A week passed.

I got a lot of work done, but every time someone walked into my office, I glanced up to see who it was.

To see if it was him.

Hunt gave me more space than he had before, knowing I was considering telling him everything I was hiding.

I went back and forth a lot.

Sometimes, I thought it would be fine and I should just tell him the truth. And other times, I realized it was a terrible idea with deadly repercussions.

So I decided to ask someone I trusted more than anyone else in the world.

Thorn.

He walked into my apartment and joined me in the kitchen. “Smells good.”

“Sirloin with asparagus.”

“I’m glad you invited me over.”

We sat together in my dining room, next to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the entire city. The bright lights twinkled across the skyline, the lit-up bridge in the distance. Car lights could be seen everywhere, growing bright when they faced us head on, and then disappearing when they turned a different way.

Thorn ate quietly, a glass of red wine beside his plate. He was dressed down in a pair of denim jeans and a black t-shirt, the fabric hugging the prominent muscles of his body. He worked out religiously to maintain his body. I, on the other hand, just didn’t eat. I had everything I could possibly want, but I still couldn’t afford the luxury of time.

Thorn switched his gaze to me. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“What makes you think I want to talk about anything?” I cut into my asparagus before I placed it in my mouth.

“Sweetheart, I know you.” He took a bite of his steak then immediately drank his wine afterward. “What is it?”

I held my glass wine before I answered. “Diesel Hunt.”

“What about him?”

“He’s been adamant about having something long-term with me.” The sex wouldn’t be like it was now, but that was because it would be better. He might disagree, but that was his own decision to make.

“And?”

“I’m thinking of telling him my preferences.” I drank my wine to mask the unease I felt in my stomach. Fear wasn’t something that grasped me often, but when it did, it felt like a rock in the pit of my stomach.

“Diesel Hunt doesn’t seem like the kind of guy you’re looking for.”

“I know.” But I wanted him anyway. I would love to strip everything away and just be who I was.

“Can he keep his mouth shut?”

“He says loyalty is important to him.”

Thorn continued eating, considering what I said. “Sounds like you made up your mind.”

“Just wanted your opinion about it.”

“As long as you keep my secret, I don’t care.”

“You know I always will.”

“But if this develops into something more—”

“It won’t.”

Thorn didn’t press me on it, knowing I always stuck to my guns. “What will you say if he asks about us?”

“Nothing. It’s none of his business.”

“He might want more of an explanation.”

“I’ll come up with something if I have to.”

He chewed a piece of asparagus before he nodded. “Make him sign an NDA.”

I did it with all my partners. No reason why I shouldn’t do it with Hunt. “I will.”

“Good luck,” he said. “I hope it works out for you, but I suspect it won’t.”

I expected Hunt to walk away once my offer was on the table. But even with low expectations, I knew how disappointed I would be if that were our last interaction. No one could make my thighs clench the way he did.

And no one probably ever would.

---

Getting his phone number wasn’t difficult. All I had to do was pull a few strings, and within two minutes, it was programmed into my phone. Instead of texting him, I called him. This wasn’t any different from a business meeting and deserved a far more personal touch.

He answered the phone, his voice deep and heavy with masculinity. I could picture the movement of his lips when he spoke, the way his throat shifted when he smiled. “Hunt.”

“Titan.”

A long pause ensued, full of that smile I knew was plastered across his face. “Lovely to hear from you.”

I was sitting at my desk with my legs crossed, his male voice making my body do particularly female things. Butterflies didn’t swirl in my stomach, but my breathing escalated when I pictured his mouth against mine. “Let’s schedule a meeting. Let me know when you’re free.”

“For you, I’m free anytime.”

Now a grin formed on my face. “Tonight. 7 p.m. My place.”

“I finally get to see your place. I’ll be there.”

“Goodbye, Hunt.”

“Titan, whatever agreement we reach, I’m fucking you before I leave.”

Heat moved up my throat, like flames that grew in the fireplace when another log was tossed on top. My slender legs were pressed tightly together, and I automatically licked my lips in response. “I’d expect nothing less.”

---

My penthouse was just like my office, in shades of black, gray, and white. Pops of color from flowers, decorative pillows, and blankets brought warmth and light into the room. A soft rug was on the ground, and my favorite paintings were on the walls.

The lights were down low, everything was set up at the dining table, and I was already helping myself to my favorite drink before the elevator beeped with his arrival.

The doors opened, and there he stood, six foot three of all man. He wasn’t in his suit, having changed before he came over. Now he was wearing jeans and an olive-green t-shirt, his muscular arms visible, acting as eye candy.

And arm porn.

He stepped inside like he owned the place—and me. His eyes were on me, not taking in the features of the entryway or living room. He didn’t seem to care about anything inside except me.

I stayed in my seat at the head of the table, refusing to stand and address him. Giving him a handshake felt inappropriate, and a kiss on the cheek would lead to kisses in other places. “Can I get you something to drink?”

He grabbed my drink before he took a seat at the opposite end of the table. With his eyes on me, he drained the glass into his mouth before he set it down. “I’m good.” I’d done the same thing to him in my office, and it wasn’t lost on me why he was doing it now.

I pulled out the NDA and a pen and slid it toward him. “I need you to sign this.”

He kept his gaze on me for several long seconds before he looked down. He barely glanced at it before he looked up again. “A nondisclosure agreement?” That handsome eyebrow was hiked up, incredulity accenting his sexy look.

“Yes.”

He eyed it again before he turned it over. “I’m not signing it.”

My hands were together on the table, and I cocked my head even though I tried not to let my temper rise. “Then we have nothing to discuss. You can show yourself out, Hunt.”

He didn’t move a fraction of an inch. “I don’t need to sign it because it’s a moot point. We’re both equally wealthy. We can sue each other back and forth until the end of time, accomplishing nothing in the process. This sort of thing doesn’t work between two parties such as ourselves.”

He was absolutely right, but I refused to admit it. “Then you should have no problem signing it.”

“This relationship you want to have is going to be based on trust—that goes both ways. That needs to start now. Having me sign this takes away that level of trust.”

“How can I trust you unless you give me a reason to?”

“My friends question me about you every single day. I’ve never told them about the things we do when we’re alone together, no matter how dirty they are. I’ve kept that to myself, and I will continue to do so until you say otherwise. I’ve already proven myself to you.”

He had done as I asked, and I couldn’t argue otherwise.

Hunt watched me closely. “Now talk to me, Titan. Whatever we discuss in here dies with us.”

Something about Hunt drew me in, led me to believe I could trust him even though I didn’t have a concrete reason why I could. He reminded me of Thorn in a lot of ways. Perhaps that was another reason why I liked him. He was honest to a fault and transparent. There was never a time when I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. And if I couldn’t, all I had to do was ask. “Very well.”

Hunt sat forward in his chair, his hands on the table as he leaned toward me. He watched me with eyes that were the same color as the soil, the same color as the ground I walked on every single day. It reminded me of the rest of him, solid and thick.

“I have specific relationships with the men in my life. I wouldn’t even call them relationships, just arrangements.”

Hunt stared me down, hardly blinking.

“In these arrangements, I’m in absolute control. We do what I say, when I say it. There’s no room for negotiation. The man is only responsible for following the orders that I give. His purpose is to please me, to fulfill the fantasies that I enjoy. The arrangement continues until one of us terminates it. There’s no love or friendship. Just lust and trust.”

Hunt still didn’t change his expression, listening to everything I said with perfect attention. He didn’t wear a mocking look or narrow his eyes in repulsion. He took it in all in—silently. “You’re a Dominant.”

At least he had a basis to understand what I was. “Close, but not quite.”

“What’s the difference?”

“In my world, there are no safe words. By signing yourself over to me, you’re giving me your soul.” It would be wrapped around my fingers for the entire duration. He would have no voice, no opinion. “Your only option is to leave. But once you do, you can’t come back. Trust is broken, and the arrangement is over.”

Hunt still didn’t seem put off by any of this.

“It’s more extreme, more disturbing.”

Hunt rubbed his fingers over his chin, feeling the shadow that had formed across his face. His brown eyes didn’t change in reaction, just as dark as they were before. “If we were in this arrangement right now, right this second, what would you do to me?”

I didn’t need to work my imagination too hard. I held his expression, my gaze hard as steel. “Remove my panties and secure them around your wrists behind that chair.”

Hunt’s expression hardened.

“After that, I would get on my knees, suck you off, and then ride you, coming as many times as I wanted. Only when I was completely satisfied would I give you permission to come. And if you came sooner, I’d punish you.”

His face flushed with heat, his throat shifting as he swallowed. A slight grin stretched across his face. “Sounds pretty hot.”

“Hotter than you can imagine.”

Not all men took this in stride as well as he did. The dominant, authoritative men such as him weren’t interested in being the plaything of a demanding woman like me. Hunt was the most confident man I’d ever known, his presence suffocating anytime he was nearby. But so far, he’d taken it the best.

That was something I didn’t expect.

“I’d be your sex slave, pretty much,” he said. “I’d fuck you when and where you’d like.”

“Something like that.”

He leaned back in the chair, his broad shoulders powerful no matter how he held himself. “I gotta say, I’m not seeing the downside to this. You’re more than welcome to ride my dick as much as you want. And punish me all you like.” He winked.

He only saw the good side to the arrangement, not the bad. “Can you handle taking orders from a woman?”

“When they’re sexual in nature, why not? Boss me around all you like.” He continued to wear a charming smile that melted all the panties in a one-mile radius.

“And what about when I want to hurt you?”

“You couldn’t hurt me.” His teasing nature disappeared, replaced by a shadow in his eyes. “Do your worst.”

He didn’t have a clue. “I have a room full of whips. Trust me, I could hurt you.”

“Doubtful.”

My eyes narrowed, surprised he was still sitting there. “Another part of the arrangement is my complete control. You don’t talk unless I tell you to. When I tell you to be somewhere, you’re there. When I tell you to touch me, not touch me, whatever, you obey. When I tell you to hook yourself to the ceiling, you do it. You’re honestly telling me that’s something you, Diesel Hunt, can do? It won’t be the playful banter we have now. It’ll all be business, no play.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, relaxed in his chair like we were talking about dinner plans.

“It’s not as easy as you think it is. I’ve had plenty of men walk away.”

“You do this a lot?”

“For nearly ten years.”

He cocked his head to the side slightly, absorbing everything like a dry sponge. “And you enjoy it?”

“Why else would I keep doing it this long?”

“You’ve never fallen in love?”

Only once—and that was a mistake. “Not in these arrangements, no. I’m not interested in love.”

Hunt stared me down, his expression closed off and unreadable. “I need a rundown of exactly what I can expect before I give you my final answer.”

“That’s fair.” I named off all the things he should be expected to do, explaining every precise detail.

“So, it’s nothing but rough sex,” he said. “Through and through.”

“Through and through.”

“There’s no personal conversations, no sharing. You don’t ask me anything personal, I don’t ask you anything personal. Just like when you’re at work, you do your hours then go home.”

“Interesting.”

“And this is a monogamous relationship. No one else but the two of us.”

That arrogant smile came back. “You don’t want to share me with anyone. That’s cute.”

“It’s not about jealousy. It’s about sexual health. I don’t use condoms in these situations, and we both need to remain exclusive to this arrangement.”

He nodded in understanding. “Sounds fair.”

“So, what do you say?” I wanted him to say yes. In fact, I wanted him to say yes more than anyone else I’d ever been with. That body, that kiss, everything about him was magnetic. Being able to do whatever I wanted to him at any time sounded like the most appetizing thing in the world.

“I’ll need to think about it.” He broke eye contact and looked out at the city.

So he had doubts. “What is your hesitation? Perhaps that’s something I can clarify.”

He didn’t turn his head back toward me, but his eyes shifted. His handsome smile was back again. “You want me to say yes.”

“Obviously.”

“But you really want me to say yes.”

I shut my mouth, displaying my poker face once again.

He chuckled to himself. “You can whip me all you want. You can slap me until my face is red. You can do whatever you want to me, and I won’t think twice about a safe word. But you’re right about one thing. Having to obey you at all times would be a challenge. I’m used to being in charge. I’m used to issuing orders, not taking them. I think it’d be sexy in this situation, having a gorgeous woman tell me exactly how to fuck her. Having her tie me up so she can fuck me all she wants is nothing short of a fantasy. But after a while…I’d want to be the one to tie you up, to fuck you exactly as I please, to tell you exactly what to do, and get off to you obeying me.”

“But that’s not how it works. I’m in charge—you are not.”

“That’s exactly why I need to think about it.” His eyes shifted out the window again, growing quiet like I wasn’t there at all.

I watched him until my eyes shifted down to the paper in front of me. It had a few notes he’d made, points of negotiation for things he was unwilling to do. But he was open to every single request I made. All he needed to do was decide how much he was willing to give me, how much he was willing to sacrifice his own natural urges to fulfill mine. “You’re right. I hope you do say yes.”

He rapped his knuckles against the table before he stood up, sexy in his fitted t-shirt. “There’s something I need to do before I go. And you know exactly what that is.” His gaze bore into mine, hot and fiery. He slowly approached my end of the table until he came up behind my chair. Both of his hands rested on the back of my chair as he leaned over me. “Get your ass up. Now.”