Chapter #1 - Kissing is a Cover

*This writing is the Copyrighted Intellectual Property of Elaine White*

Copyright © 2015 by Elaine White

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When it comes to writing, I tend to rework ideas, as I'm writing them into a story. So what goes down on paper, as an idea or a plan for a story, might not always end up happening in the story. Example: this short story "Kissing is a Cover" was originally intended to be an introduction short story to a larger novel "Kissing Undercover". Although "Kissing Undercover" may actually happen, "Kissing is a Cover" will not.

Why not?

Because I "borrowed" from "Kissing is a Cover" to add new scenes and more excitement to "Courage in the Kiss". Both stories originally had vastly dissimilar plots, with CITK being a contemporary romance with low heat and a little bit of angst, while KIAC was a short story with bags of heat and chemistry, but very little flesh. Now that I've combined the two, I can honestly say that I love how it turned out. But...you won't be seeing any peeks of how KIAC has changed CITK, until release time.

In KIAC, the names and lives of the characters were completely different to CITK, but I made the names the same, before "borrowing" some parts. Now, although the characters are wildly different in CITK, the names are the same, but don't hold that against me.

For now, I'll be posting my short story here, in chapter increments, for those who may be interested. And, who knows, one day in the future you may recognise certain parts, if you read CITK. ;) 

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Kissing Is A Cover

Chapter 1

Hadley decided to go to a club, to release some pressure from being newly unemployed. Her life was a disaster; it was about time she relaxed and forgot about the stress, pressure and chaos, and just enjoyed herself.

She only had time to sit down on a bar stool, ordering a drink for herself, when she heard a commotion, louder than the usual noise, in the corner of the room. Giving a glance in their direction, to see what the big fuss was, she noticed a group of men all toasting to one lone figure. Strangely, he looked as if he couldn't have cared less for the celebrations or their drunken cheers.

He was oddly familiar and it took Hadley a little while, to think of where she had seen his face before. When she finally had it, a smile slowly crept onto her lips, in wonder. His name was Maxx and his picture had been in the newspaper countless times. He was a notorious criminal's son, reputed to be following in his fathers footsteps, despite the fact that he did so behind the façade of being an art dealer and businessman.

It was actually quite perfect. He was famous without his father, a notoriously rich business man, with a mysteriously quiet life. She could get a great story from him; front page news, if she only got close enough and found out all the gossip from the inside. She might even get her journalism career back on track.

That idiot, who kept stealing her work, wouldn't win after all. She might have quit, of her own free will, after a year of frustration, but she could win the final war, if she only did this right.

They might have one or two stories left over, from old submissions, but they didn't have anything new of hers, to pass off as their own. And since Christian, her boss, had made it perfectly clear that he wouldn't help her save her career, unless she had sex with him, she didn't feel one ounce of regret. She could get a hot new story, bigger than Christian could ever dreamed of, and get him back for being such a slimy pig all the time, trying to keep her locked in the office, by letting someone plagiarise her words.

Her brother, Tad, had once told her the best piece of advice he had been given, as a rookie FBI agent. To get to know everything about a case, he had to become the case, get all the classified details from the inside and hack the system. She had to be the type of person being investigated.

The thought percolated inside Hadley's head, as she watched the numerous men leaving the table they had in the corner, to find a girl to dance with. All except Maxx.

Hadley paid more attention, as she watched him, in the mirror behind the bar. He was sitting by himself, the only person in his corner of the club that wasn't busy either flirting with the nearest person or dancing.

He incredibly handsome, not much older than she was, with dark hair cut into an untidy army hairstyle. He had a mysterious air to him, too; a hidden quality that she could detect behind his dark chocolate eyes, even from the distance they were from each other. And she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to see that mysterious look up close, only able to guess that it would be just as mesmerising as he was.

Her cheeks flushed, as she glanced into the mirror and caught Maxx watching her. He set down his bottle of beer, with an inquisitive tilt of the head, in her direction. Almost as if he knew she was watching him.

Hadley was distracted, for just a moment, as a body bumped against hers.

“Hey darlin',” the male voice said, as the man moved to put his back to the bar, to face her. He was clearly drunk, which she could tell from the sway of his movements and the reek of alcohol coming off him. “Fancy a dance?” He asked, making some ridiculous dancing gesture to her, as he spoke.

“No thanks,” Hadley replied, putting on a nice smile, hoping he would go away.

“Aw, come on.” He goaded her, slipping his arm around her waist.

She wasn't sure why she did it, but she glanced over in Maxx's direction, desperate to be saved from the arm she tried to remove from her waist. He seemed to get the message, because he got up, fastened his suit jacket and walked over, as calmly as if he'd always intended to approach her.

She gave the drunken man's arm a harder push, which forced him to release her, just as Maxx appeared.

“Hey beautiful. Sorry I'm late.” He said, cupping her chin in his hand, as he leaned in to kiss her lips. The touch was brief, but electric, and Hadley couldn't stop her eyes from fluttering shut, for just a second.

The second Maxx released her, from his kiss and from his hold, he turned to raise an eyebrow at the drunk who had been bothering her. He grumbled to himself, as he left, clearly getting the point.

“Fancy getting out of here?” He whispered in her ear, as Maxx sidled up next to her. The sound of his voice was more alluring than she had imagined it would be and she almost wanted to close her eyes and imagine what it would be like in other circumstances. But she had to remember that she was getting close to him for work, not a personal encounter.

Hadley wasn't surprised to find his dark eyes smiling at her, when she turned to look his way. She didn't know how to thank him for intervening or how to answer his question. She didn't feel the same initial wariness that she usually felt, when a man approached her in the same situation. Most of the time, she ignored the men that either asked her to dance or offered to buy her a drink at clubs and restaurants, because Tad had always brought her up to be cautious.

But this time, she didn't feel the usual warning sights going off in her head. All she felt was a strange shiver running up her spine, that said she had to take her chance before it passed her by.

“I'm Hadley. Thanks for rescuing me.” She introduced herself quietly, feeling nervous.

“Maxx.” He returned, unnecessarily.

She already knew who he was, but she was glad to know that he didn't already suspect that; if he did, then she would never get her story.

Maxx slipped his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers. He quietly led her away from the bar and through to the back room, which was mostly reserved for private parties.

Hadley wasn't sure whether to go or not, but she couldn't help herself. She needed a job, money and a career; it didn't hurt that Maxx was gorgeous, either. Something about the way he looked at her and the tingles that ran through her, when he touched her, said that she would be a fool not to trust her instincts. She could at least get to know him, even if it meant turning down any advances he might make towards her.

She couldn't offer any kind of explanation for her actions; she could barely think of anything other than what he might intend for them, once they reached the VIP room. She knew that she was wrong to be so excited about the thought of him kissing her again, when she didn't know him and she was only getting close to get a story. But she was running out of options.

This could be her big break; neither she nor the world knew anything about him and, right now, that was all that mattered. Not his name or who he was, not whether he was just another guy making another cheap pass at a girl in a club, or whether he was genuinely interested in her. Just that he was a mystery she needed to unravel, if she ever expected another reputable publisher to hire her as a journalist.

But something about the way he held her hand, the way his fingers intertwined with hers, making a perfect fit, said there was much more to their chance meeting than she had anticipated. It felt like a spark rushed through their hands, where they joined, and it made her speechless.

She couldn't give up so soon and just walked away. Not after knowing that touch.

She had to find out whether there really was something there between them, some kind of chemistry. If she didn't, she would regret it right along with everything else she had found herself regretting, in the past few days of her life. And even if it didn't work out, if it meant nothing, then it was all for the better. Because at least then, she could get her story and not feel any guilt for leading on a guy that she had no connection with. She could just make out that it was any other relationship, that failed to work out.

Even if, in the back of her mind, she knew that using this unsuspecting man, to further her career and get a hot new story, was wrong. Even if she knew that using Maxx for her next story was as bad as her abandoned plan of seducing Christian, into finding and shaming the thief who stole her stories.

Hadley had to face facts; she was a hypocrite. She couldn't stand the thought of sleeping with Christian to save her career, but now that she was unemployed, she was walking a tight rope of temptation, with Maxx.

She'd walked out of the frying pan and into the fire, for what? A story, a job, a career? Was it worth it?

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Stepping inside the back room, Maxx felt a strange apprehension, that he had never felt because of a girl before. He saw the nervous glance she gave the otherwise empty room, as though he had planned a more physical introduction to each other than he had thought to consider, so soon after meeting her. Not that the thought wasn't appealing, when she only looked all the more beautiful, in the brighter lights of the VIP room. Nevertheless, she had brought the suggestion to his mind.

When she unconsciously stepped up closer to him, he couldn't help but want to kiss her. Slipping his hand from hers, he could detect the uneasiness in her eyes, as he brushed a stray strand of hair from them.

The sexual chemistry between them was like a current of electricity, drawing him closer. He gently cupped her face in his hand, kissing her earlobe, playfully, before staring into her eyes. As soon as he realised she was about to say something, he cut her off. He didn't want to hear words.

“Your body can tell me more than your voice can, Hadley…let me feel you.” He whispered in her ear, gently backing her up against the wall.

He spared a moment, to register her faint smile, before kissing her, his mouth overpowering hers easily. She moaned as he let his hands drift over her supple, curvaceous body, in appreciation.

The dress she wore ended mid-thigh, so he took advantage of that and slipped his hand underneath the black fabric. Her skin was soft and her mouth was hot, as they kissed with a kind of desperate passion that he hadn't felt for a woman before. He'd had rushed encounters, moments of need and pure lust, but nothing that set every nerve on fire, the way kissing Hadley did.

A hand swept into his hair, as he cupped his hand around the back of her left thigh. The moan that escaped into his mouth, as he guided her legs apart, was even better. But just as he was going to reach out for what he wanted, the feisty girl in his arms licked his bottom lip and drew her leg up his, until she had it wrapped around his thigh.

Maxx flicked her tongue with his own, until they met halfway in a hungry kiss. He loved that she wanted to be an equal part of their encounter, so he let her have her way. It only made it all the sweeter as he reached between them and slipped his fingers beneath the sexy lace panties she wore.

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You can read Chapter 2, of this 3 chapter short story next week. Stay tuned...