"Falling behind already?"

Obviously not the best time for jokes. Not when I'm supposed to be in negotiation mode. But, goddamn, I can't help it. Even with Darcy moving at his own irritating pace.

"You're hard to keep up with."

Darcy’s game for some kind of humor, at least.

He's still taking his sweet time to catch up, though. Dragging it out, like he thinks he can affect me the way he seems to light a fire under Charlie, and Lydia, and Jane, and hell, even Catherine.

This is a nerve-racking day for all of them, but they all sure seem comfortable with sneaking peeks at Darcy's private-gym-honed billionaire ass. And that’s saying a lot about this guy. It’s no small feat for any guy to get that kind of attention from these ladies.

But I prefer to focus on the business at hand. Now that it's just the two of us, I won't make things easy at all. I can't. I start walking faster.

People go nuts for shit like good looks, money and business success, but none of it impresses me much. Usually. Besides, I've got all of that myself. It's not that hard.

But, damn. Darcy is self-made. Most people aren’t willing to put in so much effort into something, so I can certainly appreciate the hard work he’s put in to get where here is now. He’s successful man, on top of his game and he sure as fuck looks the part.

I’ve seen a lot of good looking men, they come in varying degrees of hotness. But Darcy is the type of hot where you could literally start running a dangerous temperature and pass out just from glancing at him, pussy burning up and setting fire to your panties. It's kind of ridiculous. And awesome.

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that he's also somehow a billionaire. Okay, that’s a lot of money, and I’m impressed, maybe a little jealous.

I know I'm hot myself, but…goddamn, he overpowers people's wits with his classically-chiselled face and suits tailored perfectly to his insane body and…how does he smell so good?

Because he can afford it. Don't let it distract you, Lizzie. Come on.

I can look up some photos of him later, though. My fans get to fantasize, why shouldn't I treat myself to some fun as well?

Suddenly Darcy is walking almost abreast with me, but not quite. Why does that feel so right? I turn around, and Darcy is looking almost straight up as he walks. Out of nowhere, I imagine him skilfully putting that powerful jaw to good use. Just a weird, random thought, I suppose. What the hell is he looking at, anyway?

"I love the classical Renaissance-style coffered ceilings."

"I didn’t know you went to ceiling school."

Darcy laughs. It's hearty, deep and genuine. I also feel a hearty, deep and genuine stirring around my pussy and my nipples, but I ignore all that. For now.

At this point, I'm sure Darcy knows that this tour is really about the list of stipulations. It’s all I'm thinking about, anyway. Also, I'm kind of wandering in front and not even pretending to show him anything at the moment.

We're passing Charlie's space, and I use my left foot to nudge open the door with a slight kick. It's how I always open that door, I have no idea why. I can feel Darcy watching closely. He seems to like it, and I don't think he's pretending.

To the untrained eye, the denim shorts I'm wearing are not the sexiest in the world, but they are revealing to those who can appreciate it. I turn around and make full, deliberate eye contact.

"You know of a better way to open a door?"

Without breaking my stare, I lift my leg up to finish opening the door. Darcy is either charmed speechless or he's pretending to be. I clomp into the room, turn around, and wait for Darcy to follow me. It takes him a few seconds.

"You forget how to walk or something? I opened the door just for you."

I wait for Darcy to finally say something. It cannot be that the billionaire can't keep up with me. He has to have some kind of witty response ready to go.

"My mind was elsewhere. Forgive me." All business, I guess. Fine.

"I'll think about it. Anyway, this is Charlie's room."

"Is Charlie one of the girls? The Bennet Babes?"

"Yes. You just met her. She's a fucking superstar. A pinnacle of Bennet Babes."

"Of course."

"That's right.’Of course.' You get it. We are this business. Bennet Babes. That's us."

"That's you." Darcy's eyes are right on me, and as he says these two words I can feel the power of it: electric, radiant, forceful, undeniable.

Billionaires, huh. This is a new world for me.

"It is me. And Charlie. And Mary, Lydia, Jane, Cath…"

Darcy is walking towards me. He's just looking around the room, there's nothing strange about it. But I feel that sensation again, and I have trouble speaking.

Suddenly, Darcy seems to remember how to say more than a couple words.

"Oh, I'm familiar with Catherine." Darcy seems genuine again. I'm probably just reacting to his looks. Probably.

"I'm sure you are. Anyway, we're the reason for the metric shit-ton of income this site rakes in each month. It ain't happening any other way. That's, uh, business, right?"

I find it hard to focus as Darcy paces the room. He's acting super casual, looking at the old vinyl record covers glued to Charlie's wall. I can feel slight bits of electric current as he seems to be getting closer to me without trying.

The feeling is general at first, but becomes quite cunt-specific the closer he gets. He's not even facing me, but I feel a magnetic pull from between my legs to the front of those wool trousers.

Under the zipper…fuck, what could that cock be like? I can't even imagine. Oh. Wait. Yes, I can. I picture myself just gently opening that zipper…

I bet you’re picturing too, right? Are you ready for this shit? Guarantee that cock is 12 inches. And don’t worry, babe, it’s coming. Just wait.

But first, back to the tour.

I decide to ask Darcy a question.

"So, are you a record collector or something? You don't seem like the type."

Darcy spins around gracefully. His eyes find mine, and he smiles just a tiny bit. Now he's ready to rumble.

"What type do I seem like?"

"The billionaire-type. Your bank account's full of money, and you're full of hot air and full of yourself. You're used to everyone just giving you what you want."

"Jaded much, are we? You're not excited? Impressed?"

I shrug.

"Eh, maybe a little. But you should be excited. This is where the magic happens."

"I'm not excited. Yet. But can we see some more rooms, already?"

"Hold your horses. This grand tour is slow, and we've got conditions to discuss."

After leading Darcy quietly to Lydia's space, I feel like it's too similar to Charlie's, with a retro postpunk thing happening. I never cared about any of this before.

I want to think that Darcy has played a subtle negotiation mind-game, but after he's done scoping out Lydia's décor, he scopes me out with a bit more interest. I try to explain Lydia.

"Lydia takes no shit, but she doesn’t even need to be aggressive. It's unique. It's strong. Her fan base responds accordingly, and that's one reason we’re so highly valued."

"You don't do cam shows yourself, do you?"

"Are you fucking serious?" My confidence is back.

"Do you?" I have no clue what Darcy's getting at, but I suddenly feel like doing a show. Right now.

"As a matter of fact, I do. As I said, I'm a crucial part of the site. You've got nothing without me—or any one of us."

Darcy nods his head. I can't tell if he's mocking me.

"I buy it. You've got me. I just need some proof that you do shows."

"I could show you my space, but then the tour would be over. We need to talk about this first. Seriously." I hold up the paper, which I realize I'm clutching nervously.

"I want to look at that." Darcy points to the list. He seems dead serious.

"Great, here. I can make you a copy, even."

Darcy is already walking out the door before I finish talking.

"I can read them in your room."

There's an odd little dance we do as I catch up with Darcy and lead him through the corridor to my space. I make it through the door first, and Darcy just strolls in behind me, acting so damn laid-back it's almost annoying.

After finally getting inside, Darcy doesn't even look around. He just kind of occupies the space like he knows it well. Showing Darcy around and trying to figure him out is getting old, but I don't really want it to end, either.

He looks around the room the way you would look around your own bedroom. It's like he's not seeing anything new, he's just looking around absentmindedly while he's really thinking about something else.

Whatever. If he's losing interest in the tour, I don't have to pay him any attention either.

Just as I start thinking about how hungry I'm getting, and what I want to eat, I see Darcy has re-joined me on Earth. In fact, he's looking straight at me. And he seems hungry as well. Positively starving.

Well, okay then. Time to continue the tour. What are you waiting for? Turn the fucking page already.