drink?”
“It’s your bar,” I say, waving a hand at the stool beside me.
He takes a seat and the bartender immediately serves him a whiskey on the rocks. Benedict nods and then glances at me. “Tell me where you’ve been, and what you’ve been doing.”
“I’m not sure that’s wise. I don’t want to go back there, Benedict. I’m free now.”
“Completely your choice,” he says slowly. “You’re doing well, then?”
“Well enough,” I tell him with a shrug. “It’s hard, you know, out here ...”
I’m playing a game, telling him whatever he wants to hear without making it too obvious that it’s an act. I was always strong willed and sassy, because of that he would know if I was too submissive.
“Have you found work?”
I shake my head. “No, I have literally no skills. Money is hard to come by. I’m just crashing on couches at the moment, but I’m free. I can’t complain.”
“I could help you out,” he says, sipping his drink.
“I’m not going to be anyone’s pet again, thank you very much.”
He chuckles, low. “I don’t keep pets, Aviana. I build them a house and let them live their own lives.”
“Except you own them, control them ...”
His eyes are piercing when they meet mine. “Precisely.”
“I’ll be okay, thanks.”
“I can offer you far more than you were given before. A home, a job, money ...”
I take a sip of my drink before answering, “I can find those things on my own.”
“A house by the ocean, a car of your dreams, any job you want I can get for you, all you have to do is say the word, Aviana, and it’s yours.”
I squint. “What is it about me that would make you offer up so much?”
“You’re different than the rest. Fiery and strong. I like you; I always have liked you. I don’t like a girl that’s openly a pushover, or materialistic. The women I encounter, that’s all they are.”
I frown. “Well, how do you know I’m not like that?”
He grins. “By the way you’re dressed.”
I throw my hands up. “What’s wrong with my damned dress? I happen to like it very much!”
He chuckles. “I imagine you do, and that right there is exactly why I want you ...”
“I don’t wish to be controlled by you. I take all of those things, and I’m forever in your debt. I don’t want to live like that.”
“I wouldn’t control you, Aviana. I’d simply ... guide you.”
Pffft.
Yeah fucking right.
I take another drink, not answering him.
“Think about it, at the very least. I can give you a good, stable life. In return, I simply ask for your companionship.”
To fuck him.
That’s what he means.
“That’s all?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
He takes a drink. “That’s all.”
“Mmmm.”
“Will you consider my offer?”
“I’ll think about it, but right now, I really want to dance.”
I swallow the rest of my drink, and then take myself onto the dance floor and start swaying my hips. I don’t want him to see me as being overly keen, because that’ll give him suspicion and I don’t want him to be suspicious. I simply want him to think I’m here because I want to be. I dance until I’ve worked up a sweat, but not too much that I look even more “trashy” then I do already.
I go back to the bar, where Benedict is still sitting, watching me, his eyes never having moved.
I get another drink, and then sit back down.
“Would you like to see my office?”
Also code for, would you like to see my penis?
I shrug. “Sure, why not? You’re not going to kidnap me or something, are you?”
He chuckles and stands. “I don’t need to kidnap you, Aviana. You’re going to come to me willingly.”
Doubtful.
But I give a shy smile and follow him up the stairs and into his office. The office is covering half the entire top floor and my god it’s massive. A huge glass window looks out over the city, showcasing its utter beauty. The furniture in here is expensive and lush. This man sure knows how to set himself up.
I walk over to the large glass window and stare out. “Wow,” I say, with honesty.
It is breathtaking.
A moment later, I feel a hard form behind me. Benedict presses his body against my back, leaning in and sweeping my hair away from my neck as he brings his lips down to the skin there. I want to vomit, because ew, he’s like double my age, but I can’t do that. Not if I want to get him out of here