“He’s not a pervert,” I countered.
I had no idea if he was or wasn’t, but I didn’t like Max treating him like... like the criminal he was.
He’d never told me what he’d gone to prison for, or how he’d ended up Gatsby’s cellmate.
“He’s just a fine art snob. I assume, anyway.” I wiped the sweat from my face, arms, and neck, and dropped the towel in the bin. “Is there something you wanted from me?”
“Actually, yes. I am having dinner in the city. I need you to attend. Get showered and put on one of the dresses I bought for you.”
I bit down on my lip as I walked past him. I wanted to say no, but I knew the more things I said no about, the harder he’d push for things I refused to give him.
Sex.
“Is there a color you’d prefer to see me in?” I paused at the doorway, listening to the click of his expensive shoes on the wood as he came toward me. I shivered with disgust as he ran his hand along my collarbone and leaned in, his lips on my ear.
“You look ravishing in red.”
I swallowed and stepped away.
“Red it is.”
I went through the motions, showering, painting my face and curling my hair, and getting dressed. I chose a mini dress with a high collar that clasped around my neck, with a cutout in the back that went down to my behind. I chose tall heels to match, then went downstairs to join Max.
While we drove to the restaurant, he rattled on about who we’d be dining with.
“They love your work. They actually only agreed to take dinner with me if you came.”
“Is that so?” I said with mild interest. This wasn’t the first time he’d said that to me. Beyond his conventional good looks, Max had little else to offer. His charm was surface level, and he needed something to give him an edge, to make him interesting. It was why he’d approached me that day, courted me publicly, proposed publicly, and why he didn’t push when I made him go to bed alone every night.
“All in good time.” He finished whatever he’d been going on about, and I realized I’d zoned out.
“Pardon?”
“Us, combining rooms. I was thinking after this summer, we set a date for the wedding. I’d like to live a little more… traditionally.” He reached for my hand across the seat, and I forced myself not to jerk away. He ran his thumb over my engagement ring. “Wouldn’t you?”
“Our lives are far from traditional,” I said. “I don’t think I was meant for a life so simple.”
“Well, you might want to reconsider.” His voice changed from one filled with excitement to bitterness. “Things will change once we’re married. We will be sharing a bed every night, finally.”
“If we’re sharing a bed, then who will share one with Skye? Will her husband finally get a turn?” I shot back and instantly flinched, bracing for payback.
He snickered. “You know, she could go away if you just stopped holding out on me.”
“She’ll never go away.” Even before she took Max as her lover, she’d been obsessed with mimicking me. I doubt me becoming his sex slave would change things.
His grip on me was strong as we walked into the restaurant and were directed to a private room. Two men and their female dates stood and greeted us. I painted a smile on my lips, and for the next few hours, I played the role of doting fiancée to the next big face ininvestments.
“I saw you inThe Nutcracker. It was a beautiful show. I wanted to be a ballerina when I was a little girl,” one of the women, Jacklyn, a beautiful Black woman with a dazzling smile and gorgeous long black hair said to me. She laughed. “Now I just go see them.”
“I told her to take those stripper classes, but she doesn’t want to do them,” her husband interrupted us, and she rolled her eyes.
“I don’t want to do them alone.” She turned back to me. “All of my friends live in Nashville. Carl brought me up here, and I’m struggling to find people like... us.” She exchanged nods with Dove, the other woman at the table.
“Like us?” I asked.
“Oh, you know…” Dove, a White woman with long blonde hair and giant blue eyes, picked apart a dinner roll before ultimately abandoning it on her plate. “Accustomed to wealth. My father is a TV producer. I grew up knowing how to behave in polite company. And your father, Jacklyn?”
“He established a bank chain.” Jacklyn nodded. “See what I’m saying?”
