I pace, wearing nothing but a short light pink silk robe. I’m nervous. I spent the morning cleaning my entire condo. I know it was already clean, and I’ve done nothing to mess it up or make it dirty, but I really don’t have much else to do up here, locked in my tower. The rest of the afternoon I exercised. I did two hours on my treadmill, and then an hour doing yoga.

Adrenaline is flowing through me.

After a light dinner, I showered, lotioned, and brushed my hair. Now, I’m pacing until ten o’clock. Reaching for my iPhone, I search for my relaxing playlist and click shuffle before I set it into the speaker dock. The soft music fills the air, and instantly, I feel a little calmer.

Looking around the room, I try and figure out exactly where to sit while I wait for him. I know that when it’s closer to ten, I’ll have to put my robe away and wait naked, but I just need to figure out where. Hopefully, I’ll get to know him a little bit better, so that the next time, I can be exactly where he wants me.

Pursing my lips together, I frown. The chaise lounge is where he put his clothes the last time, so I can’t really sit there. I’ve already sat at the vanity, so that won’t work. I could sit in the middle of the bed, but I have a feeling he enjoyed instructing me over there. Glancing at the balcony windows, I make a decision.

Walking over to the closet, I hang the robe on the hook, then close the door. Smoothing my hair down one last time, I make my way toward the balcony doors. The blinds aren’t completely closed, allowing for a bit of city light to enter the space. The lights in the bedroom are dimmed fairly low, so the city light helps cast a pretty shadow that I think is sexy.

Closing my eyes, I wait. Inhaling a deep breath, I hear the front door unlock and then open. A few seconds later I hear it close, and the deadbolt locks back into place. Low footsteps become louder and then they cease when his feet touch the carpet.

I don’t have to turn around to know that his gaze is on me. I can feel my skin prickle from the sensation. His eyes, taking me in, it’s the sexiest feeling I’ve ever encountered before. That feeling of dread, of trouble, and of excited anticipation fills me all over again.

“Close the blinds completely,” his deep voice says.

Without turning around, I try to suppress the shiver that runs through me as I reach for the wand and close the blinds completely. “Turn around. Let me see you,” he rasps.

Slowly, I turn around, facing him, but I don’t look him in the eyes. I keep my chin tipped down, hearing shuffling around me. I continue to keep my gaze on the pretty plush cream carpet in front of me.

I jump slightly when I feel a fingertip touch my shoulder. “Let me see your pretty black eyes,” he orders.

I don’t tell him that my eyes aren’t black, or correct him on their actual color of dark blue. It doesn’t matter. He’s the client, he says whatever he wants, and I agree, never arguing with him—about anything. Looking up, I’m taken aback again by the color of his own eyes. They make me weak in the knees, they’re so damn pretty.

Aidan lifts his hand, cupping my cheek with his palm. I hold my breath, unable to take my gaze off of his. He drags his thumb across my bottom lip, his eyes following its path. Then they lift back to mine. “Much better without all the shit on your face and body,” he mutters. “You’re beautiful, Giovanna.”

My belly should not dip at his praise. I should not blush at his words. Yet, both things happen simultaneously. “Thank you, Aidan,” I breathe. He’s still completely dressed, so I lift my palms and press them against his chest. “Won’t you join me?” I ask with a tip to my lips.

He grunts, his lips twitching slightly. “Yeah, A rùnsearc.” I want to ask him what it means, but I don’t.

Instead, I take a step back and I watch him undress. It’s something he does every single day, and yet, it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen before. I’ve watched many men undress, or I’ve undressed them. However, watching Aidan’s muscles flex with each move he makes, the graceful and effortless way he moves. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

Aidan throws his things on the chaise, just as I had expected. I quickly walk over to them and fold them, not wishing his pretty gray suit or crisp black shirt to get wrinkled. Less than a minute later, I feel his hand on my hip and his warm chest against my back. “Thank you,” he mutters against my shoulder, his lips grazing my skin.

His fingertips dance along my belly and stop just above my pussy. Pinching my eyes closed, I wait. This man is hard to read. Usually, I can tell what they want, what they’re thinking. Madam Carmella taught me everything she knew. However, with Aidan, I cannot read him at all—not in the slightest.

“Spread,” he orders.

I let out a breath and step my legs farther apart. Without delay, his fingers slip between my thighs. I’m embarrassingly wet. I shouldn’t be yet. However, the anticipation of him just walking through my door, and then actually watching him undress, it’s been too much for me. His finger swirls my clit before he drags it through my wet center.

“Aidan,” I exhale, lifting one of my arms and reaching behind me.

I wrap my hand around the back of his neck, careful not to muss up his hair. Some men do not want you to touch their hair, especially if they have a wife to go home to. I always tread lightly in that area. He groans against my shoulder, his mouth opening and his teeth sinking into my flesh. When he bites down, my thighs shake. I let out a moan of my own, enjoying the way his teeth feel marking me.

Two of Aidan’s fingers fill me, and I gasp at the intrusion, tilting my ass back a little more. He pumps in and out a few times, then makes a come-hither motion inside of me. A groan escapes my lips as my eyes roll in the back of my head. I’m not used to letting go, but right now, I can’t stop myself from relaxing against his chest as his fingers move inside of me.

“Don’t come, A rùnsearc. Hold it back,” he mutters, his voice soft, his breath warm and washing over my skin.

I shiver against his hold. Pinching my eyes closed, I clench my jaw as I try not to let go, my body inching closer and closer with each shift of his fingers. “What does it mean?” I whisper, in an attempt to distract myself.

“My treasure,” he grumbles.

My entire body freezes, locks up, and without warning, I come. My pussy clenches around his fingers and I gasp as the climax rolls through me. Aidan’s hard cock is nestled between my ass cheeks, and his body stiffens as well, his muscles draw taut all around me.

My treasure.

I’ve been baby, more times than I can count. I’ve been honey. And more often than I would prefer, I’ve been whore. But I have never, not ever, been someone’s treasure. I’m aware that it is probably a throwaway term he uses, much like someone else’s baby. However, my stupid heart doesn’t know that, especially when it starts rapidly beating at the thought of being his treasure.

“On the bed, down on all fours,” he snaps.

He sounds angry. I scramble away from him, mad at myself for ruining this between us tonight. I should have stuck with my natural, gut instinct and not asked him what it meant. I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have closed my eyes and held off my orgasm without verbalizing a fucking thing.

Quickly, I crawl onto the bed, my ass facing him as I lower the front of my body down and spread my thighs apart. I stay quiet, unwilling to say another word in order to avoid completely ruining the entire evening.

When I feel Aidan’s thick cock press against my center, I let out an involuntary whimper. Slowly, he sinks inside of me. Letting out a breath, I force myself to relax and adjust to his size. His fingers grip my hips and hold me tightly.

Without a word or a warning, he pulls almost completely out of me before he slams back inside. I let out a yelp at the movement, but it doesn’t matter, he quickly does it again. His thrusts are fast, hard, and relentless as he fucks me.

Closing my eyes, I force myself to relax, forcing the tension to leave my body. Aidan takes from me, he takes from my body, blindly fucking me as hard and as fast, as he can. I grasp the bedding beneath me as I accept his punishing moves.

I don’t know if he’s pissed that I asked what he called me, or if he’s pissed at himself, or if he just had a bad day and needs a rough fuck to release his own tension. I don’t know enough to gauge anything about him.

So, I keep my eyes closed, and I accept. The sound of his skin slapping against mine fills the room, drowning out my relaxation playlist. I bite my bottom lip, trying not to let out the whimper that is threatening to escape me. He’s being so rough, I’m not used to it anymore.

It’s been so long since a man treated my body the way his is right now. It hurts. I know that I can’t say anything though, Madam Carmella’s rules clearly state that only if life and limb are in danger do you attempt to stop your client from his desires. Tears prick my eyes and I pinch them closed tighter, trying to keep them from falling, but I fail.

A slap sounds against my ass, I vaguely feel it, my mind drifting away, attempting to block out the pain. It happens again, and again, his hand landing hard against my ass cheeks as he fucks me. I don’t feel any of it though, not right now. I will later tonight and tomorrow, but right now my mind is not in this moment.

Aidan stills inside of me, and off in the distance I hear him grunt. His fingers grip me even tighter, and then he begins fucking me again, except this time it’s slower, gentler, and that’s how I know he’s come and it’s almost over. He’ll be gone in a few moments, and when he leaves, I can cry—again.

I roll over onto my back next to Giovanna. Last time I was here, I fucked and ran. I felt something about doing that, I didn’t like it. If this is going to be an ongoing thing, I feel like I should get to know her, even if it is just a little bit. Glancing over at her, I watch as she slowly lowers onto her belly. She turns her head away from me, but I don’t know why.

Shifting her hair off of her back, I turn to my side, pressing my lips against her shoulder, then her neck. “Giovanna,” I murmur.

She doesn’t move, and she’s holding her body rigid. “Giovanna,” I say a bit sharper. Slowly, she turns her head and I’m surprised to see that she has tear stained cheeks. “What’s this?” I ask, tracing the wetness with my fingertips.

“Nothing,” she says, the lie coming far easier than it should from her.

I shake my head once, trailing my fingers down her spine to her lower back. “I hurt you,” I state. Her eyes soften, but she doesn’t make a move to agree, nor disagree, with my statement.

Closing my eyes, I feel a pang of regret. I was rougher than I’ve ever been. Not because it was something I craved or needed, but because I was fucking pissed off with myself. A rùnsearc. How could I be so stupid as to give a prostitute a term of endearment like that?

I know absolutely nothing about her, and yet, she is just that—my treasure. I haven’t been able to keep my mind off of her. She has begun to consume me. I stayed away for almost three days, but I don’t think that I could do that again.

I want her. I want to keep her for my own. It’s stupid, and I feel stupid for even thinking it. Opening my eyes, I lean forward and press my lips to her cheek.

“I apologize for hurting you, A rùnsearc,” I rasp. “It wasn’t my intention.”

She closes her eyes tightly, inhaling a deep breath, then letting it out before she speaks. “There is no need to apologize for anything, Aidan. I wasn’t expecting it. I am now, so it’s okay,” she says, giving me a smile. The smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes, and I fucking hate it. I also hate her words. She’s so goddamn compliant.

Reaching out with my opposite hand, I fist her hair and tug it back, forcing her to turn her head a little more and look directly into my eyes. “Tell me if I hurt you, Giovanna. Don’t just take pain from me unless that is what we’re doing,” I announce. “I will give you pain at times, and I’ll expect you to take it. However, that is not what this was. You have to communicate with me.”

“I’m sorry, but no,” she breathes. I wait a beat. Unbelieving that she is telling me no, that she won’t communicate her pain if I’ve unintentionally hurt her. She sucks in a ragged breath before she continues to speak. “It is not my place to communicate with you, Aidan. It is my place to please you. Nothing more, nothing less.”

I jerk from her words, my fingers tightening in her hair, holding my grip firm and steady as I stare into her black eyes. The longer I look, the less black they appear. No, they’re dark blue, so dark that at first glance they appear black. “Your eyes are blue,” I dumbly point out.

“They are.” She nods.

Frowning, I release her hair, but I don’t release her gaze from my own. “You must communicate with me, Giovanna. I don’t care what your rules are, what you’ve been taught. I am not some client who is here today and gone tomorrow. That is not what we have here.”

“What do we have?” she asks.

I sense a smart assed tone, but she is just looking at me with a doe-eyed expression. She’s good at covering up, and it is a spectacular trait in my lifestyle, but not one I enjoy in my bedroom. Fallon thought that she was good at covering shit, too, she wasn’t. I have a feeling that Giovanna could run circles around her.

“You are exclusive to me, Giovanna. I want to know you, and I wish for you to know me. I would like us to be comfortable around one another,” I say gently.

She blinks, pressing her lips together in a line, the only crack to her otherwise extremely cool exterior. Her blue eyes drop, then lift back to my own. “What do you wish to know, Aidan?”

“If I’ve hurt you?”

She nods, her eyes filling with tears. “You did,” she admits, her voice barely above a whisper.

I cup her cheek with my hand and lean forward. My lips barely brush hers. The first time our lips have ever touched, and they feel spectacular against my own. I vow to myself, and silently to her, that it will be the last time I cause her physical pain without her consent. Lying back on the bed, I pull her against my chest, and I hold her.

Giovanna rests her head against my neck, and we both inhale a deep breath before we let it out. We stay like this, me holding onto her, and her bare body pressed against my own, for at least an hour. It is the most relaxed, and most calm, that I’ve felt in years—maybe even in my life. I’m not sure who this woman is or how she was procured just for me, but I’m glad that she was.