His hand came out and he tugged her up, maneuvering her until she was sitting on his lap.

And what a comfy lap it was. She fit easily, her butt on his big thigh, his muscular arm around her waist making her feel dainty and feminine.

“I’m going home soon and I probably won’t be back,” he explained.

She nodded. “It’s okay. I wasn’t looking to get married. I’ll be honest. When I asked you six months ago, I was looking for a Dom, but not now. Now I just want someone to help me get through the night.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, ma crevette,” he whispered. His cheek rubbed lightly against hers, letting her feel that masculine scruff he always seemed to have. “But I have to go home and it’s not a place where you would be happy.”

“I have a home, Remy.” God, how had she gone from bone tired to every cell in her body awake and alive with anticipation? “I don’t need some man to come in and save me. Well, except from how long the nights are lately. I could use a rescue from that. I’m not asking you to be my knight in shining armor. I’m asking if you want to spend tonight with me.”

“No.”

She stiffened and started to get off his lap, but his arms were a cage around her.

“Hush,” he admonished. “We’re talking and we’re negotiating. I’m not about to lie to you again. I’ll want more than one night with you. I won’t be able to hop into your bed and hop back out again and pretend like it didn’t mean anything. I’ve wanted you for far too long for that to happen. Can we make a deal? A contract?”

A contract with her dream Dom? It was one more bad idea in a long line of them, but she found herself nodding. Why would she say no? Her pride? Her pride hadn’t gotten her anything good lately. Because she was worried about being hurt? She’d been numb for so long that being hurt seemed like a halfway decent trade-off for feeling anything at all. He was being upfront with her. “Yes.”

His hands moved on her waist, brushing up toward her breasts. “God, chère, this is where I’m supposed to set you across from me and we talk about what we want and need out of this contract.”

“I want an orgasm, Remy,” she stated plainly. “Can we forgo the negotiations tonight and agree that we’re going to get into bed and not leave again until you’ve made me come a couple of times?”