Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Excuse me?”
“To buy you,” he says matter-of-factly.
I’m almost having déjà vu. I huff out a small breath.
“Name your price. You know I have the money.” He moves in a little closer.
“You couldn’t afford me, Rick. It’s best you get back to the auction now.” I wave a hand in the direction of the stage.
“You know, rumor has it you’re looking to settle down,” Rick says as he leans in, as if it’s our little secret. “That’s why I thought I’d come to you first. You don’t want any of these average-income-earning men.”
My temple pulses. None of our patrons are “average-income-earning,” but that’s a bold fucking statement about me looking for anything.
“I’m sorry, what?” I scoff, tempted to ask Vance to bring me my knife.
“Meredith and I had lunch a few days ago. She said you were ready to settle down.”
What the actual fuck?
“So how much?” he repeats.
My phone dings, and I look down at it. Payment received.
“That’s enough, right?” I turn toward River’s voice.
“You just sent me twenty million dollars. Is it enough for what?” I say, trying to gather my thoughts about Meredith suggesting to a sex trafficking kingpin that I’m looking for anything.
River smiles, dressed in an all-black suit, his gaze sharp as a knife.
“A date,” he replies, then looks at Rick. “You should leave before I pull out my gun or Anya gets her knives. She has a nasty habit of carving out people’s eyes.”
“For your information, that only happened once, and I much prefer cutting off dicks now.”
Rick sizes up River, but when his gaze cuts to me, his shoulders sag slightly. “I must be mistaken. I didn’t know you found someone so quickly.”
He’s quick to walk away and back to the auction.
That old bitch is trying to cause havoc now, but why? Considering how she feels about relationships, why is she trying to put fuckers like Rick onto me?
“I didn’t need your help,” I growl at River.
“I wasn’t helping you. Since you refuse to wear a ring, it’s obvious I have to make my ownership known.”
I gasp. “Are you fucking kidding me? Calm your macho shit down.”
He breaks out in a smile. “That’s the first time you haven’t outright denied that you’re mine.”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest. He’s lucky he fucked me so well this morning that I’m in a good mood. “You have a habit of showing up when you aren’t welcome,” I tell him, turning back to the stage as the last woman steps out.
“You see her?” I point at her. “That is what your money will get you, so go and bid.”
“And have you throw gasoline on another one of my cars? No, thank you. You might actually be gaslighting me right now,” he suggests with an arched eyebrow.
I try to hide my smile, because it was a lot of fun setting his car on fire.
“Thank you for your generous contribution of twenty million. I’ll take your payment as good faith for future opportunities.”
“No, you will take that payment for a date. Now, come.” He reaches for my hand and pulls me behind him.
Vance seems almost used to the exchange, as he doesn’t even bother to interfere.
I sigh. Technically, I don’t need to be here. I have enough people trained for this job, and I could easily leave. But it’s the question of should I?
“I think you forgot who you’re trying to boss around.” I pull back.
“Fuck it.” He grabs me, lifts me up, and throws me over his shoulder. “Dinner. With me. Now,” he barks, carrying me out the door and past Clay, who is now just as used to River coming in and taking me when he wants to. I’m amazed he hasn’t been shot yet. Maybe I’ll have to be the one to rectify that.
“So demanding. Are you this demanding with your other women?” I ask as he carries me out to a new car that I haven’t yet seen. He puts me down, careful that my dress doesn’t ride up.
“That was jealousy, sweetheart. I can admit it, unlike some,” he says, wiping something from my black dress. “How about this?” he croons, his fingers now on my lips. “I’ll hike up your dress, taste that sweet pussy, and you can take a photo. And if you feel the need to get jealous again, you can look at it. Fuck, you can even send it to whoever you think you need to be jealous of.” He winks.
“Just get in the car,” I tell him, opening the passenger door for myself. He smirks as he waits until I’m inside, then he closes the door for me and walks around to sit beside me.
“You didn’t like my idea. I thought it was rather clever.” He smiles as he starts the car.
“You just want to go down on me again.”