Which is another reason why I need to end things.
Soon.
The longer I hold onto this decadent current that flows between Ash and me, the more at risk the both of us are. I’m at risk of forgetting I have a brain and accidentally using my heart which has proven unreliable in the past. Ash is at risk of drowning in everything wicked and awful that is me.
She has her education fund set up, something I got Harold started on right after Mother came to visit the office this afternoon. Ash can go to school in the fall, and no one can stop her. Not her stepbrothers or stepmother. Not her father. Not the Constantines.
Tonight, this all ends.
It has to.
She may not want the “whore apartment” as she calls it, but it’s beyond necessary. It’ll keep her safe from those fuckwits and me safe from making a terrible decision . . . like keeping her.
“Win,” she murmurs, her brows crashing together. “You’re trembling.”
I steady the slight shake of my hands by curling them into fists. Breathing in her sweet cherry scent has my mind racing at all the things I still want to do to her—all the things I won’t be able to after tonight.
“Five grand,” I clip out, my voice even and icy. “For every cruel insult you can take.”
If I’m going to toss her back into the world, at least she won’t have to rely on anyone but herself. I’ll send her out into it with a padded bank account.
She scoffs. “It’s like I’ve won the lottery. We both know I can handle your cruelty.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her that after we fuck, she can pack up her shit, including her noisy-ass bird, and leave. But then she’s crowding me, her small hands roaming up my chest.
“I’ll up the ante.” The soft purr of her voice is like the vibration of music in a dance club. It infects my every molecule with the music. Pulses through me. Finds a way inside my mind and my soul. “It’ll cost ten grand for each insult.”
“If?” I raise a brow at her.
“You’re learning, Mr. Constantine.” She smirks. “If you deliver a little physical pain along with it. I want to feel the sting of your hand or your belt or your teeth so that it matches how your words feel.”
Fuck, I’ll miss this. Her body, her words, her ability to challenge me.
“You can’t handle that level of . . . me.”
“I can handle you at any level, Win, and you know it. Do we have a deal or no deal?”
Her hazel eyes burn into me. So fucking beautiful. In another life, I could be someone like Perry. Someone who wouldn’t give a fuck about his last name or his mother. Someone who might allow himself to fall for a girl like Ash Elliott. To be a prince and marry a princess. Have a house full of strong-willed but no doubt beautiful children. Live happily ever after. The whole fairytale shebang.
But I’m not the prince.
Ash is just the maid and not a princess.
I’m the villain and my story doesn’t end with a carriage ride into the sunset.
It ends with a girl in tears taking her cherry Starburst scent and fucked-up proclivities that match mine and her loud-ass bird out of my life. For good. Because that’s the only way the maid gets her happy ending.
“A million tacked on if when we’re done fucking, you go home to Daddy.” I pin her with a firm glare. “That’ll take care of undergraduate and grad school both. Take it or leave it, filthy princess.”
Her nostrils flare, and her cheeks turn pink as I wait for her to accept the terms. She darts her tongue out and licks her lips, her head shaking in vehemence. “No.”
“It’s a million dollars, Cinderelliott. The answer is never no when a million dollars are involved.”
“I’m not going home tonight.” She lifts her chin and pins me with a firm stare. “I don’t want your million dollars handed over just like that. I want to earn it. One cruel, incredibly expensive word at a time.”
Poor girl. She thinks I mean only for tonight. I need her gone tonight and forever. It’s the only way.
“Suit yourself,” I growl, tugging at the tie on her robe. “How will I know when you’ve had enough?”
“Like a safe word? I don’t need one.”
“Your tears and begging won’t be enough, because we both know you secretly like it. How will I know I’ve pushed you past what even you are comfortable with?”
Her brows lift in surprise. “Big plans in the bedroom tonight?”
“It’s the grand finale. Must go out with a bang.”
Our eyes meet, and I know the moment she understands that I’m not talking about just tonight, because her features fall. Her brows crash together, and for a brief moment I think she might cry. But, because she’s Ash and full of strength and surprises, she swallows down her apparent sadness and lifts her chin.