Page 27 of Midnight Kisses

The only thing that got me hotter than Perry, was Perry being efficiency-minded. I loved it. I pointed at the plates and food I’d laid out. “Please. I like cream cheese on my bagel. And red onion. And capers. Not too many.”

She pulled the plates towards her and started assembling the bagels while I ground beans and frothed milk. It wasverydomestic. It could have made me feel trapped, but instead I felt hyper aware of each minute detail. It felt almost joyous to have company during such a mundane exercise, and to be sharing a routine like this.

When I slid Perry a steaming mug, she swapped it for a bagel.

She took a few bites of hers before asking, “So, what’s your new feeling?”

“It’s actually two new feelings. Horniness has, temporarily, been assuaged.” Sitting across from her at my kitchen island, I gave her an exaggerated leer. “But it’ll return once we’ve refuelled.” I bit into my bagel and chewed. “This is good, blondie. Perfect caper to red onion ratio.”

We finished the bagels. She was tapping something out on her phone and I was mentally aligning the last pieces of my plan.

“I’m just telling Tala you didn’t murder me.”

“Much obliged.”

Her thumbs flew rapidly across the screen and then she put her phone facedown on the counter, raising her palms like she was surrendering. “There, done now. You’ll be pleased to know I told Tala your BDE swagger was justified. I thought you’d appreciate the endorsement. Word-of-mouth marketing, so to speak.”

“Unnecessary, but thanks.”

Her shoulders sank. “Okay, then.” She pushed her empty plate away. “Are you going to tell me what those new feelings are?”

This was complex. I didn’t want her to think I was a whole new man after one—great—night together. She shouldn’t get any wild ideas. I was still a look-out-for-number-one kind of guy, it was just that looking out for me now involved sleeping with her more.

I decided to go for tactical honesty.

“Feeling number one: satisfaction. We had an excellent night of orgasms and I slept more than I have in a long time.”

Her mouth curled down slightly, an expression I hadn’t seen from her before. “Good.”

“Yes, very. Feeling number two: determination. I have a plan to help you withPerry Skin. It’s clearly important to you, and I want to preempt you not having time to repeatedly bone me, because you’re busy trying to get your fledgling business off the ground. I can solve all of your business problems very easily, then we can bang as much as we want.”

“Right.”

“It’s flawless logic.”

“Yes, it’s clear you think so.”

“Ready to hear my plan?”

She waved a hand for me to proceed. She wasn’t saying much, but I figured she was excited to hear my thoughts. I ploughed on.

“When I was thinking aboutPerry Skinthis morning, I remembered you saying you were at the masquerade to find an investor. Mum would have had some suggestions—” I paused to allow Perry to confirm the discovery phase of this plan. After a beat, she nodded. “—although she wouldn’t have wanted to invest herself, she’s got too much on her plate as it is.” Another nod. This was going wonderfully. “I thought you might turn down my money since we’ve slept together, or even consider the offer offensive.”

“Correct,” she said stiffly.

“Absolutely, that’s what I thought. Just to check, though…why?”

If you needed money and had none, and someone with a lot of it offered you some, it seemed like a no brainer to take it. But, as Sadie often reminded me, not everyone thought like me. Shemeant it as an insult, but it was actually a testament to my rare genius.

Perry’s nostrils flared. “Because while I’m very supportive of sex workers’ right to work, and to be safe while working, you can’t just assume that’s what I’ll do if you throw enough money at me. It’s actually quite vile for a wealthy man to assume everyone is for sale if he asks. If a sex worker is what you want, great, let me give you the name of a great brothel.”

“No, no, I get it,” I said quickly. “We’re on the same page.”

Only because this morning when I was in the shower, I ran this scenario in my mind a few times and calculated the high odds of her being more morally rigid than me when it came to accepting money from sex partners. I was a hardened businessman, as pragmatic as I was wealthy. Perry, on the other hand, had pluralfeelingsto contend with.

What a ball ache.

When she didn’t attempt to reply, I jumped back in. “I’ll confess, Perry, I don’t agree it should feel like money for sex. I think it’s an unrelated instance of one person having no money but a good idea, and another person having lots of money and a willingness to spend it on good ideas. This is the whole premise of the free market. But, at the risk of you never wanting to sleep with me again, I’ll shut my mouth. Offer stands if you change your mind. But cards on the table now: I want to date you. Exclusively. That’s my primary objective.”

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