Free Falling Hard (Billionaires in Disguise: Lizzy, #1) by Blair Babylon Page A

herself.
Stalkers made her skin crawl.
    The desert sun blazed through the windshield,
stinging Lizzy’s Easterner skin. She and Georgie giggled and
gossiped about clients while the squat, beige strip malls undulated
past the car. The spiky desert plants were finally beginning to
flower a little, flecks of color in the unrelenting brown and gray.
Sometimes, Lizzy missed watching the four seasons roll by.
    Tired of listening to the unrelenting silence
of Rae brooding in the back seat, Lizzy finally wrenched herself
around in the front passenger seat. Muscles in the small of her
back tightened, threatening to spasm. She pulled, stretching and
holding onto the leather headrest, working through the pain.
Anything that hurt must make her stronger.
    Tall, zaftig Rae was crunched in the back
seat with her legs stretched across the floorboards back there.
Lizzy asked, “So what exactly did The Dom say to you
yesterday?”
    “What?” Rae said, obviously stalling. A dozen
emotions flickered over her face. “He was nice.”
    Lizzy and Georgie looked at each other and
cracked up.
    “Oh, yeah.” Georgie glanced at Rae through
the rear-view mirror. “He’s very nice.”
    Lizzy said, “He must have liked you if you
had an interview yesterday and are going back today. Are you
working today? Are you official?”
    “I don’t think so.” Rae fiddled with her
purse.
    “Have you filled out the tax forms and
stuff?”
    “No.”
    Lizzy turned back around to look out the
front window again. Traffic was heavy today, which meant it was a
like a holiday Sunday at midnight on the Turnpike. “Must be a
second interview, then. I had three interviews before he hired
me.”
    “What’s a second interview like?” Rae
asked.
    “Oh, you know,” Lizzy said. “He asked a lot
of questions about my sexual history and relationships. Afterward,
I felt like I had no secrets from him at all, like he knew more
about me than my mom and my first lover and God, all put together.”
Except that Lizzy had had secrets, lots of them. She had lied her
ass off as necessary to get the damned job, and he had known them
all anyway.
    “Yeah.” Georgie nodded and drove. “I think he
makes sure you’re psychologically healthy enough to work there. A
sex addict or substance abuser would be a disaster in that
place.”
    “Oh, yeah,” Lizzy said. “A few Daddy issues
help, though.”
    Good God, had she fucking said that out
loud?
    Rae blurted, “Did you have sex with him
during your interview?”
    Lizzy turned slowly and stared at Rae, who
looked wide-eyed scared. “No. Did you?”
    “No.” Her strangled voice sounded
petrified.
    “Ah,” Georgie said. “But you want to.”
    “No!” Rae protested.
    Lizzy laughed at Georgie needling their
sweet, little Rae.
    “Don’t worry,” Georgie said. “He never has
sex with the girls unless they’ve opted in to having him as a
client. Did The Dom explain that whole opt-in thing to you?”
    Lizzy said, “Makes it sound like we’re an
email list.”
    “Yeah, he explained it,” Rae said. “Did you
guys opt in?”
    “Yeah,” they both said.
    Lizzy added, “He’s a boss with benefits.”
    “Really?” The horror in Rae’s voice filled
the car with judgment.
    Georgie answered, “Hell, yes. Besides the
fact that he’s an extra client and you make your usual rate off
him, he’s fun, and it’s just a blow job.”
    Rae said, “Lizzy said they had sex for three
hours.”
    “Oh, no!” A zing sparked up Lizzy’s back at
the thought. “That was a date , not a consulting appointment
in the office, and he didn’t go for three hours straight. We went
back to The Devilhouse after dinner and the concert and did all
kinds of stuff for three hours.” Lizzy licked her lips, trying to
moisten her dry mouth. “All kinds of stuff.”
    Lizzy’s hands started shaking. She pressed
them to her knees, willing the trembling to stop. She was stronger
now. Pain was weakness leaving the body.
    Georgie added, “But it