“Because I was scared. Scared if I asked for more than a business arrangement, you would walk away and I’d never see you again. I couldn’t fathom why you would want to be in a relationship with me.”

“What?” Riley couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You thought I didn’t want you?”

“I thought you wouldn’t want to date me. We have a few differences you know, like twenty years of them.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that,” Riley snapped.

“You don’t?”

“No, but I sure as hell never thought you’d want an actual relationship with me, a kid, a prostitute.”

Thorne shook his head. “I never thought of you as—”

“You tried to make me a full-time employee, one whose job was to fuck you.”

“And cook for me.”

“God, Thorne, do you hear yourself?”

He held up a hand. “I’m sorry. It was a solution I could offer that would let me see you every day. I thought it was the best option to get what I wanted.”

So typical of Thorne, maneuvering to get what he wanted. “What about what I wanted?”

“It doesn’t matter what I say. You aren’t going to believe I was thinking of you, of the best way for you to make money for school, to have a job while you were still in school that didn’t involve working nights or seeing assholes like Collins.”

“Fuck Collins. I can handle myself, Thorne. I don’t need a sugar daddy.” Had Thorne always been this fucking infuriating?

“I wanted to offer you some security.”

“You wanted me to warm your bed,” Riley countered.

“I did, but it was because…because I…”

The panicked look on Thorne’s face made Riley feel a little bit sorry for him. “You still can’t say it, can you?”

“No, I’m still scared, but…” Thorne stroked his well-trimmed beard. “This isn’t the only change I’ve made.”

“Really?” Why did that surprise Riley more than anything else that had happened so far that night? Maybe because Thorne only did things his way.

“If you’d have dinner with me, or lunch—lunch is a nice, neutral, nondate-like meal—I’ll tell you. No pressure, no expectations. Just talking.”

“You mean this, don’t you? You really wanted us to be together for more than just sex.”

Thorne nodded. “I wanted you any way I could have you, but the best case scenario was that you would be my partner, that you would be with me because it was what you wanted rather than a job.”

“Why didn’t you say that?”

“I thought you’d laugh at me.”