I wasn't sure which would've been worse, sitting at a table and watching everything going on but not being able to hear it, or having to suffer through whatever numbingly boring conversation Aubree and Jason were most likely having without being able to direct where it went. All I knew was that Aubree's pleasant demeanor was becoming more forced by the minute and I didn't think she was going to go through with it. That would be a problem .

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. Things were more complicated with Aubree than any other client I'd ever had. Usually, the only complication was when someone got attached and I had to cut her off. With Aubree, things were... different .

A tall woman with chestnut brown hair passed my table and I caught a whiff of some sort of fruity-scented body spray. I tensed, not relaxing until I caught a glimpse of the stranger's profile. The nose was all wrong, but the rest of the similarities brought forward memories I'd rather have forgotten .

* * *

I looked up at the house doubtfully. It was my last hope to make at least enough money to get something to eat. My stomach contracted painfully. My last meal had been at the hospital two days ago, and it wasn't like hospital food was filling to begin with .

As I started up the driveway, the rain that had been threatening all day finally broke free of the clouds. I was already too miserable to do much more than frown as the chill quickly soaked through my ragged clothes. I clutched my side as pain shot through my cracked ribs, but I didn't slow down. If I paused every time I hurt, I'd never get more than a couple feet. Every wrong movement twinged something injured, and there were plenty to choose from. Aside from four cracked ribs and serious bruising that had left my entire torso a mass of black and blue, I also had cuts and bruises on my knuckles, at least one cracked knuckle, two black eyes, a split lip, bruised cheek and a nose I was lucky hadn't been broken. There were also scrapes and cuts covering pretty much every inch of my body. Walking was painful, but so was sitting and laying down. It was beyond a no-win situation .

I straightened as best I could and hoped that whoever lived in this insanely huge mansion would pity me enough to give me something to do for a couple bucks. How far had I fallen, I wondered as I rang the doorbell. Less than a year ago, the idea of someone pitying me would've pissed me off .

“Can I help you?” A tall brunette opened the door, the expression on her face showing only the slightest surprise at finding someone who looked like me standing there .

“I'm looking for work,” I spoke carefully and tried not to wince when the movement pulled on my lip .

The woman opened the door further and motioned for me to step inside. “Come out of the rain and we'll talk .”

As I stepped into the lavish foyer of the house, I realized the woman who'd come to the door wasn't a maid or one of the servants like I'd been dealing with at the other houses. She wasn't dressed in anything fancy, but I could tell her clothes were expensive, designer-label shit. Her haircut alone was probably worth a week's paycheck for most people .

“What's your name?” she asked .

“Cade.” I watched as she circled me, her eyes running over me with a critical light in them. I didn't know what she was thinking, but if it meant I got to eat today, I didn't care .

“Are you hungry, Cade?” She stopped when she was standing in front of me again. “You look hungry .”

“I'm just looking for work, ma'am,” I said stiffly. “Not charity .”

“How about this,” she said. “I fix us both something to eat and then you clean the kitchen for me? I was going to have some fried chicken, pasta salad and biscuits. How does that sound ?”

I wanted to protest that it didn't sound like an even trade, but my stomach let out a loud growl. I flushed. “That would be great, ma'am .”

“Please,” she said. “Call me Penny .”

I followed Penny into her kitchen where she produced all of the food she mentioned and then some. I was hesitant at first, but she kept insisting I eat until I wasn't hungry anymore. Neither one of us talked while we ate, but I felt her eyes on me almost the whole time. When I finished, I immediately set about cleaning things up. I hoped that if I did a good enough job, she'd offer me something else and I could get a bit of money out of the deal too. Either way, it was better than anything I'd had in a long time .

As I filled the sink, Penny asked, “How old are you ?”

I thought for a moment, debating whether or not I wanted to be honest. “I'll be eighteen in a month.” I waited for the inevitable follow-up questions, the ones that started with what had happened to me and why I wasn't with my family .

“Are you just looking for work today, or would you like something a bit more regular?” Penny asked .

I glanced behind me and saw that she'd tucked her foot underneath her. The gesture made her seem younger than I'd originally pegged her. “I'll take what I can get,” I answered honestly. “I'll do anything you need .”

Her green eyes gleamed. “I was hoping you'd say that.” She gestured toward a set of French doors leading to a backyard that was bigger than the entire house I'd grown up in. “I have a guest house out back that needs some work. Cleaning, painting, some minor repair stuff .”

I was nodding before she finished. That sounded like at least a week's worth of work, maybe more if I was lucky .

“I'll let you stay in the guest house and provide meals in exchange for you getting it into tip-top shape.” She slid off of her chair and walked toward me. “I inherited the house from my great-aunt, and she let some things go.” She stood next to me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her. Her expression was thoughtful as she looked out the window over the sink. “Once the guest house is done, I'm sure I can find plenty of work for you to do for room and board, maybe even some cash too .”

I almost didn't believe her, but I couldn't see any reason for her to lie. If anything, a single woman alone in a big house like this should've been more wary of letting in a complete stranger, especially one as beat-up as me. “I'd really appreciate it,” I said .

“Good,” she said. “That's settled then.” She smiled brightly up at me. “As soon as the rain lets up, we'll go have a look .”

The next few weeks were the best I'd had in a long time. With food and rest, my body began to heal and I was getting my strength back. I ate meals in the house with Penny and we talked about everything except how I'd ended up on her doorstep. I slept in the guest house and worked there too. Penny had been right; it had needed some work, but I knew this job wouldn't last forever. I kept my eye out for things I could suggest to her I do when I was done with the guest house. I wanted to keep this arrangement going as long as I could .

The morning of my birthday, I was woken by a knock on the guest house door. When I opened it, Penny was standing there. I stepped aside so she could enter and tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes. It wasn't until I closed the door that I realized Penny was wearing only a thin silk robe and I was in my boxers... complete with morning wood. My face burned as I tried to figure out a way to keep Penny from noticing .

“Today's your birthday, right?” She asked .

“Yeah.” I side-stepped so that I was standing behind an arm chair .

She smiled at me but didn't say anything. Her hands went to the belt of her robe, but I didn't realize what she was doing until the robe was falling to the floor and she was naked. Large, full breasts, a little bit of hair between her legs... fuck .

My jaw dropped and, for a moment, I was speechless. When I recovered my voice, I still stammered, “Penny, I... this... I mean ...”

She took a step toward me. “I have work for you to do, Cade. And I'm willing to pay very well .”

My brain buzzed as it tried to comprehend what she was saying. Was she seriously offering to pay me for sex? Why would a rich, good-looking woman have to pay for sex ?

“You know, Cade.” Her tone was conversational, like she wasn't standing there, nude, propositioning me. “It's difficult to meet men who aren't after my money. And there's always the emotional attachments that form from a long-term relationship. When I want a good fuck, I find it better to enter into a... business transaction with someone.” She stepped around the chair so that we were less than a foot apart. “What do you say, Cade? I'll give you a hundred dollars to bend me over this chair and fuck me .”

A hundred dollars. To have sex with a thirty-something woman with no strings attached. I'd already been hard from the usual process of waking up and this wasn't doing anything to help matters .

She ran her hand down her stomach and between her legs. As I watched, she started to play with herself. I swallowed hard, unable to look away .

“You're not a virgin, are you ?”

I shook my head. I didn't tell her I'd only had sex with my girlfriend twice before everything in my life had gone to hell, my relationship with it .

“Then what's the problem?” She seemed more amused than annoyed as I stood there in a state of shock. “Two hundred dollars, then. And if I can get you hard again, we have another go .”

That was more money than I'd seen the entire time I'd been on the streets. When Penny leaned over the arm of the chair, her ass the air, I found myself walking toward her .

I put my hands on her hips, a sense of surreality washing over me. I was really going to do this. She told me to just fuck her, hard, and I obeyed. She was hot and wet, an enthusiastic partner. She moaned and cursed and gave instructions on what to do to make her come. I did everything she asked, barely registering her reactions to each touch .

It wasn't until after I came that I realized we hadn't used any protection. She laughed when I stammered an apology, assuring me it wasn't an issue. She took my hand and led me to her bedroom where she took me in her mouth until I was hard again. This time, I had enough presence of mind to insist on a condom. I may have sold myself, but I wasn't going to do it unprotected again. She thought it was cute, but complied, then rode me until I came again. I wasn't sure how many times she climaxed, but I was pretty sure she enjoyed herself because when she flopped back on the bed and lit a cigarette, she gave me an appraising look .

“For someone without a lot of experience, you're a good fuck,” she said. She half-turned toward me and scraped one of her fake nails against my nipple. “You're worth a hell of a lot more than two hundred dollars for a day .”

I wasn't entirely sure how I was supposed to take that. Was it a compliment I should thank her for or should I have been insulted that she was treating me like some sort of commodity? I was saved having to figure it out when she said the words I knew would change everything .

“I have a few friends who would love to spend some time with you.” She wrapped her hand around my cock and I winced. Still too sensitive. “For a price, of course. You and me, Cade, we can make a lot of money off of your cock .”

* * *

I shook my head, pulling myself out of the past. I didn't want to think about Penny or her friends. I'd spent the next few years fucking whoever Penny told me to fuck, whether I wanted to or not. But I wasn't that kid anymore. I did things my way, by my rules ...

And it looked like Aubree was about to break those rules. She was getting up to go to the restroom, and I knew that look. She was trying to figure out a way to run. I took out my phone. Someone needed a reminder of our agreement. I needed her to see this through .

I wasn't done with her yet .