Pretty Woman

"Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much." ~ Oscar Wilde

A COLLECTIVE GROAN rose from the men already seated around the table when Slade strode in, with the other billionaire still acting like a swaggering live-action piece of advertisement.

"For fuck's sake, man," Leander Knight growled. "It's been what, two weeks already?"

But Slade only smiled, and his good mood remained impervious even as the other members began cursing a blue streak.

Hartland's resident mechanic had indeed been right about it being two weeks since Kady had started spending the nights in his bed. And those two weeks , Slade reflected, had been extremely good. He had always been the type of lover to derive much pleasure from delayed gratification, and so when he had told Kady he intended to savor her, he had meant it. But what he hadn't counted at all was just how enjoyable that process would turn out to be.

She had already been fascinating to begin with and had only grown more so when she became his lover. The seemingly instinctive urge to run away from him was still there, but now she was also actively resisting it, and this inner battle tended to lead to the most entertaining situations.

He would ask her to sit on his lap in full view of other people, and she would do so with a robotic expression that made Kady seem like she had a mime's mask on. And when Farica had asked her why she looked the way she did, Kady had answered - also in a robotic voice - it was because she was really happy inside but was too shy to show it.

Other times, he would ask her to feed him, just to torture her of course, and she would once again say yes. She would even insist on cooking for him, but when it was time for her to perform the actual feeding, her embarrassment would once again get the better of her, and she would end up quickly shoving the spoon into his mouth that he had almost choked on it.

And those were just the things that happened during the day, which - as fun as they were - didn't even hold a damn candle to the nights she spent in his arms. Once they were inside the privacy of his bedroom, she would turn into this adorably contrary kitten.

She would fidget from a distance, and he would pretend to ignore her, waiting until she was close to tears before asking her if she wanted anything. The tears would be back in her eyes, there would be more fidgeting, and then she would so very sweetly whisper, Can I hug you?

The mere memory of it had him smiling, and it was this look on the billionaire's face that everyone ended up seeing for the rest of the town hall meeting. Everyone did their best to un-see it, but the image was like a nightmare imprinted on their minds.

Unfortunately for them, the subject of their disgust remained completely oblivious to how the permanent grin on his face almost had all of them throwing up, and Slade was only puzzled but not at all bothered when, as soon as Hartland's mayor concluded their meeting, most of the other members seemed to fight against each other in their need to leave first.

Glancing at Oliver, he asked, "Did I miss something?"

TODAY, I'M REALLY GOING to tell him, Kady promised herself as she brewed another batch of coffee for the customers. It had been two weeks since the relationship dynamics between Slade and her had changed, and those two weeks had been as glorious as they were confusing.

The good parts, she definitely couldn't get enough of. Slade as her wicked, mischief-loving boss had already been a force to reckon with, but the moment he became her lover, she had quickly found herself being swept off her feet with every little thing he said and did.

Beautiful. Pretty. Lovely . He liked using the words every time he talked to her. Good morning, my beautiful little chick. Where are you going, my lovely? And then there had been that one time he had been outside the cafe, chatting with Raj, the riding instructor, and seeing her walking back from an errand, he had suddenly started whistling to the tune of Roy Orbinson's Oh, . It had Raj doubling over with laughter and Kady covering her face in embarrassment.

She had once come into the cafe, and Slade, who had been in the middle of a business dinner with several suppliers from Laramie, had abruptly stopped speaking and clutched his chest, saying, ' I think my heart just skipped a beat.' In another afternoon, he had caught her shyly chatting with the local priest (who was, of course, extraordinarily handsome as the rest of Hartland's menfolk) and had immediately swooped in, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind with a none-too-subtle warning. 'Hands off, Ryder. You're already promised to Christ.'

And when the man of cloth had reminded Slade that Anglican priests like him were allowed to marry, Kady's boss had promptly turned to Kady, saying, 'From now on, we're switching to Buddhism. Got that?'

It was always one outlandish thing after another, and it never seemed to matter to Slade who or how many would end up witnessing his antics. It was as if...well, it was almost as if he was genuinely proud to claim her as his, and for someone who had spent her entire life feeling like the ugly odd duckling, the amount of attention Slade devoted to her certainly made Kady feel giddy and cherished.

She had always known she was rather plain, but every time Slade told her she was beautiful, she couldn't help believe it was so.

Unlike with Eric.

The thought made her wince, and she took a deep breath. Today, she promised herself once again. The very moment we're alone, I'm going to tell him. But when that moment did come, with Slade insisting as always to drive her to Laramie, she found herself clutching the door handle and unable to get the words out.

Because what if he—-

Slade, sensing the sudden tension in Kady's frame, asked right away, "Is anything wrong?"

"I...um..."

Slade scowled. "Is it Humbug?"

Her eyes widened. How had he guessed?

The billionaire saw Kady's expression, and his lips tightened. "So is it him. He's been bothering you at uni, isn't he?"

"I—-"

"He probably tried making you feel guilty about dating me, hasn't he? He probably said something like you having no future with me, since I'm a lot older—-"

"You're not that old," Kady, sidetracked by her need to come to his defense, immediately protested.

"If he bothers you again," he said grimly, "call me, and I'll take care of it."

"But—-"

"Promise me, Kady."

She bit her lip. "I...promise." And just like that, she had lost the chance to tell him the truth.

Ten minutes later, and Slade was pulling his truck right in front of the university's main gates, and as soon as he helped her out of the truck, he had her against the door and his mouth closing over hers in a deep, hungry kiss.

Oh my.

Her toes immediately curled, and with a helpless little moan, Kady kissed him back.

When he lifted his head, Slade was satisfied to see her gaze full of yearning...for him.

Good.

He saw her hesitate before lifting her hand, and he kept still, curious to see what she planned. A moment later, and she was tentatively touching his beard—-

"It tickles."

"Does it?" He bent his head to nuzzle her cheek with it, and she giggled. Lifting his head again, he murmured, "If you want me to get rid of it—-"

Kady quickly shook her head. "No, of course not. I..."

His eyes laughed at her. "Go on."

She squirmed, and he smirked.

"I..."

Taking pity on her, he said lazily, "You like me however I look, is that it?"

His beautiful little chick blushed even as she nodded, and she was just too fucking adorable that he had to kiss her again.

After, Kady felt like she was still floating as she made her way to class. Slade was just so—-

"I never thought you'd be that kind of girl."

Kady came to a startled halt, and looking up, she saw Eric standing right in front of her. "Excuse me?"

"I saw you and your old man kissing—-"

"He's not my old man," Kady said patiently, "and you know it."

"Whatever." Eric's lips pursed in disapproval. "I saw the look on your face. You never looked like that when I kissed you—-"

Because you never made me feel the way Slade makes me feel, she thought.

"You can't seriously think he's good for you, Kady."

"I do think so—-"

Eric let out a sound of exasperation. "And your parents? What about them? Have you ever thought of what they'd do once they discover your boyfriend—- " Eric's lip curled at the word. "—-isn't just a small-town hick but a predatory older man who's obviously brainwashed you into acting out—-"

"I'm kissing my boyfriend, and I'm acting out?" she couldn't help bursting out. "What about the times you and Margaux were seen everywhere making out almost right after our breakup - was that Margaux making you act out?" Kady was hoping to shame him into backing down, but instead Eric's expression turned triumphant.

"I knew that had to be it," Eric exclaimed. "You're doing this to try and make me jealous—-"

Kady burst into laughter, and he abruptly stopped talking.

Had I really fallen in love with this toad , she couldn't help asking herself. It was just unbelievable, how many years she had wasted loving him, when all along he had been nothing but a narcissistic idiot with perfect hair and equally perfect teeth.

Looking back at Eric, she said calmly, "You can think whatever you want, Eric. So if you'll excuse me—-" She smiled at him politely. "I need to get to class."

Kady walked away, hoping and praying that would finally be the end of it. Now that she had seen for herself who the real Eric was, she also realized how she had so stubbornly insisted on seeing her idealized version of Eric the whole time they had been dating.

And the only reason she had done so, Kady realized with an inner wince, was because during those years, Eric had been the only one - outside her family and so-called best friend - who made her feel she wasn't worthless and invisible.

The rest of the evening picked up after that, and for the next two hours, she divided her time between happily crunching numbers for a pop quiz and daydreaming about Slade the moment she had submitted her paper and scored an early dismissal for herself.

Thinking that she would try surprising Slade for a change, Kady decided to simply search for his truck in the parking lot instead. But when she finally spotted a familiar dark head standing next to an equally familiar-looking truck, it was Kady who ended up tongue-tied and immobile with shock.

Because a woman had just come up to Slade...and slapped him.