Page 19 of Savage Ambition

He shrugged, not quite able to meet my gaze. “I don’t know. It’s weird.”

“Did you enjoy it?” I received a miserable nod for an answer. “Then what’s the problem? Accept it for what it is. Stop overcomplicating things.”

He shifted to relieve the pressure on his knees. “Yeah, but what is it?”

“Intriguing.” It might even be a little addictive, but I’d never admit it out loud. Instead, I captured his lips, tasting the remnants of his innocence. I ran my thumbs over his nipples, feeling them harden under my touch, calculating how to ensure he kept coming back.

He gasped as he jerked in surprise. “Don’t!”

“Why not?” I asked.

His only answer was a stubborn set of his jaw.

I switched topics. “Was your first time what you expected?”

Shaw ducked his head, color flooding his cheeks as he traced invisible patterns on the water’s surface. “Not really. I’m sorry if I was awful.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. You did well for a virgin.” I kept my voice low, calculating how much praise would disarm him. “Most first-timers can barely last thirty seconds after getting inside me.”

He gave me a wan smile. “Well, at least I didn’t humiliate myself, I guess.”

“Your technique needs refinement, but your enthusiasm made up for it.” I traced a finger along his collarbone, watching goose bumps rise despite the heat. “Why hire me? You could have found someone who would fuck you for free.”

He looked away, jaw tightening. “I wanted you.”

Clients paid for the fantasy. Shaw desiring the real me was dangerous for us both.

“You realize how fucked-up that is, right?” I kept my tone clinical, though my fingers continued to caress him. “Paying to lose your virginity to someone you knew in high school?”

“Does it bother you?” He met my gaze, unflinching. “That I know who you really are?”

“Who you know doesn’t exist here.” My tone softened. “Only Dragon is for sale. Remember that if you want to keep coming back.”

His tongue darted out, wetting his lips nervously. “And if I want both?”

I slid my hand up his thigh under the water. “You get what you pay for, nothing more. Don’t confuse the fantasy with reality. I’m working.” I traced the curve of his ear, making him shiver despite the heat. “This is my job.”

“A job you chose?” His question cut too close.

“We all make choices.” I kept my expression neutral, not wanting to give ammo to him or Salvatore. “If being with a sex worker makes you hate yourself for wanting me, that’s on you.”

“I don’t hate myself for wanting you.” He frowned as he struggled to express himself. “I hate that it has to be here.”

“That’s the only way this is allowed.” I needed to be careful before I did something stupid like tell him the truth about how I’d noticed him long before he walked into Gennaro Corporation, that I’d cataloged his smiles and stored them away like treasures.

The bubbling water filled the silence between us, a physical manifestation of the tension I couldn’t afford to acknowledge.

Shaw studied me with an uncomfortable intensity. “Was this your first time with a client you knew from the outside world?”

“No, but I’ve never been with anyone from school before. You’re the only one our age who can afford me.”

“Does it make it harder or easier?”

I considered his question, weighing my answer carefully. “With strangers, I can be whoever they need me to be. With you…” I trailed off, unsure how to finish without revealing too much.

“With me?”

“With you, I have to be more careful.” I chose my words carefully. “The lines blur.”