Her gaze held his and she replied, “Yes.”
“How much?” Cash repeated.
Her eyes slid to the side and Cash didn’t know what to make of this. It would disappoint him if she tried to be coy. It would irritate him if she tried to fleece him.
Her eyes came back to his. “You want what James explained?”
He wanted more than what he knew James explained but he’d get to that in a moment.
“Yes,” he answered.
Without hesitation she said, “Ten thousand pounds.”
Again she’d surprised him. He’d expected her to ask for more, indeed he knew without question she was worth more. He’d definitely pay double that. He’d even consider paying triple.
Not one to let a good deal slide by, he nodded immediately, “Agreed.”
He watched with no small fascination as her composure slipped and several emotions one after the other chased across her face.
They went by so fast he couldn’t read them all but he could have sworn he caught disappointment and even alarm before she gained control so swiftly it was as if it never happened at all.
“Done,” she held up her wine glass, “shall we toast on it?”
“I’m not finished,” he replied.
She regarded him a moment, her eyes shuttered. Then she took a sip of her wine, set it on the table, sat back in her chair, her gaze returning to him and she waited.
He didn’t make her wait long and he didn’t sugar-coat his question.
“I’d like to know how much more to f**k you.”
The minute he’d finished his query, with interest he watched her jaw get tight as did her entire body and her obvious negative reaction surprised him yet again.
He continued calmly with the raise of an eyebrow, “Is that not part of the service you provide?”
“I’m not a prostitute.” Her low, soft voice now held a hint of displeasure.
“I’m sure James explained to you that this deal includes you sleeping in the same bed with me,” Cash reminded her.
“Sleeping,” was her quick retort.
Cash thought about her hesitation at the door, remembered her teeth catching her lip in indecision, the fleeting loss of poise when they started talking money and he had an uncomfortable suspicion.
“Do you have other clients?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered promptly.
“In the U.K.?” he pressed.
Her eyes locked on his “No.”
“The States,” Cash pushed.
“Are you needing references?” she returned, her tone slightly sharp and he nearly laughed.
Abruptly he leaned toward her and repeated, “How much to f**k you?”
He watched as her stare turned into a glare and realised immediately there was fire behind that ice.
Cash found this very interesting.
“How much?” he asked again.
She frowned and her eyes started to narrow.
“I’ll double your fee,” he told her.
“I don’t think so,” she replied with disgust.
“Triple,” Cash returned.
“Absolutely not,” she snapped, her eyes fully narrowed.
She was, it appeared, getting angry.
And he knew immediately he liked it.
She was also not making a single move to leave.
“I’ll give you fifty thousand pounds,” Cash said.
He didn’t have to wait for her response to his generous offer.
She leaned toward him and he knew she’d lost her temper even before she hissed, “You couldn’t afford me.”
“Then James didn’t explain who I am,” Cash retorted.
“I know who you are,” she bit out. “Everyone knows who you are.”
“Then you know I can afford you.”
She didn’t reply.
He got closer and she held her ground, something which said a lot about her. He was close enough to smell her perfume again and close enough to see there was a slight peach sheen to the gloss on her lips.
He wanted her.
Simple as that.
And he was going to have her.
He decided to finish the negotiation. “One hundred thousand pounds and that buys me unlimited access to you throughout our arrangement.”
She made an indistinct angry noise in the back of her throat before suggesting, “Perhaps this isn’t a good idea.”
He pulled in breath through his nostrils then sat back.
He kept his eyes on her for a second that led to two then slid into three before he said, “Perhaps not.”
He thought he’d called her bluff.
Instead she turned, grabbed her things and stood.
She looked down on him. “It was a pleasure, Mr. Fraser,” she stated however the way she said it he knew it most definitely was not.
This amused him and Cash smiled.
She glared.
This amused him more.
She turned to leave when he stood quickly and his fingers wrapped around her upper arm, halting her retreat.
He pulled her to him gently and his mouth went to her ear where he murmured, “Two hundred thousand.”
Her body jerked then froze and she hesitated, indicating to Cash indecision.
Finally her neck twisted so she was looking at him before she said, “Two hundred thousand and we don’t consummate this part of the arrangement until we go to the castle.”
Cash was impressed.
She was very good.
She’d started at ten thousand and finished getting twenty times that.
“I like you,” he told her.
“Well, I don’t like you,” she snapped back.
This made him smile again which also made her eyes drop to his mouth.
He decided he liked her eyes on his mouth. He liked it a great deal.
Cash ignored his body’s pleasant reaction and commented, “That should make your job more difficult.”
Her gaze returned to his and she replied coldly, “Don’t worry, no one will suspect.”
“Including me?”
Her brows snapped together. “Pardon?”
“I’m not paying you not to like me. I’m paying you to like me.” He hesitated and his voice dipped lower when he finished. “I’m paying you to like me a lot.”
She stared at him a moment and he wondered what she was thinking.
Then she moved. Her upper body swayed into his and her hand touched him at his waist. She leaned up and her mouth brushed his softly as her br**sts swept his chest.
His body reacted pleasantly to that too.
Not moving her mouth from his, her eyes open, she murmured, “You won’t suspect either.”