AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Or tattoo ‘brat’ on my forehead,” I said through gritted teeth.
He chuckled like it was funny. “You’re not getting out of here until you ask me, so ask away.”
I blew out a long breath and leaned my head back against the wall. What did I have to lose at this point?
I took a deep breath and leaped. “How badly do you need money?”
Asher’s energy changed from curious to pissed off. “You want to know much your bitch act cost me? How low my bank account is?”
“No. I mean, I had an idea, something that would benefit us both,” I forced out.
“And what kind of deal do you imagine I’d be interested in making with you?” His voice dripped with disdain.
“I’d pay you whatever you asked.”
Asher was quiet for a long moment. I had no idea what he was thinking.
“And in return?” he asked silkily. There was something dangerous in that tone.
God, was I really going to do this? I was. I had no choice.
“In return, you pretend to be my boyfriend.”
Asher
I’d seen some crazy shit in my lifetime. Hell, I’d watched a man shove another right off a cliff and smile as he fell, screaming to his death. It wasn’t easy to surprise me.
Winter DeLaurie asking me to pretend to be her boyfriend took me by surprise. She was damn unpredictable, and while she still pissed me off with her bratty attitude, at least she was also entertaining,
Silence fell between us as she waited for my response. Her front brushed mine. It was a tight fit in the walk-in, and I had my hands on her hips. Her perfume filled the air. I couldn’t see her, but I knew exactly where she was, and I could just picture the challenge in her blue eyes.
“I would pay you, like I said—” she started.
“If you want to be properly fucked, you don’t have to pay for a boy toy. I’m sure some suckers would offer to do it for free.”
“I’m not asking to pay you for sex!” She sounded appalled and offended all at once. Her breath was coming faster and faster.
“Well, what the hell are you asking for?”
“A boyfriend, on paper, someone to come to family dinner and kiss me on the cheek. One dinner. That’s all.”
“And you don’t have anyone that Daddy would approve of more than someone like me? Or you’re trying to irritate him…is that it?” I moved closer and brushed my lips up her cheek. “You want to date the guy from across the tracks…worry your parents so much they might decide to come home more often?”
She shivered under my touch. Her skin was like fucking satin. Dangerously addictive. I moved to her ear. “I’m not some rebel for rent, Your Majesty.” I closed my lips over her earlobe and nipped it with my teeth. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted a taste. Just one little taste of her sweet venom. She trembled under my touch. Her skin was hot. She was overheating. Panicking for some reason.
“I never said you were, and that’s not why I’m asking you,” she breathed, her body swaying into mine. She hesitated and then said, “I don’t know anyone else who needs the money like you do. Everyone knows how tight money is for your family.”
I was going to kill her. One of us was leaving this twisted relationship in a body bag.
I rested my forehead on hers, fury pounding at my temples. This woman had a talent for pissing me off like no one else. I cupped her face and then lowered my hands to her neck, circling it firmly. That’s when I felt it. The rasp of breathing that was growing out of control and a pulse that was thundering under my fingers. Winter was on the cusp of a panic attack. I shouldn’t help her. It wasn’t my problem.
“Take a deep breath and stop talking,” I instructed her harshly. I pulled her forward and put a hand on her back to monitor how deeply she was taking in air.
She protested softly, and I shushed her. “Don’t say another word, Ice Queen, or you’ll really start to annoy me.” The brat and the bully. We were born to crash into each other.
She struggled against me before melting into my touch. It wasn’t working, though. She was still panicking. She needed a distraction, and I just needed a fucking excuse. I’d come here to take Winter’s New Year’s kiss, and nothing was stopping me.
Still holding her by the neck, keeping her in place, I leaned in and captured her bottom lip between my teeth, biting down just hard enough that she gasped.
