Thorne Princess(18)

Recognizing this was an opportunity, I changed my tune.

“Know what? Fine.” I poured coffee into a second cup. Sneakily, while he wasn’t looking, I slipped the pink Himalayan salt from behind him and poured a generous amount into his cup. At least five teaspoons.

I handed him the cup just as he was taking his omelet to the kitchen island.

He perched on a stool and began digging in. “Read the contract yet?”

I leaned against my counter, holding the steamy coffee to my nose. “Nope.”

“It’s a five-minute read.”

“Still more time than this bitch is willing to waste on you.” I examined my red-tipped fingernails, letting him know I’d heard his conversation with his business partner.

He took a sip of his coffee. I watched him intently. At first, his eyes flared. Then they met mine. Something zinged inside them. A touch of darkness.

Spit it out, I thought desperately. Show weakness, goddammit.

He swallowed. My knees went weak.

How did he do that?

“How is your cup of joe?” I batted my eyelashes innocently.

He shook his head, pounding the rest of the drink without flinching. “A little bland, but I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.”

I coughed out a chuckle. “Bland and I don’t know each other.”

“Why? Because of your funky hair dye and ‘edgy’ tattoos?”

“Why are you so mean?” I knew the answer. Why were people mean, in general? Because they weren’t happy with their lives.

In his case, I wouldn’t put it past my parents to tell him to be extra harsh on me.

“Because someone needs to teach you a lesson, and unfortunately for both of us, that someone is me.”

He’d drained the entire coffee cup. Even though it had more salt than the Dead Sea. Who was I dealing with here? Now I wasn’t only terrified but also worried he wasn’t entirely human.

Quickly, and before I could chicken out, I grabbed my cup of coffee and plopped in front of him. “Listen, I need my phone back. It’s for work.”

“You don’t work,” he reminded me, finishing his breakfast in two bites. He took his plate and coffee cup and washed them in the sink.

I shifted around in my seat. “I do, actually. I’m an Instagram influencer, for your information.”

“That’s a hobby, not a job.” He made his way upstairs. I darted up, running after him.

“Of course, it’s a job. Actually, I’ve made a commitment to appear at someone’s new bakery on Rodeo Drive with my friends for brunch today.”

I wouldn’t call NeNe and Tara friends, exactly, but they were people I saw on the reg. Besides, I shouldn’t have to justify my life to this guy.

Ransom went up the stairs with me on his heels.

“Fun-fucking-tastic,” he said dryly. “Read the contract, accept the terms, and we can attend your obligation, after I scope out the destination and figure out how and when you’ll make your appearance. Your new budget is a hundred bucks a day, by the way. Use it wisely.”

My what?

Ransom tugged his sweaty wifebeater off by gripping the back, and letting it slap the wall with a thwack! before entering his room. Desperately, I followed him there, too. He was about to get naked. This was the part where I ran for the hills, but again, this man wouldn’t take me against my will. He was too prideful for that.

He turned around, popping an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Negotiating?” I winced.

“Get out.”

I dug my heels deeper into the floor. “Give me my phone first.”

“Read the contract first,” he quipped back.

I closed my eyes. Took a deep breath. Was I really going to share my biggest insecurity to this monster? No. There was no way I was talking to him about something so intimate, so humiliating.

“I…” I licked my lips. “I’m…”

“You are not too busy. Don’t even pretend with me.”

Ugh. “That’s not it.”

“Is this an autonomy flex, or an influencer thing about how you’re too important to bother reading your own emails?” His mocking tone seared through me.

“No!”

The words felt like bullets, piercing through my chest. The air felt hot and charged in my lungs.

“Forget it. I’m not moving an inch until you give me my phone back.”

“Very well.”

With that, he lowered the waistband of his gray sweatpants. I caught a glimpse of the sharp V bracketing his abs. The golden, smooth skin of him, and the trail of hair rolling down from his belly button to…

“Jesus!” I looked away, coughing to conceal my embarrassment. “What are you doing?”

“Making you run away. Or, alternatively, setting the ground for a nice, cushioned settlement agreement after the sexual harassment lawsuit I’m going to file against you.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. He was playing chicken with me. And winning. How was I going to survive him for six months?

You’re not. You’re going to have to make him quit.

“Well?” he asked. With my eyes closed, I could feel his warm breath fanning the side of my neck. Shivers trailed down my spine. “Your move, Brat.”