Page 30 of Bottles & Blades

“What do you want me to say?” I whisper. “That I spent most of my childhood and teenage years in the hospital so I’m a virgin?” I close my eyes, embarrassment washing over me again. “And that yes, worse, I’m twenty-seven years old and I’ve never kissed a man. I was sick. I wasn’t out on dating apps, didn’t spend a bunch of time getting drunk with my friends—mostly because my friends were the nurses and volunteers and medical assistants in the hospital. And later, when I was in remission, when I was able to catch back up on life, I…”

Embarrassment hits hard and heavy.

But this man wants to know. “You what?” he presses.

“I was more worried about finding a way to stop my parents from losing their house and then finding a way to finish my GED and getting a job, so I could afford to move out on my own.”

He looks around. “Looks like you did that, buttercup.”

I exhale, the embarrassment slightly less crippling because there’s a note of pride in his voice. “It’s not much, but it’s home for now.”

“And now what are you focused on?”

“I’m working on my degree.” I sigh. “It’s taking a while, as these things do, especially because my parents aren’t well and a large amount of my time and money goes toward taking care of them. Eventually, though, I’ll work in translations and travel the world.”

“Why translations?”

I shrug. “It’s flexible—I can work for the government or businesses or even do contract-based translations. All of which means I can go anywhere.”

“Anywhere meaning where?”

“France is my top pick,” I say. “I haven’t been, and Paris is the place I want to go most in the world—the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the food, the shopping.” I know my tone is dreamy, so I feel the need to make sure he knows I’m not delusional as I add, “But everyone speaks such good English in Paris that I doubt I’ll get a job there right away.”

“Knowing that, where do you think you’ll start?—”

I frown. “Are you going to tell me anything about you?”

“Yeah,” he says. “After you tell me why, despite you never having kissed a man, that what we shared was still the best kiss of my life.”

I inhale sharply.

“Don’t choke,” he growls.

“More orders,” I mutter, but manage to exhale slowly enough so I don’t waterboard myself on my own spit again. “And I want to go to all of the usual places,” I tell him instead of acknowledging the scary elephant in the room. “Italy and the UK, Norway and Sweden, Denmark and Finland, New Zealand and Australia, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Amsterdam, Korea, Japan—” I cut myself off, my cheeks heating. “I’ve never even been outside this state,” I admit, “so really, I just want to go anywhere.”

“And you’ll do it through languages?”

“It’s one of the only things I’m good at.”

His eyebrows gather together, and he opens his mouth—probably to dish out more orders—but I beat him to the punch.

“Now, since I’ve spilled my guts, Mr. Billionaire,” I say, going for the big guns, “I’m ordering you tell me one thing that you’ve never told anyone else.”

Ten

Jean-Michel

In a single heartbeat,the negotiation has shifted.

From me in control to her.

Normally, I would fucking hate that.

Normally, I would wrench control right back.

But there’s something about the light that’s weaved its way through her expression that has me biting back my urge to take over again.

She’s never been kissed—well,hadnever been kissed.

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