Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
I touch a self-conscious hand to my purple waves. “So I’m not, you know, disqualified?”
“On the contrary. Many of our guests appreciate something out of the ordinary.” His lips twitch with humor when he approaches me, a glass in each hand. “To say the least.”
“But what you said still stands, right?” I take a sip of the amber liquid and do my best not to cough as it burns its way down my throat. I do very little drinking, which is funny, considering I tend bar for a living. Or I did, before the owner decided he only likes giving hours to girls willing to suck his pathetic dick. Now, I can barely live on the paltry tips I’m making, and there isn’t another job opening anywhere in town.
“Oh, yes. I would place you in Heaven, which is extremely tame compared to what goes on downstairs.”
In Hell. I know that’s what they call it. I’m not sure I want to know why, but I’m not an idiot, either. My imagination sparks, and I shut it down.
Once Lucian Black reaches his desk, he takes a seat, studying me. “Turn around.”
It isn’t easy to keep my legs from shaking as I do. Get it together, Cleo. It’s just one night. And it isn’t like this is the first time I’ve ever stood silent while a man stared at my body. At least this man is going to pay me at the end of the night.
“Very nice,” he decides, and I take the statement as a cue to face him again. I feel exposed in a tight, too-short dress that leaves nothing to the imagination.
“Here, I have a contract already printed out for your review. I advise you look it over carefully, though I assure you there’s nothing in it beyond what we discussed over the phone.”
“Can I have a seat?” I ask.
“Of course, forgive me. Make yourself comfortable, take all the time you need—though the clients I’ve arranged for you are scheduled to arrive in less than half an hour, so it would be in everyone’s best interest for you to make up your mind sooner rather than later.”
Half an hour. Okay, I can do this. And the sooner they get here, the sooner all this is over with.
Lucian is telling the truth about the agreement: it’s nothing more or less than what we talked about. I’ll be paired up with two men for two hours, and they will buy my virginity for two hundred grand.
The amount still leaves me breathless. Two hundred thousand dollars. There are so many things I can do with that money.
Once I reach the section containing all the caveats, I slow down, wanting to be sure I have everything straight.
“So is there a safe word?” I murmur as I read, sipping my drink now and then.
“Absolutely. It will be decided between you and the customers. You say that word and everything stops, no questions asked. There are bouncers positioned up and down the hallway, so you’re doubly protected in case a customer suddenly loses his hearing.”
I wonder how many times that’s happened and decide it’s probably better not to think about it. I take another sip instead. The whiskey burns.
“So if I say that word, everything stops—but I only get half the money?”
“That’s correct.”
“And I need to participate for at least an hour—half the time they’re paying for—or else I don’t get anything.”
My heart sinks at the thought, but I can’t let fear get in my way. Not when I’m so close to having everything I need.
“Correct. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Honestly, I don’t think I have a choice.”
I glance up from the paper, embarrassed at having admitted something like that, but Lucian’s lack of reaction reminds me I’m hardly the first girl the man has had in his office, and I can’t be unique in my desperation.
“Then please, unless you have any further questions, sign where indicated.”
He slides a pen across his desk, and I close my fingers around it. This is it. No going back. I have to do this. There’s no other way to get what I need, and fast.
So what if it means losing my virginity to a couple of strangers? It’s not like I was deliberately saving it for somebody special. I gave up on that fantasy a long time ago.
“And I’ll use a fake name, right?”
“Absolutely. We value discretion on both sides. Only I will know your real name—you’re free to call yourself whatever you want when the time comes for you to service your customers.”
But just as I touch the tip of the pen to the page, he sets his glass down on the desk hard enough to steal my attention from the dotted line.
“Think hard about what you’re going to do. These customers are highly valued here in Purgatory, and I would like to maintain our professional relationship after this. In other words, don’t fuck this up.”