Chapter Nine
Penny
I have to stop whatever runaway train has gotten loose in my head and I have to stop it now. There’s nothing about this man to be attracted to. He’s unhinged and psychotic. He’d have to be to buy a virgin online. That’s clear as clear can be. There’s no way to get around it.
Trouble is, I’m pretty sure I’m insane too or at the very least riddled with daddy issues so deep I’m not sure I’ll recover.
I didn’t realize how bad they were until four hours ago when an older, beast of a man looked me straight in the eye and told me to crawl to him.
Sadly, it was only cemented when he ran out to protect my sisters and I against my father.
I need to stop. This is probably all physical attraction. I’m sure it happens all the time to normies. I’m just some weird shut in who doesn’t know the difference. I mean the man has big, broad shoulders, and a stern deep voice that demands obedience. He’s catnip for girls like me.
I sink into the sweater’s warmth, pulling my knees closer as I dial Sloane’s number. I’m sure she’s high up in the air right now and I hate bothering her, but I hate sitting alone with my thoughts even more.
She picks up on the first ring. “So, you’re still alive. That’s positive.”
“I am,” I whisper, heart pounding, “but it’s weird. My dad got drunk tonight, my sisters are here, and two hours in I’m crawling to him and calling him daddy.” I laugh in spite of myself. “I need help.”
“Yup. Sure do.” She laughs out loud which only makes me laugh harder. “Wow. That’s… a lot.”
“I know, and now I can’t take his money because my sisters are here. Also, I…” I bite back the sentence before it gets out of control.
“What?” The roaring sound of the airplane muffles the backdrop. “What were you going to say?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Oh Lord.” Her tone drops as she says, “You like him, don’t you?”
“No!” I snap and stand from the bed, staring out at the rain as it falls heavy against the roof.
“I don’t even know him. It’s a spell. He’s got all this money, and he waves it around, and he’s like…
crawl to me, you’re such a good girl, and you know, that’s like my thing.
I’m a sucker for the daddy stuff, and I never should’ve written it down, and now he’s doing it, and I don’t know…
it’s probably not even real. I’m here for his entertainment. ”
“Oh God.” There’s no more laughter in her voice as she says, “Are you okay?”
“No,” I sigh, “I shouldn’t have done this. I’m impressionable. I once bought a banana slicer shaped like a dolphin because the packaging said it would ‘bring joy to breakfast.’ It brought judgment and not a single ounce of joy.”
“Oh my God.” I can almost hear her eyes roll. “I love you, but you need help.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m calling.”
“I mean, you need more help than I can give you over the phone, Penny. You have to stay focused. He hired you for a job. Do the job, get out with the money, take you and your sisters to a nice hotel, and I’ll call you in the morning.”
“So, what about my feelings?”
“You don’t feel anything.” Her voice rises as she says, “You’ve known him for what… eight hours. Look, I get it. You don’t get out much, but I promise you, whatever you think you’re feeling will pass just like the fascination with the dolphin slicer.”
“Banana slicer, but I get what you’re saying.” My heart sinks a little, though I’m not sure why. Probably because I wanted this to be real. “How’s your trip going?”
“Oh, just planning my jump,” she sighs. “I think if I wait another few hours, I could parachute into Paris. Maybe there’s some billionaire desperate to play house with me for millions.”
“You have a rich man desperate to play house with you.”
“Not the same thing.” She sighs into the phone so hard I swear I feel her breath against the lobe of my ear.
“I’m not there. Maybe you do have feelings for him.
I just… I know how bad you need this money, and I’d hate for you to screw it up because of some feeling with some guy you don’t even know.
But hey, maybe he’s looking for Cinderella and your shoe will be the one that fits. ”
I narrow my brows. “Is my vagina the shoe in this scenario?”
She bursts into laughter. “Yeah, I guess. Go ahead, let him try you on. Two birds, one stone.”
I laugh as an announcement blares and Sloane’s voice vanishes mid-sentence. “Damn it! I’ll check in with you in a bit. Be good.”
Then there’s silence and I’m alone again. I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts right now. They’re not making a damn bit of sense. I’m supposed to be here having sex for money, not tangled up in my feelings about a man more mysterious than a tortured novelist.
I need to stop this insanity, and I need to stop it now.
I roll up from the bed and pace out of the room, ready to take charge of the night.
But when I reach the bottom of the stairs, he’s there with that look in his eyes.
The one he had earlier. The one that had me crawling.
And despite every thought I’ve had over the past hour, I’m a puddle all over again.