down. Luckily, from who the fuck knows where, Sullivan moved past them all going up to Dallas to whisper in his ear.

She couldn't understand a single word of it as it was all in Russian. From his reaction it didn't seem good. His face turned from surprise to irritation quickly. He rolled his shoulders, the way Kat had recognized as him rolling his eyes. He waved at the extra guards.

"Alright, alright," he said as Sullivan tried to speak to him more. He took the jacket he wasn't wearing and put it on Kat's shoulders for which she was grateful. She didn't notice that she had been shivering. She was a bit more focused on not vomiting on his nice shoes.

"Shoo," he said, continuing to wave off the guards. "Shoo! go on!"

The reaction from them felt like fear as they scrambled to get away from them. The only one that stayed was Sullivan. It was an odd reaction but then again she was just as scared shitless at being brought here.

He gestured for them to walk. "Are you alright?"

Kat wanted to give him a smile but instead her stomach lurched. "I'm going to throw up," she said more as a warning.

Dallas was quick on his feet as he grabbed a nearby plant. She immediately released any food and alcohol she had left from yesterday. She could feel his hand on her back, rubbing soothingly as he guided them to an elevator. In fact, he guided her all the way to the room as she held the planter for dear life.

The room was nice. She could see his mystery jacket from last night sitting on one of the chairs. The room was huge with a TV and a sofa along with an entire kitchen. The soft light filtered from huge windows, obscured by the curtains. It was like a small apartment in its size. It was day compared to the night of her motel. He led her to one of the sofas.

"I..." he paused, checking his watch, "I have to be somewhere but I'm going to have someone to bring you some meds and order some food, okay?"

She held onto his wrist stopping him from going. "You-you're not going to kill me for kissing you right?" She said pathetically.

He looked like he wanted to laugh a little, but apologetic in the same. He knelt down next to her. "Nobody is going to hurt you," he said before his watch started beeping. He sighed through his nose as he checked his watch again. "Take a nap. I'll be back soon. I promise."

Kat nodded at him, reluctantly letting him go. "Okay," she said as he gave her one last look before leaving the room.

It was only after the soft click of the door that she remembered she was still wearing his suit jacket. She sat in the quiet room for a moment. It felt so surreal. Was she even allowed to let it all sink in? She put her arms through the jacket before standing slowly. She held the planter as she wobbled around trying to find the bathroom.

She found the bedroom at least. It looked so comfortable. It must have just been made from how nice it looked. She placed the plant down to the side before crawling in. She would just remake it before he got back. But as she sank into the cool sheets, she understood why people said Egyptian cotton was magical. Her headache even eased as she lay there, curled in his jacket, expensive sheets and the cool darkness of the room. She yawned as she could feel herself falling asleep.

-🖤🖤-

Kat stretched her arms out, letting out a long sigh as she relaxed. She felt drowsy and she didn't know how long she had slept but it could have been more than an hour or two. She paused laying in the bed. With her headache eased she finally let it sink it.

This was insane.

She had been working for a man for months, finally met him a couple weeks ago, went to a bar with him last night, kissed him. And that one was a big one, but she'll have to come back to that. And now she was laying in his suit jacket in his bed.

Was she a mistress? Is this how people became mistresses? Kat thought it should at least happen a little slower, right? She usually reported on this, she had never been in the position of such a situation.

And she was shitty at it.

They barely kissed. They barely did anything other than talk about payments and movements of his wife and where she could find her. The one single moment of weakness where she felt bad for him led to her being drunk enough to kiss him. And now she was a mistress. Insanity.

Shs sighed deeply. Oh she was so fucked. And not even the fun kind since he was too nice to even do that.

Right. She needed to just be calm and when he came back, they would figure out what to do next. She sat up, keeping his jacket on. She didn't have a bra on and even though her chest wasn't exactly large, the AC definitely tried to challenge that. Besides, it felt nice. The smell of food wafted through the crack in the bedroom door and it smelled so good. He could have been back already.

She slid off the bed and slowly made her way to the door. She peaked out and could see the table covered in different types of food. Her stomach that had once refused to even think about food, grumbled for nourishment.

She slid through the door and made her way to the table.

There was so much food. The plates were filled with berries and fresh melon along with bananas, oranges and sliced pineapple. She could see a plate of scrambled eggs next to a plate with bacon and, at least, 3 different kinds of sausages. Plates of freshly toasted bread and recently made pancakes sat nearby, so fresh they still steamed a little. She could see the glass holders filled with orange juice and ice water along with a covered container that smelled of fresh brewed coffee.

"He was not sure what you wanted and got carried away."

Kat practically jumped out of her skin. She spun around. This woman was tall and slender, long flowing dark brunette hair and clear fair skin. She wore a suit and her hair was pulled back out of her face. Her face rested in disgust as Kat stood there like a deer in the headlights. She had no clue when this woman appeared near the bedroom door.

"He was worried and asked me to watch the door."

Kat blinked. And was a middle reader. Horrible.

But that made sense. Dallas said someone would bring her medication. This must be that someone.

"Kat." She said, holding out her hand, trying to be friendly.

The lady held up hers to stop any advancement. "I know who you are."

"Oh...." her hand dropped, "okay..."

"Ruth." She was very stiff as she said it. Head held high. "I'm his ..... assistant."

Kat nodded as she moved towards the table trying to be as casual as possible. "Didn't know royal people had assistants," she said, popping a blueberry into her mouth.

"They do."

Okay.

Kat looked down at the food as she could tell Ruth was not going to move from where she stood. She started picking at things rather than filling a plate, but the more she ate the more she realized how hungry she really was. She took a fork stabbing at some eggs before shoving them in her mouth. They were heavenly and perfectly scrambled.

Mouth still full she asked her awkward company, "so have you worked with him long?"

The woman did not respond.

Okay.

Kat made a face as she snapped a piece of bacon. She poured some of the orange juice and took a sip. Oh. Mimosa.

"Does royalty usually stay in rooms like this?" She said, picking up a slice of pineapple, "I've never been inside before...."

Nothing again.

Okay.

"uh...." she paused to think less of what to ask and what she could be allowed to ask. "Do you know when he's coming back?"

The woman finally broke her stare to check her watch. "Breakfast ends in 90 minutes. He should be back then." She said before going back to staring at her.

Oh cool. She gets to put up with this for 90 whole minutes.

"He said he was going to leave me medication--"

"Under the silver tray. Blue is with aspirin and white is not. He did not know if you had an allergy."

Kat reached over a couple plates before lifting the tiny lid on a tiny tray. "Wow" she said just pausing for a moment, "he really thinks of everything..."

"Of course he does!"

Okay.

Kat sighed through her nose before taking the blue pills with a sip of Mimosa. She finally sat down at the table and ate. Again she didn't bother with the plate, preferring to just eat off everything. She could tell by the silence and look of disgust, this annoyed her company.

"Ya know " she said, cheeks full of pancakes, "it would make the time pass a lot faster by making conversation."

Ruth's face flinched. "I do not wish to have a conversation with...." she paused, Kat raised her eyebrow, "a woman who would dare sleep with another woman's husband."

Kat's laugh honestly started as a scream. There's no way! She was laughing so much, she had to look away, her hands coming up in a wave. "Good god, they're not even married!" she said before going back to stabbing delicious fluffy pancakes, "and no we kissed for maybe like a minute!"

Ruth stiffened, but Kat continued munching and crunching.

"Don't get me wrong," she said waving her fork around, "he's hot and I'm morally dubious enough to consider, but he turned me down. And I'm a gracious woman who takes rejection quite well."

Ruth blinked at her.

Kat could feel the irritation roll as crunched on bacon, still talking since she didn't expect a response. "But no it didn't do any further unlike the duchess..."

Ruth stiffened again.

"Like she was full on plowing that man," Kat said, stabbing a blueberry on top of the pancake before eating, "and he's such a sweet guy I don't know why anybody would want to cheat on him--"

"Duchess Nataliya would never do that!" Ruth said very sternly. She looked so tense.

Kat slowly stabbed a grape. "I mean the picture of her with another man says otherwise."

Ruth looked a bit angry at that. It was a little funny as that was the first actual expression she had shown other than disgust. "Excuse me for not believing in a self admitted morally dubious woman..." she said a bit of venom in her voice

Kat grinned at that. "Point proven," She said with a bit of a laugh.

Ruth did not laugh with her.

"But being morally dubious is what the paparazzi is, isn't it?" Kat said casually before stabbing another grape.

Ruth squinted for a moment before her face returned to resting disgust. It could have been confusion but then again Kat couldn't really tell.

Kat continued to eat for the next couple minutes in silence. Maybe she spoke too much. It often got her into trouble actually but she loved to talk! Sitting in the awkward silence was just going to stress her out.

It didn't last long as she heard the click of the door.

She perked up and she noticed Ruth's head snap in the direction as well.

She didn't imagine it in a state of delirium, Dallas looked good all cleaned up. He had a button undone and his sleeves rolled up. His hair was still pulled back and his beard still nicely brushed. She wanted to touch it.

As soon as he locked eyes with her, he smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey," he said casually, hand coming up in a half wave.

Kat felt herself smiled more. He was just so dorky it was kind of cute. She was going to respond but she was interrupted. Ruth spoke first. "Sir, breakfast hasn't concluded."

Dallas didn't break their eye contact. "Ah yeah...." he said watching Kat, his smile didn't falter. "Nat left early and I didn't have a reason to be there."

Ruth looked to say something again but Dallas cut her off.

"Can you go check on her for me, actually?" he said pointing toward the door.

Ruth blinked a little in surprise. She looked between Dallas and Kat but gave a curt nod. She quietly walked past Dallas through the big door and out the room. There was a bit of silence between them without the extra company.

"She's fun..." Kat said once she was sure they were alone.

The smile on his face crept closer to sarcastic. "Oh yeah," Dallas said walking closer to the table, "she's barrels of fun. Should have seen her face when I told her you were in my room."

Kat finally broke eye contact as she stabbed her last pancake piece. She took her time dragging her fork from her mouth. She looked back up at him through her eyelashes as he stood across the table. She caught him nervously swallowing at the sight.

Hm.

"Yeah, she's big into thinking I'm your mistress," she said rather casually for someone looking at him like that.

He let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah..." he said. He scratched the back as though thinking about a question rather than asking it. "Speaking of that..." he started.

"Did you mean the kidnapping or the fact that you don't even know what I looked like naked let alone sleep with me?" she said putting her fork down. She drank from her glass as she could see his ears get a little red.

He sat down in the chair next to her but not close enough that their legs touched. "Right the uh.... the first one. I'm sorry she did that."

"So it was your wife" she said not directly accusing her but definitely laying her words out with suspicion.

"She's not my wife yet but yeah. I told her," he said, leaning back in the chair and looking at the ceiling. "I told her I kissed you and-"

She coughed in her cup. "You told her?!" Kat said, a little astonished. She figured he had these weirdly high morals but she didn't know they were that high. "Are you crazy?"

Dallas snorted but he kept his eyes on the ceiling. "No, and I couldn't lie to her," he sighed, rubbing his face with his hands, "we were arguing over the photo and it just escalated."

Kat hummed as she watched him. He looked very tense and a little exhausted. He probably had a bit of a hangover from yesterday too. She looked over his body to try and gauge him as she couldn't exactly read his face.

"When I saw you brought in, I was about to lose my mind. I pulled her aside at breakfast and she just started going on and on about shit that just doesn't matter." Kat watched him sigh. "She just kept saying stuff about class status and at least she kept it in the class and I..."

Kat raised an eyebrow as he let out another sigh.

"Sorry," he said, finally sitting up, "I shouldn't have said that."

Kat shrugged. "Well I thought I was kidnapped for being a mistress but now I know she was just trying to get rid of me since I'm classless so..."

"Sorry," he said again.

"Do you agree with her?"

"What?" He seemed a little shocked, but he looked incredibly offended. "No. Of course not."

"Then it's whatever," she looked away. It kind of hurt. She had been wrapped up and with her attraction she didn't really realize how they were from different worlds. She was poor. Not just compared to him, but in general. She hadn't lied when she said she was a dancer, but back then she did have to do more. She didn't like it having it be said in a context she couldn't even defend herself; pissed her off a bit.

"Hey," he said, attempting to get attention back. "It's not whatever."

She rolled her eyes but didn't look at him. It wasn't his fault but she didn't want to talk about this.

There was a bit of a tense silence between them. "I uh..." she could feel him fishing. She snorted.

"Dallas."

"Sorry."

She breathed through her nose. "What is it?"

He sat there, his hands on his knees. "I have to ask you this..." he said a bit nervously, "I'm just not sure how to.... not...uhm offend you?"

"Ha, well that's not ominous," she said sarcastically out loud as she sat back in her seat. Here they were and he was going to ask her about her past. He was going to ask her about shit that would change how they viewed each other. She was having fun and now his wife, cheating future wife mind you, was going to ruin it. Great. Well, might as well get it over with.

Dallas huffed as though he was going to laugh. "I never had to propose before," said, wiping his palms on his pants. He took a moment to take a deep breath. "But, will you be my mistress?"

Kat looked at him. She must have looked at him with wide eyes because he waited for her response. "What?"

Dallas looked a little embarrassed. "Not-! Not like a real one or anything I just-!" He cleared his throat, but his whole face was red. "She won't call off the wedding, but if I create a scandal big enough then-"

"Why can't you just reveal that she already cheated?" Kat said, squinting at him.

"I'm the youngest prince..." he said, not really explaining anything, "it's her family arranging this. And it wouldn't matter if she cheated but if I cheated.... and had a baby."

Woah now. "Wait," Kat said, raising her hands, "you want me to be your pretend mistress and lie that I'm pregnant?"

Dallas blinked. "Yeah..." he said in full seriousness. "She already knows about us meeting... uh... so it would be... an easy lie."

Kat looked him up and down. Yeah he definitely gave a bad liar but his thought process made sense in an insane kind of way. It was different if the duchess got pregnant. Dallas would be kind enough to take care of someone else's kid. From what she could tell by being kidnapped however is that the duchess could not do the same. It made sense but again sounded insane.

He waited for her to speak and she took her time. Just mulling over the idea. He was kind to her. He treated her nicely. She never felt scared or nervous being alone with him. She, of course, had only known him a couple weeks, and only knew public information. Outside of that he was technically a stranger. But she couldn't deny from what she did know she liked. Kat rolled her head back and forth. She weighed her pros and cons.

She could do this.

"I have some demands," Kat said, finally releasing the tension in Dallas' shoulders.

"Anything of course!" He said a little eager. Man, he really didn't want to marry that woman.

She leaned forward. "I want five hundred thousand and I want all my expenses covered."

"Okay," he nodded a little enthusiastically. It would be cute if they weren't discussing a massive scam.

"Including my student loans," she added, testing the limit.

"I'll write the check first thing in the morning."

"And I have to be able to tell my sister..."

Dallas paused. She interrupted him before he could speak. "Listen, if this does become a huge scandal, my sister is going to be talked to. Which is gonna lead her to knocking down my door asking questions and I can't lie to my sister."

He looked at her swallowing. "It wouldn't be wise to tell your family."

"It's not my family; it's just my sister."

"And your parents..."

Kat smiled a little. It was going to come up anyways at some point. It always did. "They've been buried for over a decade, I don't think they're going to care."

"I'm sorry" he said almost immediately. "right, I.... forgot."

Kat's eyebrows raised a bit.

Dallas doubled back. "It... it was on your background check..."

Kat paused. Oh yeah. She was a bit curious about how much he actually knew about her because that didn't sound like a normal background check to her. She would have to bring that up later.

"Right. Of course it was," she said before continuing her list. He looked like he wanted to say something else but again she didn't want to talk about this. "I also don't want to stay in that motel," she said very bluntly "I know i'm supposed to be hidden--"

He shook his head. "Of course not. You're staying here," he said, though it was obvious. He smiled a little at her mixed expression. "You're the mother of my child, after all."

Kat couldn't help the little smile back. How did he do that? He couldn't flirt his way out of a paper bag and yet she always fell for it. Maybe it was because she was attracted to him. Yeah she's going to blame that.

Wait, no. She can't flirt with him. This was a scam. She needed to stay focused.

"And you can't leave me alone if you take me to those fancy parties," she said, still testing.

"I wasn't going to."

Dammit.

"Do we have to kiss?"

"Only if you want to."

DAMMIT.

"Sex?"

"Not required in any way."

Kat crossed her arms in a sort of fake pout. "You're making it pretty hard to say no," she said finally.

The smile at her only grew. "That's kind of the point?" he said, leaning toward her. He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

She sighed through her nose. This was easy money and all she had to do was pretend to be pregnant and attracted to him. At least one of those was easy to do and assuming it would call off the wedding, it wouldn't last that long. Then she would take her money and go on her way.

She placed her hand in his. She expected it to be soft but it wasn't. It was slightly rough and as they squeezed she nodded. "Deal."

-🖤🖤-

Sullivan retrieved all her things from the motel, including her ratty car and brought it to the hotel in the hills. It now sat nestled between two huge black sedans. It was a bit comical as they passed it in another identical black sedan. She at least now had her phone on her. She would have to remember to call her sister later, but she shot her a text to check in.

Since Kat didn't exactly know she was going to be invited to a dinner, she didn't have any nice clothes. So when she suggested they go shopping together, he agreed. It was a good way to be seen together. They had to atleast get the rumors started.

That's how they ended up at a boutique. It was one Ruth had suggested after Dallas had asked. She could hear the disgust leak from every pore of Ruth's body as she gave them the recommendation of one of Nataliya's favorite stores. But as Dallas had been holding Kat's hand, she kept her comments to herself.

She liked that effect. Definitely something that would end up going through her head. Even as they went to the boutique, the women looked at her warily in Dallas' jacket with no bra and flip flops. But when Dallas walked in, followed by security, suddenly they were all smiles. Incredible.

The guards then split up and the only guard left at their private dressing room was Sullivan. Since he was the only one who knew of the ruse, it was just safer with him. He stood outside the entry in the hallway. That way he could pretend to let staff eavesdrop, looking away at convenient times.

"So it's not your engagement party. Is it like somebody's birthday?" Kat asked through the curtain as she tried on one the many dresses they had recommended for her.

"No not really," she heard him say, "my sister's wife just likes hosting parties..."

She mulled in her head. "Sister. So..... Beatris?" She said doing her best to recall a public family tree. God she was going to have to start remembering this better. "And her wife is.... uhm."

Dallas grinned and she could hear it from here. She shushed him before he could give her the answer.

"Aba!"

Dallas laughed. "Bingo."

She mumbled a little yes. She remembered seeing pictures of Aba. She was a beautiful tall medium colored woman with striking blonde hair. She reminded Kat of what a supermodel was supposed to look like except she wasn't a model. If she remembered correctly Aba was just from a rich family from Ethiopia. The thought of being that standard freaked her out a bit. She looked at herself in the mirror.

Kat was confident in her body but she wasn't exactly a model. She was just a B cup with a round ass. A round ass people used to put dollars between the thong straps but still. She was also darker than someone like Aba and her hair was jet black in a shaggy short cut. She wishes she could remember what the duchess looked like but apparently she might not know. The duchess was from France originally. God is she another bottle blonde? Kat was going to stick out like a sore thumb.

She took her hair between her fingers.

"Dallas?"

"Hm?"

"What color is your fiance's hair?"

"Platinum blonde, why?"

She groaned. Great. "Should I dye my hair?"

She could hear a snort that was covering up a laugh. "What? No, why would you do that?"

She didn't know how to say it. She also didn't want the staff eavesdropping on this. She popped her head out of the curtain. "Can you zip me up?" She asked him.

Dallas immediately hopped up from the sofa he had been sitting on. He walked over to her changing room and stood at the opening. She turned around holding the front from falling.

She felt his hands on the clothing tug as his knuckles ran against her back. She shivered. "I just thought it would make more sense for me to be blonde," she said quietly between them, "so you know I'm more your type."

She could hear him chuckle a little. "You're already my type," he said just as quietly. He zipped her up and let her go. She could feel the moment his hands hovered but never touched. Is that why he had said that when they were drunk?

Kat swallowed before slowly turning as his hand dropped. She pulled the entire curtain aside so he could see her. "What do you think?" She said her arms gesturing to the dress.

It was a bit tight when it was all zipped up. It was a rich black, thin strapped with a slit on the side. It ran long but she wasn't sure if it was because she was short of if the dress was supposed to be floor length. It hugged her chest nicely in her opinion and the way his eyes lingered, he must have agreed.

He smiled at her as though he hadn't been caught before looking her up and down a good bit. She modeled for him, turning around for him to see the low back that he just zipped up. "It looks really nice on you," he said, reaching to her back to look at the tag, "we should get this one."

Kat laughed. "It's the first one!" She said her hands came up pushing him back out.

He laughed as he let her do so. "I didn't say we were getting just one," he said as he was kicked out. The curtain was closed on his face but she could still hear his slight laughter. "Put that one on the buy side."

She snorted and rolled her eyes but did as he requested. It felt natural. Like pretending to do this was fun. She decided not to think about that.

She waited until he was back in his chair and she could hear the press of the cushion as he sat down. Kat picked the next one. A long pale green with off shoulder bell sleeves. She didn't need help with this one as she looked at herself in the mirror. It reminded her of a mossy vampire. It made her snort as she went out and showed him.

He leaned up from his chair when she came out. The green must look good on her as she could see the red on his ear. She walked closer to him, almost standing over him.

Kat smiled down at him, innocently. "So what do you think of this one?"

Dallas looked up at her. He didn't touch her but his hands rested on his knees. He smiled back, but his innocence looked a bit more real than hers. Which made sense, with thoughts that ran through Kat's mind with this angle.

"It's- you look really .... green in it," he stumbled through his compliment. He sounded so corny.

She snickered at him a little. "You're such a dork," she teased. He laughed at her. She rolled her eyes at the little feeling she felt from how cute he was. He got her so easily by being so stupid. "So no?"

"No no," he said, hand coming up to mess with the bell sleeve, "you still look good in it."

"But it's not the first dress?"

"It's hard to beat when you bring out the best in the show first."

She snorted. "So am I supposed to wear the black dress everyday?"

He smiled up at her, "I can buy you seven of them."

"Alright smart ass."

He actually laughed at that. "Alright alright," he said holding up his hands, "it.... looks okay. Can I see the back?"

She sprung around, gave him a quick pose or too and by the time she turned around his face looked completely different.

"We should buy that one."

She blinked a little shocked at the change in opinion. She did another turn and then it easily clicked. Kat smirked. "My ass looks good in it doesn't it," she commented watching his face explode red with embarrassed guilt.

He cleared his throat and her giggle fit started up. "I just think you look good in green," he was finally able to say.

"Yeah I bet it does," she said swaying her hip a little as she walked back toward the dressing room.

And they continued to do that. She would try something on and he would look immediately at her most accented points and she would let most of that go to her head. But again this wasn't about her. This was about the workers who were definitely passing them constantly. If Kat hadn't been with a white man who obviously has a lot of money, she would have thought they were profiling her the way they dedicated themselves to checking in every 5 minutes.

After they're little fashion show she came out holding a bulk of dresses. She was back in her tank with jeans in flip-flops, but she kept the jacket. She was strangely excited. She never really got to shop like this. Dallas held out his hand and she grabbed it. He jumped a little in surprise.

"I meant... to hand me your dresses, " he said with a small smile, gesturing to how full her arms were.

She blinked at him. Oh! She let him slip his hand under the fold she created from how she carried it. He took it with almost comical ease. The whole time, he didn't let go of her hand. Okay she had been dubious before but this had to be mistress treatment.

She swallowed as she leaned up at him. He noticed and blinked down at her, a little confused. Her eyes glanced to the left just as two workers quickly turned away. She could hear the giggling and gasps from here.

He seemed to understand at that point. His thumb rubbed against her knuckles. She felt a shiver run up her spine. He leaned down and whispered against her ear.

"Is it alright if I kiss you?" he whispered between them.

Kat didn't expect that. She didn't expect to get so embarrassed. He wasn't even doing anything special. She did her best to not let that get to her and nodded with the same confidence she usually put on. She even tilted her head up and expected him to lean down.

Except he didn't. He instead kissed her on the top of her head. It was soft. He then dropped her hand and started walking toward the checkout counter.

The confusion and embarrassment exploded in her chest. She could do the sexual flirting, she could do the touching and the kissing. She thought that was what she was signing up for. Not this!

She didn't know he was going to do sweet things to her like that. It took her a moment to catch up to him. The fuzzy feeling didn't leave even after he charged his card and everything was put into bags.

It only wore down slightly when they traveled the short distance to another store for shoes. She couldn't exactly wear flip flops with any of these.

The shoe store was a similar experience. They would hover constantly and Dallas would give her his unwavering attention. He would take her ankle and put the straps from the shoes on her at one point. He would look up at her and she would think about things she shouldn't be thinking about of an almost married man. She knew this was pretend, and he was just pretending but man he really knew how to make a girl feel special. She had to keep reminding herself this wasn't a real date.

Maybe it didn't help that she hadn't had this kind of direct attention in a while because she was becoming more flustered than she usually was. It had to be that or she was just incredibly horny. Which would explain each insane thought that kept surfacing. She had only kissed him once; she didn't understand why she heavily wanted to be on her knees getting her back blown in that Sudan. It would leave her mind and then he would smile at her and all the thoughts slammed back into her at once.

"I don't get it," she said as they climbed back into the SUV, trying to not think of the fantasy she just had of giving him a happy ending back there.

"Hm?" He said as he climbed in the other side.

"Minus this scam, You're, like, perfect?" She said buckling her seat belt as they drove off.

He raised an eyebrow. "Perfect?"

"Yeah, you're not ugly. You have money. You're kind, patient and very attentive." she easily thought about how he would watch her; it made her body hot and she immediately moved on. "and I know this all like a rouse and we're just pretending to be fucking but the way you touch me and kiss me..."

"I'm sorry," he said almost immediately, "I wasn't trying to be inappropriate."

She wanted to laugh but cleared her throat instead. "Dallas... I'm complimenting you not reprimanded you," she said immediately seeing the tension release from his shoulders.

"Oh."

She smiled a little, the laughter trying to bubble back. "No, I was saying I don't get it because you make a perfect husband. Like what's the other shoe? Why did your fiance cheat if you treat her like this?"

Dallas paused, looking at her. He didn't say anything for a second before sighing as he sat back. "I don't know..." he said finally, "I... try to be a good person to marry because I know this wasn't supposed to be about love at first, it's about politics. But... I try to make it bearable. Enough that we like each other," He paused like he was thinking, "I really don't know. I thought things were going good..."

She could see how uncomfortable he was. Did he really not know? She remembered him saying when she was hired that he was trying to believe his soon-to-be wife but there were too many clues. He was making sure and then it turned out she was. But he never gave off the impression of anger or even resentment. Just sad acceptance. If she hadn't kissed him, would he have just married his fiance? He seems like he'd be nice enough to be stuck in that situation. Nice enough that he wouldn't try to compete to get his fiance back. She wondered if he ever wanted to marry at all.

"Maybe you're too nice," she joked, giving him a light jab in the arm.

"Maybe" he said with a more dismissive shrug. "She does still get mad when I apologize."

"But that's just like a thing you say when you get nervous," Kat said back rather casually. It was a stupid complaint. "You're just a nervous guy."

His eyebrows raised at that. He blinked his shock away in an instant. "Yeah," he said with astonishment still in his voice, "I am."

There was a brief moment of silence before he continued.

"That doesn't annoy you, right?" He said the smallest amount of frantic energy revealed itself.

Kat gave him a cheeky smile. "No, not really," she said, noticing him relax again, "but-" up went the shoulders, "I don't like when you hold back."

There was a pause. "Hold back?"

"Yeah," she said, shrugging, "sometimes you want to say things, and you bite your tongue."

"Oh." He said relaxed, "you mean in conversation."

Kat paused. She raised an eyebrow. There was no way he was thinking what she thought he was thinking. "Well yeah, what else would I mean?"

"Nothing." He said a little too quickly.

"Dallas...are you fucking with me right now?"

The red on his ears was giving him away. He looked like he was trying to find a way out of this, but Kat found this too hilarious to let it drop. He got lucky as his phone rang loud, interrupting their conversation.

He answered without even looking at the name.

"H-hello!" He said into the phone and Kat gave him a mischievous smile. Like that would get him out of anything. "Oh hey Nat."

Oh.

"No, I'm on my way back." He said the change in tone almost gave her whiplash. She could tell there was a sigh being held back the way he kept deep breathing. "Yeah, you said you weren't talking to me right now and I had things to attend to..." Kat wondered what he meant by that. Was it because of her? Did she know they were out together? Did Ruth mention it? She seemed like the type to do that.

"Alright." There was a brief pause "I already said alright." Kat had to fight the urge to snicker at him but kept quiet. "Yeah okay."

And then just like that he hung up.

"Wow, not even a goodbye," Kat teased, trying to get his shoulders to untense.

Dallas snorted. "Not to put this on you unprompted but my fiance wants to talk to you."

Kat blinked. "Right now?" She looked down at what she was wearing. How was she supposed to flex her mistress status when she looked like she just walked off the street. Maybe she could change in the car? They weren't that far from the hotel. God she hadn't been this self conscious since meeting Dallas and he rolled up with security. "Right now, right now?"

"When we get back, she- what are you doing?" He asked watching her.

Kat had unclicked her seatbelt and taken off his jacket, she was mid reach for one of the expensive bags when she looked at him. "Am I supposed to meet her wearing this?" she said, gesturing to her body.

She searched through looking for the black bodycon-like dress. It was casual enough and she could wear it without a bra. She set it on her lap as she moved to take her jeans off.

She paused and looked at Dallas who was red faced. "Are you changing right now?" He said swallowing and quickly looked away to the window.

She nodded, thinking of a better idea. "No you're right," she said, clicking her seatbelt back, "we should wait until we're in front of the hotel and then pretend we're doing it, while I change."

Dallas' eyes widened like they were going to pop out of his head as they snapped back to look at her.

She glanced out the window to see how far they had. Just a couple blocks. She turned back snickering at his red face. How was he this embarrassing when they were just canoodling in the shop less than 30 minutes ago. "Relax, I just am going to change and you can pretend to shake the car and it'll be fine."

She put her seatbelt back on as she sat and thought of what she was going to say. "How long have we been cheating," she asked bluntly.

"Wha-"

"For us! For if she asks me, for fuck sake!" She said with a frustrated sigh.

"Well" he scratched his beard. He seemed uncomfortable but she needed to know answers. "I think I said we met only a couple months ago..." He looked to be trying to remember.

She blinked. "So like how we actually met?"

"Yeah, it was in the middle of the fight," he said, "I didn't plan asking you to be my mistress until after..."

"

It didn't take them long before they were pulling up into the lot, interrupting their conversation. He still looked like he was going to explode. Very similar to how he was before at the strip club. Sadly this time there wasn't alcohol to ease him out of it.

"Can you breathe? Breath with me yeah?" She mimicked breathing with him, trying not to tease him, which was hard. It was funny to watch him sweat. "I'm not going to strip naked."

"Oh." He already looked like he wanted to jump out of the car. "Right, I-I knew that."

"Right," She rolled her eyes in amusement. Sure he did. "Hey Sullivan" she said continuing, "park close to the front, yeah?"

He could see his bald head nod. Nice. They rounded the little parking area before he stopped and put it in park. He gave a thumbs up which Kat returned confirming his good job. He made a small grunt before silently crawling out the front door.

She glanced at Dallas who looked impressed. "Alright, big guy start rocking" she said ignoring the grin she created with the nickname.

It was awkward but the SUV did move under his weight and he pulled his body back and forth in a sort of a rocking motion. He held the handle and pulled it with him as he leaned. Even though she confirmed she wouldn't be naked, he chose to still stare at the ceiling.

"I think we should have a safe word," he said, rocking against the car. He looked ridiculous and she had to stop herself from giggling. It gave the illusion alright but he looked like a weird dancing penguin with his arms up like that.

"For what? I thought you said sex wasn't required," she said mimicking his voice as she pulled up black dress. She slid her arms through the straps with her shirt still on. She removed that in one swift motion, before adjusting the straps on her shoulders.

"Not for sex," he said, ears hot from the accusation, "I know she can grill people down, it's just in case... I need to rescue you from any conversation."

She glanced at him before starting to shimmy out her pants. His face pressed against the roof didn't hide his red ears. "So like an SOS? "

"Yeah," he said nodding, "yeah like an SOS... Though from how you commanded Sullivan and me maybe I need the safe word."

She laughed at that. She awkwardly pulled her pants off. She wished she had stockings from how high the side slit was but they didn't exactly purchase that. She shoved her clothes in the bag after giving them a quick fold.

"So what word? It's got to sound natural, right?" she said, looking through the bag for her new shoes. "You can look by the way," she added, watching him slightly relax.

She continued to look through but glanced up at him when she felt the rocking slow. She blinked up at him and he still had a slight blush on his cheeks but he was staring. Just like the shop. Just like the strip club.

"Dallas?" She said with a sarcastic raised eyebrow.

"I like that dress on you," he confessed, repeating himself.

"I know you do," she said with a smug grin before turning her back to him. In one motion he reached out and zipped up the back. His hand lingered again. "So what word then, big guy?" she said, shifting back to the conversation. "Orange juice?"

"Orange juice?" He said as he went back to his duty as the car-shaker.

"Yeah why not. If either of us ask for orange juice then we know," she said, adjusting the straps for a moment.

"What if you actually want orange juice?" He joked and she snorted.

"The only time I'm going to want orange juice is if there is alcohol in it."

She dug into the shoe box and found the cute black strapped platform sandals. She loved them when she tried them on and loved them more when he strapped them up.

"You know if you're pregnant you won't even be able to actually have alcohol..." he said, stopping her mind from going further.

"Oh my god" she said, pausing the process of slipping them on. "I didn't even fucking think about that." She felt flabbergasted as the realization hit. "I have to get through this sober."

She sat there struggling for a moment when Dallas reached out to help her. He paused as if asking permission again. She nodded and he stopped shaking the car to take her leg. He sat it on his lap and started wrapping the straps.

"Am I not good company sober?" He joked with her. "You don't like hanging out with me?"

She struggled as she felt his warm hands on her calf. She really needed to ask him why it felt like that. Like he did hard labor, but he obviously didn't. "No, actually you're kind of annoying," she said with the same sarcastic vigor.

He laughed immediately, putting her leg back down to take the other.

Do you know what she's going to ask me?" She said, hiding her nerves. She could tell from his smile she wasn't going a good job.

"Not really," he said finishing, "but i'm not going to leave you alone in there." he let her leg fall. "Ready?"

"No." She said immediately.

He tilted his head toward her before offering another smile. "It'll be okay," he said before leaning in, "I promise I'll protect you.

She held out her pinky and just like when they had been drinking, he took it.

Kat nodded as they collected everything they needed to take with them. He walked all the way around to open her door and help her out of the lifted van. He was the one to carry all the bags in, and Kat played her part by hanging off his arm.

They didn't even make a stop as Ruth came to collect the bags at the door. She stayed slightly behind him, her hand still in hers as he led her to the elevator.

They stood next to each other and she put her hand around his arm. He turned to her a little in surprise but his hand squeezed hers lightly and rubbed a thumb over the knuckles. It was comforting enough that she didn't immediately hit the stop elevator button. Even though she very much wanted to.

They went to a floor right below the one Dallas was in. She made note of that mentally as they got off and walked down the small hall.

Outside of the door was one of those security guards. He looked vaguely familiar, probably one of the security guards that had helped kidnap her. Minus Sullivan and his bald head, they all kind of looked the same.

-🖤 to be continued🖤-