Page 1 of Rough

LAREN

I'd emailed Dr. Cushions multiple times to make sure that she understood what I needed. She was to weed out rotten apples and find me somebody safe to play with. After being single for two years and being afraid to let a man get within six feet of me, my body craved sexual attention. I'd denied myself that kind of relief from another person for too long and my senses were hyper-aware.

I didn't trust myself not to hump the first man I came across with similar interests, so I contacted a professional. Dr. Cushions was the best in the business and though her usual Forte was love, I needed her to find me a play partner that wasn't looking for anything serious. Casual safe hookups were what I required and anything more was off-limits.

I thought the task was damn near impossible, but two weeks later, she was in my inbox, telling me she'd found the perfect match. It made me doubt if her skills were as good as sheclaimed them to be. Or was she pretending because she knew the task was bigger than her capabilities?

Dr. Cushions verified with me three times that she'd screened this guy and even did a video chat to verify that he understood. He'd passed all the tests with flying colors. And now she wanted us to meet in person to see if she'd found my match. The guy had insisted that we meet at an exclusive VIP club. I'd heard about it, but never been. Dr. Cushions verified the club by sending her people in. The only threat was the no-nonsense bouncer out front. She repeatedly assured me it was safe, but I found it hard to believe her because of my past experience of being stalked by someone I was involved with.

But I was here. Staring up at the big bad bouncer who was looking for my name on his tablet screen filled with lists and wondering if this was the right decision. He was handsome but didn't hold my attention since I was more concerned about the one waiting for me inside.

"You're in the Red Room." He confirmed. "Inside, there will be two escorts waiting to take you back." He nodded toward the door and looked over my shoulder, officially dismissing me.

"Rude," I mumbled as I passed him.

"I'll let Salt know how you feel," he said.

I looked up and his gaze pinned me to the spot that I was in.

"Who is Salt?" I asked, squinting at him.

"You'll find out soon enough."

I sighed, becoming more alarmed about this. Inside, the dimly lit room didn't hold my attention. I was more concerned about the men approaching.

"Right this way." The one on the right said.

I nodded and followed him back to the room he was leading me to. As I passed women, none of them seemed to be enslaved or here against their will. Hoping I wouldn’t regret anything. I firmed my shoulders and marched toward my impending doom.

When we arrived at the door, one escort handed me a phone. Confused, I took it and there was a call waiting.

"Hello," I spoke into the cell.

"If you were serious about this, there's no turning back after you come in."

I swallowed, hearing his smooth baritone through the line.

"I am."

"Then enter my beautiful slut. I hate waiting."

I gasped just as the line went silent. I wanted to be offended. Tried to not like the contrast of his dirty and sweet name for me. However, his words settled low in my belly, turning the crude meaning complimentary.

I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me. When I turned around, I inhaled a sharp breath as I was met with the view of a man so damn divine I wondered if I was in the wrong room.

He sat forward on the edge of the bed with his elbows resting on his thighs. Black ink swirled around his upper chest, shoulders, and arms. He wore no shirt and jet-black jeans. His beard appeared soft with tight curls that enticed me to touch it. The man was sinful with his intense gaze and bad boy charm dripping in the air.

"Damn…" He exhaled. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you, beautiful. And when I do, you're going to shine so bright that you'll forget about anything else." He pulled at the hair on his chin and licked his lips.

“Break me?” I flinched, offended by his words.

“Yeah. Into small fucking pieces so that nobody can ever put that version of you back together.” He stood and advanced toward me. “Today starts a new beginning. I just need to figure out what parts of you are worth saving.”

He wasn’t my fucking savior. His arrogance was making the room so thick that I couldn’t breathe. So was the way that he stalked me. Too much too fast.

“You wanted it rough, right?” He stopped so close to my face that I could smell the sweetness from whatever cherry candy he’d been eating. Twizzlers, maybe?

I nodded.

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