Judge Me Not - Maggie Cole Page 0,9

don't know what I'm doing. I'm sorry. I should go." I rise, and he pulls me down on his lap.

"Don't go."

My heart hammers against my chest cavity. My mouth goes dry.

"Another thing you should never do is allow a man to keep you in his room if you don't want to be there." He cocks his eyebrow.

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

His face turns serious. "You're here for a reason?"

Abby connected to machines in a hospital bed fills my vision. I blink hard and nod.

"Okay. So am I."

"Oh?"

"How much for exclusivity?"

Exclusivity? "I don't understand."

He traces my jaw. "I don't want any other man in here having any access to you. How much?"

The air becomes thick. I take shorter breaths, shaking my head. "You only want me in your room?"

"Yes. Or anywhere I choose. But no one else can have you."

"Have me?"

"No touching, no dancing, no flirting with any of them. No deals. You are mine and mine alone. How much?"

I would be his.

Yes, please.

No. This is not a relationship.

"What would you expect from me?"

His lips curl. "Whatever I want."

"I won't sleep with you," I blurt out.

He leans into my ear. "I don't pay for sex. When you sleep with me, I'm not paying you." His tongue hits the back of my ear.

My pussy clenches. I gasp.

His hand massages my ass.

I close my eyes, softly moan, then realize what is happening. I pull away from him, and I rise to leave. "This isn't going to work. I'm sorry—"

"Stop," he commands.

I freeze.

He pulls me back on his lap. "Tell me how much you want."

"I'm not having sex with you. I can't."

"You have a husband or boyfriend?"

"No."

"You're a lesbian?"

"No."

He glances at my lower body. "You have a chastity belt under there?"

"What? No! I—"

His face breaks out into a huge grin.

He's teasing me again. "I'm not letting anyone pay me for sex."

His face falls. "I already clarified I'm not paying you for sex."

"Then what are you paying me for?"

"Exclusivity. You're at my beck and call. When I tell you I want to see you, you stop whatever you're doing and meet me wherever I tell you to."

"I have other jobs."

"Quit."

"I can't."

"Do they pay you as much as this?"

"I don't know what this pays."

"Tell me what you want."

"You haven't said what I'm going to be doing when I'm with you."

"Yes, I did. I told you, whatever I want."

"But I said I won't sleep with you."

"You need to work on your listening skills. I do not pay for sex. Never. I don't need to.” His cockiness reappears on his face.

I'm so out of my element here. I can't do this.

I get up. "You're not answering my question. I'm not doing this. Thank you, but no thank you." I get to the door, and his hand comes over the top of my head.

He slams it into the door. "Wait."

I jump and spin. "You're scaring me."

His eyes widen. "I am not a man who hurts women. If I frightened you, I apologize. Don't go."

I focus on his chest. Abby's face once again haunts me.

"I will give you a thousand dollars when you leave if you sit down and finish negotiating with me."

I gape at him.

Is this guy crazy?

Yep, he has to be.

One thousand dollars just to sit down?

"Fine. Please step back."

He exhales and obeys.

I walk to the armchair so he can't sit next to me. "I won't agree to anything unless I know what I'm getting involved in."

The cockiness he had earlier disappears. "You're smart to ask. Don't go into an agreement with any man unless you understand what you will be doing."

"And we would be doing…?"

"From time to time, I have events to go to. You will be my date."

My closet full of yoga pants and second-hand store dresses comes to mind. "I don't have fancy things."

"I will take care of it. Anything you need comes from me as a gift."

Events sound easy. I can do that.

"That's it?"

A smoldering expression crosses his face. "No."

"What else?"

He licks his lips, and his eyes wander over my body. I try not to squirm. He says, "When we are in here, you will also dress in what I provide."

"So, I'll be clothed?"

"Until I tell you to take it off."

My heart races. I glance out at the room full of people.

"I will shut the shades. I will not allow any other man to see you."

I'm at a strip club. I agreed to work here. This isn't unreasonable.

How far can I fall?

It's not about you. It's about getting Abby her treatments.

"Okay,