Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 79061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
She frowned unhappily. “Why not?”
His gaze narrowed. “Is it not enough that I said so?”
“Maybe,” she said slowly, “in other cases it would be, but not this. So why not?” And Lane held her breath, wondering if he was going to spring some awful surprise on her, like maybe he had a secret girlfriend hidden somewhere, and that she was just the rebound—-
Angelo leaned forward and nipped her lip.
Oh!
When he pulled away, he murmured, “Punishment for thinking silly thoughts.”
Oh.
Gosh.
Was it bad if she was already thinking of ways to get punished again? Then she saw the way he was smirking, and she knew he had read her thoughts. She blushed, he laughed, and she sighed, muttering, “You’re such a sadist.”
He only smiled. “When you say that, my Lane, I know you only mean to say, I am everything you want.” He inclined his head in acknowledgment of the compliment. “So thank you for the words.”
His arrogance left her speechless, but eventually amusement won, and she said helplessly, “You’ll always have the last word, won’t you?”
“Naturally. It is how things should be between us—-”
An idea occurred to her, and she said carefully, “Because you like torturing me?”
He eyed her curiously. “Is this a trick question?”
“You do, right?”
“If I say yes?”
“Then...” She took a deep breath and said cunningly, “If you let me stay in your place, just think about it! You can always torture me—-”
Angelo laughed. “Tempting, my Lane, but no.”
“But think of the endless opportunities,” she insisted.
“It’s heartbreaking to say no, but...no.”
“But—-”
“I’m saying no for your sake,” he said bluntly. “The kind of lifestyle I lead is not for someone like you, tesoro.”
“Are you talking about...that?”
She paled. “Are you talking about being...that?”
His eyes bored through hers. “You can’t even say it, and yet you want to live with me, the embodiment of...that?” He mimicked her tone with the last word.
She didn’t hesitate, saying in a rush, “Sadist, masochist, sadist, masochist, sadist, masochist,” and practically turning them into a tongue twister. “There, I’ve said it. Now can I stay with you?”
He shook his head.
“Please.”
Ah. Angelo crossed his arms over his chest as he studied her broodingly. She might not be knowledgeable about the ways of a Sub, but she was already doing just fine. No master could resist that kind of look coming from his Sub, and clearly, his Lane instinctively knew this.
“May I say make something clear first?”
She nodded slowly, his courteous tone putting her on guard.
“You do understand, tesoro, that although I intend to be your lover, and we will be exclusive while we are together, it does not mean you are my girlfriend?”
Oh.
She could only think of one thing to say. “Ouch.”
His face remained inscrutable. “And now that you are aware of this, do you still want to stay at my place?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”
“I see.” His gaze turned contemplative.
“Did you...expect me to say no?”
“Yes.”
She lifted her chin. “Well, sorry, but I don’t give up so easily.”
His lips twitched. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“And what you don’t want to give up on is – me?”
“Umm...” Now this was embarrassing. She didn’t meet his gaze as she said, “Yes.”
“And are you willing to do anything to prove this, my Lane?”
Uh oh. What had his sadistic mind conjured this time?
She said warily, “Yes.”
“Alright then, let’s see you prove it.”
Here we go, she thought.
“First is that if you do stay with me, you must promise to obey my every command.”
She choked out, “Every command?”
Instead of answering her, Angelo reached for his phone in his pocket and made a few swipes on the screen before handing it to her.
Lane blinked when she realized what she was staring at. “A lease contract?”
His lips twitched. “Not exactly.”
Wondering what he found so amusing, she adjusted the glasses on her nose and squinted.
The first few lines were the usual, but then—-
Oh.
“Is this a joke?” she blurted out.
“No.” He gestured to the phone. “Go on, read it. This contract is nothing like what you’ve probably seen in movies or read in books. It’s pretty straightforward, nothing kinky. It’s merely a way to protect us both as well as give you the assurance that nothing I command you to do will ever be harmful.”
“I see.” But she was starting to feel bothered about something else. “Do you have all your partners sign this?”
“No.” Angelo’s smile was humorless as he thought about the women who had signed the contract, which was practically everyone who had spent more than a few nights in his bed, and the one woman in his life who had not even known the contract existed.
The one woman, he thought sardonically, who had shared his life for the longest time without knowing the truth about him.
He glanced back at Lane, who was already signing the contract electronically. When she handed his phone back to him, he commented lightly, “You didn’t take much time thinking about this, tesoro.”