“I don’t give a fuck about your father. I don’twantyour father.” I give her a long look. Take in the tearstains on her cheeks. The full lashes. The dark hair pulled back in a neat bun for the workday. I know what it feels like to be trapped. Which is why I appreciate the fear Bristol is feeling right now.
“What—” Bristol clears her throat. The air around her smells like citrus and fear with an undercurrent of warm desire. There’s no mistaking it. I want her to be afraid, of course. I want her to pay for what she did. She’ll hate it even more if she wants it, too. “What do you want?”
“I wantyou.”
8
BRISTOL
“No,”I whisper.
I know I sound silly. Ridiculous, even. It doesn’t feel real. It definitely doesn’t feel right.
Maybe itdoesfeel right. Maybe I expected something like this. Payment in kind. Maybe a tiny part of me is relieved that he’ll accept something other than money.
But most of me is scared to death.
His blue eyes shift colors in the light, changing to a shade like sea glass. Mr. Leblanc’s gaze assesses me the way he would any of his daily reports. My breasts. My waist. Back up to my throat.
“Are you a virgin, Ms. Anderson?”
My mouth drops open. No.No.I’m never answering that question. Not in the office. Not when it’s my boss asking.
“Yes,” I admit.
“Be specific.” He taps his fingertips on the side of his leg, impatient. Bored. “Did you let any boys fuck your mouth? Did you offer them your ass instead of your pussy?”
“I—” I can’t speak.
“This is a question of value, Ms. Anderson. Answer before I rescind my offer.”
“I didn’t. I never—I didn’t want—” He doesn’t care about any of the real reasons. I was busy. I didn’t have time to fall in love. I had time for a few crushes at maximum.“I’ve had a couple of boyfriends, but it never went past—”
An irritated sigh. “Did you suck them off?”
“One of them.”
“And did you let them taste you?”
I can’t breathe. “No.”
Neither one offered. Neither one seemed to register that I might want things, too. There wasn’t time for anything real. Not when I had my siblings to worry about.
“What’s left will do. We’ll start now.”
Holy shit. A disbelieving laugh bubbles out of me before I can stop it. “You’re not serious.”
His expression goes dark. “You stole fifty thousand dollars from my company, Ms. Anderson. You left a paper trail. The evidence couldn’t be more cut and dry. The only reason—”
“Mr. Leblanc, I—”
“Theonlyreason you’re not sitting in a jail cell right now is because I covered for you.”
My entire face flames. “You did? But… why? Why would you do that?”
Glittering satisfaction lights his eyes. “Why indeed?”
My heart races.