Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Pushing those messed-up thoughts to the back of her mind, she looked at Cain and tried to focus.
She’d never given in to desires before. Ben had once told her that succumbing to desires was a surefire sign of weakness, and that she couldn’t accept. To show any kind of weakness wasn’t good. Not in her life.
Weakness always equaled pain, and she was never going to be at its mercy again.
****
There was a lot about Leah he didn’t know. She was certainly an enigma, and she was so tense in his arms. More tense than she needed to be.
“Relax,” he said.
“This is no good. You must have women you keep on standby who know the score.” She pulled her hand away from him and stepped back.
This time, he let her. Whatever was bothering her, he saw she needed space.
“I could, but what is the point of having you around if I cannot use you?”
“Simple, if you choose one of your other women who already know the score, then you can have sex with her at the end of the night.” She held her hands open, as if it was a problem solved.
Did she even notice her nose wrinkled as she mentioned him having sex with someone else? Since Leah entered his world, he’d not been with another woman. There had been no cause to. Admittedly, he hadn’t crossed that line, even though on many occasions he wished to. Something held him back.
“I don’t want to,” he said.
“You don’t want to what?”
“Have sex at the end of the night.”
She frowned. “I find that hard to believe. I thought all men were supposed to be horndogs who can’t keep it in their pants.”
“Do you know a lot of them?”
“Not personally, but working at your bar, I met a lot of men. Married ones as well as single who were more than happy for a chance to sleep with a new woman.”
“You’re judging them?” he asked.
“I’m not judging anyone, but there has to be more to life than just sex.”
Cain chuckled. “And why do you think that? Is this some kind of notion, that you can only have one woman or one man?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Look, I’m not even trying to talk about monogamy, although it is something I do believe in.”
“And you think the key to long-term relationships has nothing to do with sex?” he asked.
Leah rolled her eyes, and then she folded her arms across her chest. “Look, I get it, sex can be important, but what happens when you can no longer have sex?”
He raised his brows.
“When you’re a lot older, and you cannot get it to work, and for whatever reason you’re not allowed to take that valuable medication. What then, when sex becomes no more? If all you were good for was hot sex, then there is nothing. You’re with someone you can’t stand unless they’re naked. I guess, for me, I’d like to find someone who is more than an attraction. Someone I happen to like being around, who likes being around me. Is that too hard to understand?” she asked. “And yeah, it probably makes me an idealist, but at least I have something I know I want.” She shrugged.
Cain looked at her, and the truth was, he couldn’t laugh. There was no reason to mock her. She made valid points. More valid than he could begin to argue. He didn’t think of a future that far ahead, when his dick might not work.
The strangest thing of all was, the only woman he’d been able to stand for a long period of time stood in front of him right now with her arms folded.
“So. all you’ve done is help validate my argument,” he said, and then held out his hands. “I’m not going to have sex with any random woman who knows the score. I can’t stand them for long periods of time, so that means you must learn how to dance.”
“You’re a pain in the ass.” She took a step toward him. “Fine, show me.”
Leah was a fast learner. The truth was, he didn’t know the first thing about how to dance, but he had no choice but to attend this dinner. He already accepted the invite weeks ago. It was for a charity dinner to help foster kids. Fucking foster kids, of all people, and Leah had come from the system.
He had a feeling she wouldn’t be so impressed about a bunch of rich people donating money to help needy kids. From what he could tell, none of the homes she’d been to had ever gotten additional funds.
Also, he knew some of the men who ran the charity were fucking crooks. He liked to make an appearance to keep them on their toes. Some people believed they could get away with stuff, but his presence was a reminder that he was always watching.