Page 24 of Cut Deeper

“I’ll barter the information if you make it worth my while,” I mused.

Her hand came to rest on my chest, fingers moving in small circles. Her nails were a practical length, soft pink polish on them.

“What would you like, Dr Hammond?”

“How about some light bondage?”

“The handcuffs are on the floor.”

I considered that briefly before dismissing it.

“Okay. Mid-level bondage.”

She was quiet for a moment.

“It’s usually me tying someone else up.”

“Call it expanding your horizons.”

“And how do I know you’re not feeding me false information?” she asked softly.

Her question made me pause. I answered carefully.

“No one has ever made it out of my basement alive—and before my basement, no one ever saw my true self a second time. We’re both risking everything. Do I want to tarnish that before we even begin?”

Her fingers stilled for a moment before resuming their slow circles on my chest.

“I’ve never dated or had a relationship.”

“So we’re both starting on equal footing.”

She glanced up, searching my eyes, then hummed and looked away. She didn’t believe me. The same old doubts began to creep in.

“Okay,” she said, interrupting my slow spiral.

“We’ll probably drive one another nuts,” I said, pausing for a beat.“Well, more nuts than usual.”

“We’ll probably have at least one attempted murder during our first fight,” she snickered.

“I should take my knives back.”

“Oh, yeah. And don’t ever touch anything in my studio again,” she snapped.

“Geez, I straightened one palette.”

She mumbled something under her breath.

We both knew the first terms had been set. Thou shalt not lie.

It wasn’t really lying if I didn’t tell her about the cameras in her house. If she asked me about them, then that would be a different story.

This might get problematic.

Then she ran her hand down my chest.

“I’m hungry,” she whispered.

It was strange to consider another person’s needs, but for some reason, Anne made it easy. She might not realise it, but hidden away, there was a vulnerable side to her.