Page 205 of If Our Hearts Collide

I shrug, fixing my shirt. “I have my ways. Why not have that type of arrangement with me? I mean, at one point, we were meeting in the Japanese Gardens to discuss something similar.”

“This is a completely different proposition.”

“Yeah, it is. And it’s one I think I’ll actually approve of.”

He runs both hands down the back of his neck. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Just listen. I will behave and be your loyal damsel in distress who needs your bodyguard protection. I’ll follow the rules and let you boss me around. And in return, you service me.”

“Service you?”

“You know,” I say with a nod of my chin. “Sex.” I lean in closer, trying my best not to cause myself to fall. “Like really good sex. I want you to teach me what I should have learned by now. I want to do that with you and not someone else.”

“Damn.”

“We both want each other. This would be temporary. We would agree on the terms of the contract, and I promise that I will submit to whatever you want in regard to guarding me. I won’t run away. I will let you do your thing without any more fuss. Hell, you can even put a leash on me and an ankle tracker—whatever helps you sleep at night. I may draw the line though if you want me to sleep in a cage under your bed. Hmmm…if it wasn’t for the fear of not being able to roll over, I might actually be on board even with that. Anyway, we can work out the kinks later. Ha! I meant to saydetails.”

“Fuck, Penny.”

“Oh, I sure as hell want fucking to be at the top of the to-do list.”

“Everything about your proposition is going to solidify my villain status.”

“Not if I sign the dotted line willingly. I will consent to it all. Isn’t that what you’ve wanted all along—to protect me from whatever imaginary evil you think there is?”

“Penny…”

“You win, Collins. And I know how much you love to win. Listen, I’m simply asking for a sexual relationship in return. No feelings. Just sex. Straight up, fuck me in my vagina sex.”

“I’d be fucking you a lot more places,” he bites out.

“Okay, that too. We can put it in the contract.”

“There is no contract, Penny!” he snaps.

“But there can be.”

I can tell he is mulling the idea around in his head. In a way, I’m relieved he hasn’t completely shot down my idea. Plus, this is one of my better ones. “I’m at the point where if I don’t satisfy my urges, I’ll end up with some jerk again who doesn’t know my belly button from my clit and will need some lengthy road map drawn to locate it. I don’t need some egomaniac to jackhammer my pussy with his fingers thinking he’s king of the harem.”

Collins shakes his head at me, but I can’t tell if he is frustrated or amused. “You have no clue my sexual preferences.”

“Enlighten me.”

“I can be demanding…”

“So?”

“I like it rough.”

“How do you know I don’t?”

“And I like being in control.”

“I can handle it.”

“Can you?” Collins challenges.

I pivot and start to walk away. “You’ll see.”

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