Page 33 of Highest Bidder

She nodded. “Do you like it?”

“I like having a purpose. And I like being in control.”

She snorted, then her hand flew to her mouth to try to cover it up.

I couldn’t help but smile. I mean, she wasn’t wrong to laugh at that.

I decided to let it slide and continued. “And the pay is decent. I was able to buy this house without dipping into my trust.”

“It’s a beautiful home,” she said softly.

I looked around the kitchen and tried to see it through her eyes. “I’m comfortable here. Plus, the block is quiet, and my neighbors aren’t too nosy.”

She looked down at her plate and pushed the omelet around with her fork. It was obvious she was trying to think of something to add. Finally, she asked, “What’s your favorite food?”

I smiled. “Whatever you eat off my cock.”

Her face turned up, her lips curled in a grin as she shook her head subtly at me, like I was her boyfriend whose jokes she was tolerating.

I liked that idea more than I should have.

We finished in silence after that. But it wasn’t tense. Just… comfortable.

And that was the problem.

This was starting to feel normal.

And normal was dangerous. It made it too easy to forget she wasn’t mine because she wanted to be. It was because I bought her. Just like every woman before her.

Chapter Fifteen

Jeff

“Do you like baseball?”

Vivian blinked at me like she wasn’t sure it was a real question. I tilted my head toward the living room. “The Padres are on. Postseason.”

She nodded. “I—I’ve never really watched.”

“Not even when you were little?”

“No.”

That surprised me. Most people grew up with at least a game on in the background on a Sunday afternoon. What the hell kind of dad didn’t introduce his kid to baseball?

That’s when it dawned on me. Maybe she never had a dad. That might also explain some things.

I stood and walked to the living room, flipping on the TV as I sat on the couch. She followed behind and stepped toward the sofa like she was going to sit next to me.

“What are you doing?”

She froze.

I tsked and shook my head as I pointed to the floor.

“Whores belong on the floor.” I handed her a pillow similar to the one she’d knelt on last night. “On this. And bend over.”

Her eyes flicked up to mine, like maybe she was expecting me to say, “Just kidding.”