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One eyebrow lifted up. “In that case, why not go straight for what you want? Why not ask for money?”
Was he telling her to blackmail him for money? “That’s criminal.” I ignored the voice in my head telling me to do it. To blackmail him. But if I did, I’d be exactly the kind of person that Jacob accused me of being. No good. Worthless.
Madden snorted. “Like that’s ever stopped anyone. Surely you have your price Ms. Kinsey, everyone does.”
“You couldn’t afford it,” I blurted out. I pressed my fingers to my mouth. What the hell made me say that out loud? I was not going to demand money from him.
His gaze narrowed in on me and that same smirk from the picture turned his lips up. “Ten thousand dollars?”
The floor tilted and my mouth fell open. He said it as if it were nothing. With that much, I could get further away, well away from JACOB, and have enough left to start over. For real. My hand dropped to my side and I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. So tempting.
When I looked up at him he was staring at my mouth.
I was all over the place and couldn’t think straight. Was I actually considering what he offered?
“Just letting me keep my job is fine, Mr. Cross,” I breathed out.
He stepped right in front of me again and used one finger to tilt my chin up. The air in my lungs froze. His eyes were dark and glittering with something that made my toes curl. “Call me Madden,” he said in a low, rumbly voice. His thumb drifted over my jawline and I almost tilted my head into his touch. Electricity followed in the wake of his touch, clouding my ability to think. Being this close to him was like taking a drug that made every nerve ending stretch tight while my blood felt like warmed honey.
I shook my head to try and clear the fog. “What?”
“My name. Say it, Ms. Kinsey and you have your ten thousand dollars.”
I swallowed loudly. It would be so easy to just say his name. My throat tightened and my mouth went dry. Why did he want this so badly? I could see it burning in his eyes. It was that desire that made me want to open my mouth and do what he asked.
Why was I fighting it so hard? Wasn’t money exactly what I needed? Why I‘d started working here in the first place. With one word I could have more than I needed to get further away from Maine than I had planned.
“And yet you hesitate still. Interesting.”
Madden…Yes in my head I could call him that.
He leaned closer. “I don’t know many people who still have principles, Ms. Kinsey. You intrigue me.”
I could not hold back the shudder when he slid his hand down the column of my neck. He held me there, firm but not forceful. I could step away if I wanted, but I didn’t. Not while he was looking at me like that. “Should I sweeten the deal? I can feel your pulse racing under my fingers. Did you like what you saw earlier?”
Madden leaned in so close that our noses were almost touching. His gaze burned into mine.
“Did you wish it were you?” His silky soft voice washed over my lips as he caressed the heartbeat pounding in my neck.
Caught up in his stare, I nodded before I realized what I’d done. Triumph flashed across his face. “Ten thousand dollars and the weekend. With me. That’s my only offer now.” His fingers skated along my collarbone, releasing a rush of desire through my body.
Would it be so bad, spending a weekend with him? I glanced up from under my eyelashes to study him. I could tell that he was used to getting what he wanted, but why did he want me?
“Why?” I asked. He had not moved away and the heat radiating from him only heightened the spell he had on me. There was no denying that my body craved what he was offering. It had since the minute I stepped into the office and saw him with that woman.
“Because we’re both adults and we both want something here. Spend the weekend with me. I have business I need to attend to, but then...I’d like to give you my undivided attention.” His eyes got even darker and he brushed his lips across my jaw. “Two days, Skylar. That’s all I want.”
I was on the verge of declining, of trying to do the logical thing, when he said my name. The huskiness in his voice, the promise, tipped me over the edge. I wanted to know what his fingers felt like gripping my hi**ps, moving me how he liked best, playing my body until I couldn't take anymore.
My chest ached from the need to breathe. Madden sucked all the air of the room with his presence, leaving me no other choice but to cling to him.
I could give him two days.
I wanted to and there was no use denying it. My life had been spun out of control but this was one choice I could make for myself and I did.
“Okay.” I whispered, cementing the deal with this red hot devil of a man.
