“Talk to me, it’s what I’m here for.”
My eyes lifted, and he was so close I could see the different shades of blue in his eyes. Soft and warm. Nothing like Steven’s evil wheat brown or that man’s cold silver blue. This was kind. Good. Real.
I offered the barest of smiles. So bare, I didn’t think it actually made it to my lips. “Cliché.”
He shrugged, smiling when he saw that he had broken through whatever veil had fallen over me. “Have to be to help my customers.”
I didn’t really know how old Jake was. Late 30’s, early 40’s maybe. I guess age didn’t really matter though. Before this last month, I would have said that if I hadn’t been dating Steven, maybe I would have flirted a little more with Jake, fallen into him, but now? Well, I was a fucking lousy cheating whore. I’d fuck whoever smiled at me pretty, apparently, so why not go all the way? Why not let my thoughts go?
I’d fuck Jake, I suppose. An older guy, a steady job, strong, capable. He talked to me as if I were human. And wasn’t that all it took for me? Some guy looking at me long enough. Pushing me far enough to convince me that I liked it.
Who was I kidding, I liked it the whole time. I liked everything about it. I liked the teasing, the pushing. I liked the way he forced me. I liked how he looked at me. I liked the fight. Icravedthat fight.
Would Jake look at me like that man did?
Could I make him look at me like that? Could I make him fight me like the man did?
Would he give me a real orgasm or would his fall short just like Steven’s?
“Tell me about the guy,” Jake pushed when I didn’t respond. “Not Steven, I’m assuming.”
I searched those blue-gray eyes of his and found myself leaning in just a little more. I wanted that light that he had. I wanted to feel that warmth, to know what it felt like to be happy. “Not him, no,” I told him, my eyes falling to his lips. They looked soft. Warm. Would he take advantage of me, or would he be soft and caring? Would he kiss me everywhere, unable to keep his hands off of me or would he touch where he had to and leave it at that?
No, no, he wouldn’t be so cold. Those hands would touch every single piece of me, I was sure of it.
“Liv,” he said softly.
My eyes lifted to his, my lip falling from where I had caught it between my teeth, my cheeks warming at the sudden look of lust in his eyes. See? A prostitute just like Steven said. Only I was stupid. I was doing it for free.
I angled my chin, making sure my hair still covered the left side of my face, my eye. “It’s a scene in a book,” I told him, watching as his eyes fell to my lips. I liked that. I liked that he looked at me like that. That he couldn’t keep his eyes off my lips. “It’s…frustrating.” What did my lips look like to him? Were they inviting? Were they alluring? Were they everything he ever wanted but never had the guts to take?
“Oh?” His eyes found mine again. “How?”
I shrugged. “She can’t help herself. She knows she shouldn’t, but he’s just so…” I thought about the words carefully. “Captivating.” It was easy. Like an addiction. I got one taste of the world outside of Steven, and I needed more. I wanted more. I wanted to be the whore he claimed I was. I…I wanted…
His throat bobbed.
Men were easy, but they never got any of the flack they always gave us. A pretty girl smiles at them and their cock gets so hard, they can’t even think. I’d be a good prostitute. I’d make millions in my first year, I was sure. I’d be the whore the pimp cherisheduntil his dying days. His money-piece.
“She’s in a relationship?”
“Sort of.”
He had leaned closer, and I wondered if he knew that he had done it. “What did she do?” I wanted to be the girl that made a man lose control. That made him angry because he couldn’t help himself. That made him slowly implode before he couldn’t hold back anymore and finally just…justtook.
My lips parted, but the feeling I had hoped would come never did. I felt nothing. Not even a flutter. But the curiosity remained. I never considered myself the cheating type. Ever. In fact, I hated them, but goddamn. I couldn’t find the strength to leave Steven, yet here I was, toeing the line of a real and true cheat. I didn’t really have a choice with the masked man, but Jake? That would be my choice.
I was weak, wasn’t I? I was the weakest there was. Just like Steven said. Just a pathetic, weak little whore.
Before I could respond a warmth filled my space as the scent of pine and rain flooded my senses.
I slowly sat up, Jake following my motion, and looked over to find the man sitting right beside me.
I worked my jaw and turned away from him, the anger and shame boiling under my skin. Goddammit. I had almost forgotten about him.
Almost.
Jake cleared his throat and adjusted his jeans. “Usual?”
