Those brown eyes blink up at me, dark and bewildered, and it’s enough to make me come. I spurt down her throat in endless clenches, my whole body straining at the climax. She takes all of it, swallowing me down in greedy gulps, the surprise in her eyes colored with arousal. Beautiful.
I zip up and straighten my slacks, my hands trembling in the dark. It’s like she reached down to the roots of me and pulled. I’m adrift. How can a blowjob have changed my core? But it has. She was so generous with that mouth. So fucking sweet.
She looks just as shaken as she settles on the other side of the limo. Her fingers smooth over her full lips, and just like that, I want her all over again. She owes me more, but I won’t take it from her. Not now. Not after that.
I press the intercom. “Take us to Columbia.”
She glares at me. “We’re going back to the hotel.”
“Why? Neither of us is staying there. It was a safe place to meet.”
“And it’s a safe place for you to drop me off.”
“So you can take an Uber at this time of night? No.”
“How do you even know where I go to school?”
“You’re computer engineering, right? Columbia has one of the best engineering programs in the country. In the world, really. Or am I wrong? Did you go to NYU?”
“You’re not wrong,” she says, begrudgingly. “But you don’t know where I live.”
I raise my eyebrow at her. “Do I need to call my private investigator? I’m sure he can have an address for me in the next thirty minutes.”
“God,” she says, sounding disgruntled and adorable. “Someone needs to tell you no. You are far too used to getting your way.”
This is probably true. Normally that wouldn’t bother me, but I find myself cajoling her. “It will save you time to go straight home. It’s already late.”
“Fine. I live off-campus. I’ll tell you the address.”
Triumph feels different with her. More vital. “Thank you.”
“But you’re not coming inside.”
5
Anita
Of course he doesn’t listen.
I ignore him as I cross the small parking lot and pull out my keys. The truth is, I do feel safer with him seeing me to the door. The area is secure enough. As safe as we could afford with a limited budget for rent. I don’t really mind him standing beside me as I unlock the door. What I mind is what happens when he tries to follow me inside.
My sister Valentina sits at the small, second-hand dining table working on her coursework. Probably translating something from one unused language to another. She looks up when I come in. Her eyes widen when Midas appears next.
“Hey, sis,” she says, her tone casual, as if I bring guys home every day.
“Hey.” I kick off my shoes and drop my clutch. I’m more used to wearing jeans and sandals. These clothes? They’re gorgeous. And they’re not really mine. Midas bought them for me. “This is Raoul. He’s just leaving.”
Raoul walks through the small apartment as if he owns the place. I don’t even want to think about what he makes of our potted plants and the artwork my younger sister made in her high school art class. It must look so provincial compared to his life of luxury.
Of course, Juana takes that moment to pad into the kitchen, wearing only her jammy shorts and a tank top. “I need a drink of water,” she announces sleepily. “Also, who’s the dude?”
“Raoul,” Valentina says, clearly enjoying this.
“He’s just leaving,” I say again, pointedly clearing my throat.
Raoul turns and gives a hard smile. He holds out his hand to Valentina. “My apologies. I’m Raoul Midas. It’s very late, and I wanted to see your sister home safely.”
“I see,” Valentina says, looking charmed. Traitor. She knows exactly what kind of date I went on tonight and how much I’m getting paid for it. But she doesn’t look disgusted—not by me, and not by him.
My little sister only knew it was a regular date, not a paid service. “Are you guys going out again?” she asks before gulping down an entire glass of water.
“No,” I say, at the same time as Midas says, “Yes.”
He gives a small wave to Juana. “Do you like it here?”
She shrugs. “The apartment’s nice, but it’s so far away from the bus line.”
“And he’s definitely leaving.” I take him by the arm and steer him toward the door. When we get outside, I linger