Page 6 of Fierce Monarch

“Boyfriend?”

“Christ. No boyfriend, fuck buddy, or husband waiting for me. No one I give a shit about. Why, you looking for a new girl?”

“Absolutely not.”

The sharpness of my words made her flinch, and I decided that honesty was the best policy here. If she opened her mouth to anyone, she’d be dead before dawn anyway. Even if Cash wanted me to control, he needed my reputation intact more, and that meant he’d do anything to ensure I was as big an alpha male douche as possible. “I don’t want to touch you and I really don’t want you touching me, but I need them to think that we screwed.”

“But you don’t want to?”

Not in a million years, but that felt unkind to say, so I shook my head.

“I’m supposed to—what? Sit in here?” She sounded incredulous, but I saw the way her hand ran across the soft sheets. I didn’t let women into my room, even when I did fuck them, so the guest room had the best sheets I could buy. Soft and supple and so good against naked skin.

“Yes.” She looked like she’d interrupt, but I kept talking. “I won’t fuck you. Not now, not ever, but I need you to make it seem like we did. That means messy hair, messy makeup, walk of shame tomorrow—the whole enchilada. In return, you can stay here in this room. Alone. There’s a massive shower with unlimited hot water and all the streaming channels. I’ll even order you whatever food you want. I don’t give a fuck, as long as you stay until morning.”

We had a pretty good kitchen staff in-house, so room service was an option, but even if she wanted the most expensive meal in the city, I’d have it delivered. I just needed to buy myself some time.

Ava toyed with the bedspread as she looked at the floor. “How do I know that you’re not just going to change your mind and come in here when I’m asleep and vulnerable?”

“Because I’m not an asshole or a predator.” She just stared and I sighed, my patience beyond worn. “There’s a lock on the door, and I don’t have a key. Other than the window, it’s the only exit. You can put whatever you want in front of the door to keep me out. I just need you to keep your mouth shut unless it’s saying that I fucked you into that mattress. Can you do that?”

“They’re not going to believe it.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

I didn’t know how to tell her that her reputation would protect us both, but I didn’t need to. She took one look at my face and laughed. “Look, I know I get around—I’m not ashamed of that—but it means most of the men out there know what I sound like. News flash, I am not quiet.”

Discomfort settled under my skin, and I had the urge to flee the room. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you.”

Or any other woman. The only person whose screams I wanted was Mari, and I doubted I’d be that lucky again.

Ava’s face softened. “I get it. I’m just saying, we need to make it believable.”

“I am not touching you,” I said through gritted teeth.

“I didn’t ask you to.” She pulled her purse over onto her lap and dug through, pulling out a suspiciously large silk pouch.

Oh my fucking god. “Is that a vibrator?”

“Obviously. Wanna see?”

“No!” She dropped the bag to her lap and set her purse on the floor. “Do you just carry that thing around all the time?”

Ava raised her eyebrow like I was dumber than a box of rocks. “You just pointed out that I sleep with a bunch of criminals. Do you think most of them know where the clit is?”

I wasn’t touching that comment with a ten-foot pole.

Ava clapped her hands and grinned. “Here’s the plan. I’m going to stream some audio porn onto the TV and use my vibrator to make myself come. If anybody passes the room, they’ll hear what they expect. I get an orgasm, you get the street cred. They’ll expect an all-nighter from the conquering hero, so I’ll stay in here tonight and repeat a few times. In an hour, you can order room service and leave it and my fee outside the door.”

“What’s your fee?”

“Two hundred.”

I would’ve paid triple to keep her away from me. It sounded like too good of a deal, and I learned a long time ago that anything that good typically meant I was getting fucked.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I narrowed my eyes. “What’s in this for you?”

“I already told you, a few orgasms, food, and a quiet place to rest.” I lifted an eyebrow, and she huffed. “Fine, it’s because you’re paying me.”

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