“I want to see you every night.”
I blinked. If he wanted to spend every night together, why was he looking for a sugar baby instead of a girlfriend?
Regardless, it wasn’t possible. I had to have something to fall back on when this went tits-up, and ducking out of every dinner shift would get me fired.
“Every other night,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest.
His lips curled over his teeth. “Twenty-five thousand, and I can see you every night.”
I ran a hand over my arm, my skin suddenly sensitive. The way he looked at me, like I was the most important thing in the room…I wanted more of that. I didn’t workeverynight, and I could afford to take more lunch shifts for a month or so.
But giving up my job and relying on a complete stranger who would surely bail in a few weeks…my stomach clenched.
“Every other night is the most I can do. You’re welcome to give me twenty-five thousand anyway.” I kept my tone breezy, infused with a confidence I didn’t feel, and waited for him to volley back a more reasonable number.
His eyes went heavy-lidded. “I agree. Twenty-five thousand, and I see you every other night.”
What the fuck?
“Send me your banking information, and I’ll send your first payment through. You’ll come by tonight?”
His body was angled toward mine, his expression hot and intense. To my shock, I felt myself grow wet in response.
I drew in a shaky breath, sent him my banking info, and said, “Tomorrow night.”
“Why not tonight?”
I was scheduled for a shift tonight. I should tell him. Hemetme at work. Then I remembered how Adrian used to bitch about me working all the time, even though I was the only one paying the bills, and how Dwayne constantly interfered with Mama’s jobs, and my stomach sank. We’d been having such a nice time, and I didn’t want to ruin it. “I have plans.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “If you have another arrangement, you’d better be ending it.”
I stared at him, slack-jawed. “No. No other arrangement.”
“Good.”
Then I figured, damned if I would allow a double standard. Twenty-five grand didn’t purchaseallof my dignity. “I assume this arrangement will be your only one as well?”
He looked horrified, his thin lips curling back to expose every sharp tooth. “I wouldneverbe unfaithful.”
What an oddly romantic choice of words. My stomach swooped, and I told it to calm down. My phone dinged with an incoming email, distracting me from my nerves. The transfer.
I fumbled with my phone to set everything up before I chickened out.
“I’ll get tested and send you the results. Assuming you do the same, we can forgo condoms,” I said, to cover for myself. I’d gotten an IUDa couple years ago, and for twenty-five grand, I doubted he’d want to wear a condom, assuming they made them for dragons.
Az’zael’s empty coffee cup crumpled in his massive hand, his scales going dark crimson. “Whatever you want.”
My phone dinged again. Twenty-five thousand dollars had just been deposited into my account.
My hands went numb. I stared at the balance in my bank account for a good thirty seconds. No hesitation on his end to give me exactly what we’d agreed to. No arguments, no nitpicking, just kept promises. My stomach knotted while that warmth near my heart grew. “I can see you tonight. Eight o’clock?”
Across from me, Az’zael grinned, the tips of his wings fluttering. “I can’t wait.”
My throat tightened. Az’zael seemed nice, but I’d seen enough human men turn on a dime to trust my intuition.Especiallywhen money was involved. They had a way of attaching all kinds of hidden strings.
No, no, we agreed to the strings up front. That was the whole point.
I sucked in a breath. “Yeah, me neither. Thanks for, uh…” I waved a hand, as if the slight motion could encompass everything he’d just done for me. “But I’m sure you must be very busy at work today.” If I didn’t get out of here soon, I might melt into a puddle of panic. I had to get some space and pull myself together.
