Light touch, fast movement—those I might need help with.
“Come closer.” Elder beckoned me with the wallet as he tucked the hundred dollar note inside. “It’s in my right back pocket.” Slipping it into the beige shorts he wore, he spun to show me the slight bulge.
My eyes should’ve noted how high the wallet was, how tight the material, and figure out a way to get my fingers between him and the shorts to steal it. However, all I could look at was the tightness of his ass and the way his left cheek clenched as he bent to look over his shoulder. “Got it?”
My mouth turned dry. But I nodded.
He grinned, brighter and more care-free than I’d seen. “Fuck, I don’t know what I’ll do when you finally talk to me, Pim.”
My body stiffened.
“Even a simple nod from you feels like the biggest bloody reward. I’ve never focused on a person’s voice or lack thereof so much before. It’s driving me insane, but I also get why you haven’t given it to me yet.”
He spun to face me, his hands loose by his sides as if poised to steal. “You’re making me work for it. Just like I’ll make you work for what I want. It’s fair, I suppose.” He lowered his face, watching me from beneath his brow. “Another warning, though. You’ll break first. And when you do, I’ll savour your voice. I’ll command you to speak over and over. I’ll finally learn what I’ve been waiting for.”
That’s what you think.
I smiled, letting mirth mix with a challenge.
We’ll see who will win.
He chuckled. “A bet then?”
I nodded again.
A bet to see who would break first. It didn’t escape my notice that he’d already broken me to the point where talking nonverbally was now permitted. I willingly wanted to answer because he spoke to me as a normal man spoke to a normal woman.
Elder stroked his chin. “What do you want to bet on?”
I shrugged, giving in to his questions, allowing myself to do more than just nod.
He noticed, of course, his grin growing bigger. “How about one night?”
I jolted.
What?
“One night. The night I arranged before I decided to steal all the nights. One night where you agree to let me do what I want. Where the ultimate thing I want from you is your trust.”
Trust?
Well, that was terrible for him to bet on because he’d never earn that. No matter if he gave me a thousand nights. Trust wasn’t something I could give.
And he must know that, but he’d asked for it anyway.
Why?
Why ask for the impossible?
I raised my eyebrow, pointing at my chest, breaking all my rules and communicating completely. And what do I get?
His eyes tracked my hand, the same look of desire coating his features. Not from my body hidden in a sack-shaped dress but from the fact I’d willingly engaged in conversation.
“You?” His voice cracked. “You get to choose.”
My eyes widened, wafting my hand like a bird in flight. I can choose freedom?
He nodded. “If want to put your freedom at stake, I’ll honour that. One night with me, trusting everything I do and giving me your pleasure if you manage to pickpocket a civilian—”
I jolted as my future plans unravelled. I could go home to London. I could find my mother, my friends, my life.
My mind raced. I could do it. I could find a silly girl with her handbag open and slip my hand inside. How many times had I looked at my friends’ purses and thought how careless they were?
Elder smirked. “I wasn’t finished. Pickpocket successfully and keep whatever you steal without giving in to the guilt and returning it, then you’ve won, and you can have your freedom.”
He sauntered toward me, his hands fisting. “However, if you fail and speak before that happens, you give me one night.” He shook his head as his hand landed on mine wedged against my chest as if it could contain my suddenly light as a wisp heart. “No, not just one night. You give me your body and mind. You give in to me completely. You trust me.”
His fingers squeezed my hand, his body setting off alarm bells in every cell.
I took a step back, dropping our linked grasp, holding my head high.
The rules had been drawn. Whatever lightness I’d been filled with at the thought of freedom was dragged down again in what I had to do to earn it. I was afraid but also invigorated. It’d been so long since someone pushed me to evolve. So long since I’d had requirements other than obedience to follow.
“So?” Elder licked his bottom lip. “Do you agree?”
I wouldn’t back down from the gauntlet.
I nodded, sealing my fate and cursing the flutter in my stomach at the thought of him winning. What would he make me do in one night? And why was I terrified but also secretly intrigued about what sex would be like with him?
“Good. Let’s get started.” Elder took a deep breath, expelling the tension that’d once again thickened around us.