Page 127 of Insatiable

I toss the cloth aside and brush my fingers through his hair. “Okay,” I say softly. “Lie down.”

“Will you tell her we had sex? I won’t take money from you. I promise.”

“Tell Stacey? Pay you for… sex?”

“Fuck no. She’d hate me even more.” He furrows his brows in confusion. “Obviously for sex. Why else would you be here?”

“Oh,” I respond, feeling ill. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Did you pay her yet?”

“No. Just…” I swallow. “Lie down.”

He flattens himself on the bed and looks at me. “You’re really pretty though.”

I chew the inside of my cheek. “Thanks.”

His eyes are closed, and his skin is hot, so I tell him to stay above the covers. I chew my lip, debating if I should stand here and see if he falls asleep without me beside him.

He’ll wake up tomorrow and tell me to fuck off.

I think.

I’m not entirely sure anymore. He’s made it clear I disgust him yet still approaches me. I’ve never been so confused in my life.

I’ll stay with him and fly home tomorrow. My friends will be worried sick.

I pull off my hoodie, but keep everything else on, and lie down beside him. His powerful arms drag me into him, and I fight a smile. This is wrong. This is so, so wrong. He has no idea that it’s me.

I take a deep breath. “Who was I to pay to have sex with you?”

“The she-devil.” Kade yawns. “She’s horrible, if you haven’t met her yet.”

“What’s her name?”

He shakes his head. “Not allowed to say.”

“Are you a male prostitute?”

“You could say that, yeah. An escort with perks…” His voice trails off.

There is silence, and I tackle the uneasiness.

“Tell me about your ex?”

I’m an idiot. A chancing, idiotic idiot.

I can sense the grin as he replies, “She has freckles everywhere. I used to trace them when she was asleep. You even wear the same perfume.”

He tightens his hold, and I link our fingers and trap our hands against my chest.

“You feel like her as well. Are you okay with me hugging you? When I get all fucked up, I think about her, and this is helping.”

I nod and wipe a tear. “Yeah.”

“Thank you.”

My heart is racing, but he doesn’t make it obvious if he can tell.