Page 102 of The Contract

But I don’t go to her.

Because as much as I want her—as much as I want to bury myself so deep inside her that she forgets she ever had rules to begin with—she has to be the one to break them.

Not me.

Not yet.

The feeling is there. That thought of just falling over the edge of the cliff and surrendering to the crashing waves below. I could just take one step, and she would see me.

She would either send me away… or not.

That version of the fantasy where she invites me in, hands me the nozzle, and gives herself over to me is nearly impossible to ignore.

And just when I think I might actually do it, her phone buzzes on the bedside table.

The sound is a gunshot in the silence, breaking the haze I’ve been drowning in. I retreat fast, backing away from her door, my breath still ragged in my chest.

The screen glares up at me, the words sinking in like a dull knife.

UNKNOWN NUMBER:Think about my offer. I’ll be in touch soon.

Next week.

Next week, she won’t be mine anymore.

Except, she never was.

I inhale slowly, my grip tightening around my phone.She’s an escort. This was always going to end.

But for the first time, the thoughtsits differently.

It sitswrong.

A bitter taste rises in my throat, and suddenly, I’m not standing in this bungalow. I’m back in Manhattan, five years ago, watching a woman I once thought I lovedfuck another man in our bed.

I remember the sharp edge of betrayal cutting through me, the way I told myselfnever again.

Never again would I let a woman inside my walls. Never again would I put myself in a position to be the fool.

And yet, here I am.

Standing outside Elena’s door, wanting something I have no right to want.

Because at the end of the day, I signed the contract knowing exactly what this was. I paid for her presence, for her time,for her careful companionship in a world where everything is a calculated move.

But the truth?

I don’t just want her in my bed.

I don’t just want her for a fucking contract.

I want her.

Not because she makes me look good in front of Calloway.

Not because she plays her role flawlessly.

Not because our names on a paper will make us a power couple feared by everyone.

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