Enemy Down - Cathryn Fox Page 0,12

going to be okay. Although I’m not sure it will be.

“Are you my…” She pauses, like she can’t quite figure out what word to use.

“I’m your sponsor,” I say, and that wording seems to relax her. Best to leave sugar baby and sugar daddy out of it. That’s not what this matchup is, anyway. I don’t want anything from her, other than to pay for the accident.

Is that entirely true, Christian?

I shut that inner voice down, and take her hand in mind. At first it’s stiff, but I give it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “Are you okay to walk, or should I carry you?”

She lifts her chin, and my cock swells as those plump lips pucker in defiance. “I can walk.” She begins to move, and I keep her hand in mine as we go up the steep basement staircase. When we reach the top, her steps slow, and she angles her body, turning in to me.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to my room, where we’ll go over the rules of our arrangement.”

“I’m not sleeping with you,” she blurts out, and my lips quirk. Even though she’s nervous, I like her strength and convictions.

“I never said I wanted to sleep with you.”

Of course, I’m not saying I don’t want to, either.

A pause and then, “Good.”

“Come then.” I give a little tug and she falls into step beside me. I lead her through the big house, and up the stairs to my large bedroom. Inside, I shut and lock the door behind us, and when I walk further into the room, she stays back, and presses against the door.

“Who are you?”

“Stand over there,” I say, and point to the television mounted on my wall. A small gasp catches in her throat. What, does she like being bossed around? Is there a side to Maize that she doesn’t show the world?

“Why?” She angles her head, her eyes moving over me, trying to discover my identity.

The truth is, I want her away from the door so she can’t run. But instead I say, “I’m not going to hurt you, Maize.”

“Why did you bid on me?”

“We’ll get to that.”

When she doesn’t move, I look at the boot on her foot. “If it’s causing you too much pain to walk, I can carry you.”

She pushes off the door, and I grin, knowing that would get her moving. She does not like to show weakness, that’s for sure. She slowly crosses the room, each step determined as she walks by my small table for two, and stands by my comfy recliner, which faces my television. She turns to me, and crosses her arms over her chest in a protective move.

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“I don’t want anything from you.”

“Why did you bid on me then?” She glances around. “What really goes on after these auctions?”

I reach up, and she goes quiet, still, as I grip my hood and slide it off. Her big brown eyes go wide when she sees it’s me, but that shock quickly morphs into anger.

“No, no way,” she seethes between clenched teeth. “Not you. I was told you didn’t participate in these auctions.” She makes a move to go, headed straight for the door, when I block her path and put my hands on her shoulders. A hard quiver makes its way through her body and if I didn’t know better, I could be convinced that she likes my hands on her. The other day when I held her down on the ground, the flush on her cheeks hadn’t gone unnoticed. I assumed it was from her injury, now…maybe it was from something else.

Then again, I could just be projecting my own desires, and the only thing this girl wants from me is my nuts in a vice.

“Maize, you’re mine,” I whisper and as soon as the words slip from my lips, my body reacts, eager for her to be mine, to take her any way I’d like, over and over again. Her eyes grow wide again, and it snaps me back to reality. “Wait, I don’t mean it like that.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Can you please just hear me out?”

She hesitates and I can almost hear the wheels spinning as she tries to figure a way out of this, and a way to stay in school. That’s my angle right there.

“All I want is to help you stay in school. That’s it.” I hold my hands out, palms facing her. “It’s my fault you were hurt, and I feel shitty about