“No.”
The simple word sends dread through me.
And a thrill I can’t acknowledge.
“What do you mean?” My voice is small.
“You’ll owe me a hell of a lot more than twenty thousand after they”—he nods toward the door— “take their cut.”
“I can work that off too—”
“No,” he says again, same tone. “I don’t want it back. I want what I paid for. And now that I know you’re not quite the innocent you act, I’m going to take it.”
Chapter Six
Nico
I watch her process those words
She’s scared.
She’s confused.
She’s also angry, but she doesn’t really have a right to be. This was her choice. She’s the one who sold herself.
The baby doll doesn’t help the situation. She looks like a fucking angel.
Maybe that’s the real reason I’m angry with her. Not just because she works for me. Not just because of what this could do to my reputation, but because she’s willing to throw away something so precious for twenty grand.
That doesn’t make her a whore. That makes her stupid. That makes her desperate. And right now, I can’t decide which one is worse.
I need to be careful with her. I don’t want to break her completely, but I do want to break this. I want to break the illusion she has that this is some sort of fairy tale she’s in control of. I want to break the idea that she can walk into a place like this and walk out unchanged.
The longer I stand here looking at her, the more I want her.
I’m a bastard for it.
She’s young. She’s my employee. She’s in a situation she can’t get out of. She’s everything I swore I’d never touch.
But she’s also standing in a room I paid for, wearing a costume she chose to put on, waiting for a man to do whatever he wants to her. And I’m the one who paid to be that man.
I wish for the bourbon I left behind on the bar, but I don’t want to walk away right now.
Her breath is too fast. Too shallow.
I walk toward her slowly.
She doesn’t step back this time. She just stands there, frozen, watching me come.
I stop in front of her, close enough to feel the heat coming off her skin, close enough to see the tiny pulse beating in her throat.
Her eyes are wide, fixed on my face. They’re blue. A clear, light blue that looks almost gray in this light.
Her lashes are dark. Her lips are parted. Her cheeks are flushed.
I want to kiss her. Not gently. I want to claim that mouth, make it mine, feel her under me.
Instead, I lift my hand. Slowly. Giving her time to pull away.
