Page 15 of Poison

Why the hell wouldn't I accept it? "Yeah. It's cute as hell. I love it. Matches the brand."

"Doesn't that just add more to your debt?"

I shook my head. "No, baby, that's actually in the contract. Sponsors have to give free room and board. As well as clothing and food. Granted, none of it has to be nice, but they have to provide it. Also, if they give any gifts to the servant, they aren't allowed to ask for reimbursement. And if a servant is lucky enough to get an allowance, the sponsor isn't allowed to ask for compensation for that either. It's seen as a gift."

"Guess I didn't look my contract over that well."

"Oh, you dirty little boy, what did you do?" I regretted asking the moment the words left my lips. I didn't want him to know why I was in shackles. The only person, aside from Hobbs, who knew what I had done was Cherry, and it took a long while for me to confess my sin to her.

His stupidly handsome smile sent butterflies soaring through my belly. "It's really embarrassing. Let's just say it's why I barely drink anymore."

Giving him a fake scowl, I downed a drink and picked up another. "Crasher."

He shrugged.

"Nobody likes a crasher, Vic."

He shook his head, but his smile never faltered. "Fine, alright. I warned you. I got really drunk one night and took a shit in someone's yard."

Cherry and I broke out into laughter. I laughed so hard I leaned over, bumping into Vic. When I pulled away, I gave him a once-over; I sure liked feeling his body up against mine. I scooched over so my leg touched his. He didn't move away, which made the butterflies flap their wings even harder. "So, you don't party at all?" I asked, flirtatiously placing my hand on his shoulder.

"I drink a little," he admitted, picking up one of the drinks.

I got up and dumped some Nova onto the white tray. After separating it into three lines, I pulled out a rolled-up sinderand pressed it to my nose. The dust tickled as I snorted it up. Pinching my nostrils, I shook my head and licked my lips reflexively before holding the sinder out to Vic.

"I drink a little, and that's all." `

"You really are a crasher." Winking, I set the sinder down before slowly and seductively straddling Vic's lap. My eyes swept over his body as I gently ran my hand down his strong bicep and forearm. Avoiding his gaze, I examined the tattoo I hadn't noticed before. A baby blue feather pen dripping ink.

"What's this for?" My fingers gently traced over the delicate lines.

"I'm a writer."

Leaning back, I stared into his beautiful eyes. "An author, huh?"

He smiled. "No, just a writer. I don't have anything published."

Leaning forward, I stopped inches from his lips. I wanted to kiss him. Badly. An act of intimacy I hadn't wanted to do in a very long time. Running my tongue over my lower lip, I went for it. I licked his lip before biting and sucking it into my mouth. His tongue flicked against mine, and in a flash of heat, our tongues wrestled for dominance in a fiery kiss.

"None of that!" Cherry barked. "No doing the dirty in the booth. This is my party; if I ain't getting no dirty, you two aren't getting the dirty."

Pulling away from Vic, I laughed, "Bitch, this is my booth."

"Too bad. I said what I said. If I'm not fucking, you two aren't either."

Grinning, I looked between my two companions. "Well, apparently, this little devil here likes to walk through both doors."

"Is that so?" Cherry asked mischievously.

"I'm not having sex in this booth." Vic let out an awkward chuckle. "I understand that you two are used to having sex in front of strangers, but I'm not. I don't have the courage for that."

With a soft giggle, I ran my hand through his hair and pressed my lips to his once more. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before I backed off. "It's fine. I'm sore as fuck anyway."

We had fun. Even though Vic hardly drank, Cherry and I got sloshed. By the end of the night, I could barely stand, but I did allow Vic to play the knight in shining armor and walk me home. When we reached my building, I looked around before leaning in for a final kiss. "See you later, sexy."

Chapter 11

Over the following days of my recovery, I enjoyed spending most of my time off at Hell's Gate. When Hobbs knocked on my door, I wasn't exactly happy to see him. I knew what it meant; the fun times were over, and it was time to get to work. There was no point in dressing since he would have an outfit picked out for me. So, I grabbed my pink, frilly robe and went with him down to the studio. When I got into the dressing room, I changed into some tattered clothing, and the makeup artist slapped a bunch of stuff on my face to make it look dirty. Of course, I had no idea what I was getting into until the script was finally handed to me.

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