In short, it was the bachelor pad of a very wealthy man who’d understood how to impress with balanced minimalism.
She hated to admit that she felt out of place amongst such richness. At least she was wearing one of her nicest dresses. She got lucky at the end of an ad shoot when the model didn’t take the samples home. It had allowed Vera to grab multiple pieces of branded clothing due to her slimmer form and height.
Not that a fuck-me dress of impeccable quality was any kind of armour against the sudden anxiety striking her system. There was a constant ache in her chest, a knot that kept tightening, and she didn’t know why.It’s just one night of mindless sex, and then we move on,she told herself.
She felt his gaze on her even before he made any noise. She turned slowly, unable to stop her heart from fluttering like the foolish organ it was. Shit, he looked good.
With a shoulder propped against the doorframe, Vihaan was studying her with all the focus of a large wildcat tracking its prey. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing thick, veiny forearms that she knew were powerful enough to hold her up while he. . . She gulped, her blood beginning to pound elsewhere.
“Here.” He approached her slowly while extending a glass of wine. She flicked a glance at the golden liquid, scrunching her nose slightly. “Got anything stronger?”
His lips curved up. “Any other time, I’d have said yes. But I want you in your full senses when we fuck.”
Hearing him put it so baldly had her wanting to break out into a maniacal sort of laughter. Oh god, she was going to sleep with Vihaan again. It was the opposite of everything she thought she’ddo but she couldn’t bring herself to walk away either. She accepted the wine, hoping that a hit of alcohol would dull the sharp buzzing in her mind. Sweetness flooded her mouth, the astringent aftertaste almost pleasant. For a blessed few breaths, Vera lost herself to her drink and allowed her nerves to settle.
“How do you want to do this?”
She glanced up, finding his gaze upon her.
“If you need me to teach you a course on how to get a woman off, I’m afraid this will be a short night.”
“I could make you come by simply fucking the sass right out of your mouth,” he offered, much in the way someone offered their guest sugar for tea.
“No,” she responded firmly. “That’s my red line. No oral sex.”
His expression softened for a miniscule second before he frowned, making Vera wonder if he would push back.
“Any other no-go’s?”
Surprised, it took a moment before she answered. “No choking. Spanking and light biting are fine. And we use condoms.”
He nodded in agreement. “Toys?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“On what it is, and where it is going.”
He tipped his head in acknowledgement.
“I’ll communicate at the right time—you decide whether we proceed.”
“Ok then,” she nodded before placing her glass down on the dresser nearby. The golden drink sloshed gently, mimicking the nervous gurgle in her gut. She blew a huff of air out, arms slapping to her sides as she faced him with the air of a martyr marching towards the enemy.
“Ok then, what?” Vihaan prodded, unimpressed. “I need proper words of consent.”
“Listen Charming, you don’t need to lay it on thick anymore. I already said you can fuck me.”
The silence in the room felt eerie, making her want to fidget and make some noise to break the stillness. Was that disappointment she’d seen flicker across his face? Why did it feel like her words had slipped under his normally unflappable facade and speared him?
“I don’t joke about consent,” he finally said, his voice awfully measured. As if he was trying hard not to take offence. “Neither of us was in our right mind in the archives room and I—”
He broke off, looking visibly discomfited. Guilt? The idea astonished Vera.
“Don’t tell me you wish you’d stopped in the middle of hate-sex to ask for permission?” She felt unmoored by the idea that Vihaan wasn’t the unfeeling, soulless man she would have wanted to believe he was.
Clear eyes, unclouded by duplicity, stared back at her. “No matter what kind of a bastard you think I am, I have never forced a woman. Certainly not you.”