Page 186 of Merciless Desires

“Today, if you don’t mind.”

Despite the cool edge to his words, the tone wasn’t frosty, and they subdued my nerves enough to allow me to move my feet. The closer I got to the doorway, the harder my heart pounded. I almost tiptoed over the threshold and stared wide-eyed into the sun-drenched room. I rubbed my eyes and squinted through the blinding rays that stretched across my path.

With my feet planted firmly into more soft carpet, I focused on the silhouette seated on the edge of an enormous bed. He might have been young but I could tell from his outline he was well-built. He held himself confidently, his feet parted on the floor, his hands resting across his thighs as he looked straight ahead out of the window.

I swallowed a ball of disbelief as more details emerged through the haze. His profile was beautiful. A smooth brow tapered to a strong nose, full lips and square jaw. The shadow-black hair was short, thick and yearning to curl. I couldn’t peel my gaze away.

“I trust the flight was satisfactory.”

I cleared my throat. “It was, um… fine. Great. I’ve, um, I’ve never been in a helicopter before.”

I winced as the last sentence tumbled out of my stupid mouth. I sounded naïve and inexperienced. Though, I supposed that’s what he was paying for. My heart rattled again, reminding me why I was there. This man was going to take my virginity. I ran my gaze over his solid body again and gulped. There were undoubtedly worse ways to go.

“Did you read the contract?”

My eyes were drawn to an object he was turning over slowly in his hand as he continued to stare out of the window.

“Yes,” I replied, uneasily.

“Your payment has been transferred to a neutral depository and it will be released into your personal bank account on delivery of the service.”

I bristled at the mechanical, prescriptive way he was talking about one of the most meaningful things I could ever give to a person. Sure, I was devaluing myself by allowing someone to buy it from me, but it was still a precious thing, and I only had one virginity to give.

“Yes,” I repeated, my voice weakened by the thought.

“There is one condition.” The object kept turning, flashing light around the walls each time it caught the sun.

“A condition?” My heart raced with both trepidation and annoyance. There’d been no conditions stated in the contract.

The object stopped turning.

“You have to want it.”

I swallowed and felt it in my bones. “I’m sorry?”

He turned his head and my jaw fell open. The one side of his face I’d had several minutes to study was beautiful, flawless. The other was… non-existent. He stared at me with one dark, captivating eye and one pale, translucent orb. His skin was a patchwork of threads and craters, stitch marks and cords. My heart hammered again but for different reasons. What had happened to this beautiful man to make him this way?

My gaze dropped to where my hand was pressed in shock against my chest. I curled my fingers and nestled them into my other palm while the silence threatened to overwhelm me.

A creak in the floor made me look up. He’d risen to his feet and was towering over me from several feet away. He was huge. No, forget huge. This man was gigantic. Like, inhumanly big. But alarmingly, every part of him was proportionate and sharply toned. My stomach fluttered.

He took a step towards me and heat blossomed across my skin.

His good eye had hardened and, now out of the bright sun, that side of his face was in shadow. Just like the mood that seemed to have descended suddenly.

"You have to want it," he repeated.

I sucked in a gasp and watched his brow furrow. Then a breeze cooled me as he strode past.

He paused in the bedroom doorway. “Supper will be brought to your room this evening. I will check on you in the morning. Get some rest Rose."

His voice tapered off at the end, as though he’d had high hopes for something and they’d just been dashed. I was rooted to the spot but I heard the door to the suite close behind him.

I sighed, releasing a torrent of tension. Then a key turned in the lock.

No.

I spun around and walked briskly to the door, the sound of blood pulsing through my temples almost deafening. I turned the handle and pulled, but the door didn’t budge. I’d been locked inside the room. I clamped a hand to my chest again and took a step back. This couldn’t be right. Could it?

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