Page 41 of Savage Ambition

His eyes narrowed. “And you’re delusional if you believe whatever happened in that room was anything more than a performance.”

“Really?” I traced a finger along the side of his neck. “Because your body tells a different story. The way you came apart for me wasn’t acting.”

He caught my wrist in a painful grip. “Don’t mistake a physical response for emotional investment. I’ve been trained to come on command.”

The crude dismissal was meant to push me away, but it was a clear defensive maneuver. “Then why are you still trembling?”

“Fuck you,” he snarled, shoving me back.

I laughed, delighted by his fire. “That’s the plan. Though I prefer being inside you.”

“Who do you think you are?” Dragon asked, but his gaze dropped to my mouth, lingering there a beat too long.

“I’m persistent,” I corrected, closing the distance again. “When I see something I want, I pursue it relentlessly.”

He backed up a step, his lower back hitting the sink. “I’m not a thing to be acquired.” His voice entering a dangerous range that would have intimidated a lesser man. “You’re wasting your time. I don’t do attachments. People pay me to fuck, end of story.”

I advanced until our bodies were inches apart. “Then let me hire you.” I caged him in place with an arm on either side of him. “I’ll pay whatever your rate is. Thousands are nothing to me.”

“It’s against the rules.”

“Fuck the rules. I want you. And despite your efforts to pretend otherwise, I know you want me, too.”

He lifted his chin. “Everyone wants me. It doesn’t mean they get to have me.”

“Unlike them, I won’t stop until you’re mine.” I didn’t touch him yet, letting the promise hang between us.

“Yours?” He laughed, the sound brittle. “Do you have any idea who I am? Who I work for? This isn’t some romantic comedy where you sweep in and romance the sex worker with a heart of gold.”

“And yet you’re desperate for a way out.”

His expression hardened. “Stop talking as if you know me and my situation.”

“I know enough,” I countered. “I know the way you taste. The way you sound when you come. The way your body responds to mine as if it was made for me.”

“You and every other person who has paid for me.”

“Then I’ll free you from this hell so you never have to suffer another person who isn’t worthy of you.”

A shiver ran through him. “You’re either incredibly brave or suicidally stupid.”

“I prefer to think of it as determined.” I brushed my lips against his ear. “Tell me you didn’t feel that connection when I was inside you. Tell me you’ve felt that before with anyone else.”

“It was just sex.”

“Liar.” I pulled back to meet his gaze. “Your body remembers mine. Even now, you’re fighting the urge to touch me.”

“You’re awfully confident for someone who fucked on camera for a job interview,” he snapped.

“It’s easy to be confident when I know you want me.” I traced the outline of his lower lip with my thumb. “You’ll drive yourself to madness thinking about me later. Once will never be enough. Soon, you’ll be begging for me.”

“You talk too much,” he finally said.

“Make me stop,” I challenged.

For a moment, I thought he might punch me. Instead, he surprised me by grabbing my ass with both hands, pulling me hard against him. “I’d much rather make you beg right now,” he said.

He pinned me against the door with his thigh wedged between my legs. “Not so cocky now, are you? You assume you’re in control here, but you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”