Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
I stare at her, shaking my head. She means well, but I’m oddly hopeful about all this.
Something about his voice tickled me the right way. My heart is telling me I’m not going to regret this decision.
But my brain? It absolutely disagrees.
2
SEBASTIAN
I lie on my bed, staring at the picture she sent to me.
It shouldn’t captivate me so much. It’s not particularly erotic or sensual. Just a woman, aged about twenty, wearing a sleeveless top and some jean shorts. She doesn’t look like she wears much make-up, and her dark blonde hair is a bit messy, most of it scrunched up into a ponytail.
But she’s pure beauty to me. A touch of innocence. A bit of reality in a world filled with people showing you false smiles. Gorgeous. I want to say that I’m in love, but even in sarcasm that seems like a bridge too far.
I’m not after love.
Dating in my position isn’t easy. I have two options to try to find true love. I could go to country clubs and yacht parties to try to find a woman. The ones there are usually wearing those false smiles, and want to use any relationship with me to get ahead. It never sat well with me. I don’t resonate with my own economic class. So I have to look elsewhere.
My other choice is, for the lack of a better term, the common folk. I put a dating app on my phone and spent a lot of time swiping left and right only to realize that as soon as people see me, they piece together who I am. Someone who can spend millions on a date without breaking a sweat. So many people are willing to fake their affections for a chance at an easy life. More false smiles flashed at me from the dating app.
What I did to attract Clara was a last resort. An ad that said what I want, and what she gets. No bullshit. No lies. My cash for her body.
As for why the ad is on a shady classifieds site? I have to admit that I want someone desperate, and only someone desperate would turn to such an ad.
Desperation is something that I understand. That hunger, that need for survival. A woman who is willing to do anything to get by is going to be honest with me. And I expect I’ll get a whole lot of enjoyment out of such a situation.
It makes looking at her picture all the stranger, however. She seems like such a sweet girl. Innocent, even. A college student, perhaps. Maybe even someone who’s never been kissed.
My cock throbs at the idea. Something about an angel like her despoiling herself tickles me in all the right ways.
It feels horribly wrong, but I’m a horribly wrong person. I can’t escape it, despite my best efforts.
The doorbell rings through the mansion, and I sit up. She’s here. I head down the stairs and open the door to greet her.
And fuck, she’s more beautiful in person.
She’s just as nervous as she appeared in the photo, but she’s wearing this little white sundress that has her cleavage out more prominently, and she has one hell of a set of tits.
There is a part of me that wants to grab her, turn her around and fuck her right now. With the door open, so the whole world can see.
I restrain myself. I pretend to be a gentleman to those outside who may be looking in, and a gentleman wouldn’t do that.
Gentlemen are fools.
She’s holding a battered suitcase. A lot of the leather on it is scuffed and torn, and the thing looks like it’s going to burst open at any moment.
“Um, hello,” she says, smiling brightly. The nervousness in her tone is clear, and it’s only natural given the situation.
“You must be Clara,” I say. “You’re looking lovely this afternoon.”
“Thank you, I guess.”
“Come on in.”
She follows me, the door closing behind us. She seems fascinated by the mansion around her, her eyes wide and darting about everywhere. “So, um... this is where you live?”
“This is where we live now, lovely.”
“So, um, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been reading up on your family. And this house. Everyone thought it was unoccupied for, like, decades.”
“It was for a bit. Most of the time, anyway. My father used to stay here when he was in this part of the country, but it was never his permanent home. I decided to make it my permanent home a few years back.” I direct her wandering. “Come, let me show you your room.”
“There are rumors that this place is haunted.”
“I haven’t seen any ghosts. At least not any real ones. Just the metaphorical ones.”
“No one’s seen you around the city for a bit either.”
“I keep to myself. I rarely leave the mansion. I have groceries delivered. I suppose I’m one of those metaphorical ghosts, actually.”