Chapter 5

Makenna. There was an awkward silence that ensued as we both stared at each other. My heart was hammering inside my chest so loudly that I could hear it through my ears. A part of me wanted to run, to take for the hills and pretend like I didn’t know him and he hadn’t licked every part of my body merely two weeks ago. Sera cleared her throat, breaking the tension. I blinked, averting my gaze from him. Wolfe. That was his name. And now he knew my name. How did he find me? Was this just a coincidence or had he found me? “Makenna, don’t be shy. Come say hi.” Sera laughed awkwardly, turning her attention to him. “Makenna’s one of our promising junior writers. As you know, she wrote the manuscript you just read.” “What?” I gasped, practically running to them. “He read my manuscript?” Sera looked at me with questioning eyes. “Yes… Is something wrong?” Everything, I almost screamed. Every damn thing. He was the muse behind every dirty thing in that book. Every word he said, every action he’d made, all of that was in the manuscript. Now that he’d seen me, he would be able to put two and two together. Jesus Christ. “Seraphine, could you give us the room? I would like to speak to Makenna privately for a few minutes,” Wolfe suddenly said. I stood there, gaping at her as she stood to her feet and walked out the door, giving me a death glare as she went that said ‘fuck this up and I’ll murder you’. Sera had so much pride that she would never obey an order from any man. Who was this man? Once she was gone, my heart continued its hammering. I looked everywhere but at him, though my traitorous body seemed to want him. Wolfe was suddenly in front of me. “Makenna Barnes,” he murmured, filling the space between us with his spicy scent. “So much for not telling me your name.” I lowered down and twisted my body so that I was now standing behind him. It was better to keep some distance between us. For the sake of my wellbeing. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?” He turned, smiling at me. I hated how handsome he was and I hated that he knew it. “You really went to a club to do research. I actually thought you were crazy.” My nostrils flared as he took one step forward. “Don’t come any closer,” I almost yelled, taking one step back. “That’s not what you were saying two weeks ago on my bed. In fact, I seemed to remember you begging me to come really close.” My face heated. “What are you doing here?” I asked again. “I should be offended, you know. You used me for sex.” “What?” Gobsmacked, I blinked. “I did not!” He pointed to the manuscript lying on Sera’s desk. “I have proof. Where’s yours?” Okay, so maybe I did use him for sex, but it wasn’t like he didn’t get anything out of it too. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t enjoy it.” He shrugged. “I did, and I wouldn’t mind doing it again but that’s not the point.” I narrowed my eyes. “What is?” “That you used my body for your selfish gains.” “Isn’t that the entire point of sex?” “Semantics. How are you going to pay me back?” “What?” He had to be joking. There was a wicked glint in his eyes. “Do you want me to tell everyone, particularly Seraphine, of our little sexcapade?” I couldn’t believe my eyes. “Are you threatening me right now?” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Your words, not mine. I have a proposition for you, Makenna.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. “I’m not interested, Wolfe.” I spat out his name so he knew I was serious. I didn’t notice he’d taken several steps forward. His plumb pink lips curled into a smile. “Oh, but I think you are. You’re a writer, I’m a jeweler. I need a muse for my next collection and you need inspiration for your subsequent book porn. Work with me and I’ll let you do whatever you want to me.” I stared at him like he’d suddenly sprouted blue and green horns from his forehead. “You have got to be kidding me.” “We’re both creatives with an itch to scratch. Why not?” I scoffed, dumbfounded. “Just to be sure I understand you. You want me to be your muse for whatever it is you do in exchange for me using you as a creative influence for my next spicy novel?” “Bingo.” The way he smiled down at me was devilish. I felt like a mouse backed into a corner like a cat, with every option I could think of futile. He had to be insane to make such a proposition. But the idea began to fester in a small part of my mind and just like a disease, it started to spread. Would it be so bad? He needed something I could help with and vice versa. My readers were expecting more from me and I had to give it to them. Besides, we were sexually compatible. That much was clear, even if he was an asshole. And it wasn’t going to be free. From the leather coat he wore to the shine in his shoes, the man screamed of wealth. He was rich. Hadn’t he said he was a jeweler? I could make good money off of him and the only thing I would be compromising would be a few romps on the bed, which I would thoroughly enjoy, if I were being honest. Our eyes locked. I raised my chin defiantly, hoping he saw the fight in my eyes. Whatever he was thinking would happen between us, he couldn’t be more wrong. “If we’re going to do this, there must be rules.” He nodded. “Makes sense.” “There must be some level of professionalism or this won’t work.” I was referring to his end of the deal and he knew it. Using him for my next novel did not mean that we were friends with benefits or whatever. It was strictly business. “Deal.” He stretched out his hand and I took it. “Deal.” It was then I saw it. The absolute stubbornness in them. Why did I suddenly feel like he’d set a trap for me and I’d just stepped into it? He was very strange. I swallowed, suddenly anxious. A voice replayed in my head like a mantra and I couldn’t stop it: I’d had a one-night stand with a devil and he'd come to collect.