4
Brooks
The next morningcame faster than I would have liked. The alarm went off on my phone, and as much as I wanted to reach for it, I knew it wouldn’t be where I usually left it—because I wasn’t in my room at home. At my house everything stayed exactly the same so I didn’t lose things. I hated the thought of waking Darcy, but a groan beside me told me it was already too late.
“Are you going to get that?” he grumbled in irritation, and I winced. I’d taught myself not to be embarrassed by my lack of sight, like I used to be when I’d first lost my vision, but somehow my stomach curdled in shame anyway. This was Darcy, a man I’d always dreamed of throwing over a counter and fucking, and all my out-of-control fantasies weren’t as possible as I wanted them to be anymore. I still liked rough sex, but I was limited in what I could do now.
“I can’t see where it is,” I said, keeping my voice even.
The bed shifted. “Are you blind?”
There was a stillness in the air, and I counted the seconds until a half asleep Darcy realized what he’d said. There was a low murmur of “fuck,” and a hand touched my shoulder.
“I’m—” He cut himself off, and I was glad because I didn’t want him to apologize. I’d had people feeling sorry for me my entire life, even before I went blind. At first it was about my seizures, and now my sight, and sometimes both. “I forgot.”
“I know.” I smiled. “But at least tell me you didn’t forget about the amazing sex we had last night because then I’d really feel insulted.”
He snorted out a small, sardonic laugh. “My ass is still throbbing. I don’t think I could forget.”
“I’m glad.” I reached for him and touched his wrist, raising his hand to my lips to lay a gentle kiss on the back of it. He let out a breath, and I smiled. I enjoyed the sounds he made, and as frustrating as it was not to be able to see him, his audible excitement was the next best thing. He was so vocal, something I’d never expected from Darcy Winters, and I couldn’t complain. He was as perfect in bed as I’d imagined him to be.
Darcy pulled his hand away, and I let him. This time. “It’s morning. Our contract is done.” His voice was sharp. My vision wasn’t great today, and I barely saw his outline, even though the morning sun danced across my skin and heated it. Some days were truly better than others, and I’d hoped I could at least partly see him, but all I was left with were small sparks of light, nothing that resembled Darcy in any way.
Disappointment settled on my chest, and I sighed. “That’s it? We’re done? You don’t even know my name.”
“You never gave it to me,” he said loudly, then inhaled. He must have realized how aggravated he sounded because he lowered his voice and spoke with the calm tone I was used to hearing from him. “As per the contract, our transaction is completed. You’ve had your night of sex with me for the amount of money you bid. The Courtesan thanks you for your business.”
I didn’t have to see him to know he was close. The moment the bed shifted as though he was about to get out of it, I grabbed the back of his neck, yanking him against my chest. The alarm kept jingling a happy tune, but I ignored it, focusing on the smell of Darcy’s natural scent and the feel of his hands splayed across my pecs.
“What are you doing?” he whispered. I didn’t miss the shock and arousal in his voice, even as he shoved at my chest with his hands. “Your night is over.”
“It is,” I agreed, leaning closer to him. His breath tickled my lips, telling me I was on the right track to finding his mouth for a hard kiss that had his fingers curling against me, nails digging into my skin. The bite of pain warped into pleasure and sped straight down to my cock, making it twitch—which was also a reminder we were both still very naked. “But I’m not sure I can let you go, Darcy.”
“You signed a contract,” he hissed out, but he made no attempt to retreat this time. There was no way he could overpower me.
“Did I?” I stroked my chin with my spare hand, frowning. “I don’t know what I signed. The young man who brought the paperwork to me didn’t read out the terms. He merely passed me the form and I signed it. As a blind man, I can’t attest to what the contract said, and unfortunately, that paperwork wouldn’t hold up in court.” I smirked at him.
He inhaled deeply, and I held back a laugh when he muttered, “Fucking Patton. I’m going to kill him.” Sniffing, he slapped my chest hard enough I suspected it would leave a red mark behind. “You think you’re smart, don’t you?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think I’m smart, my sweet prince, Iamsmart.”
“Well, I’m not playing games with you, Mr. Whoever the Hell You Are.” He shoved away, and this time I let him go. There was a whine to my right, and I reached out in that direction. Lemonade’s wet nose pressed into my palm.
“It’s okay,” I murmured to the golden retriever. “I’m okay.”
Lemonade nudged my hand more roughly and licked at my fingers, whining again. A sign I knew well, but one I didn’t want right now. I’d been careful all night, even wearing my sunglasses for most of it to hide the light from my eyes, but Lemonade’s warning was clear: I was going to have a seizure. The realization came to me in an instant—I’d been so excited about the auction that I’d forgotten to take some of my meds yesterday.
“Fuck.” I ran a hand over my face. My plans were to seduce Darcy, sweep him off his feet, and take him away from here for a while, but now he was going to see something I hadn’t intended, at least not for a long time. I didn’t want him to run for the hills. “Darcy….”
“What?” he snapped, his voice somewhere over in the corner of the room. The alarm had been turned off, leaving us in silence. “Do you want the dog’s harness? I’ll get it for you.”
“Listen to me, Darcy.”
“No, you listen to me. If you know me, you know they call me the Ice Prince. I’m not going to sit around and let you manipulate me into spending more time with you. My mother entered me into this auction against my wishes. She didn’t even warn me, and—”
“Darcy!” I raised my voice as Lemonade got more insistent, nipping at my palm. Sliding off the bed carefully, I didn’t have the willpower to care that I was still naked as I dropped to the floor, turning to lie on my back. I reached up for a pillow and laid it down before lying on my side with my head on it. “I’m about to have a seizure.”
“What?”
