“Everyone’s looking at me,” I whispered.
“No. Everyone’s looking at me. I always come here alone. These people have never seen me with a woman before.”
“Then why did you bring me?” I asked as he helped me into my chair.
Leaning over me he whispered. “Because deal or no deal, you’re my Jessica.”
I had no idea what his obsession with calling me Jessica was, and again, I began to think that maybe Sebastian Black was certifiable.
When he sat down across from me, I worked up the nerve to finally ask something that had been bugging me since the first time we’d talked.
“Why do you refuse to know my name and why do you call me Jessica? Is that what you call all your girls?”
I tried not to fidget, or make uncomfortable eye contact, as I waited for him to answer my question.
When he finally did, I was thankful for the break of silence. “I most definitely do not call anyone else Jessica. Only you, and for a very special reason.”
He didn’t elaborate and I was left to question what exactly that meant.
“Would you care to explain why that is?”
“Actually, I don’t. Not right now anyway.”
He definitely made it clear I wasn’t going to get anything else out of him. I guess I should’ve known. For the short time I knew him, it was obvious Sebastian Black could be very stubborn and determined.
Once the waiter came and filled our glasses with wine, we were left alone. He sipped his wine and stared at me, making me even more nervous than before.
“So you come here a lot?” I asked, trying to break the ice.
“Yes,” he said simply. He wasn’t going to make this dinner easy at all.
“You don’t talk much.”
He shrugged. “I’m not good with idle conversation.”
“I thought you didn’t… date?”
“I don’t.”
“Then what is this?”
“I told you what this is. You’re proving you’re worth the risk.”
“And how am I supposed to do that?”
He stared at me for the longest time, then raised his eyebrows.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
It was then the waiter came back to our table to take our order. When the waiter left, I continued with my questions. With every answer, I became even more curious about Sebastian Black.
“The others… they don’t have any problems with your rules?”
“If they did, they wouldn’t be one of my girls.” He was so matter of fact. “You were ready to accept my offer, did you have a problem with my rules?”
My head snapped up. I didn’t like having the situation thrown in my face. “I needed it.”
“So you’re saying you’re different?”
“Yes.”
“Because you need the money?”
“Yes,” I insisted.
“And what makes you think any of the others didn’t also need the money?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. The truth was I didn’t know, but I wanted badly to believe I was different, that under different circumstances, I wouldn’t have sold myself to Sebastian Black for everything he could offer.
“The truth is, the money comes and goes, but they don’t. They just keep coming, over and over again.” He shrugged. “So maybe you are different.”
I dropped my head to the side. “Has anyone left you before you could leave them?”
Jumping at the sound of his laughter, I looked around and saw that everyone was watching at us.
“What’s so funny?” I demanded. “You’re telling me no one has ever gotten tired of you before you could get tired of them?”
“Nobody.” He was dead serious now.
“How do you know?”
“Because I have a cock that won’t stop and enough money to buy all the company in the world.”
“Don’t you think someday you’ll want more than an easy lay and women who only want your money?”
“Isn’t that what a relationship is based around anyway? Sex and money. In my case, I get to have sex with a different girl every night and not have to worry about a jealous wife.”
Suddenly I felt very sad for Sebastian. “Don’t you want love?”
“Love doesn’t exist, sweetheart. It’s a pretty lie. Something women invented to tie a man down and destroy his manhood.”
“You’re wrong.”
“You’re wasting your breath, Jessica. Save your delusions about love and happily ever after for a sucker because I am far from fooled.”
I wanted to argue that he was wrong. I had seen love—real love—between a man and a woman. My parents had loved each other completely and without reservation. I knew it existed and I fully planned on finding the same kind of love one day.
“I’m very different, Sebastian.” I whispered, looking up to meet his frown. “I need the money right now, but I refuse to live a life without love and happiness. I won’t come back when it’s all said and done.”
I didn’t know if I had stunned him or angered him, maybe a bit of both, but he didn’t respond right away. When he did, it was a complete change of topic.
“I certainly don’t know a lot of virgins. How old are you?”
“Twenty-two,” I said proudly, daring him to make fun of me.
“How is it that a twenty-two-year-old, with your looks, managed to stay a virgin?”
“If I have to explain the logistics to you, you’re obviously not the sex god you claim to be.”
I thought I’d gotten him with my witty remark, but he sat forward in his chair and showed me exactly what it felt like to have the breath knocked from you.
“I could fuck you senseless right here, right now, and give the women watching orgasms. That, sweetheart, is how good I am.”
Thankfully, the waiter made a sudden appearance with our food. I looked at my plate and kept my head down for the remainder of the meal. I could feel Sebastian’s hard gaze and it made me squirm.
I didn’t know what to say and I was already worried I had said too much as it was. I couldn’t afford for him to take back everything he had already offered… again. I was doing an awful job proving myself after my declaration.
After dinner, the car was out front, waiting for us. I climbed in and we rode in silence back to my hotel. He got out and held the door open for me. When I turned around to thank him for dinner, I found him standing there, with the car gone. He was coming to my room.
“Are you going to stand there all night, or are we going to go up?”
I twisted my fingers together. “Kyle…”
“Doesn’t Kyle have his own room?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“But what? Have you given up? Are you no longer willing to prove yourself to me?”
“I think by now you’ve already made up your decision about me.”
“Are you sure?”
I was until he said that. Why was I being such a prude? I could seduce Sebastian Black. I could.
My nerves went crazy and my legs started to shake as I turned and made my way to the elevator. I pressed the button for my floor and waited. My knees felt like Jell-O, and I silently hoped I didn’t fall and face plant on the expensive tile floor.
He stood still beside me. He was too quiet, making my anxiety even worse. My hands shook when I pulled out my door key and tried to stick the card in the slot. Covering my hand with his, he took the card from my fingers.
“Allow me,” he said as he opened the door.
And then, there I was, standing in a hotel room with a stranger who may or may not purchase me. Thankfully, Kyle was fast asleep in his room, I didn’t want him asking questions I didn’t know how to answer.
My back was to Sebastian, but I could see our reflection in the expansive glass view. I watched as he approached with the stride of a hungry tiger. A strut that relayed his confidence and security. Meanwhile, tension built inside me and threatened to break.
He ran warm fingers across the back of my neck as he moved my hair to the side. I jerked when he pressed his soft lips to the back of my neck.
“Exactly how far have you gone with a man, Jessica?”
I swallowed hard making my throat hurt. “Far enough.”
My voice didn’t sound like my own. It was deeper, darker... seductive. The girl who answered him wasn’t me. Whatever he was doing, was affecting me.
I could feel his breath in my hair. “Has a man ever touched you? Have you touched a man before?”
“No,” I whispered.
“Christ,” he cursed. His hands moved from my shoulders and worked down my back, until his hands circled around my waist. He was hard and pressing into my back, which did nothing to help with my insecurities.
“You smell delicious,” he said as he nibbled on my earlobe. “I shouldn’t want you this much, but I can’t seem to keep my hands off of you.”
I leaned my head to the side, giving him more room to kiss. I wasn’t a total idiot. I knew what men and women did together. I knew what foreplay was, and I definitely knew that Mr. Black was all about foreplay, as my nipples were pressing against my bra and the spot between my thighs was throbbing.
His hands moved up my waist and rested just beneath my bra. I was embarrassed by my erratic breathing because I was sure he could not only hear it, but feel it as well.
I looked down at this dark fingers and watched as they moved in and out with my breaths. Knotting his fingers in the front of my shirt, cool air kissed my belly button when he began to lift the fabric from my body.
“The skin on your neck is so soft. I can’t help but wonder if you’re this soft everywhere,” he said, continuing to caress my skin with his warm lips.
And then he was sliding his fingers against my stomach, skin to skin. For a man with so much money, his fingertips were rough. I liked it. God forgive me, but I liked it so much.
He lifted my shirt further.
“Raise your arms, beautiful. I want to see your skin.”
I did as he asked and he pulled my shirt over my head and up my arms. My skin pebbled when the air hit my naked flesh. I stood there with my back to him, in just a skirt and unattractive bra.
Working his fingers down my body, he turned me into putty on the spot.
“So perfect,” he whispered in my hair.
I closed my eyes and let him have his way with me. I sucked in a breath when his fingers worked low and started to unzip my skirt. I wasn’t ready, but there was no going back. I’d made a deal with the devil himself, and for my brother and for myself, I’d honor that deal.
My skirt fell to my ankles and I opened my eyes to look at myself in the glass. I was pale, which made his hands look even darker as they worked down my hips.
I watched his reflection as he moved to unbutton his jacket, pull it off his shoulders, and toss it to the side. He loosened his tie and slid it around his neck.
And then he was on his knees behind me, hands working up from the back of my calves to my thighs. I was shaking again, but I wasn’t sure if it was my nerves or the sensations flying through my body at light speed. I was losing myself in him and it had only been a matter of minutes since we’d stepped into the room together.
He was good. Entirely too good.
He ran his nose along the inside of my leg and I closed my eyes and let my mouth open on a sigh.
“What are you doing to me?” I asked breathlessly.
Pressing his warm lips to the inside of my thigh he groaned his appreciation. “I want you desperate for me.”
My head fell back when he continued the hot kisses on the insides of my legs. He was getting what he wanted. I could feel my heartbeat between my legs like it was begging and taunting already.
Reaching back, I dug my fingers into his hair and held him to me. And then he was turning me. I looked down into his eyes as he kneeled in front of me. It was awkward and amazing all at the same time to have such a demanding man on his knees in front of me.
A moan slipped from my lips when he began kissing my stomach, right above my panty line. I was so into it, I couldn’t even think to be embarrassed by my plain-Jane cotton panties.
Oxygen no longer seemed important. All that mattered was the throb inside my panties and his mouth, which was now pressed against my inner thigh. He kissed everywhere, but the place I wanted it most. I was desperate.
I pulled the back of his head to me and tried to move him where I wanted him to be.
“Sebastian,” I gasped.
Pulling away, he lowered his head and exhaled harshly before he stood and put his arms on my shoulders.
“Times up, sweetheart.”
His words were a splash of cold water. “What?” I said frazzled.
“You did well—a very un-virgin like performance.”
“But I didn’t… that wasn’t…”
He held a finger against my lips. “Be at the club tomorrow at noon. Don’t be late.” He placed a soft kiss on my cheek, his breath rustling the soft hair around my ear. “Goodnight, beautiful.”
I wanted to stop him. I should have stopped him and made him listen to me, but it was too late and I’m not sure he would have listened to me anyway.
I turned around as he adjusted his tie and put his jacket back on. The door opened and shut a few seconds later, and the tension in the room lifted.
“I HIRED A NEW WAITRESS. You’d know that if you were here last night,” Vick said, filing papers in the cabinet in the corner of the room.
“I had business other than the club to attend to.”
She turned, putting her hand on her hip and peering over at me with a pissed off expression. “Jessica Rabbit business?”
Setting my pen down on the desk, I sighed and met her stare. “Vick, what the fuck’s your problem? “Seriously, what’s with all the bitchiness lately?”
Slamming the cabinet, she shook her head and marched from the room.
Sighing, I picked up my pen and started going over numbers again. I’d lost track of the time, so when the door opened again I was expecting it to be Vick.
It wasn’t. Jessica was standing there in a pair of cheap jeans and what was probably her second best shirt. She was too beautiful to wear such shitty clothes—something I planned to remedy as soon as things were in working order between us.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to knock?”
Her sweet face clouded over before her eyes turned red with anger and her cheeks flushed.
“Don’t ever talk about my mother,” she bit off.
Her words were abrupt and to the point. Her anger evident in the tightness of her mouth. She was like a baby kitten ready to claw my face off.
There was more to my Jessica, yet nothing I needed to know about. But family was something I understood—something I’d longed for as a boy. For that reason alone, I’d never mention her family again.
“Noted,” I said.
Her anger wasn’t something that would garner an apology from me.
“Sit,” I motioned to the chair in front of my desk.
Stepping forward, she moved around the chair and sat down crossing her arms. She still carried her resistance to me. I liked that. I appreciated the challenge she gave me.
“Ask me again,” I simply stated.
She frowned, confused. “Ask you what again?”
“Ask me again,” I repeated.
Leaning back in my chair, I let my eyes wander over her perky breasts in a very obvious manner. She licked her lips nervously and my cock started to grow.
“Does your offer still stand?” she asked hesitantly.
A grin tugged at the side of my mouth. “As a matter of fact, it does.”
I loved having so much control over the things in my life. Jessica wasn’t an exception.
Her eyes narrowed, and I waited to see whether or not she’d take the bait.
“So I guess I passed your little test then?”
I chuckled, “Oh no
, sweetheart, that was just the beginning. I like my women a certain way, and you need to be…” I paused, thinking of the right words. “Tutored in the way I like my women.”
She looked absolutely appalled. “Tutored for your pleasure?”
“Exactly,” I grinned.
Standing from my chair, I walked over and hovered above her. She looked at me with hard green eyes.
“Do you ever do anything to please the women who learn to please you?” she snapped.
I grabbed her chin between my fingers and lifted it roughly. “While I thoroughly enjoy your smart mouth,” I said, running my thumb across her bottom lip. “I won’t tolerate it. And there will be consequences for misbehavior in the future.”
“Consequences?” she challenged with a lifted brow.
I squeezed her chin. “However, I do enjoy admiring your mouth. Keep it up and I’ll be forced to stuff something in it. Understood?”
Before she could respond, my mouth came down hard on hers. I pushed her lips apart with my tongue. I wasn’t gentle, but it was both a punishment and a reward. She made noises in the back of her throat while I devoured her mouth.
When I lifted my head, her lips were red and swollen. She ran her tongue over the sensitive skin taunting me to kiss her again.
Stepping away from her, I walked back to my desk and resumed looking over my papers.
“I think I’d like to take you up on your offer.”
I silently celebrated my win. “You think, or you are?”
She lifted her chin and with pinched lips she said, “I am.”
I wanted her more than I’d wanted a woman in a long time. This was my way of doing things and she had to be all in before I’d proceed with her.
“Good. Let’s start now.”
I enjoyed the way her face lit up with surprise. Shocking her was insanely entertaining for me.
“Now?” she exclaimed. “But…”
“But what? I have a lot of work to do with you, so the sooner the better.”
Before she could respond, I pulled out a small black gift bag from beneath my desk and pushed it toward her. She eyed it suspiciously and then took a step forward.
“What’s this?”
I sighed. “Why don’t you open it and find out?”
Slowly she hooked the edge of the bag with her finger and tried to peek around the hot pink tissue paper. I could have done without all the fuss, but the sales woman insisted it would be a nice touch.
Little Black Box Set (The Black Trilogy) Page 7
