Page 7 of Bait Me
We seem to be in some kind of stare-off, until I finally relent and say, “Come in,” sarcasm dripping from my voice as I dramatically wave my arm through the air. He walks in like he owns the place, and to be fair, he totally could. I can’t stop my eyes from checking out his arse as he passes by me. Oof. I quickly shut the door and turn to face him, his eyes sparkling with something like triumph.
“So, what can I do for you?” I ask, going to cross my arms over my chest again and then remembering how he looked at me before and quickly dropping them back to my sides.
“I gave you twenty-four hours, and now I’m here for your answer,” he says, getting straight down to business.
“Look, I’m flattered that you seem to think I’d be a good fit for whatever client you have waiting in the wings, but I’m not the girl you’re looking for, and I thought that had been made perfectly clear.” If he’s not beating around the bush, then neither am I.
“And I told you that I go after what I want, and what I want is you,” he says, not missing a fucking beat.
“I can’t be an escort, Darius, and it would be wrong, what with you being my sister’s ex and all.”
“And if I wasn’t?” he questions, catching me off guard. “Hmmm. That’s what I thought.” No need for me to answer, because my silence tells him that I would consider this if Kelly weren’t in the mix—not that she is anymore, but still, it’s weird.
“Not to mention the fact that I would be paid to spend time with someone I don’t even know,” I say, trying to deflect from my sister, because it feels icky in a way.
“I get it, this life isn’t for everyone, but usually the tune of fifty thousand pounds changes minds pretty quickly,” he says flippantly, as if he hasn’t just dropped a fat chunk of change into the mix.
“Pardon me?” I must have misheard him.
“Actually, that’s just a starting point, there is no limit to how much you can earn from allowing someone else to have the pleasure of your company.”
“A starting point?” He’s got to be fucking joking with me? Sadie would have said if it was that much money, surely?
“Yes. Seeing as my client wanted two nights with you, it would be fifty thousand per night, plus expenses paid.”
Mother of fuck.
“Okay, where’s the hidden camera? Who’s put you up to this?” I question, running my eyes over his body to look for some kind of contraption that could be a damn camera. I don’t find one, and all I find is amusement when my eyes move back to his.
“No one puts me up to anything. This is the real deal, Bonnie,” he confirms, and why the hell do I believe him? Why do I trust what he is telling me? I don’t even want to try and figure out the answer to those questions right now.
“And that real deal includes sex and God knows what else,” I say, my mind quickly coming up with a million different ways I could be hogtied with fuck knows what inserted into me. No, no, I don’t think so.
“No sex, Bonnie, that’s just for your time.”
“Stop it.”
“I would if it was a lie, but it isn’t. You have my word.” And there he goes again, making me believe his damn word. “So, one hundred thousand for two nights and two days. What’s it going to be, Bonnie?”
Chapter Six
DARIUS
I can see the indecision on her face. She wants to do it, but family ties are holding her back. Although, I struggle to see why when her sister did nothing but bitch about her, and her parents looked like they gave absolutely no fucks, all of their devotion showered over her sister—well, her mother’s devotion anyway, her father was more despondent than an alien who might have just crash-landed on Earth.
“I promise you, you won’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. At most, you’ll accompany the client to dinner and spend the night, but if separate beds are what you request, then that is what will happen.” I would never allow an employee to be taken advantage of, ever. My reputation is worth its weight in gold, and I have no plans to ever change that. My business isn’t seedy, its high class, and it’s why the pay is so good. The women and men that work for me tend to stay until they have decided to marry and have a family, and sometimes, they come back with their husband or partners blessing, because they know who I am and what I’m about. Hell, I’ve even had dinner with some of them, because that’s the kind of guy I am. Trustworthy. Honest. And I’ll have my employees’ backs at every turn.
“I…” She starts to speak and then closes her mouth, biting her bottom lip. Her plump lip which I would very much like to bite myself. “I just don’t know.”
“Well, ask me anything to reassure your mind. I’ve got all night,” I tell her, because even though I said she had twenty-four hours, I’d wait a fucking lifetime for her. The first moment I saw her, I knew that I had met the wrong sister. The first time I heard her laugh, which didn’t happen very often around her family, I knew it was my favourite sound. The first time she looked at me, really looked at me, I knew she’d be the one to have the keys to my heart. And when she came on my hand last night, her body reacting to me like it already knew who I was, I knew without a fucking doubt that she was mine. Just mine.
“Darius…” she starts, but then her voice fades off as she bites her bottom lip, making my cock twitch. “When exactly would this weekend happen?”
“This coming weekend,” I tell her, and her eyes pop open wider.
“As in, this Friday, which is four days away?” she questions.
“Yes,” I confirm, because I’m a selfish bastard who deemed putting a little more pressure than usual on the timing as a way to grind her down, get her where I want her. Less time to think. “It’s why the pay is so high. For the inconvenience.”
