Page 21 of Wild and Bright

His eyes grow hard again. “No, that’s not all. Not even close. The NDA was mostly a formality. I brought you here because I want to propose a change to what we agreed on yesterday. Chris says paying you monthly looks suspicious. Like I said before, since sex will be a part of our arrangement, you can’t officially be called my employee. So we’ll have to be creative in how I pay you the ten K every month. I thought of something that will work better for you in the long run.”

I frown. “What are you proposing?”

“I’ll pay off your student loans.”

I stare at him dumbly for several seconds, his words not computing. But the moment they do, my whole body starts to hum—a low rumble that tickles my belly and makes my skin prickle. I do my best to ignore it. He can’t possibly mean what he said.

There’s no way.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean exactly what I said. I’ll pay off your student loans.”

My breath catches. “All of them?”

His brows draw together. “Do you have more than two-hundred something? That’s what Hunter told me.”

I lean forward. “Two-hundred and thirty-six. You’re telling me you’ll pay all of my student loans for being your mistress and party wife for six months?”

“Yes,” Cam answers right away.

“Live-in girlfriend,” Chris says, or at least I think he does. My ears are roaring, and my arms and legs seem like they belong to someone else. Am I even in my body right now, or am I floating above it?

The pressure of a hand on my arm pulls me back down.

“Are you okay?” Cam’s voice is gentle.

“I understand what people mean when they say they died of shock. I think I literally just died right now.”

A warm smile tugs at his lips. “You didn’t, but you looked like you were about to have a panic attack.”

I’m about to speak when the pressure of his hand on my arm turns into something like a caress, sending a tickling heat into my belly. I glance down to see his fingers moving back and forth across my skin. Who is this person? Who is this person treating me with so much affection?

“Those student loans must weigh pretty heavily on you.” Again his gentleness startles me, and this time not in a good way. How could he be so kind when a moment ago he’d unabashedly told me I’m not trustworthy?

“Over two-hundred fucking grand? Yeah, they weigh pretty heavily. It’s over two K a month, and that’s the lowest amount I can pay. It basically only covers the interest, so I barely make a dent in the total. Up until now, I had no clue how I would ever live on my own.” My brows draw together. “How could you possibly pay it off like it’s nothing? Do you really make that much money?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“How? Hunter doesn’t have that kind of money. I mean, he’s loaded, but he couldn’t drop two-hundred K like it’s nothing.”

“I write all of our music. And while you might not like my twangy banjo rock,” he smiles faintly, “we’ve had quite a few artists cover our songs. Plus, I’ve published songs we don’t perform. Most of my income is from royalties.”

I nod slowly, not fully understanding the concept of royalties, but not wanting to reveal my ignorance by asking about it. All that matters is that I’m not dead, and he really is able to pay off my student loans.

My whole life could change.

Cadence and I could finally have a real life in a small condo somewhere. We could decorate her bedroom by painting our own pictures on the walls, like those boho influencer moms I’ve always envied. And I could enroll her in preschool and work regular hours. I could hustle and make a real income for us.

I could be a real mom instead of this stunted child-mom who can’t raise her daughter without the help of her domineering mother and weak-willed pushover father.

“But if you want me to pay it all off, you have to agree to two things.” Cam’s hard voice pulls me out of my fantasy. When I glance at his face, he has his usual stern look. “I’ll still pay you the sixty K, no matter what. We already agreed on that. I can’t pay it monthly, because that would look suspicious, but during the time you live with me, I’ll cover all of your expenses. Cadence’s, too. Anything you need, just ask for it.”

Heat creeps into my neck. “What two things do I have to agree to get the full loan paid?”

His jaw works. “The first one is straightforward. You have to be faithful to me.”

My body grows stiff, heat flaring over my skin. So this is the full depth of his mistrust? He’s willing to pay me almost four times as much money for something that I would have considered a given.

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