Page 83 of On a Fault Line

“You tempted me with your delectable neck.”

“Oh, no. This isn’t my fault.”

But when he goes rough with his hand on my breast and soft with his hand on my pussy, it’s my undoing.

“Let go, Princess.”

And I do, with his name imprinted in my throat, as I scream out in ecstasy.

“Fuck, yeah. Scream for me.”

And that is how fast an hour can pass.

It takes several minutes to come out of my pleasure fog and form a coherent thought.

“As much as I want to spend my day in your bed, I have to work.”

“Why?”

“Because some of us have to do more than just be a fuck doll during the day.”

“All I’m saying is if you need money, I will always have you covered.”

“I don’t need money, Collins. I need a purpose. Because…” When this is all over, I’ll need something to bury myself in while I recover from the heartache.

“You have a purpose, Penny. You just think you need work to define you, when you don’t.”

“Well, what defines you, Collins?”

“Work.”

I slap his arm. “See? This is my point.”

He kisses me on the forehead, which is such a contradiction to how he rails me in the bedroom. “Listen. Youshouldn’tallow something as nonpermanent as a job define you. That’s all I’m saying.”

I prop my hands on my hips. “Then what is my purpose?”

“You bring joy to everyone you encounter.”

“Yeah, right.” Tell that to Jill at the office. I swear she doesn’t like me and tolerates me at best.

“And you are so humble about it that you don’t even see the effect you have on others.”

A sadness washes over me. “I appreciate you saying all of that. I just think that for someone to be more than a ghostly memory after their time on earth is up, they need to do something more profound and meaningful.”

“Sometimes it’s the smallest, seemingly insignificant things in life that can make the biggest impact.”

“Huh,” I say thoughtfully. “I never thought of you as being so philosophical. But I like it.”

Collins smiles. “Glad you approve. Now, tell me about the agenda today. How can I be of service?”

Then his phone rings.

And it rarely rings. So I predict it is important.

“Take the call. I’ll go get dressed for my first photoshoot with Plus None.”

As much as I enjoy the marketing side of the business, I was first hired to do the modeling. It’s a big day for me, and I just want to do a good job to show how versatile I can be.

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