Page 281 of Dirty Princess

The smell hangs heavily in the air.

It’s an addicting smell.

He takes me to the closet and opens the door.

“Are we going to fool around in a closet?” I ask.

“If you want to,” Cullen says.

He touches my face and strokes my cheek.

We both hear what sounds like a scratch against the window.

Cullen jumps toward the noise, blocking me with his body.

He walks to the window and stares out.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says. “Sorry. Just a stupid fucking branch hitting the window.”

“What do you have hidden in here, Cullen?” I ask. “You seem nervous.”

“Not nervous at all, love,” he says.

He returns back to the closet and crouches down.

I do the same.

He digs through some clothes and shoes, and pulls out a gym bag.

“Unzip that, Jaci,” he says.

I carefully tug at the zipper, then flip the top open.

I gasp when I see money.

It’s like out of a movie.

Stacks of cash perfectly bound together.

They all almost look fake.

So much so that I look at Cullen…

“It’s real cash, love,” he says. “I don’t fuck around with counterfeit. I know people who do though. But this… this is all real.”

“It looks like a lot of money.”

“It is,” he says. “Want to know what it’s for?”

“Do I?” I ask.

“This is for recording,” he says. “WhenPawn Charmwants to get back into the studio. Or maybe when you want to get into the studio.”

I shake my head. “Don’t even say that.”

“I keep my stuff in order, Jaci,” Cullen says. “This life may have a lot of danger and death to it, but it’s also a lot like normal lives. You have to be careful. You have to be smart. You know?”

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