The nerve of this man!
It didn’t matter that my crisp shirt was still tented over my peaked nipples or that I would probably need a change of underwear when I got home.
No man…! No man wouldevertreat me like a whore!
I watched as he raised a hand to where a palm print was already blazing red up his chiseled jawline to his cheekbone.
Oh crap.
I swallowed hard and held my ground, desperately trying not to waver. The silence around us seemed interminable. Was he never going to say anything? I could feel my nostrils flaring, my cheeks flushed as adrenalin surged. What had I done? A million dollars could save Emilio. Save him from a death too horrible to comprehend. To what end? So I could save my dignity? I was already one step away from being a prostitute anyhow, dating men for money – balding, potbellied, greasy men who invariably tried to get their hands all over me. Why would this be worse? My body was practically screaming at me to let him take me…this freaking minute!
Oh geez, Sash… Do you have to live on permanent autofuck?
And then he did the unthinkable. The bastard started to laugh. Warm and velvety, the chocolate sound that had captivated me from before. It rolled over me in dark waves that almost made my toes curl. Dear Lord, was there nothing about this man that didn’t seem designed to set my senses on fire?!
His hand left his cheek and then moved to mine, a fingertip stroking my cheekbone, along the curve of my jawline to my chin. He tilted my face up, his thumb brushing my bottom lip, and I fought not to lick it.Dammit, what the hell was wrong with me?
“It’s your choice, Sasha,” he murmured, his voice a caress. “Stay, and the million is yours. But if you leave this room now, the offer is off the table. And there’s no coming back.”
Chapter 2
Prince Walker
Igazed down at the girl standing before me, watching her at war with herself.
Fuck, she’s beautiful!
I could hear Jane shifting behind us, an unwelcome intrusion into this moment…ourmoment. Because there was no doubt in my mind, this moment was pivotal for us. This was the moment that defined everything that happened between us from here on out.
It would be the moment she gave in to me. Or walked out the door. If she walked out, that would be the end of it, and I’d let it go…perhaps. But if she stayed… Oh, if she stayed… Then, a whole world was about to open up to us.
The things I could do to you, sweet thing…
I waited silently, trying not to betray the tension within. It had been a long time since I’d faced a woman who I couldn’t read like a book. That slap had come totally out of left field, and for an instant, she’d set me back a pace. It was a feeling I wasn’t accustomed to. Not around women. With women, I took charge. I liked it that way. It worked for all of us when they gave themselves to me, and I took what I wanted. It was the natural order of things in my world.
Yet here you are, bringing in a new order?
Is that what I was doing?No!This was going to be a transaction. A mutually beneficial contractual agreement between two consenting adults. Adults who would take pleasure from each other and give it back in equal measure.
And then, of course, there was the pesky business of my fucking father and his damn fool demands. Which brought me back to how I’d started out on this little adventure in the first place. Looking for a high-class call-girl to play my fiancée for six months to get dear old dad off my back long enough to get back my spot on the board. No sex. No strings.
What the hell happened to that?
Thishappened, that’s what. This glorious vision, all sex and fire, and innocence bundled into a package made from all the best parts of a woman. As if God had decided to handcraft the ultimate wet dream of a girl, wrap her with a bow and drop her at my feet. Who was I to turn away an act of divine inspiration? After goddamn Angelique had ditched me for not just another man, but the bastard who’d wrecked my company…my career…maybe Prince Walker deserved a diversion. And Sasha Ramirez fit the bill.
Why the fuck isn’t she saying anything?
I fought the urge to lick my lips, which were suddenly dry. I lowered my hand from her face and let my hands hang limply at my sides. If she didn’t answer soon…didn’t acknowledge what I’d just said…
Then what, you idiot? You’ve already shown your last card.
It was true, and I silently cursed myself for it. Rookie business mistake. I’d thrown a crap ton of money at her, then threatened to yank it away if she didn’t give me an answer. Now I had nothing left to bargain with.Dammit.I sensed Jane moving anxiously beside me and willed her away, certain that if she intruded into this moment, the spell would be broken.
Hold your ground…Hold…
Sasha swallowed thickly, and I saw the creamy column of her throat move. A faint pulse twitched at the base of her neck, and I could imagine her heart rate spiking.
Come on. Come on!
