Page 39 of Bought

I lean in, the memory of his tongue heating my whisper. “It’s time for you to take something from me.”

His ice melts a little. His eyes flicker to my cleavage, then back to my face. “And what is that?”

The words ease out, hot honey. Sticky, coating the space between us, drawing us together in a way we’ll never be able to untangle.

“It’s time,” I say, “to take what you bought.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lucian

Something feels off. Not quite right. She’s as beautiful as ever as she sits across from me, but she’s fluttering her lashes, a forced smile on her pretty face.

“This was nice. Thanks for coming.” I stretch with a yawn. “I’m going to have to call it a night.”

“What?” She leans back in shock, as if I’ve slapped her.

Glancing at my watch, I say, “I’ve got to be up early. I need to get going.”

I offer to drive her home, but she declines. I call Mack to take her home.

We wait in the lobby, the first awkward silence of the night stretching between us.

I see the car pull up to the curb. I hold the restaurant door open for her. “Ride’s here.” On the sidewalk, I plant a chaste kiss on her cheek, zip up her coat, and hand her over to Mack.

As she slides into the back seat, she glances over her shoulder, and for a brief moment, her eyes fill with the pain of rejection.

A look that instantly fills me with guilt.

“You’re beautiful,” I say. Leaning in, I whisper against her lips, “And so tasty,” before leaving her with a deep kiss.

I run a hand over the back of my neck and turn away. As I walk off, I feel like I can breathe again.

When she came back from the bathroom—the ‘loo’—something was way off.

There was a strange energy emanating from her, one that was absent the first night she visited my place. As much as she excited me, the seduction felt fake and forced.

“Bought.”

I whisper the word to myself. Maybe that’s the real reason I sent Erin away. Shame. For what I did that night. Paying for a young girl’s virginity.

The Morettis were closing in on us. The pressure brought back memories of the old me, my mistake, the one that got my men and Izzy killed.

I needed more than calm smiles and practiced words to clear my mind.

It seemed so exciting at the time. A challenge. A way to raise the stakes from my usual agency visit.

One night. Something new. Cleansed and ready for work.

Then, Erin arrived at my door.

She was nothing like the professional women that the agency sends, and certainly not the timid virgin I was expecting.

I wasn’t able to follow through with my purchase that night. Was she forcing herself to be with me because she couldn’t stand the thought of having that money, when she hadn’t followed through on the transaction?

I feel torn, like a man at a crossroads with no idea which way to go. If I never see her again, she’ll haunt me with thoughts of what might have been, lingering in the back of my mind forever.

If I do what she wants and take what I bought, I’ll never be able to leave her alone.