Once he’s satisfied with the state of my hair, he stands and shakes out the towel he was kneeling on. Waiting.

I slowly unfold myself and stand up in the tub.

“Let’s get you dried off.” The man steps forward and wraps the towel tightly

around my body. Taking my arm, he helps me step out of the tub before grabbing another towel and beginning to run it roughly along my shoulders, warming me.

“Was there any lotion?”

“What?”

“Lotion.”

If it weren’t for the humidity, I would be a scratching, flaky mess already.

“But you’re clean, why would you put lotion on now?” the man asks, genuinely confused.

“So my skin doesn’t dry out.”

“I saw some in the top drawer,” he says, pointing toward the vanity before adding, “I’m going to make sure the bed is ready.”

Before I can say anything in reply, the man has left the bathroom, and I can

hear him moving around the bedroom.

I quickly find the lotion, a cheap generic hotel brand, and begin lathering my arms and legs with it.

“Time for bed,” he says, walking back into the bathroom.

“Sir.”

How could I possibly tell him that I don’t want to have sex again? I have no

doubt he’d honor my request, but then he might leave. And I’d be back locked

up in the stuffy closet again, alone.

Alone and waiting for the next unknown man to pay for me. The truth I don’t

dare admit to myself is, I like this man. He may be gruff and demanding, but he is also considerate, intelligent, and has a hidden kindness that I have been lucky enough to see on several occasions. “Sir,” I begin again, taking a shuddering breath and whispering, “I’m still sore.”

“My poor princess,” the man says, fisting the hair at the back of my head and imprisoning me while he leans in and gives me a surprisingly gentle kiss. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“In the morning?” I ask confused, slightly dazed.

“Yes, let’s go to bed.” He takes my hand, and we walk quickly into the bedroom. But not before he picks up his watch and clothing on the way out, tucking them under his arm and gripping my hand with his free one.

The bed has been completely stripped and remade, the covers turned down as

if waiting for us to get in. I notice the remnants of our dinner have been removed, and the man’s jacket is now draped neatly over one of the chairs.

Stopping at the side of the bed, the man pulls off the towel from around my

body and guides me toward the edge of the bed, patting my ass lightly and saying, “Get in.”

Quickly, I scurry under the covers and pull them up underneath my chin.

The man neatly adds his clothes to mine before he walks over to the light switch and flicks it off, shrouding us in almost darkness. I shiver and grip the blankets tightly as he moves to shut the curtains on the window.

“Please don’t,” I whisper in a panic, not wanting to be in the complete darkness. “Can we leave them open?”

He looks over at me, his brow furrowed as his hand releases the curtain.

“Whatever you want, Princess.”

Walking around the other side of the bed, he places his watch on the bedside

table before dropping his towel and crawling in next to me, naked.

I roll over onto my side, facing him, and pull the blankets up over my shoulder, clutching them tightly in front of me.

“God, this mattress is horrible,” he groans, laying down and pulling the blankets up over his waist, leaving his chest bare. “How can they possibly expect people to sleep?”

“I don’t think they expect you to sleep,” I say quietly. The man chuckles beside me and rolls onto his side facing me. He inches toward the middle of the bed, and I instinctively scoot backward, away from him.

“If you move over any more, you’ll fall off the bed,” he warns, reaching out

an arm and drawing me back into the middle of the bed with him.

I freeze as we come nose to nose; his eyes are crinkled with humor and are

hiding behind the most annoyingly long dark eyelashes I’ve ever seen.

“Do you snore?” the man asks, settling his arm more comfortably around my

waist and closing his eyes.

“Yes,” I find myself lying as I control the urge to snuggle closer to the man’s chest.

Closing my eyes, it doesn’t take long for me to be lulled to sleep by the warmth and security of this man’s presence.

The night air is cool on my face. I shiver as we walk down the cobblestonesidewalks, my heels clicking with every step. There are others with me, people Iknow, my friends from high school. But I can’t see their faces in the darkness.

Low lit street lamps light the way as we continue to walk further into thedarkness. There’s a balloon of excitement inside of me that grows bigger witheach step. I can hear my laughter ringing in the air.

Suddenly the pulsing lights of the club are surrounding me, filling me withunnatural energy. There is movement everywhere. And the sound of musicreverberates in my chest. I feel euphoric as my senses are overwhelmed, and all Ican do is give into the sensations. Falling into a rhythm, I move along with theother bodies as we become one writhing organism.

A sudden silence and a blast of cold air hits me. I’m outside again. Aconcrete wall a mass in front of me. Turning to the left, I start walking toward