“Then I’ll pay the penalty,” he says, shrugging.
“It’s fifty percent of the purchase price. That’s like twenty-five thousand dollars.”
He stares toward me a second longer then goes back to twisting his pasta. “I’ll handle it. Send me the link.”
“What are you going to do? Show up guns blazing? You don’t even know this guy. He could be—”
“Dangerous?” Ryker grins but not like a real grin. It’s one of those ‘told ya so’grins. “Do you still want to do this? You want to give your virginity to this stranger?”
I set my fork on the plate and drag in a deep breath as I stare out the window at the valley below. The sun is setting and there are two horses grazing through the last of the snow in the pasture. “I never wanted to give a stranger my virginity, but this is a good opportunity for me to own something meaningful. I mean, look at all this. It’s perfect.”
“I told you I’d buy land for you.” He pauses for a second and I get the feeling he’s mulling over his own demands, though he never shares them.
“I don’t want anything handed to me,” I say, still taking in the sun-drenched layers of the valley floor. “I want to earn it.”
He pauses for a long moment, then brushes his hand down over his beard before finally speaking. “You can work for me. I have plenty of tasks at the distillery.”
“I’d be making the same pay I made at the design office. I need something more. Something more than minimum wage.”
“Who said anything about minimum wage? You want to earn the money the right way, come clean barrels for me. The job is dirty, but the pay is good,” he stands from the table, taking his plate with him, “and I’ll fix all this stuff with the auction.”
As much as I’d love to clean whiskey barrels for the next few decades, the quickest path to starting my life is the sale of my virginity. There’s no going around it. That, and I want control over when and how I give my innocence away. I want it to be meaningless. I want it to be simple and structured so I don’t have any feelings attached to the moment. Nothing I can cry about later when some guy inevitably disappoints me.
But what if I want to give it to Ryker right here and now?Sure it’s wrong, and if it ever got out, it would really mess my relationship up with my brother,but what if it never got out?What if Ryker and I had one night together? One night of fun that no one else on Earth ever had to know about.
I’m pretty sure I’d like that devirginizing memory, though I’m guessing by the way we’re dancing around all this, that reality isnotgoing to happen.
“Why don’t you make that cake,” Ryker orders as he sets his dishes in the sink. “Don’t touch the rest of this stuff. I’ll clean it up when I get back.”
“Where are you going?” My stomach knots as I stand and turn toward him. “I told you I’m going to meet up with that guy. You don’t get to stop me.”
One step forward and the giant is in my space again, his thick hand on my throat as he stares down at me like I’m all he’s ever wanted. “You’re going to pay for this little outburst, trouble.” His gaze stays on mine with a lingering ache, swelling parts of my pussy I didn’t know were there. “When I get back, I’d be ready for your punishment.”
My punishment?
I clear my throat and stare at him as he drags his rough hand between my breasts. There are no words. For the first time in my life, I can’t speak. Hell, for the first time in my life, there’s a punishment coming that I’m excited for.
“What’s my punishment?” I tilt my head to the side and slap my hand up on my hip as I dart him a sassy little look of playful defiance.
There’s a three second pause, maybe more, I’m not really counting, but there’s a pause long enough for me to think over every possible punishment he could use.
A spanking?My pussy clenches and my stomach drops. I’dlovea good spanking!
Edging?I’d let this man edge me all day and night!
A hard face fucking?Sign me up!
Ryker clears his throat. “I’m sending you to bed early. No dessert.”
What?
No. No. No. Where’s the spanking? Where’s the edging? Where’s the demand to get down on my knees?
“I am not going to bed early!” I snap and cross my arms across my chest.
He replies with a laugh, “Okay, trouble. We’ll see about that.” He turns away and leaves me in the kitchen, my heart pounding, my panties wet, and my head in a cloud of absolute disorder.
Chapter Six
