Page 38 of Vicious

“Well, you, for one,” May says, her voice deadpan, though I can see the way her hand trembles on the tray as she sets the plate back down on the coffee table, dinner half-eaten. “Seeing as how I can’t learn any language at all while I’m locked in some room all day.”

I snort in amusement. “Sure. Is that you fishing for me to bring you language learning books? I can’t help with Japanese, but if you want to improve your Chinese, I can do that.” I say the last bit in Chinese.

“I’m not fishing for anything,” she protests. “Though if you want to reward me for being a cock sleeve in the pool today, sure, I’ll take some language books.”

The way she words it irks me. She isn’t just a toy. I can’t replace her with anyone else. I manage to suppress my annoyance, but only barely. “Oh, sweet May. Do I need to remind you of how much you enjoyed this morning, too? I know I felt your cunt tightening around my cock, and I saw your expression bliss out.”

May stands up abruptly, the anime forgotten in the background. “You don’t get to tell me how I felt,” she says. “Or try to justify what you’re doing.” The renewed flush in her cheeks tells me I’m right on target, though.

The only question is whether I should push or not.

“I’m not justifying anything,” I counter with a brittle smile. “I’ve seen how you get off on pain, May. You’re ashamed of that, and the shame looks good on you, but I’m not going to play along with your prudish sensibilities.”

She hugs her arms against her chest. “Maybe they are prudish, but it was my place to decide if or when I was ready to explore,” she snaps. “Not yours. Maybe I wouldn’t feel like such a… a…” She trails off, waving a hand to dismiss whatever thought she’d been about to voice.

“You should be thankful you’re here with me, and not still at Ntimacy.” I pat the spot next to me on the couch. “Because I think you’d have had lots of fun with many, many men if I hadn’t called dibs.”

She trembles at that, a full-body shudder, and she looks away from me. Her bravado and anger have shifted, and I can tell she’s thinking about just what might’ve happened if she’d been there.

Her fate would’ve been far, far worse than a little pain play and some sex.

Slowly, she moves to sit next to me. The words obviously got to her, just as I’d hoped they would, and she’s been cowed into submission.

For now.

My sweet May would never break this easily.

I brush her chin-length hair back and lean in to kiss the side of her neck. May stays in place, but she tenses, and I can see how her hands clench.

“You’d be terrible at my job,” I tell her as I run my hand over her clenched fist. “You have to make nice with people a lot worse than me—and not just in a friendly customer service way.”

“Is your job the reason you are the way you are? Too much time playing with millionaires who don’t have any morals left?” she mumbles, though there’s no real fire in her words.

“Well, the job is why I’m actually fucking tired right now and just wanted a nice movie night,” I say, allowing myself to actually show my annoyance. “Yes, I have to make nice with people who are out to screw everybody over, and I have to convince them that my idea is better and more profitable than their idea, and while I’m at it I need to read through legal contracts and make sure there are no loopholes that will screw my clients over.”

“Don’t you pay people minimum wage to do that for you while you rake in the big bucks?” May retorts.

“My paralegals? The junior attorneys? I have to proof their work because if they fuck up, that’s my reputation on the line.” I sigh and pull her closer to me. “You really think I just sit around and do nothing all day, don’t you?”

She resists a little, but I tighten my arm around her, and she concedes with a huff. “I think you just fuck people over for a living,” she says. Is she more subdued now? Less accusatory? I can’t quite tell.

“I work in corporate contract law, May. I specialize in mergers and acquisitions.” I rearrange us until she’s sitting with her head against my chest. “The people I’m screwing over are other corporate moguls, most of the time.”

That’s probably not entirely true. It’s easy enough to facilitate the sale of one corporate entity to another, but sometimes a client wants to acquire a smaller business that isn’t as keen on selling. Sometimes the mergers would produce something akin to a monopoly, unless you write the correct papers explaining why it’s definitely not a monopoly.

Maybe if I were a better person, if I were like May, I’d care about the wider implications, but if I weren’t doing this job, somebody else would. I might as well get rich and stay on top of the world, rather than be like all those lawyers working for peanuts because they believe in some hopeless cause.

May falls silent, and I run my fingers through her soft hair. It smells like the expensive shampoo and conditioner I’d bought her, and the subtle floral notes suit her well.

The anime she’d chosen has continued to play in the background, but neither of us has paid attention to it for several minutes. I don’t pay attention now, either, instead lifting her head so I can kiss her.

She startles, not kissing back, but I press my lips more insistently against hers.

“I’m not trying to fuck you, Ah-May,” I murmur against her mouth. “Just accept the sweet. It can’t be spice every single time.”

“Will you get me the language books?” she asks.

I stop and take a breath. It’s my fault. I’d told her our relationship was transactional. But if this is what it takes to get both the sweet and the sour side of May, I’ll take it.

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