Highest Bidder Collection - Lauren Landish Page 0,288

spoken, her posture returns to what it was.

More than her submission, her anger and her determination that she doesn’t belong to him make me want her that much more. Because she doesn’t have any claim to him anymore. Now she’s mine.

I haven’t wanted anyone like this in a long damn time. Maybe not ever. It must be the forbidden aspect of it, the dark desires I’ve only ever observed from a distance. My eyes glance over her face, waiting for more from her, trying to determine what it is about her that’s forcing my hand and only making me want her with more desperation as every minute passes.

She’s a siren. Luring me to a depth that already has me making mistakes.

She’s the reason I’m in this mess. I felt for her. This business isn’t about emotions.

I rest my elbow on the table and lean forward, the legs of my chair scooting across the floor and making a screeching noise.

“Can I trust you?” I ask her, finally feeling a hint of a smile reaching my lips.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Don’t call me Sir,” I immediately say and my command comes out sharp, but she doesn’t flinch. My harsh manner doesn't affect her in the least.

“What would you like me to call you?” she asks in an even voice, perfectly still.

I let out a heavy sigh and sit back in my chair. My ankles cross as I look back at her.

“My name is Zander, and you can call me that.”

Her lashes flutter as she nods her head and answers obediently, “Yes, Zander.”

“I don’t really like… the lifestyle,” I tell her, that smile apparent as I start to spin a beautiful web, something to distract her maybe, something to hide behind. “As a kink, I understand it. But I’m not interested in having a Slave or a twenty-four seven power exchange.”

Her posture relaxes slightly. “What do you like?” she says, and as she asks me the question, she licks her lips in a nervous manner and clears her throat, setting her clasped hands on the table. Her own mask is crumbling into pieces, and her true emotions are showing. Her voice is lowered and flat.

She’s nervous, unhappy even. I’m taken aback for a moment. I hadn’t expected this reaction.

“What do you think I like?” I ask her in return. My eyes travel over every one of her features, waiting for more information on her. Everyone has a tell, and I can spot a lie from even the most deceitful men.

“I’m not sure, to be honest.” She swallows again and stares at her hands as she fidgets and pinches her fingertips. “I know I’m here to pay a debt. And that you’ll use me,” she adds and closes her eyes and takes in an uneven breath to steady herself. The smile falls from my face completely.

“I won’t do a damn thing to you that you don’t want. Let’s make that clear right now.” My firm voice makes her open her eyes. They’re glassy with tears and something else, distrust.

“I promise you. If you don’t want me in the least, you can walk through that door and this all ends.”

“He’ll-”

“He won’t do a damn thing to you. Daniel Brooks owes me money; you don’t owe anyone.”

“I owe him,” she breathes the words her face a reflection of nothing but pain. “I do,” Arianna starts to say something, but she doesn’t finish. I feel my forehead scrunch as I try to figure out what the hell she’s getting at. And then it hits me.

“If you don’t want me, you can simply leave.” The words, I’ll forgive the debt and you’ll be free are on my lips, but a hiss of a whisper in the darkest part of my mind pleads with me to wait for her reply.

“I do want you,” she says and her gorgeous eyes stare into mine again, piercing through me and threatening to learn every secret I hold.

I want to tell her to leave, to get rid of her. She already has too much power over me; she makes me weak. She makes me foolish. But she wants me. And I can’t deny I crave the idea of her submitting to me.

“You’re going to do everything I say.” I don’t think as I speak, another side of me taking over.

“Yes, Zander.”

“We’ll start tomorrow at six in the evening,” I tell her, looking straight ahead and past her. My eyes focus on a small dimple on the white wall. An imperfection in the otherwise spotless facade of