Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
He immediately stripped off his shirt and threw it in the hamper in his closet. He discarded the jeans the same way. His butler or his maid would come in here during the day and take care of his mess. He came back toward me in his boxers, a behemoth of a man with eyes dark like shadows. “I told you it was complicated.”
“Do you not like Camille?”
His eyes immediately flicked back and forth between mine, provoked by the question.
“Just seemed like you hate her…”
He turned away and headed to the bed. “Your observation is correct.” The bed was already prepared for the evening, so all he had to do was pull the sheets back to get inside.
“Why do you hate her?” I got into bed on the other side, lying beside him but not touching him.
He didn’t answer.
“She didn’t seem to like me.”
“Ignore her.” He raised his voice a bit, like the last thing he wanted to do was talk about that awful dinner.
“Why’d you want me to come tonight?”
He turned on his side to face me, hiking my leg over his hip so our bodies would be close together. “So you’d be here when it ended.” He tugged me a little closer, strong enough to drag me across the bed with a single arm. His face was close to mine on the pillow, our eyes locked together, our lips almost touching.
The heat swept through me, the fire seeping into a single vein then spreading like wildfire. I could feel it invade every piece of me, from the tips of my fingers to deep between my legs. Handsome men came and went, but Grave was something else. It was more than just his looks, but the way he carried himself, the sound of his voice, the way he wasn’t afraid to show affection. It was everything.
We had a little over a week left together, and I’d never dreaded the end of a contract so much. To imagine him replaced by somebody else, a man who meant nothing to me, someone I had to lube up for in the bathroom because there was no attraction whatsoever…sounded like torture.
He rolled me onto my back and settled between my thighs, pushing his boxers down so his heavy log could drop on my clit. He folded me underneath him, towered over me like a mountain over a valley, and pushed inside.
My nails dug into him, and I moaned when I felt him, moaned like it was the first time again. “Grave…”
He dipped his head and kissed me, taking the lead like he did with everything else. I was supposed to make his fantasies come true, but he was the one who gripped the reins, the one who did all the work, the one who made me feel like the client.
I walked through the bar, all eyes on me as I passed. I could feel the heads turn and turn and turn until their necks couldn’t move any farther. Once I was in the hallway and was blocked by the wall, I felt all their necks release simultaneously.
When I saw another woman inside Jerome’s office, I leaned against the wall and waited outside.
He opened his safe on the floor, pulled out the envelope of money, and handed it over. “I’ll have your next client this week.”
She thanked him and walked out, wearing a thick fur coat and boots.
I made my entrance. “Hey, Jerome.”
“Hey, Elise.” He opened the safe and pulled out another envelope of cash, much fatter than the one he’d just handed over. He set it on the desk, the envelope stretched to capacity from all the cash.
I took a peek inside, seeing all hundred-euro bills crammed inside. It was the biggest paycheck I’d ever received because Grave paid far above the usual premium to have me. Instead of being elated like everyone was on payday, I almost didn’t want to touch it…like it was tainted.
“It’s all there.”
I raised my head to look at him, forgetting he was there. “I’m sure it is.” I tucked it inside my purse.
“Kyle is very eager to get started.”
“Who’s Kyle?” I asked, still thinking about the money in my purse. It felt like blood money, money I shouldn’t keep.
“Your next client. He’s in the bar, actually.”
“Oh…”
He ignored his laptop and paperwork and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at me. “Everything alright, Elise? Has Grave done something?”
“No, he hasn’t done anything,” I said immediately. “He’s been great…” I looked at the money again.
“Well, you seem a bit off.”
Yeah, I feel off. “I have a stomachache. Must have been whatever I ate for lunch.”
That got him to back off. “Then I’ll see you next week.”
“Yeah…next week.” I left the office and headed back to the bar. I booked it across the floor, trying to get out of there before Kyle noticed me. But I’d only made it halfway to the door when I heard someone say my name.