Page 20 of Total Abandon

No sexual contact with women while the arrangement is in play.

My eyes bounce back to her, brows jumping up. “You expect me to be celibate the whole time?”

She’s full-on grinning now, a feline smile that cuts right through me. “You’re a big boy, Guerra. I’m sure you can keep your dick in your pants for a little while. Kind of hard to walk away with my pride intact if the city thinks you’ve been playing behind my back.”

I narrow my eyes. She’s enjoying telling me what I can and can’t do, that much is for sure. I have no idea how long this arrangement will need to play out for and as much as I seem to be sexually stunted right now, I find the thought daunting. “In that case, I expect the same from you.”

“Noted. Battery-operated boyfriends only.” She nods, holding my gaze.

Jesus Christ, this fucking woman. Now all I can think about is her— Nope, pack it in, Guerra. You won’t be walking out of here anytime soon if you go down that road.

“Maybe I could get you one of those fleshlight things? Seems unfair I have a whole selection of simulators and you don’t,” she muses, tapping one finger on her lips.

“Who says I don’t?” I don’t, but I want to give her a taste of her own medicine. Her eyes round and she freezes, her eyes snapping back to mine. The tension in the air amps up a notch or two and she shifts on her feet. My eyes tumble down to her pulse point, which is hammering wildly at the base of her neck. Yes, she’s definitely affected by me too. The thought makes me exceptionally pleased.

“Okay, no fleshlight needed. Noted.” Her voice is raspy, and she swallows. I follow the line of her throat as she does, gritting my teeth. Back to the list. God damn it, man.

$111,000.73

“That’s a very specific sum,” I note aloud, leaning back in my chair so I can give her the full weight of my gaze. That money is child’s play to me. I make that every hour. But it’s clearly for something specific and I want to know.

“Please see section six,” she replies tartly, giving nothing away. I glance back down and see the final requirement.

You don’t get to ask about requirement number 5.

I laugh, casting the sheet of paper onto my desk with a light flutter. She has her reasons and I have mine—we can leave it at that. “Okay, I can agree to all of those points. Are you hungry?”

She had already started to move, seeming to think our interaction was over. Oh no, the evening has only just begun.

“Erm…hungry?” She casts a confused look my way.

“Yes. It’s the body's way of telling us we need to eat,” I deadpan, my lips twitching.

She scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Yes, thank you for the physiology lesson. Why are you asking?”

“Well, if we’re going to pull this thing off, we’ll have to get to know each other. Create a story of how we got together. That type of thing. Why not do that over dinner?”

She rolls her shoulders and considers for a fraction of a second. “Sure, makes sense.”

She turns to leave, but I call out after her, “Forgetting something?” She turns at the door, giving me an exasperated look as if to say “what now?”I stand, slipping my hand into my pocket as I move around the desk. My fingers snag on a teal blue box and pull it out. Her eyes fall to my hand, and she flushes.

“Oh…right.” She is looking at it like it might reach out and bite her. She’s probably the only woman who has ever looked at a Tiffany’s ring box this way and for some reason I get a kick out of it. I flip up the lid and grin as her jaw pops open. Her brows knit together, and she stares. Not in a good way. It’s the fattest, most expensive canary diamond they had in the joint, nestled amongst a ring of smaller white diamonds that snake along the band.

“It’s…” This is possibly the first time I’ve ever seen her speechless.

“Gawdy? Over the top? Obscene? That’s why I picked it.” My smug smile deepens as she glances up at me.

“I can’t wear that!” She’s horrified and looks a little pale.