“Here’s the second part,” I growl. “Every second of those three months you’re not on camera or on stage with me? You’ll spend in my bed.”
Her breath catches.
I know what I’ve found. Something real. Something feral. Something mine.
And three months won’t be nearly enough.
But she doesn’t need to know that yet.
5
SPARKS AND SNARLS
RUBY
One million dollars.
He’s insane.
And at this point, I’m not sure checking his eyes to make sure Zane Draven is all there is abadidea…
Because he looks—God help me—serious.
I shake my head hard enough to rattle brain cells.
MaybeI’mthe insane one. Because all those things he said? For a wild, unhinged nanosecond, I wanted to screamyes yes yesto every single one.
Especially the part about himfucking me nine hundred ways to next year.
Jesus.
Just thinking about it makes me?—
Nope. Not finishing that sentence. The chandelier doesn’t need to hear the filth swirling in my skull.
I blow out a breath.
“You know what else can happen in the next year?” I mutter to myself. “The freedom to take time off and write, write, write to my heart’s content. Hell, I can take five years off. Write a ten-book series in Hawaii if I want.”
Five.
Years.
No Toby. No customers snapping at me. No living off ramen and expired yogurt.
Just writing. And eating. And paying rent on time like a functional adult. Or hey, I can go wild and buy a condo. Or a yurt.
I look at him, then check the impeccable gardens and rows of manicured flowers for hidden cameras. “Is this real? Or am I being Punk’d by someone with an unlimited budget?”
Zane doesn’t even blink. He pulls his phone from his back pocket with one hand, already dialing. “Say the word and I’ll have Freddie bring my attorney up here. We can sign in under an hour.”
I swallow. My mouth is dry and my pulse is a live wire. This may be a fever dream, but the two thousand dollars in my bank account is real. It’ll buy me five minutes if this turns out to be a crazy stunt. “Fine, I’ll do the music video,” I say softly.
His pupils dilate so fast it’s obscene. And a little terrifying.
I lift my chin. “Now for the fucking part.”
He freezes.
