Confessions in the dark

Chapter 10-The proposition

Sebastian

I wanted to kiss her.

The thought came so quickly that it almost caught me off guard.

I had to get a f*****g grip.

Ashley sat beside me without the wig, without the green contacts, without the carefully constructed identity of Sapphire. For the first time, I was looking at the woman beneath the disguise, and there was something almost disarming about how innocent she appeared.

Almost.

I knew better than to mistake innocence for weakness.

My fingers moved slowly along her cheek, brushing a strand of brown hair away from her face. She didn’t pull away.

But she didn’t lean closer either.

Her breathing changed.

Just slightly.

I noticed.

Of course I noticed.

I had spent years learning to read people. A hesitation. A change in breathing. A flicker in someone’s eyes. The smallest movements often told me more than words ever could.

Ashley was affected by me.

She just didn’t want me to know how much.

I leaned closer, tempted to close the distance between us.

Then I stopped myself.

Not yet.

I pulled back.

She released the breath she’d been holding.

Interesting.

I reached for my bourbon and took a slow sip before looking at her again.

“I have a proposition for you.”

Her expression immediately became guarded.

“Of course you do.”

I almost smiled.

“Stop working here.”

Her eyebrows lifted.

“As of tonight.”

She stared at me.

“Excuse me?”

“Become my personal assistant.”

She blinked.

I continued before she could interrupt.

“I’ll pay you well. Very well. You’ll work directly for me. Your hours will be flexible, you’ll have access to opportunities you couldn’t imagine, and you won’t have to spend another night in this place.”

She stared at me as though I’d lost my mind.

Then I added, “Consider it an arrangement.”

“What kind of arrangement?”

I held her gaze.

“One where you belong to me.”

Her expression changed instantly.

She scoffed and reached for her wig.

“I’m not some w***e you can buy.”

She pulled the wig over her hair much faster than she’d removed it.

I laughed.

Not because I found her insulting.

Because I found her reaction fascinating.

“I never said you were a whore.”

She stopped.

I leaned back.

“You’re anything but.”

She turned toward me.

“Then what exactly are you saying?”

“I’m saying a woman as intelligent as you shouldn’t be working here.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“It’s unbecoming.”

The words were barely out of my mouth before I realized I’d chosen the wrong one.

Her expression hardened.

“You know nothing about me, Voss.”

My mouth curved.

She had used my last name deliberately.

“You are a fiery one, aren’t you?”

She rolled her eyes.

That amused me even more.

Most women would have apologized.

Ashley challenged me.

I liked that.

Perhaps too much.

I reached for her, catching her by the waist and pulling her onto my lap before she could decide whether she wanted to move away.

She stiffened.

My arm held her firmly against me while my other hand caught her wrists, keeping them safely behind her.

I lowered my head, breathing in the scent of her perfume.

She went completely still.

I could feel the tension running through her.

“I want to take you from this world,” I murmured.

Her breathing quickened.

“There’s more to life than surviving.”

I loosened my hold and looked into her eyes.

“Think about it.”

I pressed a soft kiss against her neck, just long enough to feel her tremble beneath me.

Then I stopped.

I wasn’t interested in forcing anything.

I wanted her choice.

That was the part that mattered.

Slowly, I helped her back onto the seat beside me.

She looked at me as if she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to slap me or ask another question.

I reached into my jacket and pulled out a thick roll of cash.

I placed it in her hand.

Her eyes dropped to it.

“What’s this?”

“Consider it a reminder that I’m serious.”

She looked back at me.

“I don’t need your money.”

“No.”

I stood and straightened my suit.

“But you need money.”

Her jaw tightened.

I had struck a nerve.

Good.

I finished the bourbon and placed the empty glass on the table.

“I’ll be in touch, Miss Simmons.”

I started toward the door.

Behind me, she said nothing.

I stopped with my hand on the handle.

“I know where to find you.”

I glanced over my shoulder.

“You have twenty-four hours to decide.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“And if I say no?”

I smiled.

“I won’t ask twice.”

Then I walked out.

The door closed behind me.

For a moment, I stood in the hallway, listening to the muffled music from the club.

I could still smell her perfume.

Still feel the tension in her body when I’d pulled her close.

But beneath the attraction was something far more interesting.

She hadn’t looked at the money with the same expression she’d worn when I’d given her five hundred dollars the first night.

This time, she’d looked at it with suspicion.

She didn’t want to be bought.

That was precisely why I wanted her.

I had no intention of making Ashley another woman who existed at my convenience.

I wanted to see what she would do when given a choice between the life she had built through struggle and the world I could open for her.

Twenty-four hours.

I wondered how long it would take before curiosity won.

Because I already knew one thing.

Ashley Simmons wasn’t going to walk away from me easily.

And I wasn’t prepared to let her.