Page 19 of Worthy

“Will that be all, Sir?” she asked, her voice now void of emotion.

“Yes, for now. Please see yourself out.”

I watched as she rose, her long, elegant legs carrying her away from me as fast as she could.

Fuck, I thought again. This girl.

Later that afternoon, I sat alone in my house, gazing out at the vast, lush grounds. The club opened tomorrow. Everything was in place. I was excited to share my vision with our patrons, to watch them be dazzled by the property, the beautiful girls, and the decadence of the club. But my thoughts kept veering from my accomplishment and the club’s grand opening.

Instead, I kept thinking about Faith. Over and over, our conversation replayed in my head. Our meeting had disturbed me.

Every time I thought about the girl, my dick got hard. That could be taken care of—and would be, promptly. I’d decided that tomorrow night, I would pay ten million dollars to bury myself in her. I would take Faith’s virginity and be done with it. My attraction to her could be controlled. It could be sated. And this could be accomplished within the confines of the contract my legal team had drafted, just to my liking.

No, my attraction to her wasn’t what troubled me.

It was her story and my reaction to it.

Faith was alone and caring for her younger, ill sibling. She had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was too young and inexperienced for a role like that, but she’d taken on the responsibility. She’d come to work at the club, and agreed to sell her virginity, for her brother’s sake.

Her story resonated with me. Not that I’d ever been a sex worker—of course not. But from a young age, I’d had the responsibility of being the head of the family. My parents died when I was eighteen. Rhodes and Sterling had still been in school. I’d put my own life to the side to care for them, taking over the helm of Blackwood Enterprises while making sure my younger brothers didn’t flunk out of school or go down a dark path.

It had been difficult. In many ways, it still was. I didn’t ever want to let my brothers down—I was all they had. So when Faith described her brother’s dependence on her, it hit home. I had empathy for her.

I wasn’t sure if empathy was an emotion, but it was certainly a feeling. And I didn’t have any room in my life for one of those.

Gina called me, breaking my reverie. We discussed several items, including the setup of the dungeon area and the schedule for the club employees the following day. “One more thing,” she said before we hung up. “Did you let Faith keep her phone?”

“No, I didn’t.” I pulled the phone from my pocket, running my fingers along the cracked case. “She signed the agreement and turned it in. I’ll get it to you eventually.”

I hung up before she could ask more.

Then I held tight to Faith’s phone—which, for some reason, I’d kept in my pocket all day—and willed time to pass more quickly.

Tomorrow night, I would take my virgin.

And I would get Faith out of my head once and for all.

CHAPTER TEN

opening night

FAITH

“I can’t wear this,” I said, cringing as I inspected my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t recognize the girl looking back at me. The Madam had insisted I wear a black lace thonged bodysuit, along with sky-high Louboutin heels. The diamond V pendant glittered from the base of my throat. Macy, my new best friend, had blown my hair out stick-straight. Tate, my willowy roommate, had done my makeup.

I, Faith the Virgin, wanted to run and hide.

“You look hot!” Macy exclaimed. “Doesn’t she look hot, Tate?”

Tate glanced up from the makeup mirror. She wore a silk robe and had only applied one cat-eye’s worth of black eyeliner. “Listen to Macy, Faith. You look hot. Unicorn-virgin hot.” She waggled her eyebrows.

“You’re going to get platinum-level banged in that outfit,” Macy told me confidently.

“Ugh, I can’t do this.” I sank onto the bed.

“We are going to walk into that club half-naked like we own it.” Macy put her hands on her hips. She wore a sexy, sheer baby doll dress with a white lace thong underneath, her amazing assets on full display. “If I can do it, you can do it.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I think you might have more guts than me.”

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