A Million Dirty Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page A

into the pool of glass. As I turned to look at the rest of my surroundings, I could see nothing but perfectly cut grass and ornate shrubbery that had been sculpted into stags.
    Jeez, did Edward Scissorhands live here, or what?
    “Right this way, miss,” Samuel said, taking my bag from my hands and drawing my attention back toward the house.
    Cement statues, also in the shape of stags, adorned the posts on either side of the steps that led to the porch. Their heads were dropped down, as if positioning their giant antlersfor battle with one hoof poised in the air. I could’ve sworn I heard a faint huff of a dare, but I was pretty sure they weren’t alive.
    Tall white columns bordered the entrance to the house and stretched from the oversized porch to the second story. Samuel thrust open the double doors to allow us to step inside, and Mystery Man gestured with his arm for me to go in ahead of him. The floors were marble, the ceilings tall and dome-shaped.
    But the thing that really caught my attention was the staircase. It was centered in the entry and stretched to a landing at the top before it split off into two other staircases that led in opposite directions of the house. It looked like one of those get-ups where the princess appears at the top of the landing and waits to be announced to the awestruck crowd below before she descends gracefully to greet her guests.
    Me, on the other hand? I’d probably trip and fall on the first step, my body curled up into a ball as I rolled down the rest and landed with a thud at the bottom. And it would
not
be graceful. At all.
    “What do you think?” Mystery Man asked as he gestured with his arms wide open. Obviously, he was proud of his home.
    “Meh, it’s okay. If you’re into the whole pretentious overkill type of thing,” I said with a shrug of boredom.
    In truth, I was impressed. Very impressed.
    “I inherited the house. And I’m not pretentious,” he said. “Let’s get you upstairs and into something more comfortable so that we can get some sleep. It’s been a long day, and I have a feeling it’s going to be an even longer day tomorrow—and probably every day for the next two years of my life.”
    He turned and stalked up the stairs, leaving me to follow behind him again.
    “It seems we agree on something, Mr. Crawford,” I said.
    He stopped abruptly and turned to look at me with a look of aggravation in his eyes. “It’s Noah,” he said in a solemn tone, and then continued up the stairs. “Only the help calls me Mr. Crawford.”
    “Well, aren’t I the help? You’re paying me to be here just as much as you are them,” I challenged.
    “Trust me, they’re not getting paid nearly as much as you are.” He turned on the landing to go up the right-hand staircase. “And you will be my nearly constant companion over the next couple of years. People will need to believe that we’re the real deal. That’s not likely going to happen if you’re running around calling me Mr. Crawford.”
    “Fine then,
Noah
,” I said, testing out the sound of it. “Which room is mine?” I asked when we reached a long hallway adorned with large paintings on the walls.
    “We’re at the end of the hall,” he said, still forging ahead.
    “Wait. We?”
    “You will be sharing my bed. Was that point not clear to you?”
    “But we haven’t even discussed the terms of the contract,” I reminded him.
    He opened the door at the end of the hall and I followed him through. The second I was over the threshold, he closed it and pinned me to it with his body. “The terms are pretty simple,” he said as his lips ghosted against the skin of my neck. “You belong to me, and I can do whatever I want with you.”
    He brought his lips to mine and kissed me firmly, but I didn’t kiss him back. His movements softened and he grazed his lips over mine, trying to get me to respond.
    “Kiss me, Delaine.” He pressed his hips forward and that thing in his pants nudged the girliest part