Chapter Nine
Eric
Closingthe front door behind me, I saw Maddie walk toward the kitchen and wondered what she could be doing going there after the meal we'd enjoyed at the restaurant not two hours ago. I followed her and stopped in the doorway when I saw her slipping the apron over her head.
"What are you doing?"
She looked over toward me with resolution in her eyes. "I feel like making you something."
"I'm not really hungry. At least not for food," I explained, smiling so she could know exactly what I wanted.
"I told you I didn't want to be your concubine, Eric. I bet everyone in this house thinks I'm some kind of prostitute or something. I was hired to cook, so cooking is what I plan to do tonight."
Stepping into the kitchen, I watched her assemble a mixing bowl, mixing spoon, and measuring cups. "A prostitute who cooks? I don't think I've ever heard of that."
She stopped and frowned at me. "I'm not kidding, Eric. You're making fun of me."
I tried to stop myself from laughing, but a chuckle slipped out. "I'm not. I swear. It just sounded funny when you mentioned anyone thinking you're a prostitute because even though I don't have experience with them, I'm relatively sure they don't stay in your house or bake you cookies, Maddie."
"You're not taking this seriously at all, are you?"
"It's hard to take seriously since I already told you that I didn't need you to do anything for me. Nothing at all."
"Except sleep with you," she said like it was some kind of punishment.
"Is there something wrong with that?"
Her lower lip jutted out into the most adorable pout. "You're paying me to sleep with you. I think that's the exact definition of prostitute in the dictionary."
The way she looked so upset about this made me want to take her into my arms and kiss her, so I pulled her to me and did just that. She didn't respond at first, refusing to enjoy it since she'd gotten it into her head that she should fight whatever this was between us—why I had no idea after the great time we'd had that day—but I planned to change her mind for good tonight.
When she finally relaxed in my hold and kissed me back, I leaned back from her and smiled. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"I don't want to be a prostitute, Eric. Or a concubine," she answered, her eyes wide with concern.
Did she honestly believe that's what she was?
Cradling her face, I kissed her softly on the lips and tried to reassure her she was neither of those things. "Maddie, you're my girlfriend. You're also the woman I enjoy fucking. You're not a prostitute, and you know why? Because I don't pay you. DeVille Staffing does. I pay them, so you're not being paid for sex."
"That's the most convoluted thing I've ever heard. I'm still being paid to have sex with you. Now you've just made that owner guy, Mr. DeVille, my pimp."
She was infuriating! There had to be some way to convince her I wasn't paying for her to have sex with me. Maybe I just needed to turn the tables on her.
Pulling away, I folded my arms over my chest. "You know, it's sort of insulting that you think I have to pay beautiful women to spend time with me."
Maddie's mouth dropped open and her dark eyes grew as big as saucers. "What? I never said that. That's not what I meant at all."
"Well, that's what it sounds like. If you're a prostitute and I'm paying you, then you must think I have to pay women to spend time with me and sleep with me."
She pressed her lips together and groaned. "You're putting words in my mouth, and you know it."
"I'm just taking your argument to its logical end. If I'm paying you to have sex with me, then I must have to so I can have sex."
She scrunched up her face in that cute way she did when she didn't have an answer to something and let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. I'm not a prostitute or a concubine. Happy now?"
I smiled at how sweet she could be and wrapped my arms around her again. "I never said you weren't my concubine. They don't get paid, so you still could be one of those."
Maddie narrowed her eyes to angry slits and pushed against my chest to let her go, but there was no way I wanted to do that. "I don't much like the concubine idea either, Eric. And I'm no fool. I don't think I could be called your girlfriend either. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have no role whatsoever in this house, except to sleep with you, which brings me back to the whole prostitute thing."