Page 26 of Audacity

The pure joy and relief I feel as she convulses around me, giving me her blessing to let myself hurtle through galaxies filled with white-hot pleasure, is indescribable. I’m aware of the low, bestial noises I make as I rut and rut and empty and empty, of the soaring, wondrous, light-filled euphoria coursing through me.

As I come down from my impossible high, I release her hair and smooth my hand down her back. All thoughts of prayers are gone—I don’t fucking need them.

I ease carefully out of Athena’s body and help her onto her side. ‘Wait,’ I tell her, clambering off the bed with my fingers holding the condom on. ‘Don’t move.’

In the bathroom, I dispose of the condom quickly and grab her a robe. I have no idea if a woman who’s been paid for sex has more or less post-coital vulnerability than other women, but I’m not about to take any chances. After the mother of all orgasms, I’d like to think my despicably base urges are sated and I can think and act like a man for whom compassion has been his literal job.

When I come back through to the main suite, she’s lying on her side, facing the centre of the bed, one leg pulled up and one laid out. She looks otherworldly beautiful, pretty fucking satisfied, and not overtly self-conscious.

‘Hey,’ I say, climbing on and laying the robe over her before I lie down to face her.

She gazes at me through her thick eyelashes, giving me a dazed little smile. She looks like she’s momentarily lost a couple of IQ points, which I’m unfeasibly pleased about.

‘That’s very thoughtful, thank you.’

‘I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable, so…’ I trail off and prop myself up on one elbow so I can enjoy the view. ‘Are you feeling okay?’ I ask.

A little laugh. ‘Uh, yes. I amveryokay.’

My parents definitely didn’t raise me to employ high class hookers in my workplace, but neither did they raise me to treat any woman with less than the full respect she merits. And Athena may have got off on being spoken to like a whore just now, but it’s clear to anyone who meets her that she is an incredible woman who deserves to be treated like the goddess she is.

As far as I’m concerned, the moment we both come down from our orgasms is the moment that demeaning talk stops and I demonstrate the full force of my esteem.

‘Glad to hear it,’ I say now. ‘That was…’ I blow out a breath. ‘Fucking spectacular.’

‘Yeah. It was hot as fuck.’

‘Excellent.’ I clear my throat as I lay a hand on her hip through the robe. ‘So the obvious question is, when can you start?’

She laughs, but there’s a pleased flush on her face that I really like. ‘I’ve got the job?’

Now it’s my turn to laugh. ‘You’ve got the job, a million times over, if you’ll take it. I’m so fucking sold it’s not funny.’

She sits up, letting the robe slide off her, and I admire the generous swell of her breasts, the perfect pinkness of her still-taut nipples against her creamy skin. She gets her arms through the sleeves of the robe and pulls it loosely closed around her, leaving it untied. I rise reluctantly to sitting and place a spare pillow over my dick, because it seems she’s already shifted into work mode.

‘Okay,’ she says, eyes narrowing as she surveys me. ‘Let’s do this.’

‘Really? I passed?’ A broad grin splits my face, and she shakes her head at the sight of it.

‘Let’s just say you scraped through. By the skin of your teeth.’

Those two toe-curling orgasms I gave her tell a different story, but I’ll let her have this.

‘Glad to hear it. So when can you start? What’s the score with giving notice?’

She screws up her face. ‘Technically, there’s no notice period. That’s to protect the Seraphim if we want to get out of a position quickly. But I’d never do that to my current employer, so let’s say a month. I owe him that, at least. I’ll hand in my notice as soon as I receive your formal offer letter.’

She’ll have that letter in her inbox by tomorrow, if I have my way. ‘A month. Jesus, kill me now.’

‘You’ll survive. I’m sure your current EA—Gladys, wasn’t it—can jerk you off if you get too wound up.’

‘Please don’t even joke about that.’

‘Well, you can take yourself off to Alchemy. Try to stay awake this time. You’re a big boy, you’ll handle it. And I’d like to start reading up on the business in more detail while I’m working out my notice. I’ll sign an NDA with the offer letter so you can share your data with me.’

‘Sounds good,’ I say forlornly. A whole fuckingmonth.

‘It’ll fly by, especially with Christmas.’ She pats me on the shoulder as she slides off the bed, wrapping her robe more tightly around her. ‘Besides, you told me you like taking things slow. Remember?’

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