Chapter 10

"What?"

That was the last thing she'd expected him to say. Travel with him? As much as it sounded great because she would have loved to, it meant spending more time with him and liking him even more. There was no guarantee that she wouldn't completely loose her head over him just seeing him every day in the office. Imagine being stuck with him in another continent.

He shook his head as if shaking off a cold. "That was silly. I apologize. I don't know what came over me."

Her breathing had picked up speed. This was what she was talking about. Out of the blue, he did and said things to her that left her reeling. She was finding it increasingly difficult to differentiate fake from reality. Earlier he'd kissed her on the forehead, offered to take care of her and now he'd asked her to travel the world with him. What was happening?

"We're just fucking, Michael, just to be clear. It's nothing more than sex." She felt like she needed to put it out there, to remind the both of them that whatever was between them was purely casual.

"I know. Once again, I apologize." He said, signaling to the waiter for another glass of lemonade. "So what about you? What do you do for fun?"

His attempt to change the subject was deeply appreciated. She swallowed, trying to focus. "I paint."

He paused. "You paint?"

"Yeah, since I was a teenager. It's always been a favorite hobby of mine. I'm actually quite good at it." It felt good; talking to him about something she loved doing.

"That's impressive."

She laughed shakily. "I haven't sold any, if that's what you mean by being impressed."

A side of his lips curled upward. "I meant," He emphasized. "That you love to paint and you're good at it. Not everyone can put life on canvas. Give yourself some credit."

"What if I'm giving myself too much credit? How do you know I'm good at it?"

"I'll take your word for it." He said. "I'd love to see one of these paintings. I've been searching for a birthday gift for my mom to no avail. The woman has everything."

She was immediately on alert. "I don't need you to buy my paintings."

He stared her questioningly. "They are for sale, no?"

"Well, yes but—"

"And you sell to anyone, yes?"

"Yes but—"

"Then it's settled."

Quinn sighed. The man was resilient. She thought about it. She might be wrong, but he was offering to buy her paintings because she didn't want to take money from him. Buying her paintings put her in a corner; she knew she needed the money, and it would be her first sale. It was too good to refuse.

"Fine. Get me a picture and I'll paint her. When's the birthday?"

He drank his lemonade. "Next two Sundays."

"It should be ready by then."

"What's your price?"

The question made her feel like a prostitute and once again she wondered if she'd done the right thing by accepting the offer.

"Five hundred."

"I'll give you five thousand."

Her jaw dropped. That was insane. "Five thousand is a ridiculous price for a mere painting."

He raised a brow. "That's my mother you're talking about."

She almost screamed. "You know what I mean. Don't mess with me, Michael."

He chuckled. "I'm not. If you're as good as you say you are, you deserve it. If you’re not, I’m sure my mother would appreciate it anyway. It’s the thought that counts, right? Besides, it's your first sale. It only makes sense that it be grand."

She didn't know what to say. Five thousand dollars for a painting? Who had that kind of money to throw away? Michael Rhett, obviously. But oh, five thousand would change her life. She could move into a new apartment where she didn't have to worry about water running out or the ceiling leaking. She could buy some new clothes and new shoes. She would be comfortable and have enough to eat.

Still, she couldn't get the thought that he was only doing it because she was sleeping with him out of her head.

"Fine."

He smiled then and it warmed her heart. This game they were playing, she had a suspicion it wouldn't end in her favor.

Quinn ordered for more fries. As she waited, they talked about anything and everything. He played tennis on the side when he wasn't being a CEO or travelling around the globe. She told him about her best friends and how they'd all met in college. She learnt that his father was late, and he had just one sister who had a kid. She told him how she'd been living with her brother after their parent's death before she moved out when he got married.

"You mentioned earlier that the last time you had sex was in college." Michael asked after a while. He reached to take one of her fries when it came, and she scowled at him.

He laughed, backing away.

"Yeah. Just once. I wanted to see what the hype was all about."

He chuckled. "And did you? See what the hype was about, I mean."

She laughed loudly. "No. It was complete crap. I hated it."

Michael tittered. "Was it with a boyfriend?"

She rolled a fry in ketchup then plopped it into her mouth. "Nah, I didn't have any of those in college. I wasn't interested. Some would even say I was a model student. The most scandalous thing I did in college was lose my virginity. I didn't even go to a party. Not once."

"Hmm." He hummed, with a knowing look on his face. She rolled her eyes at him. "So a friend then?"

"My reading partner, which was a mistake because things got really weird after that, and I had to find a new one. I'm so boring."

He laughed, shaking his head. "You aren't boring, Quinn. You just choose to be."

"What makes you say that?" She asked.

"A boring person wouldn't suck my dick under my desk in the middle of a meeting."

She felt her cheeks burning. That was the most daring thing she'd done. "I wasn't thinking straight. It just happened."

"That's what made it hotter. The fact that you weren't thinking. Sometimes you just have to throw caution out the window and live. You have just this once."

It made sense. All her life, she'd worried whether she was doing the right thing or living the right way. Although now that she thought about it, she had no idea what the right way entailed. She'd never been a risk taker, preferring to stay on the outside and gaze into the rest of the world from the window that separated them. Her friends had done a lot to help her shed her wings and she supposed it had worked, at least to an extent. She was even fucking her boss now. Who would have thought, right?

"I'm guessing you want to help me live more, don't you?" She asked him.

"If you let me. For some reason, I'm drawn to you, like moth to a flame. I want to show you and teach you things. I want to see you laugh without inhibitions, to see you throw your head back and let loose. Who knows? You might discover yourself along the way."

Oh, how she longed to let loose. To feel the wind in her hair and hear the soft platter of rain on her skin. But with Michael? She didn't think her inhibitions were going anywhere with him in the room. The man made her nervous. She was conscious of everything when he was in close proximity. What would happen if she completely let loose and allowed him in?

"What do you want from me, Michael?" She asked in a small voice, not meeting his eyes.

He didn't answer for the first few seconds. When he did, it was so low she thought she'd imagined it. "I don't know."

She met his eyes then. "You said you wanted sex."

"Yes, I remember. I was there. Your body drives me crazy."

"I'm flattered." She said dryly.

He gave her a look. "You should be. I'm a hard man to please."

A laugh escaped her. "You're so full of shit."

She checked her watch. It was almost midnight. The diner was almost empty save for a couple a few booths ahead of them.

"Oh, it's late. I've got to head home. I've got work in the morning."

"I'm your boss. You don't have to come in if I say so." The smugness in his voice was palpable.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I don't care what you say. I actually like my job, when you're not being a total douche, that is."

He smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment. Come on. I'll drop you off."

Her ears perked up. "Oh, no. You don't have to. I'll take the bus. I wouldn't want to impose."

"You're not. It's on my way."

"Michael—"

"I don't want to hear it, Quinn. I'm not letting you take a bus at almost midnight when I can drive you home."

There was no way she could change his mind and she knew that. So finally she gave in without protest. "Alright."

———

When he pulled up outside the building, she gave him a hurried goodnight accompanied with a kiss on the lips and a thank you before alighting.

Quinn knew she was ashamed. It wasn't exactly the ideal living situation. She wasn't rich and she'd never acted like she was, but there was something embarrassing about living in a house where water stopped running because she hadn't paid the electricity bill and water leaked from the ceiling. He didn't have to know that. He didn't have to know anything else about her.

Michael hadn't said a word to her last night after he'd dropped her off and Quinn realized why the next morning.

He was waiting outside her door when she'd walked out.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she look around to see if anyone was there. "How the fuck did you find me?"

He shrugged. "Your landlady was more than happy to help. Apparently she's never seen you with a man. She was beginning to worry."

Oh, screw Mrs. Levington. Screw her to the ends of the earth.

She stood there debating what whether she should ask him to leave knowing that he'd probably just come back the next day and the day after that or whether to just let him in.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Michael asked and she could hear the teasing note in his tone. Oh he might've won this battle bur he hadn't won the game, not just yet.

"I was just about leaving. I'm late already." She protested, trying to shut the door behind her.

"It's 7:40. We have time." Without waiting for a response, he casually walked into her apartment.

"Shit." She muttered, squeezing her eyes. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

She turned and followed behind him, sighing in defeat. It wasn't that her house was in a horrible state. No, though it was small, it was hers and she took care of it as much as she could. It was that the man who made her nervous in her home. The man who set her blood boiling was casually loitering around in her home like a health inspector in a restaurant kitchen looking for faults he could hang on to. At least that was what it felt like.

"It's nice. I like it." He finally said after a while, turning to face her.

"Why do I feel like I've just been scrutinized?" She asked uncertainly, standing by the hallway.

"After the way you flew out of my car last night, I figured there was something you didn't want me to see. Maybe a lover you're hiding or something."

She watched him closely, looking for a sign that he was joking.

"Tell me you're joking."

"You tell me."

"You thought I was hiding another man? Why would I need to do that? I could easily just get rid of you."

He was suddenly in front of her. "Yeah? And how are you going to do that?"

She took a step back, looking up at him. "You said I could end this whenever I wanted."

He took another step towards her. "And is that what you plan to do when you've found some other person to sleep with?"

She winced at the hardness in his tone, backing up against the wall. "What is wrong with you, Michael? What are you even doing here?"

He closed his eyes briefly then opened them again. "I can't get you out of my mind, Quinn. Trust me, I've tried."

She swallowed, hearing the beat of her heart through her chest. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him too. He'd been on her mind right from the minute he'd kiss her. Bur she wasn't going to say that to him.

"Michael—"

He drew nearer. "I know what you're going to say. It's just sex." A hand shot out to touch her cheek. "We're just sexual partners after all. Nothing more."

His hand on her cheek travelled to her chin, then her jaw. "When we're both bored of each other, we'll end it." He touched her neck, massaged her cleavage with the back of his hand. "Find someone new."

He lowered her shirt, exposing her bra. "But the thing is, I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of you, Quinn." He pulled out a full breast, kneading her nipple. "I don't think I can."

Quinn trembled against him. His words were doing one thing and his hands were doing something else.

"You're like a drug that I can never get enough of." He lowered his head, whispering against her skin. "I want you."

He took her breast in his mouth, sucking it in. Quinn moaned. She wondered what it was about Michael that made her loose all coherent thought. He drew her in, made her feel special yet scared at the same time. When he rolled her nipple with his tongue, her knees buckled.

"Michael." She moaned, holding his head to her chest. She didn't know she enjoyed having her titty sucked until then. The sensation sent vibrations to her clit, and it didn't take long for it to start pulsing.

"Do you want me too, Quinn?" He murmured, taking her other breast in his mouth as he squeezed the first. "Do you think of me too?"

"Yes," She gasped, the sensations heightening. "Yes. Oh, yes."

Quinn pressed down on her clit, rubbing the sensitive nub. Her moans and cries of pleasure filled the room as Michael massaged her breasts with his tongue. He bit down on her nipple at the same moment that she flickered at her clit, and she let out a small scream.

"I want all of you, Quinn. Everything you have, I want it all."

The gravity of his words didn't hit her at that moment because she was coming, and she was coming hard. He didn't stop sucking her tits even as she shook furiously against him. Her body spasmed and shivered and then she was breathing hard.

When it finally hit her, her eyes widened. "Wait. What did you just say?"