“It’s one last job. It’s Joseph. He offered to pay five times what he normally would. I’m surprised you didn’t get a call from my agent, what with your ‘retainer’ on me.”
“She did. An hour ago. I told her it wasn’t necessary, considering you aren’t an escort anymore. My motherfucking bad.”
“I’m saving to buy my own restaurant, and this will push me over the finish line. It’s a few hours, and then I’m done for good. Plus, it will help me pay rent to you.”
“I’ll write you a fucking check. How much do you need? And there’s no chance in hell you are paying me rent. I own this property outright, and we’re a team now. What’s mine is yours. I won’t take your money.”
“And I’m not takingyourmoney, Ry.”
“And you’re not taking some skeezy guy’s money either. If I have to pay five times the price, I fucking will.”
“Stop! I won’t be your whore. Submitting to you is one thing, but accepting money to spend the night with you made me feel like a prostitute. I vowed I would never let it happen again.”
“Then we agree. Being an escort is off the table.”
“Don’t twist my words. Everything has been going so well. I just need to take this one job. It’s a gala. Four hours max.”
“You mean for the gala I’m the keynote speaker at? Did you forget that asshole and I run in the same circles when it comes to business? I can’t stand the thought of you with some other guy.”
“I’m not fucking him. It’s a fancy dinner in a pretty dress. That’s it. I didn’t know you were going to be there when I accepted the job.”
“And now that you do know?”
“I can’t say no to this. I’m almost at the finish line, Ry.”
“Aspen, I’m never going to just back down on this. It’s a fucking hard limit.”
“I signed your contract. I set my boundaries, and I’m sticking to them.”
“Fuck!” I start pacing our bedroom. “I fucking hate this.”
Now that we live together, I thought she understood that her time as an escort was finished. She said as much.
It’s strange how the goal posts have changed for me. Everything I convinced myself I’d never want again has becomethe milestones I crave with Aspen. Collaring her will be a vital step in our relationship, but so will the ring I put on her finger when the time is right.
“Please understand, Ry. I had a whole life before you came barreling into it, bringing Venom with you. I know you have certain expectations for a submissive, but we agreed that this wasn’t going to be a twenty-four-seven thing. I have to have my autonomy, and financial control is a hard limit for me.” Look at her, using my own language against me.
“And some guybuyingyou is a hard limit for me.”
“Then I don’t know where we go from here. I’ve been working toward my goal since the day I turned sixteen and got my first job. I won’t give that up for you, Ry. Don’t ask that of me.”
“That’s not what I’m fucking asking. How would you feel if I were training another sub?”
“It’s not the same. I’m not going to fuck anyone.”
“Neither would I. I would simply be teaching the rules of submission. I wouldn’t be fucking her.”
“No! You’re being totally unreasonable.”
“You haven’t answered my question. Would it bother you?”
“I… it’s different. We have a contract for me to be your sub. That’s an exclusive relationship.” I close the distance between us in nothing but my boxer shorts. “Would you be jealous, baby girl?” If she wants to play, then I’ll use every weapon in my arsenal.
“I’m not asking to have a relationship with someone else.”
“Neither am I. I just figure, if you’re out for the evening looking drop-dead gorgeous, with a guy who doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as you, I may as well help out at Venom. They are always up for having help on the training floor.”
I step into her space, my fingers caressing up her spine under the oversized tee of mine that she likes to sleep in.
