"Yes." My cheeks flush. I swallow hard. "I don't date."
"Good. I want to be your first."
My chest flushes.
"But I have to warn you—"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to wreck you for other men."
I open my mouth to speak, but words refuse to fall. He's so… I… uh.
"I'll say it a thousand times. I'm not paying for sex. I'm going to fuck you because you want me. If you don't, if you change your mind—"
"I do. I… I want to try it that way."
"Good. I want you tied to my bed." He pulls the strap of my dress aside slowly. "I want you at my mercy."
I want to be at his mercy. It's scary how much I want to be at his mercy.
I barely know him.
But I want him in control of my body.
It's scary how much I want him in control of my body.
I lean into his touch.
His lips brush my neck.
It's soft. Tender. Hot as hell.
I let my eyelids flutter together. I surrender to the sensations forming in my body.
Blake pulls my dress off my shoulders. He cups my breast, over my bra. Kisses a trail from my lips to my collarbone.
Objections form and dissolve on my tongue. I force myself to hold onto one of them. "We haven't agreed to anything."
"Is there anything else you want?"
"How long will this be? Is it indefinite?"
"Six months. A year, max." The strength drops from his voice. It's hurting. Something about this hurts him.
"Is there an out?"
"I'll only accept a full commitment."
A year with a man I barely know.
That's a huge gamble. But it's worth it for the end of that awful mortgage. For an education for Lizzy. And for me.
A million dollars.
That's enough to travel the world. To get a fine arts degree. To start my own comic studio.
That's… everything.