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COLLINS

Penny stops in her tracks, leaning her back end against the bumper of my Tesla. “Well, damn.”

I’m surprised I flat out admitted my employment to her. It’s not like I’ve really told anyone else about it. I definitely would never add it to my resume under the title—job experience.

“It’s not full-time, and the infrequency about it makes me not even want to classify it as part-time.” I shrug. “I basically fill in on occasion. And once in a while I get pulled into decision-making meetings as a security consult.”

I can see she’s pondering over this little piece of information, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to her thoughts on the matter.

“Well, this does make sense.”

She’s going to need to elaborate. Her lack of words is making me uneasy.

“How so?”

“It’s just that I know you like to fuck ’em and forget ’em. And working here would definitely make it easy to have that constant flow of fresh pussy available for your prowess.”

I shake my head at her. Where does she come up with these wild sayings that fly out of her mouth?

“You make it sound predatory, Penny. Most nights, even after working a shift, I stayed celibate.”

“But why?”

“Because I found pleasure in an instructional scene or two and didn’t always need to go further.” I clear my throat. “I also don’t like to complicate things.”

Penny lets out a laugh. “Oh, the irony. Because things are just about to get super complex.”

“This is true.”

Looking back at the venue, Penny watches as clusters of patrons flutter out of the mansion in droves.

“What do you do in there?”

“I mainly work security. You know, monitor scenes and occasionally intervene when necessary.”

“Oh, like I intervened with you and Daphne.”

“No. What you did is called an interruption, and it breaks club rules under almost all circumstances.”

Penny makes a face at me. “Are you working tonight?”

“Only to keep you safe as your personal bodyguard but not here.”

Penny nods, as she absorbs this tidbit of information. I’ve never really shared with others my side jobs I took on after leaving the military. I had some anger to work through, and it was best that I stayed as busy as I could. It helped to keep my head out of the darkness by deliberately walking into it of my own free will.

“I imagine you had a whole buffet of women there to enjoy. You know”—she shrugs and pretends to keep it nonchalant—“on your breaks.”

“You have this vision inside your head that I’m some type of man whore.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, just how many women have you been with?” Making a face, she glances away when I don’t immediately answer. “Wow, that many?”

I sigh. “It’s not like I cataloged every single time I fucked someone, Penny. How can I possibly give you a number without you thinking I’m withholding the truth?”

She shrugs, appearing not to know how to move past the unknown. “At least you don’t have any of my ex-boyfriends to worry about. Spoiler alert…there are none.”

“No. But I have a whole list of current ones to keep watch on.”

Penny scoffs. “That’s so far from the truth it’s kind of depressing. No one will even notice if I’m temporarily off the market, as we explore a sex-only arrangement. Once we get our fill of each other or the contract ends—whichever happens first—I doubt a single male specimen will even notice I’m back on the playing field again.”

I unravel her hair band from her ponytail, freeing her locks to cascade around her face like a waterfall made of silk. Her long moan makes me wonder why she tortured herself in the first place.

“Your cluelessness about just how attractive you are is what draws me to you the most. It’s as if you have no idea just how”—I struggle for the right word—“ alluring you are. The fact that you will soon be mine is even more impressive.” Holding her chin, I bend down for a kiss.

“I love when you kiss me like that.”

I can’t help but smile around this girl.

“I just need you to be sure that you want what I have to offer. I’m not a gentle lover, Penny.” I grip her ass and set her up higher on the hood of my car. “I’m going to train your body to submit to my intentional touch. Nothing I do to you will be an accident. I’m going to devour every part of you.”

“I want that, Collins.”

“You sure?”

She nods eagerly. “I want to be all those things for you. But you are going to have to be patient with me. I don’t have the experience you seem to have, and as much as I’m excited to try new things, I’m a bit scared. I’m intimidated and worried that I won’t be enough for you.”

I shush her with another kiss on the lips, taken aback by her vulnerability but not shying away from it. “You are enough, Penny.”

I breathe in her strawberry scent and shove down the feelings of trepidation deep into the pit of my conscience. I’ve tried to resist her. Really, I have. But catching her twice at Limit-X has made it clear that it would only be a matter of time for Penny to give herself over to some stranger who could do with her whatever he wanted and might not take her authentic consent into consideration.

Yeah…that’s not going to happen.

Yuri prides himself on creating and maintaining a safe playground, but bad shit can happen anywhere—no matter what security measures are in place.

My job is to protect Penny. Maybe being with me will be the lesser of two evils.

Penny has already been emotionally scarred from Mark Tanner. The last thing she needs is for another man to crash into her life and cut through the scars again or make fresh ones. By having a contract, we both can work through what we want from our arrangement, so there are no surprises. A clean break can be worked into the deal when our time is up, and expectations can be negotiated, so it is mutually beneficial for the both of us.

“Collins?”

“Yes, Penny?”

“Are you willing to teach me? You know…”—her cheeks warm to a beautiful shade of pink—“how to pleasure you.”

I kiss her forehead, tucking her head into my chest, while running my hands over her back. “Of course, Princess.” But she already has pleased me. “I’ll train you how to be my good girl.” And have a damn grand time doing it too.

Just the thought of having Penny as my trainee has me feeling the electric buzz of anticipation snaking through my entire body that I’ve missed in all of my other partnerships. All the other women have had some sort of experience. Most knew how to suck a cock and get me off in a clinical sense.

But none possessed the sweetness that exudes from Penelope Hoffman.

And it’s her innocent words and uncertainty that are making my cock come to life.

I help Penny down from my car. As much as I want to thrust into her while she has the backdrop of the shiny paint behind her, I also need to go over my nonnegotiables with her prior to us having sex. If my personality never turned her off, then those very well might be the final straw.

And it’s better to work that out before I am balls deep in fresh, young pussy.

Fuck.

Am I capable of going through with any of this?

Even if we both spell out all of our expectations, will either of us fully understand the depths at which we are exploring?

Opening the passenger side door, I watch as Penny slides into her seat and clicks her belt into place. I close it and round the front, just as I’ve done a dozen times with her in tow.

But this time feels different.

Everything about tonight is more amped.

Sliding into my own seat, I can feel her eyes on me, and I know that she senses the magnitude.

“I want you to teach me how to drive,” she blurts out.

“Okay…”

“Just letting you know that I want that added to the contract.”

I eye her, as I start the engine and shift it into drive. So we are making a list it seems. “Fair enough.” I planned on giving her some lessons anyway. Ever since her brothers gifted her a car, she must be eager to try it out. “Anything else?”

“Can you teach me some more self-defense moves?”

I pull out of the parking lot and onto the dark road. “Of course.”

Turning in her seat, Penny twists her fingers into her lap. “I also want you to blindfold me.”

“I already have at the gym.”

“But I was thinking in more of an intimate setting.”

This desire is featured on her goal list, so I’m not too surprised. “Why?”

Her legs fidget, as she kicks up the floor mat, burrowing her shoes under it. “Well, because it freaks me out and is a fear of mine.”

“So you want to face that fear?”

“Only with you. You’re someone I trust to not take advantage of me in my vulnerable state. Can we try at least?”

If I learned anything from guarding Angie and Claire, telling a woman “no” is basically like cementing the idea into their permanent memory bank in their brain, at which they will relentlessly pursue it at all cost.

My teeth grind together. “I’ll consider it.”

I’ll be doing a lot more than inhibiting her one sense. And I know all too well about doing things to face your fears. If we follow through with this arrangement, it will be uncharted territory for the both of us.

I’m nervous about it too. All of my previous contracts have had very simplistic stipulations. But with Penny, I think there needs to be way less gray area involved. I don’t want to hurt her in any way—unless she consents to some pain-pleasure. In that case, I’ll be happy to oblige.

“And I want you to take me to a sex store for toys.”

“Can’t you buy them from a website?”

She shakes her head. “No. That’s boring. I want a real sex toy store, not one that is masquerading as such. I want one with those little rooms and the wall holes.”

“Wall holes?” What the hell is she talking about now?

“Gory holes?”

“Fuck, Penny. They are called glory holes, and those places only exist in porn movies or skeezy places we will never visit.”

Penny bursts out laughing. “I thought the name was gory because the guy’s erection thickens and it gets stuck in the hole, and then blood. Lotssss of?—”

“Got it,” I say in a hurry, wanting to shut this part of the conversation down fast.

I’m not sure what kind of porn she’s been watching, but it sure isn’t the commercial shit that is plastered on the bigger sites. She must have found something super niche.

I continue driving, trying to keep my composure, when I know Penny’s mind is cooking up even more ideas for this contract. She seems to be having fun in the process, as I catch her stifling giggles and covering her mouth to contain her giddiness.

She is a seductive angel all wrapped in a sinful fantasy I never knew I could have.

“Collins?”

I can feel the tension running up my spine to my shoulders and neck. “Yes?”

“I want to make a sex tape so I can watch us going at it anytime I want.”

“What the hell, Pen?”

She shrugs. “I think it would be hot.”

No doubt about that. But I would have to put that footage in a high security lockbox. No way in hell I would chance someone else seeing us in action.

I can’t tell if this is just who Penny is or if the buzz of the alcohol from the club is still in her system, making her mouth and brain filters disintegrate at the expense of my self-control. Regardless, I’m not sure how I’m able to drive the car with a hard-on.

“Any other stipulations?” I grind out. She sure is full of ideas tonight.

Penny stares out the window, as I get us closer and closer to the city’s limits.

I remind myself that the contract will have an end date. I’ve ended contracts early, and there’s usually a clause allowing that occurrence. However, I’ve never once extended the termination date—ever. Surely, with a time table set, I can work through Penny’s laundry list of to-do items. Minus the gory holes. That’s a hard limit—for sure.

Ever since Penny left the therapy facility, she’s been adamant about accomplishing her goals. By the look in her eyes, she’s conjuring up a few more to add to the already lengthy list.

She turns to look at me. “Are you into kinky stuff, Collins?”

If I had enough spit in my mouth, I would choke on it. Instead, I cough into my elbow, desperately trying not to wreck the vehicle. “What’s with the third degree, Penny?”

“I’m just asking.”

“But why are you asking?” I counter. Surely, she has some motive as to why she is asking in the first place.

“Well…” She twists her hands in her lap.

“Just ask.” I can’t take any more of her writhing around in her seat before I pull this car over and steal another touch from her delectable body. She has no freaking clue just how badly my cock is straining against my jeans. How can she not notice how tightly strung she has me?

“Would you be willing to tie me up?”

Fuck.

Thoughts of her chained to my bed run unfiltered in my head. We could start with silk ties and work our way up to something with a bit more bite. Her breasts would look lovely—I am sure—squeezed between some intricate rope work. I want her to wear the indentations of my handiwork.

Her body would make the most beautiful canvas.

Would she let me drip hot wax onto her curves?

What about spreading her out and feasting on her with the bite from my teeth?

Damn. When I agreed to the contract, I never expected Penny to be this sexually open. For someone who claims not to have much experience, she sure has a dark side—and one I’m eager to explore.

The Hoffman princess is a dirty little thing, isn’t she?

This new discovery makes me want to own her—all of her.

There’s only so much sweet persuasion I can endure before the monster inside me unleashes.

But what price will I be willing to pay in order to have Penelope Hoffman in my bed, under my control?

And will the potential fallout be worth that risk?