The Rush (The Siren Series) - By Rachel Higginson Page 0,130

over my forehead, a lot like Eva’s. My bottom lip wouldn’t stop trembling, so I was forced to bite on it which in turn dissolved my lip color a half hour ago. And my hands were convulsing.

I was not supposed to be here.

I had plotted my entire life to get me out of this exact situation.

And for opening my big mouth one too many times, I had been punished by my worst fear.

I absently wondered if Nix knew that. If somehow he had actually seen into my soul and doled out punishment accordingly. Even if he would have taken me two years earlier, it would not have compared to the torture of getting paid to be some old man’s arm candy.

Sex slave industry. Ryder had been right.

Only instead of kidnapping and an unwanted addiction to drugs, my mother had given birth to me for the sole purpose of passing on her legacy. Her whore legacy.

I shuddered as the reality, more than ever before, sunk in.

“Would you stop?” Eva finally snapped. “You are making me nervous. Just sit down!”

I let out a rush of breath but obeyed. I sat on my hands to keep them from spreading the shakes to the rest of my body and then stared down at my feet. I tried to remember the words of comfort and encouragement Ryder had whispered to me all day. Immediately this morning he started drilling me about Nix’s “assignment” and because he already knew more than he should, I told him everything. I laid out my evening for him in exact terms, to give him an idea of what I would face and myself peace of mind because someone else, someone normal, wholesome and good, would know where I was tonight. Because he would be concerned about me. Thinking about me.

“It’s alright, Ivy,” Ana put a comforting hand on my back. She was a little awkward since my dress was backless down to my lowest vertebrae and it was weird with the skin to skin contact of her hand. But she was maternal and sweet and I sank into her tranquility. “This isn’t a real job. Think of it like…. riding your bike with training wheels.”

I thought about that for a minute and then said, “I was never allowed to ride a bike, training wheels or not.”

There was a moment of silence before Ana said, “Me either,”

“Too risky for scars,” Eva added.

“Ugh, what kind of pathetic childhoods did we lead?” Ana groaned and then all three of us burst into laughter.

“How about another analogy that doesn’t remind me of why I’m in therapy?” I asked, but already I felt more relaxed.

“Ok, how about this?” Ana seemed to think about it, “You’ve been on dates before? Lots of dates, I bet, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, just think of this like a date. A date with a man you don’t really like all that much, but you still have to finish out your commitment. He’s not going to try anything; he’s not even going to get further than a goodnight kiss. Most likely, these are some business colleagues of Nix that just want to have some company while they’re in town. We meet them, we go to dinner, maybe out for drinks after, and then we part ways. There’s nothing to it. You’ll be fine.”

Only nothing about this felt fine. I was a junior in high school. I shouldn’t be here with a business colleague of Nix.

And I sure as hell shouldn’t be kissing them goodnight.

The very thought of kissing sent me back to the Delice kitchen with Ryder. It had been a mistake. A horrible, awful, delicious…. wonderful mistake. One that would never happen again.

But even as I swore to myself I could never slip up like that again around him. I mean, it was all my fault, wasn’t it? I was the one stupidly attracted to him. He was just a guy reacting to his baser instincts. And I didn’t mean because I was a siren. Because he was a teenage boy and I basically climbed him like a tree and assaulted his mouth. But then again, he had even commented immediately on how it had been an experiment. So….

So even as I swore all that to myself, I hated, absolutely loathed the idea of cheapening that moment of blissful perfection by kissing a middle aged pervert goodnight.

“This must be them,” Eva commented and sat up a bit straighter.

Three young guys in expensive, well-tailored suits strolled into the lobby of the hotel looking like