The Favor by Elle Luckett Read Free Book Online Page A

while I was an open book in comparison.
    I tossed and turned for what felt like hours, unable to shut my brain down long enough to fall into the darkness of sleep. The room was so quiet that I was pretty sure I could hear the old grandfather clock downstairs and the click of the seconds passing by. Tick. Fuck. Tock. Me. I did this over and over, until it sounded more like begging than hopelessness. It was a chorus that the crickets and frogs outside the window on the swamp started to join in on.
    Then one creak of the floorboard shut it all down.
    I wasn’t a skittish person by nature. Even when I wasn’t in my own home and in my own bed, I didn't worry about the strange sounds of the house relaxing and moving around me. I faced most of those fears long before that night, so my immediate reaction was not to hide under the covers but to climb out of bed and investigate, hopeful that Mistress Kayla was going to be on the other side of the door.
    I hadn't considered my nakedness when I pulled open the door. It was a perpetual state for me, so it wasn't as though I registered the cool breeze of the air conditioning or ceiling fan. I was used to it. However, I became fully aware of my state of undress when I found Jared on the other side of the door, his eyes wide with surprise as they took me in and, as though suddenly realizing what he was doing, he looked away.
    “I'm sorry. I came to... You're naked.”
    “You're a good looking man. I'm sure you've seen it all before,” I teased, leaning against the doorframe and inspecting my cuticles. A plan was formulating in my head as I felt his eyes roam over me again, believing I was oblivious to his inspection. “Would you like to come in?”
    The resounding yes was in his body language and the very obvious arousal that his hoity-toity pants weren't hiding very well. His hand twitched at his side and my body stirred in recognition. I wanted to bow my head and defer to him, to fall to my knees in capitulation. But then what? What if he had no idea what to do with me? The thought left me cold, which was inevitably followed by confusion and frustration. My body was so wound up and I had no release.
    Sleep seemed to be falling further and further from my grasp. That moment would have been a great time to sneak into the bath and take advantage of being out of my submissive role with no clarity on the rules.
    “Best not.”
    Rolling my eyes, I put up one finger. “Give me five seconds and we'll see if you reconsider.”
    “Kit, I—”
    I ignored him and wandered into the bathroom to look for a towel, happy when I found two matching robes hanging on the back of the door. This place was better than some of the hotels we'd been to. Pulling it on, stepping back out and heading to the door, I spun with my arms spread wide and a broad grin on my lips at my success.
    “Better?”
    “Much. Thank you.” It was a shame his eyes didn't back the statement up, the icy blue I'd grown accustomed to soon becoming a warmer shade of the color that sent shivers down my spine.
    “Come on in. You obviously have something on your mind.”
    “I just wanted to apologize.”
    Be nice, Kit! I warned myself, fighting off the urge to turn on the dramatics. I would have only ended up pissing him off again and then we'd be back to square one. Giving him a chance to gather his thoughts, I headed toward the bed again.
    “I know I can be an arsehole. I just see two beautiful women with the old man and...” He took a few steps inside. “Well, he's always been rather promiscuous you see and... I'm sorry.”
    “Jared.” I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling my feet up under me. “There's nothing wrong with a man his age having an active sex life. Even if we were here to share his bed and have hot, wild, monkey sex all night, it doesn't mean that we want his money.”
    Jared opened his mouth to contradict me but I put up a hand to stop him.
    “I see your point. I really do. As much as modern