Page 32 of Property of Zombie

Zombie must be as surprised as I am because he cocks his head to the side and arches a brow. “You’re in?”

I nod. “But I’ve got conditions.”

He straightens with what can only be described as a feral grin. “Please tell me one of your conditions is unlimited orgasms.”

Unable to contain it, I snort out a laugh. “For you or for me?”

“Both.”

“Uh, no, not one of my conditions,” I tell him, and I lower my head to hide my smile when he frowns like a kid who just learned there’s no Santa Claus. Rather than give him time to derail the conversation, I continue. “First, I need some sort of assurance that nothing will ever be linked back to me. If you’re caught, my name won’t be dropped in some fucked up effort to save yourself.”

“I’ll do you one better,” he says. “Not only will I not throw you under the bus, but neither will anyone else in the club. That’s not how we roll. If you’re in, you’re family, and we take care of family.”

Deciding to take him at his word, I nod. “Condition two… I need at least forty-eight hours’ notice in order to get medications for you. Security called me out on my middle-of-the-night visit, and I don’t want to be put in that position again.” I don’t bother explaining about Evan. That’s none of his business.

“Twenty-four hours,” Zombie counters. “Sometimes things come up, making any sort of notice impossible, but if we can’t give you twenty-four hours, I give you my word that I’ll figure something else out.”

I make a show of thinking about his counteroffer. “Fine, I can work with that.”

“Anything else?”

“Ten grand a month for my trouble.”

“And if we don’t need anything that month?”

“Consider it a retainer,” I reply with a shrug. “My student loans are astronomical. Vet school was expensive.”

“I’ll have to run that by the club, but I don’t see why we couldn’t do that.”

“They’ll agree,” I say with confidence. “Dr. Binks was being paid seventy-five hundred a month for his cooperation. I’m worth twice that, but I’m willing to work up to that.”

“How generous of you,” he drawls, clearly annoyed. “Is that it?”

“No.” I pause, knowing I won’t be able to fully explain my last condition, especially since I might have an ulterior motive for it. Adrenaline junkie, remember? “If I have to go to the zoo after hours, you’ll need to be with me.”

He narrows his eyes. “Won’t that look more suspicious for security?”

“No.”

I hold my breath as I wait for his response. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to get more than money out of it.

“I can’t promise that I’ll be able to go every time, but I’ll do my best,” he says. “Fair enough?”

“Fair enough.”

“Now, about those orgasms…” Zombie reaches for me, but I evade his touch. “Oh, babydoll, don’t you remember?”

“Remember what?”

“What it felt like to come around my fingers,” he says roughly.

My clit throbs at his words, and I clench my thighs together. “I r-remember.”

He drops his gaze to the juncture between my legs. “So does your body, apparently.”

This time, when he reaches for me, I surrender. Zombie lifts me off my feet to set me on the counter and pushes my knees apart. When he steps forward, his eyes lock on mine.

“Cock, hand, or mouth?” he asks, repeating his words from the night of the gala.