Page 24 of Ruined

Haley took Teagen’s now empty seat.

“Did you make a friend?” Haley asked.

Did I hear a hint of jealousy in her voice? Even if it was solely about money, it was amusing.

“We were talking about you.”

“Oh?” she said. I watched her, reading her reaction, and she shifted, her eyes flickering above us before coming to rest on me once more. “What were you discussing?”

“She said you’re similar. Her father sold her, like your mother sold you.”

She lowered her eyes. “Something like that.”

“Tell me,” I said.

She took a deep breath. “My mother worked here before I did. I’m sure you’ve heard about our contracts. I took over hers.”

“When she retired from entertainment.”

“When she died.”

Her gait was steady, as if delivering this information was as easy as saying what kind of drink she wanted from the bar. Her mother was dead, and that was why she had come to work for Dahlia. It had been years, then.

How much of what Haley said was the truth, and how much was lies? Was it hatred, or fear of the pole? Of becoming like her mother?

“This isn’t really what we’re supposed to talk about,” Haley said. A somber tone had taken the place of the nonchalant delivery. “Tell me something. The last place you vacationed. The top item on your bucket list. Your biggest fantasy.”

A hint of a smile traced my lips. “My biggest fantasy is figuring you out,” I said.

She blushed and looked away.

“Shall we?” I asked, motioning towards the Terrariums. She nodded.

This time, I selected a room with the pole and the rigging for aerial dance. I had no desire to make her dance on the pole, but I wanted to study her reaction. To see what she chose and why.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

It was the submissive desire that drove me mad. She wasn’t a doormat who wanted me to walk all over her, but there was a deep, eager desire inside of her to please me. She wanted to do right. To be good. To make me forget that we were in a fantasy-driven world in which the two of us could never be anything real.

I’m meant to exist only inside of there. Like a fantasy.

There was a fantastic element to her. A dark-haired virgin, with green eyes and strong values. A history that left her untouched. A forbidden line that she wouldn’t dare cross.

I admit that if it weren’t for the bet, I would still find Haley attractive. It wasn’t simply her appearance, but the way she moved. The way she desperately needed to please. To submit. She was irresistible to me.

Which is why winning the bet would be all the more satisfying.

“Whatever you want to do,” I said. “Do what you want,” I paused, “Only what you want.”

“Do you want me to dance on the hoop?”

I raised a brow. “Doyouwant to dance on the hoop?”

She shrugged, and slowly took off her robe and her shoes, leaving them in a neat pile to the side of the floor.

“Do you want me to undress?”

I stared at her this time, locking eyes. Of course, I wanted to see her naked.