Page 85 of Split or Swallow

The eighth girl came out.

“Good luck,” she said when she passed Tem. “He’s in a mood.”

Tem didn’t have time to wonder what that meant. The butler was already beckoning her forward. Tem stood slowly, noticing every beat of her stammering heart. The butler opened the door for her, revealing a darkly carpeted room with books on the walls. A library.

Tem stepped inside. The butler closed the door.

Only eight minutes had passed since she’d seen Leo, but it was clear he’d had several more whiskeys during that time. He was reclined in an armchair, his hair mussed, his shirt unbuttoned. His trousers were undone; Tem could see the white linen of his undergarments. A smear of red lipstick pulled the corner of his mouth into a gruesome shape, continuing in a blotchy streak down his neck. Vera’s handiwork.

Despite herself, Tem felt a rush of heat at the sight of him. She’d never seen the parts of Leo that were exposed right now—the sharp angle of his clavicle, the dip of muscle just below his hip. His cock was hard, straining against the fabric of his trousers. Tem wondered dimly whether he’d had it out a moment ago.

Leo sat up straight when he saw her.

“Tem,” he rasped.

She stood in absolute silence.

An elaborate metal hourglass rested on the desk. Its glass body was filled with gold flakes, all of which had settled to the bottom. No doubt it was perfectly measured to last sixty seconds. Leo’s long fingers grasped the hourglass, but didn’t turn it yet. Tem spoke before she lost her nerve:

“If you expect me to take my clothes off—”

“I expect nothing of the sort,” he interrupted her.

Tem scoffed. Leo’s mouth twisted in a smile.

“Do you not believe me?”

“Why would I?”

Leo’s eyes traveled over her body. Even when she was covered from neck to toe, it felt like he was looking straight through her.

“What I expect and what I want are two different things, Tem.”

“And what, exactly, do you expect?”

“I expect you to be difficult. Like you always are.”

Tem crossed her arms.

“And what do you want?”

Leo took a long swallow of whiskey.

“Whatever you’re willing to give me.”

But Tem knew better. She knew the nature of men, and the way they coveted. She knew Leo wanted what he couldn’t have. How long until he took it?

“And what did Vera give you?”

He rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth, smearing the lipstick even more.

“Nothing worth having.”

“Oh, please.”

“Sixty seconds with you is worth an hour with Vera,” he said quietly.

Tem shrugged with an indifference she did not feel.