Page 14 of Violent Cravings

“How much money are we talking?” I dare to ask, still not looking at him.

He lets a few moments pass by without responding. Instead, he watches me, observing, waiting. I could be wrong, but he appears to be somewhat disappointed.

He opens the folder that’s before him on the table, and pulls out a piece of paper. He slides it over for me to see.

“The financial portion of the proposal,” he says, nodding toward the piece of paper in my hands. “All of it.”

I inspect the paper he’s given me. It’s an agreement listing a bunch of dollar values, each linked to certain conditions and bonuses. He even includes value-added tax, as if this was a legal business contract. I almost want to laugh, but the number that’s written on the bottom of the page steals my breath.

“Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars?!” I exclaim, lifting my eyes to meet his gaze. “Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of sick joke? If so, it’s not funny at all –”

“I’m dead serious,” he says, not blinking.

We exchange a silent stare for a few moments, and then he removes the piece of paper from my hand.

“Two hundred and fifty thousand up front,” he says, giving voice to something that was listed on the paper. “If you agree. It would be paid to you the moment you sign the contract, before anything else even happens.”

He pauses, before he adss: “Plus bonuses for anal, bare–”

“Yeah, I can see that,” I interrupt him.

I’m dumbfounded trying to process what’s happening here. There’s a voice inside my head – Layla’s voice – chastising me for even hesitating.

“What the hell is there to consider?” I hear her yell. “He’s handsome, he’s sexy. You would have slept with him anyway! And the money! It would be enough to pay off your debt, and the perfect amount to start a new life, even give college another chance. Anything!”

Anything. I could do anything with this money. I would finally be free from the horrible debt that’s been weighing on me for years.

I’d be free.

But this is so wrong. Do I really want to sell my body? Especially since this would be my first time with a man. I’ve told myself over and over that I’d wait for the right one to come along, the special one. And now I’m considering selling my virginity? Isn’t that against everything I stand for?

Then again, what do I stand for? Eternal poverty and struggling, because that’s the noble way to do things? It sure as hell doesn’t feel noble.

But next to these thoughts, I can’t fathom the fact that he’s even making this offer. He doesn’t look like someone who needs to buy women for pleasure. He could have any woman, any time. Why on Earth would he pay out such a substantial amount of money for just one night – and with a woman like me?

“I don’t get it,” I give voice to my doubts. “Why are you doing this? Because let me tell you, there’s no need for it. A man like you could have any woman he wanted.”

He flashes his gorgeous smile, the one that makes my stomach do funny things.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he says. “But trust me when I tell you that this is the only way that works for me.”

He pauses, fixating on me as if he wanted to make sure that I’m listening.

“This about more than just sex,” he says. “You have to understand that.”

“I thought this is just for one night,” I say, nodding toward the paper in his hands. “Or, twenty-four hours to be precise. At least that’s what it said.”

He nods.

“Yes, but a lot more than just sex would happen during those twenty-four hours, Miss Brown,” he says. “You’d give yourself to me. Your only reason for existing would be to please me – and receive pleasure in return.”

It’s hard to ignore the jump my heart makes at his words.

Please him...

Why does that turn me on? The tingling in my core is new to me. I shift around in my seat, as if I that would calm my hungry body. This offer will be hard to turn down.

And I have to turn it down, right?

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