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“I’m sorry if it was too m—“
“Don’t apologize,” she interrupts. “It was fine. I liked it. Don’t worry, seriously. Besides, that’s what you pay me for.” A yawn chases her sleep-slurred words.
I stumble through some semblance of a second apology, and I think she’s asleep by the end.
That’s what you pay me for.
The words burn like a brand, confirmation that what we do is work for her, first and foremost. I don’t know if I can change that, but I have to try. Hurrying to the library, I flip open my laptop. I’ll start with researching aftercare.
Chapter Fifteen
Claire
The next few days pass uneventfully, the relentless rain a constant reminder of what happened in the field. Shane doesn’t summon me for a hunt. Anxiety grows alongside insecurity. I’ve bored him so much that he doesn’t even want to give me a farewell chase. I tell myself I should be grateful. I’m getting paid for nothing. Still, I’m a tangle of hurt feelings and sexual frustration.
On my last evening, we’re both in the living room. Real Estate Wreck is playing, but I’m not paying attention. I’m too busy stewing in irritation. I knew what this was walking in, so there’s no one to blame but myself for any dashed hopes.
“How’s the bite?” Shane’s question comes out of the blue.
“Fine,” I say quickly.
“Are you using the scar cream?”
“When I remember.”
It’s not that I want the bite mark to scar, as much as that I don’t mind if it does. After studying it with a hand mirror and a few contortionist tricks, I’ve decided I like it. Like the idea of having a physical memory of my time here, even if I wish it wasn’t ending. I keep reminding myself that if he was going to ask me to stay another thirty, he’d have done it by now. But maybe? a voice inside me whispers.
With nothing to lose, I decide to be bold. “Are you hunting tonight?”
His eyes snap to me, so fierce that I wonder how I talked to him at the Christmas party without noticing how fuckable he is. It’s not that he’s good-looking. Tons of men are, and I don’t want to fuck them. It’s an energy.
“Do you want me to hunt tonight?” he asks.
Interesting.
“I want you to do what you want. But it is the last night ...”
Ask me for another thirty.
Ask me for something.
Let me know I’m not imagining this.
His nod is slight but there. “Would you want to try something different?”
My heart stops.
Shane’s quick to add, “You can say no. The contract states all sexual activities are to take place outside. But I don’t want you out in the storm again.”
“Wait, what?” the words come out in a rush of relieved laughter. “You aren’t hunting because you don’t want me to get wet?”
A corner of his mouth curls into an almost snarl, calling attention to the fact that he didn’t shave today. He looks annoyed, but I’m not sure why. “Your lips were blue when you got back the other night.”
“They aren’t blue anymore.”
He scoffs.
“How about an indoor hunt?”
