Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79747 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“You’re right.” I don’t want to admit to him that I’m nervous. I don’t think Dawson would outright laugh at me, but the room has a tender balance of give and take.
“Repeat after me.” I nod as he speaks. “I vow…”
“I vow…”
“To never speak of or disclose any information regarding my purpose here.”
I look up at him to see him watching me intently. This means no one in my family will know either. No more good-girl Ricci. No more being told what to do because I’ve finally done something for myself. And I’ll finally be free of these shackles.
“I vow to never speak of or disclose any information regarding my purpose here.”
He nods and steps back, leaning against his desk.
I look up at him. “Can I stand?”
“I’m not sure. I like you down on your knees, though I do get a little PTSD.”
“Funny,” I deadpan and then stand.
He chuckles, and it heats my insides. Fuck. I hate how responsive I am to this man. It’s all sorts of wrong, especially when I can’t have him and most certainly shouldn’t want him.
“So, do we have a deal? Will you sell my virginity?”
“As long as it doesn’t get me killed.”
“Killed?” I ask. Oh, right. My family.
I’ll definitely have to get better at sneaking out so Marco doesn’t clue in on or ever find out about this. “I won’t tell anyone.”
I’m hesitant to ask my next question but fuck it, this is a business transaction, isn’t it? “How much do you think it will go for?”
He’s still considering me, his knuckles going white along the desk’s edge. Is he always this reluctant? This is his expertise, isn’t it?
“Aren’t you dating someone? Why not ask him to fuck you?”
“How do you—” I snap my mouth shut. I’m used to powerful men finding out what they want to know.
I hate how he’s looking at me. There’s a spark of pity in his eye. Or is it something else? But I won’t be tormented by him any further. “Because I’d rather he not be scared off like you were,” I throw back at him.
His demeanor changes. “I wasn’t scared. I just don’t fuck virgins, Honey.”
“Noted. But someone will pay to fuck me, and then I won’t have to worry about it again. A win-win, isn’t it?”
“You could just fuck yourself, you know.” I gape at him, almost shocked at how brazen he is to speak to me like that. “Get a vibrator, lube it up, and insert it nice and slow. That pink little number you ordered from the shop should do the trick.” He takes a step forward and I meet his stare. I’m sick of him thinking he has the control and can play with me like this. His fingers lightly trail down my stomach and come to a stop, where he cups his hand between my legs. I suck in a breath, my eyes widening.
I hate him.
Hate how much he thinks he can have this.
Hate how much my body leans into him for more.
“It’s not enough,” I say, and my words come out shakier than I’d like them to. All of me is on fire. My core is pounding with heat.
He leans in again, and I can smell him. My body goes into desperate overdrive as I try to place a hand between us. But instead of pushing him away, it explores his hard pecs through his shirt.
“You could just fuck a stranger instead,” he says.
I want him. Not a stranger.
“You screen all these people, don’t you? All these potential buyers?” My hand trails down the eight-pack abs I know are beneath the shirt and rests on his belt buckle. “It’s not like I would be given to some dirty old man?” What the fuck am I doing? I step back, trying to reel in whatever self-respect I can muster.
Dawson looks like he’s gasping for air in my absence. And he clears his throat as if he were under the same bizarre spell I’d been under.
I wrap my arms around myself. Dawson’s off-limits. I’m not going down that route. Again.
“You want to put an age limit on those who can bid?” he asks.
“Yes, very much so,” I confirm. I can’t imagine being in bed with someone my father’s age. Each to their own, but for me, no.
“Done.” He walks around to his chair. “Any other questions or requirements?”
I exhale what feels like my first breath since walking in here. “No.”
“Okay.” He presses a few buttons and the door opens, and the man who assisted me before appears. “Lance will take you to the photo room.”
“What for?”
His head drops to the side as he eyes me. “Do you expect people to buy you without seeing you first?”
I kind of hoped so.
“The answer is no. So go and get changed. The photographer is already waiting.” He waves me off and doesn’t look back up.