Page 32 of Cruel Bargain

Dane cocks her head to the side. “No way…”

“When we rescued her, we’d assumed that she was one of Frank’s girls he was teaching a lesson to. She was actually just sold to him by her father.”

“And she never told you?”

“Nope, but Christine knew. Never said a word.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Dane sneers. “That bitch is out to get us.”

“Brit was mad at the world, hurt by her father, and offended we expected her to procreate.” I take a sip of my beer. “And quite frankly, I don’t blame her.”

“Are you gonna fuck her?”

For once, I appreciate his bluntness, because it makes it easier to open up.

“I was going to. We’d made a deal that if I brought her sister back, she’d let me in, so to speak.”

“And she backed out, didn’t she?”

“No…I did.”

“Why?”

“I fully intended to claim my reward, but then she confessed to being a virgin, which would be hot if she was a sexually frustrated type looking for release. She wasn’t. I settled on eating her out.”

“She like it?”

“Oh, yeah.”

He winks at me. “Maybe she’ll want more.”

“That’s what I was thinking, but now I’m not so sure. I don’t like being the guy that bullies or tricks a woman into sex. I’ve always been the nice guy, and that’s worked out well for me. Women tripped all over themselves to fall on my dick.”

“Remi doesn’t seem to care what Gage did to her, and you know Selina’s desperation was the only reason she took Blake. Amber—”

“I don’t care about everyone else’s sex life. I want the woman I’m with to moan like a cat in heat instead of cringing and covering their eyes.”

“Ouch.”

“I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. You’re just going to run off and tell every goddamn person who will listen how I’m incapable of satisfying my woman.”

“I’m not going to do that. Given my history, I understand why you’d think I would. For a long time, I was jealous and wanted what you had. Then Georgia came along, and I’m pretty satisfied.”

“Honestly, I wanted to give Britney to you.” I look down at the bottle in my hand. “So many times I wished it’d been you that caught her and not me. I wish I knew what the right answer was.”

Dane shrugs. “Let her call the shots. If you ate her out right, she’ll be begging you for an encore soon enough.”

“I’m sorry, did I just hear the most alpha male of the Keep tell me to let Britney call the shots?”

“Heck, it worked for me.”

“Georgia does seem to have neutered you.”

He casts me a glare as he takes a sip of beer, and for the first time in a while, I don’t feel like a court jester. We may not typically get along, but I’m thankful that Dane came around, and it feels good to discuss issues I usually keep bottled up.

“I’ll let her call the shots, but I don’t think she’s going to like what I did to her dad—and no, I won’t lie about it.”

“Suit yourself. Celibacy isn’t for everyone, but I won’t judge.”

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