“So why am I here, if I don’t get to watch you fuck yourself?”

Eden’s stomach knotted. “Because you agreed we’d hang out.”

“Right.” He tapped his glass. “Why do you need money?”

“I’m going away with some friends.”

“Sure.” He eyed her like it might penetrate her lingerie. “A thousand bucks on Apple Pay for a drink and some chit-chat. You’re lucky you’re so pretty, Jenna.”

Eden raised her vape. “Thanks.”

He shifted closer, his cologne making her head spin. “I got a lap dance from a girl who looked like you last week.”

Eden turned away so she wouldn’t show signs of the jealousy whirling inside her. She suspected Willow was lying, but she hated the idea of him touching someone else, even if they looked just like her. Especially if they looked like her.

“You jealous?” he asked.

She flashed him a sweet smile. “Not at all. Did she do a good job?”

“Yeah.” He shifted closer. “She wasn’t as hot as you, though. I’d never give her as much money as I’ve given you.”

There was a hard edge to his voice, resentment and desperation mixed together. Eden’s skin prickled. He wanted to hate fuck her and she wanted to let him. But not yet. She sucked her vape, trying to look vaguely disgusted.

He pulled his arm from the back of the couch. “You ever stripped?”

“No.”

“You sure? I’d pay good money. Double what they usually charge.”

“Really?” Her voice caught on the ‘y’ and she cleared her throat. “What’s double?”

“I dunno.” His thigh brushed hers. “Give it a try and find out?”

Eden shook her head, tongue dry against the roof of her mouth. The tension was palpable, as real as if they were strangers. She plucked the Malibu glass from his hand and drank.

Sloan watched her with a smile.

“So, here’s the thing…” He shifted, pulling a leather wallet from his sweatpants. “I want you to dance for me.”

He opened the wallet to reveal an inch of green paper. Eden was surprised he could fold it in half.

“Five hundred for a dance.”

Eden thought of the bad old days when five hundred bucks meant a dental check-up, overdue bills paid off, sneakers without holes in the soles… “Just a dance?”

He tugged the notes from his wallet, spread them so she could see there were five, then slapped them onto her coffee table. “Sure.”

A warm spiral wound down her stomach, between her legs. She stood. “Can I… put on a song?”

“Whatever you like.”

Eden found her phone and connected to her sound system. Pausing, she chose ‘Core’ by RL Grime. The beat howled around her apartment and though it made the idea of stripping easier, her palms were sweating. Sloan sat, hands resting on his massive thighs, waiting for her.