She frowned up at him but sat with a sigh. “Saxon—”
“Joel,” he growled at her. “I won’t keep reminding you.”
“Sorry.” She blushed. “It’s just that everyone calls you Saxon.”
“You’re not everyone.”
She wasn’t? A flush of pleasure filled her even as she attempted to squelch it.
“I’m not doing this,” he told her.
Doing what? Having her here? Pursuing this attraction between them? Well, that suited her. She didn’t want this to go any further, right?
He stood in front of her, hands on hips, irritation filling his face. Crap. How had she managed to annoy him already? They hadn’t even moved her stuff in.
“Sax—” she stopped at the look on his face. What was wrong with her? That was a small thing for her to remember. “Sorry, Joel.” Jeez, somehow that sounded so intimate. She swallowed heavily. “I’m really sorry if I’ve annoyed you. I’ll just move my stuff in and keep out of your way. I’m sure I can find everything. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. I’m not sure how I’m ever going to re—”
“That.” He pointed at her. “That right there. Stop.”
“Um, stop what?”
“Stop thinking I require payment. I don’t.”
“But I have to pay you back. You can’t spend all this money on us and expect nothing in return.”
“I can.”
She shook her head. “Then I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not right. I’m your employee.” And she had to keep reminding herself of that fact.
“It’s my money. I earned it. I have more of it than I could ever spend. So if I want to spend it fixing your crappy car and buying a couple of pieces of furniture then I will.”
She ground her teeth together, trying to hold back her temper. “Maybe it doesn’t mean a lot to you, but it does to me. I have my pride and I will pay you back. No matter what you say.”
“Fine. You know what I want as payment? One night.”
“One night?” Was this some sort of indecent proposal? “One night doing what?”
“At the club. As a submissive. Under my protection.”
Holy shit. She swallowed, feeling a little ill. And excited. “That’s what you want
as payment?”
“I want you to see what you could have. What you need. So, is it a deal?”
Was it? What happened to keeping some distance between them? But it was just one night, and she was curious.
“Sure. It’s a deal.” It didn’t sound like a fair deal to her and she’d try to figure out some way to even things up. It wasn’t right to take without giving back. But if this was what he really wanted . . . well she could stand a few hours in a BDSM club, right?
He reached down and pulled her up, holding her against him. His green eyes blazed as he stared down at her. “You’re going to have to learn how to accept help, Aspen. Not everyone is expecting payment for a kindness.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I really am grateful.”
“I don’t need your thanks.” He ran a thumb over her jawline. “Stop worrying so much. There’s no ulterior motive to my offer. Nobody is going to force you into anything, all right?”