Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Some trepidation returned as I remembered what was next.
“Relax, Savannah,” he drawled. “It’s been a good evening. Don’t spoil it. I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to.”
I ran my finger on the rim of my coffee cup. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one being led to the sacrifice.”
He tilted his head to the side and considered me. “Is that how it feels, Savannah? Like you’re a sacrifice?”
I dropped my eyes, unwilling to answer.
“What if I tell you, you don’t have to come home with me? What if you get to decide when we have sex again.”
My eyes flew to his. His gaze was steady and inscrutable. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. You don’t have to spend tonight with me. I’ll take you home and we’ll call it a night.”
I stared at him confused. “What if I never want to sleep with you again?”
He shrugged and leaned back in his chair, totally relaxed and supremely confident. “I’ve never had a reluctant woman before, and I don’t intend to start now.”
I knew Robert had already agreed to pay the unforeseen costs, but I was curious as to how he would react. “What about the money for any extra costs?”
His mouth twisted. “My word is good. Send a bill to my account’s office and they’ll take care of it.”
My mind was a confused mess. He was giving me an escape route. He was giving me a way out of this agreement. I was thrown for a loop.
What was I going to do? I had given my word to Robert that I would help him and at the very least, I owed it to him to help him after he had been a rock in those dark days. I cleared my throat and spoke softly.
“I’m a woman of my word. I agreed to your terms. Your terms stand.”
I saw something like a shutter come down over his eyes and a nerve in his jaw ticked. He dropped his gaze to the tablecloth. “Good. I hope the price you pay is not too high.” Then he lifted his hand and made a writing gesture to a waiter standing nearby.
My heart was pounding as he paid the bill and came around to lightly place his hand on the small of my back. The heat from his palm seared me. I could not help but shiver slightly in the night air as we waited for the valet to get out of the car. I turned to look at Max. Gone was the easy-going man I had been with for dinner. This Max had anger rolling off him in waves, but he was getting what he wanted.
Why would he be angry?
The drive to his apartment was made in silence. I refused to break it. We walked through the lobby and were soon in the elevator. I looked at his profile as he watched the numbers climb. I wanted to reach out and ask him what was the matter, but we were no longer in that place. He was a stranger now. A stranger who had paid for the use of my body. The doors swished open and he made a gesture to indicate I should step out first. I walked out and felt him fall in step next to me. He stopped at a door and I waited for him to fish out his keys.
The instant we were inside, he kicked the door closed, and spun me around forcefully, his hands clamped at my waist.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Before I could respond, his mouth crushed mine violently. I was stunned at first as I tried to figure out what was wrong. I allowed my mouth to open beneath his, barely stifling a moan, as his tongue surged in forcefully.
The arousal I had wondered if I would ever feel inside this sordid business arrangement came roaring to the surface as something feral in me took over. I was in Max’s arms. Of course I was going to be aroused no matter what the circumstances were. He was my first and, as much I hated to admit, my only.
The only man for me.
I raised my arms and wrapped them around his neck as his hands yanked on the zipper of my dress. The dress slid into a dark shadow on the highly polished dark green granite floor. Wasting no time, he hoisted me into his arms and deposited me on the kitchen counter. It felt cold. I looked at him, puzzled. He held my gaze as he flicked my bra open and let my breasts spill out. Then he flicked my nipples with his thumbs almost insultingly, the way I imagined a man who bought a whore would, but there was a heat, real heat that he could not hide in his eyes.