London Dusk (A Dawn to Dusk Novella) Read Online Free PDF Page A

combing through it with her fingers. "And yes, your hair needs some work as you never look after it, but trust me – you have the base. I can turn you into a very desirable creature if you let me."
    Her warm and comforting words wrapped themselves around me. "Do you really think so?"
    She chuckled . "What, you think that because that dog cheated on you it means you're not beautiful, desirable?" She tutted with a shake of her head. "You are one of the most caring and wonderful women I know. You will find love again one day – but in the meantime, you need to pay that asshole back and get him out of your life." She lifted some lipstick and gently applied it, then turned me back to the mirror "You are beautiful, Mack. See? And if you let me help you, it won't be too much of a struggle."
    Yikes. She saw me so differently to how I saw myself. Even with her playing with my hair and putting on lipstick , I could kind of see a difference. I turned away from her, crossed the room, and stared out the window nervously. Selling myself for money? It wasn't too different from what I already did. Each time I wrote a history report, a little piece of my soul was embedded into it… and people paid for that. But sleeping with a stranger? Having sexual prowess? I had absolutely no idea how I would do that. My mouth went dry just at the thought.
    Jax was watching me patiently , waiting for a response. I looked back at her, giving her a brief smile. She had been there and done that – and there was nothing wrong with her. She wasn't scarred from the experience, or some sort of closet sexual deviant… that I knew of.
    The more I thought about it , the more I realised what she was saying made sense. If I was earning ten grand a night, then I could pay for Elsie's care, pay Luke back in chunks, as well as still live. "Okay." I breathed.
    " Okay what?"
    " Okay, I'll let you help me."
    She gave me a sharp nod . "Good. Just remember, this is not a lifelong commitment – just a way to make the money to pay Luke back. Then you can go back to doing what you do best – being a hermit." She grinned as she pulled out her phone and looked up a number. "I'm going to call my old manager before you change your mind."
    I watched her leave the room , wondering what the hell I had just signed myself up for. Throwing my cigarette out the window, I felt the shower calling to me.
     
    ***
     

Chapter 5

    Half an hour later , I walked into the kitchen to the welcoming aroma of hot coffee brewing, a roaring fire in the living room, and Jax relaxing at the dining table looking a million pounds with her feet up on one of the dining chairs. "You have a few hours to mentally prep yourself before we have a meeting with Annalise."
    " Annalise," I repeated slowly, my stomach dropping as I poured hot coffee into my waiting cup.
    " Yes." Jax smiled. "She's on top of the London Escort scene. The same woman who recruited me. She'll look after you, Mack, you have nothing to worry about." Jax took a sip of her coffee. "She'll teach you everything you need to know."
    " Today?"
    Jax laughed . "No, probably not. Unless of course you want to. No, no, she just wants to meet you first."
    Butterflies swept through me. I so wasn 't ready for this. Prostitution was something that went against my moral high ground like you wouldn't believe, but yet here I was – desperate. I couldn't get a job. And the bank wasn't going to give me another loan, so I wasn't even going to bother asking. Desperate people do desperate things.
     
    *
    Jax was a real estate agent , and she made a lot of money. She had been one ever since I had first met her. She wasn't scared about putting herself out there and meeting people. I had always preferred my own company to large crowds. What on earth made her think I could do this I didn't know. I didn't even know what I would talk about with these men who would be paying for my company.
    We sped through the wet , cobbled streets of London in Jax's Porsche, and