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“I’m good. Just a little tired,” she said.
“You sure?”
“Yes.” She pressed a kiss against my mouth. “I’m good, Deacon.”
“Okay. Let’s go upstairs then, good girl.”
She smiled as I linked our fingers but gave my hand a quick tug. “Hey, before we start, I wanted to ask if I can stay the night.”
Warmth rushed over me. “Of course. I’d like that.”
She nibbled at her bottom lip. “Would you be willing to book an overnight visit through the agency?”
Shock turned me to stone. I stared at her as a myriad of emotions rattled through me - disbelief, hurt, and… fury.
I dropped her hand as that fury grew stronger. I’d been played again. Riley was exactly like Eloise, and I’d fallen for it like the fucking love-struck fool I was.
“Deacon?” Riley gave me a hesitant look. “Do you -”
“You want me to pay you to stay the night,” I said.
She winced. “I know how that sounds, but -”
“You spent an entire weekend with me and didn’t want to be paid,” I said, my voice hollow and distant.
“I know,” she said, “and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t -”
“This was your plan all along, huh?” I said as that terrible rage grew brighter. “Get me used to having you for free, and then when you know I can’t fucking live without you, you want money.”
“That isn’t it at all,” she said quickly.
“You’re exactly like Eloise.” I shoved my hand through my hair. “I can’t believe I fell for it again. Christ, you know what? I shouldn’t even be mad at you - good for you for playing the con so well. Hell, if this hadn’t happened to me before, I would have fallen for it because that’s how fucking far gone I am for you. I would have happily paid for the privilege of fucking you because you’ve got me fucking wrapped around your baby finger. I actually thought you cared for me. But it’s just been about the money for you.”
“No, it isn’t.” She reached for my hand, and I yanked away from her grip as that bright rage faded, leaving only a sick weariness that throbbed dully in my chest.
Her eyes brimming with tears, Riley said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to… let’s start over, okay? We can do our normal play session, all right? Just the two hours and nothing more. If you want me to leave after, I will, but I can stay too. And I’ll stay because I want to be with you, not because of the money or -”
“Stop it,” I said. “Just fucking stop, Riley.”
“Deacon,” she said, her mouth trembling and tears sliding down her cheeks, “the reason I need the money is because -”
“I don’t care why you need the money,” I snapped. “It isn’t about the money. It’s about you not being honest with me from the start that this was about the money for you and nothing else. It’s about you thinking you could… could get more from me by pretending to care for me, by spending time with me and then asking for more goddamn money.”
“I do care for you, and that isn’t what I meant to do,” she said. “Spending time with you outside of our play sessions wasn’t meant to be a trap or to trick you into anything. I swear. I like being with you, Deacon. I need to be with you, okay?”
“You need to leave.” I opened the closet and shoved her jacket into her hands. “I’ll let the sisters know we didn’t play tonight.”
Panic fluttered in her face, and I hated that even after she’d fucking stomped on my goddamn heart, seeing her fear made me want to protect her, hold her, and tell her everything would be okay.
“Leave, Riley,” I snarled. “I don’t want you here.”
Her face white and her eyes huge, she said, “I’ll go, but I’ll come a little early on Sunday, and we can talk before our play session, okay? I’ll explain why -”
I barked bitter laughter. “Are you fucking kidding me? We are done, Riley. I am never playing with you again. Find someone else to play with at the agency.”
“You don’t mean that,” she said. “I’m your good girl, Deacon.”
“No,” I said, my stomach twisting and turning like a tornado. “You’re not.”
