“Morning,” he says close to my ear. The clean smell of his expensive aftershave fills my nostrils. It replaces the one of sweat and sex that permeates the air in the room and lingers on my skin and pillow.

I turn over and open my eyes, staring at him. He’s already showered and dressed for work. His eyes on me, I take a moment to admire how handsome he looks. He’s wearing a navy-blue suit with a simple but elegant white dress shirt and the cutest of ties I’ve ever seen. I reach for the tie, grab it, and let my fingers caress the soft silk. “Penguins, Lawrence?”

He chuckles. “Traditional, darling.”

“Only you could wear a Hermès tie and still manage to look so dashing.” Letting go of the tie so I can wrap my fingers in his soft hair, I bring his mouth closer to mine. “Kiss me.”

“More? Aren’t you sated after last night and this morning?” He smiles.

I shake my head, our mouths not even an inch apart. “No … I want you again.” I lean forward, biting his lower lip.

“You eager little thing.” I feel his hand move between my legs. I enjoy the way his pupils expand with something dark, something fascinating as he watches me open them to welcome his touch.

“Always so ready for me.” His fingers enter me slowly one, two, three times before he pulls out and traces my neckline with them, covered in my wetness. “I wish I could. But I can’t right now, Blaire. I have an important meeting in less than an hour that I can’t miss.”

“Fine, be that way,” I pout. I let go of his fingers, stretch on the bed, and place one arm under my head. Slowly, I let my free hand roam the valley between my breasts down to my pussy, shamelessly exposing myself to him … provoking him … taunting him. “I thought you might want to get your money’s worth.”

Lawrence ignores my crass comment as his eyes land on my chest. He leans forward and kisses the side of my left breast. “I hurt you.”

I look down and notice a bite mark where he kissed me a second ago, the red bruise beginning to turn a splotchy purple. I lick my lips and stare at him. “I liked it … I liked everything about last night, and I thought you did too.”

“Last night was utter perfection, Blaire.” He caresses my cheek softly. “But I have to be more careful with you.”

“Why? You don’t have to. I loved every single thing you did to me, Lawrence.”

I remember how it felt the second time we had sex. He took me viciously from behind. He was as unforgiving as I was unrepentant. He took. I gave. He bit. I drew his blood.

“There’s something about you that makes me lose my mind. Something that makes me lose control. And I don’t like it.”

“Well, I liked it very much.”

He shakes his head, his eyes landing on the clock sitting by the metallic lamp. “I have to go, it’s getting late but before I forget, call Gina if you need anything. She’s been instructed to follow your orders.”

I roll and get off the bed, making my way toward my clothes that are still lying on the floor. My bare feet sink in the plush carpet as I cross the room and grab my bra. I put it on as I turn in his direction.

“I must say, Lawrence, you’re making it really hard for me to feel like I’m being sexually exploited here.”

He raises an eyebrow, a faint smile spreading across his face. “Am I now, Blaire?”

“Yep. You fuck as good as you look.”

He chuckles. “Your honesty, Blaire. It’s a breath of fresh air, even if sometimes it can be—”

“Too much?” I interrupt him, thinking about all the ways he played with my body. I don’t feel anything for him—that’s a given. However, after last night I can easily say that I love fucking him. His hands. His kisses. His cock. Destruction. Obscurity. Lawrence, my decadent oblivion, made me feel nothing but pure selfish ecstasy. He also made me forget …

“Maybe I need a good spanking? But you can’t take it too far … we don’t want you to pull a muscle or anything,” I tease, knowing perfectly well that Lawrence is in his prime both physically and sexually.

He comes to stand in front of me. “I must say that your concern for my welfare touches me deeply.” His smiling eyes are bright with humor as sarcasm rolls off his tongue. “That’s a first for me.”

I close the space between us until my breasts graze the front of his chest and our lips aren’t even an inch apart, placing my hand on the front of his pants. “Poor Lawrence,” I coo against his skin. “I better be gentle with you.”

“How about I tell you how much I want to take care of you? How much I care about your,” I pause and move slightly back to stare at him as I caress the outline of his cock ever so gently, “welfare.”

Without saying a word, he lowers his hand and wraps his fingers around my wrist. We stand still, time dragging its feet like morning lovers, his touch etching on my skin. For a moment, I believe he’s going to remove my hand brusquely, but to my surprise he raises it to his smiling mouth and places a soft kiss in my palm. “What am I going to do with you, little rogue?”

I smirk. “Spoil me, of course.”

“Which reminds me …”

I watch as he pulls out a long red case with gold details framing the edges of the box from the inside pocket of his suit. Cartier. The thought of what’s inside of it makes my blood pump faster. I smile as my eyes widen. I look up and find his green gaze on me. He’s watching me carefully —studying me—analyzing me. For a second, I’m embarrassed by how obvious I’m being, but then I remember why I’m here and the mortification I felt a moment ago disappears. A virginal blush spreads across my cheeks while I hope that he can see the greediness in my eyes just in case he had any doubts about my feelings for him. This is the whole reason why I am with him, after all.

He opens the gift and retrieves the sparkling necklace lying on a bed of white satin, carelessly discarding the box on the floor. Staring at me, he asks, “May I?”

I nod and bite my lip as I take in the diamonds set in the thin two-tiered white gold chain. It’s a lovely piece of jewelry and, like so many before, it reminds me of myself. This cold, lifeless object shines. It’s expensive and seemingly perfect, but is it?

As soon as he places the necklace around my neck, an urge to remove it, almost as if my skin were developing an allergic reaction to the metal, comes over me. The gold chains feel as though they are shackles, binding me to Lawrence, and I don’t like it one bit. I’m about to thank him and take it off, but the way he’s looking at me makes me hesitate.

“What is it? Don’t you like it?” he asks, his brows furrowing.

The memory of a Hello Kitty watch and how it meant more to me than any necklace ever will crosses my mind, but as quick as the thought comes, I dismiss it. That memory belongs in the past, and that’s where it will stay.

I force a smile as I place a hand on my neck. “It’s perfect. I would say that you didn’t have to get me something so expensive, but that would be a lie, so thank you.”

I stand on my tiptoes and lean over, kissing him on the cheek. His hands instantly land on my naked hips, gripping them tightly. “If I’m going to get one of those every time I give you something, you leave me no other choice but to spoil you, after all.”