Jaden snorts when I tell him I’m a nonentity and his slut. Playing stupid isn’t working very well for me. I delivered my sarcastic jab with as much bravado as I could muster. He stands there looking at me as if I’m a moron. And he blew off a blowjob. Who does that? Why doesn’t anyone take me seriously? At least he hasn’t hit me . . . yet. But for some reason, I’m not afraid of this guy. I even feel kind of safe, at least so far.

One thing I’m learning quite quickly—this huge hunk of a man is proving to be as immovable as stone. But, oh my God, he is so cute. Even his imperfections add to make him the most attractive male I’ve ever seen. A small scar on his nose and in his eyebrow humanize his chiseled perfection. And those amber eyes watch me just like the wolf he reminds me of. Then there’s that hair—loads of long brown curls just calling out for me to run my fingers through them. I let my gaze wander down the length of his sculpted body. He’s muscular without being muscle-bound. Humor sparks from those startling eyes when my gaze makes its way back to his.

The thought of me across Jaden’s lap flies into my brain. My ears turn as crimson as the image of my spanked ass. How can I even think of something this perverted? Is there something in me I refuse to face? Sex is something I’ve learned to hate for everything it stands for. I knew, even when I was a kid, that men use sex for power and control. Two rapes, including one by my evil stepfather, and more sexual assaults than I care to count entrench this belief as deep as the Grand Canyon. Some women use sex to manipulate, but they’re usually pretty goddamned obvious about doing it. Everything I’ve learned confirms this hard-gained knowledge, including the weeks on the street. Men don’t seem to care and even relish the game. Except when it comes to this huge hunk of a man, presumably.

Bastard. Clearly, I have lost my mind. I blame the head injury Viper gave me. How else can I explain this sudden onslaught of random sexual thoughts? I look up into those bronze eyes. They glitter with humor and interest. He winks and flashes a smile that damn near knocks me out at the knees. A sudden burning starts between my legs. I have to stop myself from crossing them. His grin widens. He knows. Bastard.

Jaden crosses to the wall of windows with the view that makes me dizzy it’s so high up.

Just as I thought when I’d first laid eyes on this man—he will cause me nothing but grief. Quandary—do I continue to play stupid? Although I quickly learned that was the best plan of action in the sex slave world, I have a gut feeling this man is different. He turns his back to me, so I take full advantage and stare unashamedly at his butt. The sight of that tight ass makes something weird and warm wash over me. Something I haven’t felt before. Something that feels kind of good.

Besides detesting sex, I find most people, men and women, decidedly unattractive. Not that I’m a beauty queen myself. I’ve had more than enough guys point out my many deficits, starting with my small boobs. Big men make me head for the proverbial hills, and this Jaden isn’t exactly small. I almost smothered to death when a couple of them fell on me after their respective orgasms.

More than anything, I want this guy to like me. But for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. What the fuck do you care?

He turns around and quirks an eyebrow at me. I quickly drop my gaze back to the floor. The echo of his voice screams the word “well” through my brain. Two could play that game.

“Well, what?” Let’s see how stupid he is.

“I think you’ll have to be a little more forthcoming. And you’re most certainly not my slut.” He sits back on the couch, leans his forearms on his thighs, and steeples his hands. Poised energy and attention radiate from every cell in his body. A study in still motion. He has my attention.

“What do you mean I’m not your slut? You bought me.” And I bet I wasn’t cheap. Viper will have wanted to recoup the money he spent to buy me. ES loved to gamble and owed some guy a lot of money.

“I didn’t buy you, and all of my sluts, as you call them, are somebodies. I don’t do the nobody thing. Unlike your previous acquaintances, I don’t fuck anyone who isn’t willing to submit.”

He says the words deliberately. Anger flashes in his eyes, and the scrutiny he gives me as his gaze rakes over my body makes me squirm. No one ever cared what I had to say. This is a first.

“Lots of people have sex slaves. It’s a huge business. I wasn’t born yesterday.”

“Look, I’m not interested, okay.” He runs his hands through his golden brown hair. “Right now, I need to know everything you can tell me about Viper.”

“Why?”

“Because . . .”

Jaden stares at me for a few minutes, presumably deciding whether he has anything else to say. “Okay, Rayne, let’s make a deal. How about we exchange information. I’ll tell you something, then it’s your turn.”

I hug myself, unsure of how much I want to tell this very strange man. But what the hell do I have to lose?

“You first,” I say.

“Sasha and I think Viper is the key to finding out who is behind the local sex trade. His data is so encrypted he’s practically invisible.”

“A security onion.”

Jaden’s smile almost melts the skin right off my bones it’s so hot. I have to remember I don’t like him.

“You get it. So, I could use your help.”

“What’s in it for me?” This guy obviously has money, and I won’t be going far without it. The evil stepfather took what little I had when he sold me. I don’t even have ID. I desperately need money to rescue Summer.

“That depends on what you have to offer.”

I give him my wickedest grin. “You mean besides a blowjob?” I can’t help myself. I don’t know why . . . yet . . . but obviously, something about blowjobs makes this guy squirrely. Oh yeah, he looks oh so calm on the outside, but I can feel the emotions rolling around in his head. I love a mystery and am now hell-bent on finding out why. Then there’s the bitch goddess in me wanting to be just as crude as I can. I decide not to dwell on what the hell has gotten into me. I’m good at that.

Jaden frowns. “I mean what skills do you have?”

His unspoken “if any” screams in the silence. Gawd. The guy needs to get a sense of humor.

I assume he isn’t referencing my potty mouth. How do you tell a guy that the only thing you’re good at is typing? I could win a contest with the best of them thanks to the evil stepfather. He’d insisted I take business courses for my electives instead of something fun like music or drama.

“Well, the ES made sure I could type so I could always find work in an office.” I fish around in my brain for something else that doesn’t pertain to singing, dancing, reading, or writing poems about going insane. Nothing. Then it hits me. “I’m one of the best online researchers you’ll find. I bet you could use that if you’re a hacker. I bet I can find Viper for you.”

“And just how would you do that? And who is ES?”

I sigh heavily. I mean, really. Isn’t it obvious? “ES stands for evil stepfather. Give me a computer, and I’ll show you.” I try my best to look confident. Yeah right. “I’m going to be a social engineer.” Bam. Let’s see what he thinks about that.

“So, what you’re telling me is you’re a master manipulator or a cyber con artist?”

I give him my steeliest stare. “Nooooo, it means I’m very persuasive. You really are something, you know that? I’ve never met a hacker so full of himself.”

“Oh, and you’ve met a lot of hackers, have you? You really might try being just a little nicer to the guy who saved you from certain death at great personal risk and expense.”

Shit. There is no getting around this guy. He challenges me at every turn . . . and annoys me too.

“Yeah. Thanks. So why did you kidnap me anyway?” I stick my chin in the air. “I had Viper right where I wanted him. If it weren’t for you, he’d be dead right now.”

“Speaking of someone who’s full of themselves, take a look in the mirror. You were about to be trussed up, beaten, have your clit cut off, and bleed to death. Yes, indeed, you had Viper right where you wanted him.”

I want to wipe that cute little smirk right off his chiseled face.

“I would have figured something out, and it’s not like my stupid clit is any good to me anyway.”

Jaden leans back and props his feet on the coffee table. “Sorry to hear that.” He studies me. I manage to keep quiet. Several moments pass before he leans forward again. “What’s all this about you being a slut?”

Me and my big mouth. The last thing on earth I want to do is tell this Adonis my sad, sordid story. Hopefully, I’ll get away with just a little dribble here and there. Enough to get him off my back, but not enough to really let him know anything.

“Do you have any pot?” This story will be a lot easier if I have some MJ to ease things out.

“Oil or leaf?”

“Both?” A horrible screechy voice tumbles out of my mouth. That’s how excited I am.

Jaden gets up without another word and leaves the room. He’s back in a few minutes and hands me a metal box. Inside is every pothead’s dream—a couple of vaporizers, a grinder, and several bags of weed marked with numbers. He leans over my shoulder and points to one of the baggies. “I suggest starting with that one.”

Oh my God, I almost swoon. He smells so damned good. Like soap and clean and woods with a wee hint of a musky undertone. Divine. Most guys stink like raw sewage bathed in cheap cologne.

“What do the numbers mean?” I let the vaporizer warm up while I grind up a few buds.

“You’re most welcome.” This time, I can hear the sarcastic tone coming from him.

“Thank you,” I mumble, not even sure why I find it so hard to say thank you. Here’s someone being nice to me—finally—and all I can do is be a little bitch and think about what I can get out of him. But this guy changes all the rules, and I have no idea how to respond.

“The numbers show how much THC and CBD there is in each strain.”

“CBD?” I’ve never heard of it.

“Look, as fascinating as the world of marijuana is, we can explore that topic another time. Right now, you were about to tell me what kind of game you’re playing.”

I sigh and take a huge haul from the vaporizer. He’s like a dog with his new stuffed toy, ready to tear it apart. I lean back in the chair and let the pot buzz wash over me. This shit is good. How much should I tell him?

“I’m not playing any game. I hate games, but everybody plays them, especially with me.”

“Well, I won’t. But I guess only time will convince you of that.”

He won’t take a bite of my self-pity pie. As if this isn’t a game. “ES sold my little sister and me to some guy he owned big-time. I’ll skip the usual sordid story. Suffice it to say, they kept us drugged and shipped us around from motel to motel. Soon we had no clue who we were or even what day it was. Summer was a virgin. ES hadn’t ruined her yet. The guy had sex with us, you know, to ‘train’ us. That and the beatings broke her. She got hooked on coke. That’s how she coped.” I take a deep breath and try to swallow around the boulder in my throat. I fire up the vaporizer again.

“And how did you cope?” Jaden’s voice is gentle. I don’t want his goddamned pity. When I glance up at him, all I see is empathy and curiosity. I take another haul of the pot, letting its calming powers loosen my tongue.

“Oh, they fed me drugs, but there were a couple of fundamental problems with me. I have the good or bad luck, depending on your perspective, to take or leave drugs, and most don’t work on me. Problem number two is I wouldn’t obey, no matter how hard they tried to make me. I made it as tough as I could on the bastards.” I throw my hands up in the air. So what do you think of that, buddy? “And now it’s your turn.” I give him my most dramatic glare.

Jaden still sits forward, elbows on knees, hands tented in front of his mouth. For a guy who seems like an electrical fuse about to blow at times, he sure can keep quiet. He just waits. Oh hell. So many questions race through my mind. What did I want to know first?

“Why did you take me?”

“I told you, to get answers about Viper.”

“How did you find out about me?”

“I got a tip. It’s what I do.” He’s a cryptic son of a bitch.

“What do you want from me?”

“Information about Viper. What happened to your sister?”

I squeeze my eyes shut trying to block out the memory of her blank stare. “Nothing happened to her.” The tips of my ears burn from the heat of the lie. “She couldn’t take it. She hated having men paw her.” I took a breath. “Why do you want Viper?”

“He has something I want.”