Naked Canvas (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) by Sadie Grey Read Free Book Online Page B

nor did I care.
     
    He shook his head. “Anyway. What do you say? Give me another chance.”
     
    I sighed and shook my head. “I can’t. I just can’t. If I let you hurt me again, I’d never be able to forgive myself.”
     
    “I won’t hurt you.”
     
    “There’s just no way I can know that for sure.”
     
    “Okay, just business then. I still want you to model for me. I was serious when I said I found you inspiring.”
     
    I waved a dismissive hand at him. “I am officially done with modeling. Thank you.”
     
    “Just one more session.”
     
    “No. Believe me, I could use the money, but it’s not for me.”
     
    “One more session. Twenty-four hours. And I’ll pay your tuition next semester.”
     
    My jaw dropped open. Literally. “What the hell? Are you a millionaire or something?”
     
    “No, not a millionaire.” He got a twinkle in his eye. “I’m pretty sure I’m worth more than that.”
     
    I looked him up and down. “A billionaire? You don’t dress like a billionaire.”
     
    He shrugged and raised an eyebrow. “And just how should billionaires dress?”
     
    “I don’t know. Tailored suits. Silk ties. Shoes that cost more than my rent.”
     
    “What’s the point of being rich if you have to wear a tie all day? Isn’t the point of having money to be comfortable?”
     
    “I suppose.”
     
    “Are you saying you don’t like the way I look in this?” He gestured at his clothes. He wore a dark green button shirt with the sleeves rolled up his brawny forearms. The shirt was form fitting. Tight enough to accentuate his broad shoulders and his muscled arms. He looked quite good in it, to be honest, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.
     
    “Anyway, I don’t care how much money you have. You can’t just buy me.”
     
    “I’m not trying to buy you. Just your time.”
     
    “So you want to rent me?”
     
    “I wouldn’t put it that way. It’s like any other job. You show up. You do your work. Then you get paid.”
     
    I considered it. I didn’t have a lot of other options to make tuition for next semester, and I would never get another job offer like this in a million years.
     
    “If I say yes, and that’s a really big if, there will be no sex. I’m not a whore. This is just business.”
     
    He nodded. “Absolutely.”
     
    “And I need the money up front.”
     
    “I can have a cashier’s check waiting for you at my studio, but you won’t get paid until the twenty-four hours is complete.”
     
    “Fine, but you’re paying my rent for next year, too.”
     
    “Deal. Give me a number and I’ll have it ready. Any other terms?”
     
    “No.”
     
    “Good. My only requirement is that you have to promise to do whatever I say for those twenty-four hours.”
     
    “I said no sex.”
     
    “You and I will not have sex, but other than that, you do whatever I say, no questions asked. If you refuse or if you leave, the deal’s off.”
     
    I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach. “What do you have in mind?”
     
    “That’s a surprise.”
     
    “I don’t like surprises.”
     
    He looked into my eyes. “Yes or no? In or out? Answer me right now.”
     
    “Fine. I’m in.”
     
    He extended his hand. “Shake on it.”
     
    We shook.
     
    “So when do we do this?” I asked.
     
    “Tomorrow. Seven a.m.”

Chapter 8
     
    I stepped up to the old factory building just as the sun broke over the city skyline. My eyes skimmed up the red brick until they found the fifth floor windows where Dominic’s studio sat perched over the surrounding blocks. I had promised myself I would never go back there, and yet, there I was.
     
    The sad fact was that everyone, including me, had a price. It was a terrible thing to know about myself, but there was no escaping it. Dominic had found my price and there was no way I could say no.
     
    My only consolation was that we had agreed on some boundaries. No sex. That would keep him from taking advantage of me, at least. That