The offer was on the table, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to take it.

It was tempting.

But it was also unappetizing.

Having a gorgeous woman like her dominate me sounded like a real treat. Fucking her until she screamed, giving it to her exactly as she asked, sounded like something I would jerk off to anyway.

But I wanted to be in charge too. I didn’t want my partner to be the one always calling the shots, taking away the power I desperately needed at times. It had to be equal, and she definitely didn’t want equal.

But if I said no, I would lose her altogether.

That was an option I didn’t want to take either. It was the first time I didn’t crave a long line of women in my bed. Since the moment I met Titan, I hadn’t even entertained the possibility of fucking someone else.

She was the only person I wanted to be with.

Something told me I should hold on to it, do something to claim this woman as mine. But since I’d never had such an experience before, I wasn’t sure how to accomplish that. I’d never been with a woman for more than few weeks. And anything beyond a month was nonexistent. The constants in my life were my friends. They were my home base.

Never a woman.

Would Titan compromise with me?

Meet me halfway?

Who I was kidding? This was Tatum Titan, a woman who didn’t compromise.

Why would I be any different?

In any other situation, I would discuss this with my friends. But since I promised Titan my loyalty, getting advice on the matter was impossible.

A week came and went, and I didn’t contact her. I didn’t stop by her office to say hi. I went to bed alone, using my hand to get myself off to memories of fucking her. Why couldn’t we just be two people who fucked casually?

Why did she have to be into that?

It seemed like people who had twisted fetishes had suffered painful lives. They were the victims of abuse, or they were just abandoned when they needed someone the most. Titan was such a strong figure it was hard to believe she had any problems.

But I didn’t know her that well.

It’d only been a month since I met her, but I felt like I’d seen her smile enough times to know what made her laugh. I’d seen her wear the same brand of shoes enough times to know what her style was. I’d kissed her enough times to know she liked vanilla perfume and whiskey. I’d fucked her enough times to know exactly how to make her come.

But in reality, I really didn’t know her at all.

---

We sat together at the strip club, women dancing on poles in just their thongs. They swayed their hips to the music, their long hair stretching down their backs. The music played overhead, and everyone was enveloped in a sea of darkness.

A woman sat beside me on the couch, a pretty brunette whose name I couldn’t remember. The guys had their own dates, neither one of them Titan’s friends. Since I didn’t want them to ask me any more questions about Titan, I didn’t ask them any more questions about Pilar and Isa. But judging from the way they weren’t thinking about them tonight, I didn’t think the women were in the picture anymore.

“Do you like her, Diesel Hunt?” the brunette asked as she nodded to the dancing girl on the stage.

I’d been looking at her, but I was staring right through her. I didn’t like it when people used my full name outside the office. Sounded strange coming from his woman, whose hand was sitting on my chest. “She’s fine.”

“I can dance for you…somewhere private.”

The second a woman threw herself at me, my interest died away. Lately, it’d been hard for me to get excited about anything. I’d done everything fun in this city. I’d fucked everyone, drunk everything, and partied everywhere.

There wasn’t anything else to do.

I’d hit a plateau—and I was only thirty-five. “Maybe some other time.”

Pine noticed my forlorn expression and tapped me on the shoulder. “Dude, what’s the deal? You’ve been a bummer all week.”

I was a bummer because I knew what I had to do. “Not feeling well. I’ll see you later.” I pulled out of the woman’s embrace, walked outside, and found my car parked along the street. The engine roared to life as soon as I started it, and the music came on through the luxurious sound system.

I pulled onto the road and drove through the streets of Manhattan, hitting traffic at times and having open streets at others. There wasn’t a particular direction I was going. I had no agenda. I just didn’t want to be in that club anymore—doing the same thing I’d done a hundred times.

I eventually found my way back to the parking garage of my building. I pulled in to my spot but didn’t kill the engine. Instead, I searched through my phone until I found Titan’s number. I stared at it for a long time before my finger finally hit the button.

She answered after a few rings, the sound of loud music coming through the speakers. She was out somewhere, hitting the town with her friends. I wondered if Thorn Cutler was with her, not that I should care. “Hey.”

I listened to the music in the background and recognized the song. “Hey.”

The music slowly faded away as she stepped outside or into the bathroom. “Everything alright?” Her voice surrounded me in the car, strong and beautiful to my ears.

“I’ve thought about your offer for the past week.”

She turned quiet, giving me the space to say what I needed to say.

“As tempting as it sounded, I’m gonna have to turn it down.”

Silence.

It was stupid to expect her to argue with me, to persuade me to change my mind. She put her offer on the table and wasn’t going to change it. There was no compromise. Being with Titan was exciting because she wasn’t like other women. She had a brain, and she knew how to use it. She was strong, unbreakable. I found a successful and daring woman like her to be the sexiest thing on the planet. “As I promised, this stays between you and me. Good luck, Titan.”

She continued to remain quiet.

Was she going to say something to change my mind?

Titan finally spoke. “Thank you for letting me know. Take care, Hunt.” As if this were nothing but a business call, she hung up.

I heard the line go dead in my car, her abrupt goodbye. The disappointment shouldn’t fill me, but it did. It was heavy, like a bullet in my flesh. When she made the offer to me, I assumed that meant I was special to her.

But no one was special to her.

I finally turned off my car and walked into my penthouse—alone.

---

“Here’s your tux.” Natalie walked inside and hung up my dry cleaning on the coat rack. “Your shopper also picked up this watch for you.” She set the box on the edge of the desk. “She thought it would go well with your outfit.”

“Thank you, Natalie.”

“Anything else, sir?”

“No, thank you.”

Natalie walked out and left me alone.

My cell phone rang, and Pine’s name appeared on the screen.

I answered it. “Hey.”

“Going to the Met Gala tonight?”

“Yep.” It was a time to give back to charity, but also to further my own business agenda. Always being aware of potential deals, rising and falling business opportunities, as well as your competitors, was key to staying on the Forbes List.

“Taking anyone?”

I never took anyone to these things—and he knew that. “No. You?”

“I’m flying solo tonight. Dad wants me to go.”

“You can be his eyes and ears.”

“So, you wanna pick me up?”

I chuckled into the phone. “You aren’t bumming a ride off me, man.”

“Damn, I had to try. Hey, I heard Titan is going to be there.”

Another week had gone by, and I hadn’t heard from her. It was safe to say she wouldn’t put any other deal on the table. She wasn’t bluffing when she said she didn’t compromise. I fucked her before I left her penthouse, and I was still jerking off to the memory every night. I imagined how it would feel to be tied up so she could ride my cock all she wanted—bareback. It always got my engine going. “Why would I care about that?”

“Are you still trying to acquire her publishing house?”

I didn’t care about it anymore. “Not sure. Now that Bruce Carol has hit hard times, that might be a better opportunity.”

“True.”

“I’ve got work to do, Pine. I’ll talk to you later.”

“And you don’t think I’m working?”

My silence was the only answer he needed.

“Alright, I’m just fucking around. You caught me.” He hung up.

---

My driver opened the back door, and I stepped out to a sea of reporters. I buttoned the front of my suit as I walked forward, ignoring the flashes from all the camera. A few reporters tried to get my attention by calling my name, but I ignored them as I stepped inside the hotel.

A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, the meticulously cut shards reflecting the lights. Music played overhead, so soft I could hardly heard it. A few couples stood in the lobby in their expensive gowns and tailored suits, talking amongst themselves before entering the ballroom.

With one hand in my pocket, I walked toward the ballroom. Long golden pipes hung from the ceiling, and the walls were blanketed with lights that looked like stars. The tables had white tablecloths with large vases filled with white lilies. It was like every other charity event I’d been to, where the party itself was worth more than the money that was actually raised.

My eyes ached to search for Titan, wondering if she would be staring at me when our eyes met. What gown was she wearing? Would she look more beautiful than I’d ever seen her? Would she think about the last night we were together? Or was I some forgotten memory she didn’t think twice about?

I ran into a few colleagues and engaged in small talk before a waiter handed me a flute of champagne. Still bubbling and golden, it fizzled as the bubbles rose to the surface. I took a sip, knowing I’d tasted something much sweeter off Titan’s lips.