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“You may rise off the desk,” he said finally.
He was leaving her like this? Not finishing? What a bastard.
“Please...”
He put the cup back down. “In a little while. First we have business to discuss.”
Saskia eased off the desk, the wetness dripping down her thighs. She was frustrated and angry and suddenly very self-conscious over her state of undress. She didn’t know if she was more angry at herself for letting him do this to her or at him for not completing the job.
Quill nudged her aside and opened a drawer. He pulled out a large black ledger and laid it on the surface Saskia had just been draped across. The book fell open to reveal her name written carefully in all capital letters on the front page. He really had made a ledger just for her.
“You have a very large debt, my dear. You’re going to have to start making a dent in it. I’ve thought of two ways you can pay me back. Your art and your body.”
Hadn’t he already more or less expressed this? But the next words out of his mouth made her blood run cold.
As if expecting her misunderstanding, he said, “I don’t deal in intangibles, Miss Roth. I can have you any time I want any way I want, but there’s no money in that. And Marcus isn’t paying me. But others will.”
She stiffened and shook her head as tears began to slide down her cheeks. “No, Master, please don’t...”
Quill opened a fat lower drawer in the desk and took out a first aid kit. He led her to the sofa and sat, pulling her down with him, cuddling her in his arms as if to soothe her. “Settle down. I won’t share you with just anyone. They will pay me, but you will want them. I’ll let you choose who—only those who excite you. You can set limits with them. You won’t get limits with Marcus or with me, but you will have them with the others. And Marcus will be there to protect you if you need him. Sometimes it won’t be sex—just some kinky play. You will learn to trust me.”
Trust. That word was mockery when it fell from Quill’s mouth.
His hand moved between her legs again. “Just as I suspected. Even wetter. Tell me you’ll comply.”
She searched his eyes looking for something, anything she could trust like he wanted. But all she saw were his impossible demands and no clear way to escape them.
She couldn’t force the words he wanted past her lips. But he didn’t punish her. Instead, he opened the first aid kit and arranged her on the couch so he could take care of her knees. Crawling over the terrace and floor hadn’t drawn blood, but they were bruised and sore and scraped up pretty badly.
Saskia hissed when he applied the antibiotic. Quill bent and blew on it before taping the gauze in place.
She wanted to stay here with him forever in this brief shining moment where he took care of her and she felt safe.
He closed the box and set it on a side table, then he took both of her hands in his. “Tell me you’ll comply.”
When she’d fantasized about the Joseph Quill Experience, it wasn’t as if she’d fantasized about monogamy and romance novel sex with candles. But the fantasy was safe, while the real man felt anything but.
“Saskia, my patience is wearing thin. I will reward obedience, but what I won’t do is negotiate with you. Let’s not forget why you’re here. After conning me out of millions, this is a better outcome for you than prison. Trust me on this.”
But was it?
Quill stood, a look of disappointment on his face that utterly crushed her. “Get dressed. We’re going out.”
8
He hadn’t specified what he wanted her to wear, so she’d put the jeans and black cami top back on. This time, she added a bra.
Quill stepped into the gallery looking GQ in all-black business-casual. The natural light grew weak as the sun began its descent.
He took one look at what she was wearing and shook his head. “No.”
“I-I’ll change.”
He stopped her with a hand on her waist before she could go search for something more appropriate—however he might define that. His hands slid up the back of her top and unhooked the bra. He removed it like a magic trick and tossed the offending article of clothing to the ground.
“No bra. You were happy enough to display those pert nipples earlier in the day, so you’ll display them now.”
Whatever frenzy had overtaken him, it couldn’t be good.
