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Authors: Aleatha Romig
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right.
And then I began to remember how angry—livid—I was at his note and his afternoon show of force. If I were completely honest with myself, I was hurt more than anything else. Disobeying every directive in that damn note was my way to rebel. I’d been told for most of my life that I was defiant and had authority issues. I wasn’t and I didn’t. When I was at the academy or at Stanford, I had no problem with teachers or professors. I did, however, have issues with assholes. Assholes like Alton.
No longer wanting to be near Nox, I scooted away and rolled the other direction. In that note and yesterday afternoon, he’d been an asshole—a dick. In Del Mar I’d willingly given him control. I could do that again—give control to the sexy, seductive man who was also protective and sweet—but what he’d done and said yesterday was wrong.
Calling me a whore—expensive or cheap—was neither protective nor sweet. Mr. Demetri had no idea what had taken me to Infidelity. He didn’t know my dreams or goals. My signing at Infidelity wasn’t about money—not really. It was about the same thing as my dressing like a cheap prostitute. It was my refusal to play by unfair rules.
I’d willingly sold—or rented—myself for a year to spite my stepfather. Nox could demean me all he wanted—I’d lived through it before—as long as I had the ability to accomplish my goals. The more my mind pondered everything that happened, the more elusive sleep became. My body chilled with the realization that my consciousness had made a comparison that up until yesterday seemed impossible.
Nox was behaving like Alton.
He was. The difference was that I liked Nox.
Is that past tense?
Fine. If Nox Demetri wanted to punish me for taking the opportunity to achieve my dream, so be it. I’d take his damn punishment, one orgasm at a time, and in one year I’d walk away with my tuition money in hand.
If that made me a whore, then so be it.
Letting out an exaggerated huff, I threw back the covers. As soon as I did, my gaze shot to the other side of the bed, praying I hadn’t awoken Nox. I didn’t want to talk to him. For the first time since his shadow covered my legs in Del Mar, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be with him.
As I quietly made my way to the bathroom, I winced at the tenderness in my muscles. It was the same as I’d experienced in Del Mar. Damn, I should start running with Patrick. Maybe then my legs could handle Nox’s punishment.
Finding a plush robe hanging on a hook, I wrapped it around me. Despite being upset with myself and angry with Mr. Demetri , when I saw the woman in the mirror, I smiled. Her wavy hair was wild from the shower and then the bed, and she had a lazy, satiated glaze to her golden eyes. My mind told me that I shouldn’t want Nox as much as I did or like the things he did and said. Alex knew it was wrong, but the woman in the reflection wasn’t complaining.
As the memories came back, my body overtook my mind. I began wondering if he’d want to punish me again. Now that I’d had a nap and even though my body ached from the last round, I was pretty sure I was ready. Nox did that to me. Even if my mind didn’t agree, my body would always want more.
When I stepped back onto the plush carpet of the bedroom, Nox’s demanding tone cut through the darkened silence. “Don’t even think about leaving while I’m asleep.”
My feet stilled at his suggestion. “I-I’m not.”
By the illumination of a distant electronic glow, I could see Nox sitting against the headboard, blankets bunched around his waist and his arms crossed over his bare chest. The myriad of emotions that man evoked in me was perplexing. My lungs forgot to inhale as I studied his handsome face. His chiseled jaw, covered in the perfect amount of stubble, mesmerized me as it clenched and unclenched.
What is he thinking? And why does that question both scare and excite me?
WHEN I DIDN’T speak or move, Nox demanded,
And then I began to remember how angry—livid—I was at his note and his afternoon show of force. If I were completely honest with myself, I was hurt more than anything else. Disobeying every directive in that damn note was my way to rebel. I’d been told for most of my life that I was defiant and had authority issues. I wasn’t and I didn’t. When I was at the academy or at Stanford, I had no problem with teachers or professors. I did, however, have issues with assholes. Assholes like Alton.
No longer wanting to be near Nox, I scooted away and rolled the other direction. In that note and yesterday afternoon, he’d been an asshole—a dick. In Del Mar I’d willingly given him control. I could do that again—give control to the sexy, seductive man who was also protective and sweet—but what he’d done and said yesterday was wrong.
Calling me a whore—expensive or cheap—was neither protective nor sweet. Mr. Demetri had no idea what had taken me to Infidelity. He didn’t know my dreams or goals. My signing at Infidelity wasn’t about money—not really. It was about the same thing as my dressing like a cheap prostitute. It was my refusal to play by unfair rules.
I’d willingly sold—or rented—myself for a year to spite my stepfather. Nox could demean me all he wanted—I’d lived through it before—as long as I had the ability to accomplish my goals. The more my mind pondered everything that happened, the more elusive sleep became. My body chilled with the realization that my consciousness had made a comparison that up until yesterday seemed impossible.
Nox was behaving like Alton.
He was. The difference was that I liked Nox.
Is that past tense?
Fine. If Nox Demetri wanted to punish me for taking the opportunity to achieve my dream, so be it. I’d take his damn punishment, one orgasm at a time, and in one year I’d walk away with my tuition money in hand.
If that made me a whore, then so be it.
Letting out an exaggerated huff, I threw back the covers. As soon as I did, my gaze shot to the other side of the bed, praying I hadn’t awoken Nox. I didn’t want to talk to him. For the first time since his shadow covered my legs in Del Mar, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be with him.
As I quietly made my way to the bathroom, I winced at the tenderness in my muscles. It was the same as I’d experienced in Del Mar. Damn, I should start running with Patrick. Maybe then my legs could handle Nox’s punishment.
Finding a plush robe hanging on a hook, I wrapped it around me. Despite being upset with myself and angry with Mr. Demetri , when I saw the woman in the mirror, I smiled. Her wavy hair was wild from the shower and then the bed, and she had a lazy, satiated glaze to her golden eyes. My mind told me that I shouldn’t want Nox as much as I did or like the things he did and said. Alex knew it was wrong, but the woman in the reflection wasn’t complaining.
As the memories came back, my body overtook my mind. I began wondering if he’d want to punish me again. Now that I’d had a nap and even though my body ached from the last round, I was pretty sure I was ready. Nox did that to me. Even if my mind didn’t agree, my body would always want more.
When I stepped back onto the plush carpet of the bedroom, Nox’s demanding tone cut through the darkened silence. “Don’t even think about leaving while I’m asleep.”
My feet stilled at his suggestion. “I-I’m not.”
By the illumination of a distant electronic glow, I could see Nox sitting against the headboard, blankets bunched around his waist and his arms crossed over his bare chest. The myriad of emotions that man evoked in me was perplexing. My lungs forgot to inhale as I studied his handsome face. His chiseled jaw, covered in the perfect amount of stubble, mesmerized me as it clenched and unclenched.
What is he thinking? And why does that question both scare and excite me?
WHEN I DIDN’T speak or move, Nox demanded,
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