take advantage of the scholarship to U of I, so I left.”
“You could’ve stayed. It was only a year.”
“Could have, should have—it doesn’t matter now. It’s all water under the bridge. What I want to do is to offer you a substantial amount of money to come to my home, prepare a meal for myself and the partners.”
Sinking down into the chair, he rubbed the back of his neck. There has to be a catch. Old lovers just don’t show up and offer vast amounts of money, Waterson . “But?”
“But now, I have a feeling no amount would be enough to get you to pretend to be my lover for the night, and that’s what I need from you.”
A bitter laugh passed his lips at the irony. “This is just grand. I never thought I’d hear the mighty Sean Whitcomb offer to pay someone to pretend to be his lover. You’re a lover extraordinaire who could have a man any day of the week. Isn’t that what you told me before you left?” Unresolved resentment peppered his voice as his anger boiled over. He wanted to do more than punch Sean. He wanted to hurt him right where his heart lived. “So why don’t you go find one of them to do it? Better yet, see if you can’t call one of the modeling agencies and have them send over some hot guy to play the role, because the only thing that would convince me to agree is if I got to top you for a whole weekend. And it would be no-holds-barred sex. You’d be my bitch, for once—and I’d fuck you until you screamed with pleasure.”
“Is that what it would take, Isaiah?”
The soft tone should’ve warned him, but anger made him rash. “Yeah, it’s the only damned way…but we both know you’ll never agree to it. You never bottom, you never give up control, so this discussion is over—”
“No it’s not over. I agree to your terms,” Sean said. “One meal, a couple hours of pretend, and you get me for the whole weekend. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your pound of flesh. I’ll call tomorrow with the details.”
A click in his ear told him Sean had hung up.
“What the fuck did I just do?” Horror filled him. He dropped the phone. He’d let his own resentment and Berta’s prodding force the man he’d once loved into accepting what amounted to nothing more than rape.
Chapter Three
“Son of a bitch!” Tossing the pillow from under his head to the floor, Sean wanted to crawl out of his skin. The clock next to his bed read 2:03, and he couldn’t force Isaiah’s words out of his head. Not only did he ache for the touch of his ex’s skin against his, his damned dick wouldn’t go down. The thing throbbed worse than a toothache. It blew his mind; the very thing Isaiah asked for was something he longed to give him. The proof hovered over his stomach, dripping into his navel. If he thought it would do any good, he would jack off. But a simple hand job wouldn’t slate his desire to be fucked raw.
Of all his regrets concerning what happened ten years ago, hiding his desire to feel Isaiah’s cock in his ass was the biggest. He’d never told his lover about the dreams where he woke covered in sweat and needing release because he’d wanted the other man to ride him long and hard. Now his little chef wanted to top him in bed—a dream come true. He didn’t care if humiliation was Isaiah’s goal or not. He wanted what the other man offered. He wouldn’t let him back out just because it might or might not be a ruse to punish him or his way of getting even. Perhaps seeing him submit would open a doorway which would bring Isaiah back into his life in a more permanent way.
Growling, he kicked off the covers and grasped his shaft, the sensation sending pleasure dancing along his nerve endings. He hissed. His nuts drew up tight, which didn’t surprise him. He’d been on the edge for hours. “Dammit. I’m not a fucking kid. I shouldn’t be acting like this.” But he couldn’t stop thinking. A curse of his. Once his mind latched onto something, it