Bound

Kate

Kate

Not being flat broke was an odd feeling. Ryke had given his accountant my checking account number and I'd already been paid for the first week of work. That meant I could fill my car all the way up with gas, which hadn't happened in a long time. I'd also been able to pay my mom back the whole $470 I owed her.

And I'd stopped at a bakery on the way to Ryke's and gotten some cranberry muffins. I was planning to heat them up while the coffee was brewing. Hopefully he would still be in the shower when I walked in and I could get into a conversation with Mimi to avoid awkwardness with him.

But no such luck. When I walked in, he was sitting at the dark wood kitchen table, looking at the screen of a laptop. There was a cup of coffee by his computer and another one across the table. A woman announcing the morning news on the flat screen TV in the living room was the only sound in the apartment.

"Where's Mimi?" I asked, furrowing my brows and scanning the large, open apartment.

"She went to get groceries. I made us coffee." He nodded at the seat with the other mug in front of it and I walked over hesitantly.

"Thanks. I brought some muffins. I could make you some eggs instead, I know that's what you usually have—"

"A muffin would be great. Thanks."

As I reached across the table to sit in front of him, he pulled out his wallet and handed me a gold credit card.

"You're on the account now. Don't spend your own money on stuff like this, okay?"

"What, the muffins? Ryke—"

"Just take the card and use it, Kate."

"I'm not taking your credit card!" I slid it back to him.

"You'll need it, if you're taking care of things for me." He pushed it back my way.

"I can keep receipts and you can reimburse me. You can't just hand out your credit card. I could charge up all kinds of stuff on here and you wouldn't even know."

"I'm not worried about it. There's a $50,000 limit, so you can't buy a villa with it or anything."

Oh, right. Chump change. I shook my head.

"Fine," I said, giving him a sulk as I took the card. "But I'm still saving all the receipts."

"You'll need it today," he said, taking a sip of his coffee. "The dinner I have Friday night is just for the team owner and some of the players, but then we have a charity event Saturday night that I'll need you for."

I knew I was gawking at him, but he'd caught me off-guard. "This Saturday? What if I already have plans?"

"Do you?"

I was a bad liar, and I felt guilty about fabricating plans to avoid him last Saturday night. "No."

"Great. Get yourself some nice dresses and shoes and all that. We'll have these things often, so buy as much as you want."

I was still gawking. "So I'm the Pretty Woman?" I grumbled.

"You're very pretty, yes." He winked and smiled.

"You know what I mean, Ryke. I feel kind of like a prostitute right now."

He set his mug on the table so hard a little coffee splashed onto the wood surface. "How have I made you feel like a prostitute? I haven't even touched you."

"Just . . . with the here's my credit card, go buy yourself something pretty for this thing."

His smile of amusement just made me more flustered. "What would you prefer, Kate?"