Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“I’m not doing this because it’s what I want,” I said when I thought I could keep my voice steady. “I would have been happy to never see that man again, but he was a paying customer, and I knew you were here if he tried to break the rules.”
“See him again? Did you go out with that son of a bitch?”
“No, but he’s been around my apartment a lot and I’ve seen him at the bar where I work. I guess he lives near me or has a friend there or something.” I downplayed how worried I was. I didn’t need Val interrogating me. I could handle myself.
Val scowled. “I don’t want him near you again. No lap dances. If you agree to one, you’ll be punished.”
What did he mean by that? Would he add to my debt? Could he do that? I supposed he could do anything he wanted.
Would he hurt me?
Would he spank me?
Jesus. I did not need to turn this into a fantasy. There was something seriously wrong with me. “What about private clients?”
“You may have them in the designated rooms here, but nowhere else. And you stay behind the fucking glass. No one touches you.”
If he trapped me into these rules, I’d never get away from him or his family. “You want my money. You want the debt paid, right?”
He huffed. “Yes, that’s the point of all this.”
“Then let me earn the money the best way I can.”
“No.”
Did he have to be so fucking infuriating? “Why?”
“No one touches you except me.”
“But you didn’t want—”
He stepped closer until he was almost touching me. “You think I didn’t want to accept your offer? I’d love to be the one who extracted every cent from your body, used you every way I could think of. But that would be a conflict of interest.”
His words sent heat racing through me. “I thought men like you got whatever they wanted.”
“I wish.” Val sighed. “But even I have rules to follow. In my family, you don’t defy your elders or you might disappear.”
“Really? You’d…they’d….”
“Softness and coddling don’t get you anywhere in this business.”
I was absolutely not going to feel sorry for him, no matter how much pain I saw in his eyes.
“Do you understand what I expect from you?”
When I nodded, he raised his brows.
“Yes, sir.”
“If you defy me, I’ll know.”
Would he? And did that mean he wouldn’t be shadowing me every time I came to work? No matter how much he turned me on, I knew I would be better off if I never saw him again.
Ava had messaged me several times demanding to know where I got the money to pay her fall tuition. She’d been negotiating a payment plan with the university, planning to attempt to work two jobs and still get her degree on time. Now her bill was paid in full.
She’d been skeptical enough when I paid for school last spring. I’d told her I’d gotten a loan and refused to say more. She had to suspect it wasn’t from a bank, but she’d finally let it go. Now that I’d used the rest of the money, there was no way she was going to accept vague answers. I was going to have to call her, but I still didn’t know what to say.
I sat down on the futon that served as my bed and tapped in her number, hoping something would come to me as we talked.
When she answered, I immediately asked how she was, hoping to delay her questions. “Stressed and worried about my brother.”
I wished she would stop worrying about me and enjoy her life. “I’m doing fine.”
“Where did you get the money? And this time I don’t want any bullshit. I want the truth.”
“I told you I got a loan.”
“From who?”
Was there any hope of avoiding this? “You really don’t want to know.”
“Yes, I do.”
I lay back and put my arm over my eyes as if I could block out her reaction that way. “The Marchesis.”
“Liam Niall O’Shaughnessy, what the fuck were you thinking?”
That I needed money, and I was going to get it anyway I could.
“What’s next? Are you going to rob a bank?”
“Fuck, I don’t know.”
“Liam!”
I rolled to my side and pulled my legs up. “Ava, it’s my job to take care of you.”
“No, it’s not. We’re both adults.”
“I’m your big brother.”
“You’re my stupid brother right now. How the fuck are you going to pay back this loan and the interest, which I’m sure is making the amount grow every fucking day.”
I sighed. “I’m working that out. I’ve got a second job.” I’d told enough truths for now. I wasn’t going to let her know I was working as a dancer at a Marchesi-owned club.
“And you think that’s going to do it? They aren’t going to wait decades to get the money back. I’m going to have to quit and work to help you pay for this.”