It came to him then, permeated his disjointed thoughts. Billie was teaching him—him—how to make love. With a jolt of surprise at the crashing irony, Adrian realized he hadn’t known how until now. He, the consummate lover, so renown for his sexual skill, so proficient and controlled and practiced, had only played at making love, where Billie…God. Clearly, it was all she knew. Pretense just wasn’t in her spectrum of capabilities.
Shelby ReedTags: chris billie shelby-reed the-fifth-favor
His voice grew more remote. She wondered if he was calling from his condominium, where he’d lost his best friend, or from Avalon, where he’d lost himself. “I like you, Billie. You’re a nice person. Good company. But tonight was a mistake.”
She flung an arm over her eyes and swallowed the lump of tears that had lodged in her throat. “Oh? Which part? The part where you introduced me to your family and exposed yourself as coming from a perfectly average, wholesome background? Or the part where you touched me and turned me inside-out while swaying in a hammock in the rich, beautiful woods—one of the most searing sexual experiences of my life? Which part do you regret, Adrian?”
“All of it. I can’t have those things with you. You know what I am.”
“Yes, Adrian, I know what you are. A gentle man. A likable one. Smart. Cultured. Sexy. I know what you are.”
“But the other part—”
“What about the other part? You hide behind the other part.” She yanked the pillow out from beneath her head and winged it across the bedroom, furious suddenly. “Did you call to tell me I’m not going to see you anymore? Because if that’s the case, hurry up and say it. Then hang up and go back to work, and don’t worry one bit about me. I’ve been on my own a long time, and I’m tougher than you think. I won’t cling to any man who’d rather be a-a—” She stumbled, bit back the ugly words rushing to her lips.
“A what?” he countered softly. “A whore? A gigolo? Go ahead and say it, Billie. If you’re going to waste your time caring about me, then you’d better get used to the idea, because I can’t change. I won’t. Not for you or anyone.”
She bit back a sound of pure derision. “How about for you? Think you could walk the straight and narrow for yourself?”
He didn’t reply. He didn’t have to. Billie already knew the answer. “You’re afraid.” She sat up among the sheets as cold realization washed through her. “Afraid to live without women clambering to pay top dollar for you. All that money…it’s a measure of your value, right? It’s your self-esteem. What would happen if you were paid in love instead of cash? Would the world end? My God, Adrian. You’re running scared.”
The half-whispered accusation seemed to permeate his impassivity. “I was fine before you.” His voice came low and furious. Finally, finally. True emotion. “Damn it, Billie. I want my life back.”
“Then hang up and don’t call me again, because I’m not going to pay you for sex, Adrian. What I offer is a worthless currency in your world.
Tags: chris billie shelby-reed the-fifth-favor
Her breath snagged in her throat, her fingers faltering on her own aching flesh. She was shamefully wet. Shamefully needful. “Do you do this very often, Adrian?”
“Phone sex?”
“Touching yourself.”
“Not too often.”
“I guess you wouldn’t need to.” Embarrassment stung her cheeks.
“Everyone needs to, Billie.”
“But in your business—well, if you wanted, you could probably have—you know, with your clients, at least three orgasms a day.”
“But I don’t.”
“Even still, the last time you had to touch yourself, just for sheer relief, was probably when you were a teenager.”
“How do you know?” Laughter edged his voice again.
Billie paused, guiltily withdrawing her fingers to toy with the elastic on her panties. “Name the last time.”
“After our interview at Avalon.”
He had such a way of knocking her breathless. “Liar,” she said, flattered. “Why would you do that, knowing what kind of work night you had ahead of you?”
“Because you turned me down. Left in a huff before I could even kiss you. I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
“Thank you, I think.
Tags: chris billie shelby-reed the-fifth-favor
When she lifted her head to meet his gaze, his eyes were closed, lashes like inky brushstrokes on his cheeks. His palms came up to cup the sides of her neck, and with a shaky sigh, he rested his forehead against hers.
“I’ll let you go, Billie.” His words poured against her lips, husky, raw. “I always keep my end of a deal. In exchange, you’ll come to Avalon as a client. Tomorrow. This week. Walk through those doors and send for me. I’ll be whatever you want. I’ll take you up to my room and turn you inside out. I’ll taste and touch and fuck you until you scream. And if you want control, it’s yours. A favor for a favor.”
She clung to him to keep from collapsing, torn between tears and wild, wayward laughter. The scenario was unreal. And the only argument she could think of was a frail one, easily shot down. “Azure would never allow—”
“It’s as good as done. I’ll put you in the book myself. Maria will call you with the date, and I’ll keep my distance from you until then.” His lips brushed her ear. “Please, Billie. Let’s end this before it kills us both. Say yes.”
The truth wrapped itself around her. You’re hopelessly in love with this man, aren’t you, Billie Cort?
“Yes,” Billie said, squeezing her eyes closed. “God, yes.
Tags: chris billie shelby-reed the-fifth-favor
I’m going to come,” he whispered, lips against her ear. “Deep, deep inside you.
Shelby ReedTags: chris shelby-reed the-fifth-favor
He looked at her in bittersweet despair. “Sometimes, Kate, when I’m inside you and your arms are around me, I’m human again. There’s a beginning and an end to my life again. And all because of your love. It’s been a gift to me, one I’ve never deserved. But I cherished it.”
And maybe he’d destroyed it with the ungodly truth. He didn’t know. He drew
a shaky breath, battered by a fresh wave of regret, and his voice trembled. “I thought I had broken your heart a while ago. I didn’t know how to make you hear me, and I knew that by telling you the truth, I’d lose you. But here you sit. You haven’t flipped out, not visibly anyway, nor accused me of being a liar. And you haven’t run in terror, now that you’re truly free to go. I don’t know what to think. Tell me, Kate…have I lost you?
Tags: kate gideon shelby-reed midnight-rose
Love is the great redeemer, the Franciscan had said. Through love, all things are possible. Gideon bit back the triumphant laughter rising in his chest. He’d beaten the monster. Just once, but if he’d restrained it once, he could do it again.
Through love, all things are possible.
Tags: gideon shelby-reed midnight-rose
She was in love with a vampire. Bela Lugosi. Nosferatu. Vlad the Impaler. Count Chocula . The urge to laugh seized her and she buried her face in her hands and cried instead.
Shelby ReedTags: kate shelby-reed midnight-rose
I won't cheapen it by buying what you sell to strangers. I'm not a stranger. I'm the woman who loves you
Shelby ReedIf you’re as intelligent as I think, you’ll back away and give him time to examine his true desires. He’s so busy fulfilling everyone else’s; he has no idea what he wants.”
“I’ve been under the impression that he wanted me,” Billie said coldly, “or I wouldn’t be here.
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