AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Kiki—”
“You can’t buy me like I’m some kind of cattle!”
My brow furrowed quizzically. “Uh… I just did. Because you… auctioned yourself. That was kinda the whole point.”
“Regardless!” she screeched.
Mustering what patience I could, I explained, “Kiki, the guy who was trying to buy you, the bald one, he’s a real piece of shit. Like a proper mobster type. And I didn’t want to think about how he’d treat you when there was nobody watching. Are you satisfied?”
This made her waiver, but after a moment, she doubled down.
“No, I’m not. Because it’s not your business how anyone treats me. I’m a grown up, I can handle it myself.”
“What, and have that on my conscience?” I returned, my voice rising. “No thank you. You wanna sell your virginity? Fine, that’s your business. But you can’t expect me to sit by and watch you get hurt. I can’t do it.”
“Stop meddling!”
“Stop pushing me away,” I countered. “Let somebody help you, for once.”
“You’re treating me like a child.”
“Children can’t do what you just did.”
She fell silent, crossing her arms over her chest and staring out the tinted windows.
“I hate you,” she said under her breath.
“That’s too bad.”
Kiki sat up straight. “But I keep my word. So we can still have sex. Doesn’t mean I’ll like it.”
I was about ready to pull my hair out.
“Like I said before, I’m not gonna have sex with you until you ask me to. That’s not the kind of man I am.”
“Oh, you mean the kind who spends a million—”
“We’re not doing this again!” I shouted, before flopping back onto my seat. “Enough! Here’s the deal — you give me one whole night, just talking. No sex. I’ll tell the guys that we had sex, and I’ll pay you the million, but all I want is to talk.”
“Are you some kind of fetishist?” she asked with concern.
“For what, polite conversation? That’s not a thing. I’m trying to get to know you, and this seems like it might be my last chance. We’ll go to my house, spend the evening together and then in the morning, you get your money. Capisce?”
There was a long silence as Kiki considered my terms, her eyes studying me like I was some tome written in code.
At last, she replied:
“All right. Just this one night.”
“Good,” I said, satisfied at last with our terms.
I maneuvered down the side of the limo until I reached the window separating us and the driver. Sliding the shield back, I gave the man some instructions and returned to my seat.
“What’d you tell him?” she asked, suspicious of my every move.
“Well, you said last time that I shouldn’t try to impress you with butlers and flashy shit. You’d hate my room in Dazzlers, so… I’m taking you to my home. It’s a lot more me.”
The driver made a right turn, and pulled up to the gate box. I lived inside a very exclusive, gated suburb of Vegas. My neighbors tended to be asshole restaurateurs and pop starlets in residency, but my house was so heavenly I was able to ignore their antics and they were far enough away that I didn’t really need to worry about their garden parties or yappy dogs.
The gate open and the limo drove inside, passing by a small park in the process.
After a few more turns, we came to a stop.
“We’re here,” I announced.
Kiki ignored me.
Well, this was off to a great start.
I got out of the limo and stood by the door to help her out.
“Thank you,” she mumbled as she followed suit.
Apparently, even in the most dismal of moods, she had decent manners.
Her eyes lifted from the curb and took in my house.
Much against her will, I think, her mouth dropped open.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, following the clean, modern lines of my house.
The enormous space was all wood and glass, so airy as to make you think it might take flight. The design was mostly my creation, and I was proud of the work. I’d thought extensively about lighting, flow, and above all else, peace.
“I’m glad you like it,” I replied, pleased that she was impressed by the place. “Now come inside.”
CHAPTER 18
Kiki
WHAT THE hell was I doing at Tate’s place?
Now, don’t get me wrong — it really was stunning. The way it just flowed… it took my breath away. His house was such a far cry from Dazzlers, it made me wonder who he would’ve been if that stupid casino had never entered his life.
No, stop, I told myself. You don’t get to pity him. He’s done some despicable shit.
Right, of course. For one, he’d been at that virginity sale. He could deny it all he wanted, but nobody goes to things like that without a certain proclivity, if you catch my drift. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, even if we assume he was there for networking, something like that, it still meant he was endorsing men and events like that.
