She shrugged. “I guess.” She knew he was right. “I love volunteering at the shelter. It’s extremely fulfilling.”
“What else did you do besides take care of the animals? I know that humans have jobs…” He lifted his eyes in thought. “Just like dragons do. We are also assigned to different tasks. I know you said that you just recently left whatever your job was and I know that you are reluctant to speak of it. I feel that we have grown closer and I’m hoping you will confide in me.”
Oh shit! What now? She needed to come clean. She planned on coming here this afternoon and on telling him everything. Then she chickened out. She couldn’t keep running away though, falling more for this guy every day. Candy needed to tell him right now while she could still walk away. She only prayed that Sky was right and that she wouldn’t have to.
She took a sip of her water but her mouth still felt dry. “Okay.” She nodded once. “I’ll tell you but only if you promise to hear me out before you judge me.”
“Judge you?” His face scrunched up in disbelief. “Of course I will listen to you. Why would you even think such a thing?” Torrent leaned forward and cupped her cheek in his hand. She couldn’t help but to lean into him. “You can tell me anything. I may not have fully claimed you… yet…” The word came out sounding rasping. “But, actually, there are no buts—I feel deeply bonded to you. My feelings are growing by the day.” He traced the tip of his thumb along her lower lip. “You need to know that.”
She did. She’d felt them grow closer. She enjoyed holding him at night. Talking to him. Spending time with him. She loved watching his eyes glaze over with pleasure when she pushed him over the edge with her mouth, how they heated when he looked at her. She wanted more, she just had to get through this first.
“Okay then.” Candy clasped her hands tightly in her lap. “I told you my dad left when I was young and that my mom went through men like she did handbags. She wasn’t a bad mom, not really. She was just too caught up in herself to ever be a really good mom.”
His jaw tightened and he nodded once.
“When I turned sixteen, one of her boyfriends started… I don’t know... I guess, flirting with me. He would do it when she wasn’t in the room. He hugged me just that little bit too tightly, that little bit too long. I would catch him staring at my ass. One night, he let himself into my room and tried to… touch me inappropriately. Even though he told me to be quiet, he even threatened me, I managed to yell before anything could happen.” She gave a humorless laugh. “My mom came running in and the SOB tried to pretend that I had a nightmare and that he was there to check on me. In my mom’s favor, she kicked him out the moment I told her.” She shook her head. “Unfortunately within a week she’d replaced him with another bozo. Some of the guys were okay, but others…” She paused. “I guess I’d reached an age where men had begun to notice me. That asshole that tried his luck wasn’t the last. I put locks on my door and tried to keep to myself as much as possible.”
“You’re right.” Torrents rough growl was unexpected. “This is difficult for me to hear. Go on. I’m sorry I interrupted.”
“It’s just the beginning. I’m not trying to make you feel sorry for me but I need you to understand what my life was like. I was seventeen when I graduated high school. It couldn’t have been two weeks after my graduation. I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. I’d managed to secure a partial scholarship at one of the local colleges but there still wasn’t enough money for me to attend. I was trying to figure something out. Maybe I could work part-time. Stay living at home. My mom had been with the same guy for about six months and things were fairly stable. Life was pretty okay. The only problem was that he drank quite a lot. My mom started drinking too.”
She paused.
“One night, they’d both been drinking heavily. My mom was passed out. I had become complacent. Rick didn’t seem the least bit interested in me. He was a truck driver, on the road regularly. He would be gone for a couple of days and then home for a couple days and they would go on their benders. I left my door unlocked… mistake. I guess I was unlucky and that he was sober enough to get up and come after me. Luckily for me though, he didn’t have great reflexes and was a bit wobbly on his feet. When he came at me, I was able to grab my bedside lamp and hit him with it. He went down and I hit him again.”
“Did he…?” A soft, menacing growl. “You know?” His voice cracked.
She lifted her eyes. Torrent looked angry. Actually angry wasn’t strong enough of a word. His face was red and his muscles bulged.
She shook her head. “No, but it was close. Too close. I packed my bag and left. Ellis found me the next day, I’d been on the street for all of twenty-four hours. I was hungry and cold and more afraid than I ever thought possible. I didn’t trust Ellis at all but what choice did I have? I couldn’t go back home. I went to his place and crashed in his spare bedroom. He drove a fancy car, wore fancy clothes. He told me he was going to help me, that we were going to help each other. It took a while before I started to trust him. It was one hell of a mistake.”
You can do this, Candy. You can do this.
“Ellis owned his own business. It was a dating agency. An escort agency is the right term. He offered me a job and I leapt at the opportunity. He bought me beautiful clothes and dresses and all I had to do in return was go out on dates with, mostly, wealthy men.”
Torrent frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“It might be a human thing.” She huffed out a breath, struggling to find the right words. “I mostly dated elderly gentleman or young rich guys who needed a date. Guys who needed a partner for functions and didn’t want to go through the hassle of finding someone to attend with them. Guys that had lost their wives and weren’t interested in going through the motions again. Or men that were tired of money grabbing women.” She pictured Charles. “They didn’t want the hassle, so they’d call Kitty’s and organize themselves a date.”
“Let me see if I understand this correctly, human males would pay money to go out with you. To spend the evening in your company? Am I correct?”
Candy nodded. “Yes, I’d dress up for the occasion and would essentially be shown off on their arm. Fathers sometimes hired escorts for their sons. A slightly older, good looking woman. It is often for show but some of the guys were genuinely lonely. I sometimes spent evenings playing chess or just talking or sharing a meal.”
Torrent smiled. “You are good company, Candy, I can understand that these men would pay good money to have you spend time with them.”
She tried to smile back but there was a huge lump inside her throat. “That’s what I did for the first year or so that I worked at Kitty’s. I went out on a couple of dates a week, got myself my own small apartment and managed to start a savings account. Even back then, I had this dream of proving myself, of doing something with my life. I could see that it was going to take too long though. I didn’t want to be an escort for years and years. Some of the girls at Kitty’s were making bags of money.”
Torrent frowned. “They were doing the same thing as you and yet making more, that is not fair I hope that you spoke to this male… What is his name again?”
“Ellis.” She grit her teeth, just saying his name made her angry. “It was around that time that Ellis approached me. Those women that were making more money than me, they weren’t just simply going on dates. They were offering more to their clients.”
Torrent’s frown deepened. He picked up his glass of wine and took a big glug.
“They often granted their dates sexual favors in return for more money. Lots of money.”
“Did your boss know about this?” Torrent’s eyes were so pale that they practically glowed. His voice was low and evenly delivered but his body radiated tension.
She nodded and swallowed hard. “Oh yeah, he knew all about it. He encouraged it. Ellis took a big cut of all of the income. I had become accustomed to being independent. I had big dreams. I realized
that I was never going to get out of the hole I found myself in, that I was never going to be able to study or further myself unless I did something drastic. Something short term that would bring in good money. When Ellis approached me…”
“You had sex with males for money?” His voice was hard as flint. “Is that what you’re going to tell me?”
“You promised to hear me out,” she whispered.
Torrents eyes were definitely lighter, they even seemed to be glowing a little. He reached out and picked up his wineglass, and then drained the contents. “Go on. I will listen to all you have to say.” His eyes stayed on the glass in his hand.
She pulled in a deep breath. “Ellis approached me, and I agreed but on my terms. I agreed to try it out. Some of the men that I spent time with thought that they were God’s gift to women. Some of them were downright assholes. I knew that a ton of the guys were married.”
Torrent growled but caught himself doing it and snapped his mouth shut, pursing his lips together. His hands were fisted in his lap.
“The agreement between Ellis and I was that I got to choose who I dated, who I had sex with. There was no way I was going to disrespect other women and have sex with a married man. I saw what it did to my mom and…” She paused. “I had rules regarding the sex. What I was comfortable with and what I wasn’t.”
Torrent jumped up to his feet. “I’m sorry.” His voice was gruff. He looked distraught. Candy felt tears prick in her eyes. This was not going well. It was a disaster.
He grabbed the back of his neck and squeezed. “I wasn’t expecting this. I need a minute.” He strode away, walking for about a hundred yards and just stood there. After a couple of minutes, he made his way back and took a seat in front of her. His chest heaved. He still refused to look her in the eyes. Torrent nodded. “Go on.” He clenched his teeth.
If he couldn’t accept her past, this wasn’t going to work. Her eyes burned. Her throat felt tight.
You can finish this. Suck it up.
“There were two guys that I initially agreed to have sex with. Two quickly became four. I refused to allow Ellis to increase the number. A lot of Kitty’s is based on referrals, the guys talk. It quickly became known there was a woman, an escort that was exclusive. That turned away huge amounts of business. As a result, more men wanted to date me and my price increased. I refused to take on any more clients. If someone dropped out, only then, would I agree to date a new person.”
“Only you weren’t dating them, were you?” His eyes lifted to hers, they were full with… hurt. Just as quickly they seemed devoid of emotion. “Were you fucking them all?”
Candy cringed at how horrible it sounded. “Not always.” There was a definite edge to her voice. “They still enjoyed spending time with me, going out with me, doing mundane things with me. Most of these men were lonely. It wasn’t just about the sex.”
“Maybe not to them.” He interjected.
“It wasn’t about the sex for me either. It was about the money… period. I went into this with my eyes open. I needed to make money quickly in order to move on with the rest of my life, except…” She paused. Her lip quivered. She took in a breath to soothe her nerves. “I was wrong. Selling myself like that, it wasn’t for me. Some women love it, they thrive off of it. It makes them feel powerful. Being desired by so many different men and to such a degree. These guys throw enormous amounts of money at you. Some of the women loved the sex. They loved climbing from one bed into the next. They got off on it.”
Torrent poured himself another glass of wine and downed half of it.
Candy reached for her own glass and took a tentative sip. It felt like vinegar going down her throat. “It wasn’t like that for me. It was soul destroying. I needed the money but I wasn’t willing to just do anything or anyone to get it.” She needed to tell him everything but it was a struggle for her. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “The sex did nothing for me. It was all fake. I never had one orgasm, not ever.”
He didn’t say anything. Didn’t even look at her.
“Then one day, one of my clients left, I refused to have him replaced. You won’t believe it, but that started an even bigger frenzy. There was a waiting list. Ellis went to my three remaining clients and they agreed to pay more. One of the three guys I saw started dating a woman and then there were two.”
Torrent nodded. “How long were you”—he cleared his throat—“an escort?”
“I was seventeen when Ellis put a roof over my head. A few months later I started dating and by the age of nineteen I was having sex with my dates for money. I’m twenty-four now, so that’s almost five years.”
“How many men have you had sex with?” His jaw was tight. His brow furrowed.
“How is that even relevant? How many women have you had sex with? I’m sure your list is a hell of a lot longer than mine. All of my sexual experiences barring two were business transactions.”
“Two.” He said, finally looking at her.
“My first boyfriend and you.”
He made an irritated snorting noise. “I didn’t pay anyone or expect anyone to pay me.”
His words stung. “At nineteen, it seemed like a good idea. By the time I was twenty-four, not so much. Like I said, I was down to two clients. I only had sex with the one. Harold is impotent.”
Torrent finished the rest of his wine. “What do you mean? Impotent…I’m not sure…”
“He couldn’t get it up.” Candy huffed. “If I’m honest with myself I wanted to get out much sooner. I spoke to Ellis about it. He kept on talking me into staying. My rate kept on going up and up. It’s money for jam, Candy. Don’t do something stupid, Candy. You’ll regret it if you leave, Candy. He knew exactly what to say. My list of rules grew longer and my clients fewer.”
“So that impotent male didn’t have sex with you?”
“No.” She shook her head. “He had been married three times and was so afraid of women being after him for his money that he stopped dating altogether. He said that he preferred to take care of the money side of things upfront. At least with him and I, there were no lies. I went with him to functions and just spent time with him. He’s a lonely old guy. It still felt wrong though.”
“Maybe because it was.” Torrent’s throat worked. “Tell me about the other male.”
She shrugged. “Why is it important? I’m not asking you about all the women you had sex with… am I?”
“I want to know.” He looked deadpan and emotionless.
“Charles is a really sweet guy. He’s also pretty old, must be in his late 70s. His wife died a couple of years back and he can’t bring himself to date ‘real’ women.”
“Real women.” Torrent made a snorting noise
“Well, although Charles and I spent plenty of time together, we never had a real relationship and therefore he never felt like he was cheating on his dead wife. It was a business transaction. Probably a tax write off.” She laughed, it came out sounding a little high pitched.
“Did you rut with this male?” There it was again, that look of hurt. It lasted just a split second, if she blinked she would’ve missed it. His jaw tightened up some more.
Candy nodded. “On occasion.”
“When did you last have paid sex with a male?”
“Why do you want to know all of this? It’s not important. I didn’t enjoy having sex with these men. At first it was just a duty I was expected to perform and then it slowly became something I hated. I would never put down the women I worked alongside, but it wasn’t for me.”
He blinked a few times. “When did you last have sex with this male?” he repeated the question like he hadn’t heard her response.
It irritated her. “It’s not relevant. When did you last go on one of your stag run thingies? When did you last have sex with one of your she-dragons? Was it good for you, if so how many times did you come?” A tear escaped and she wiped it away. “Well?”
“When did you last rut the male?”
; Another tear fell. She ignored it. “I don’t know.” She was struggling to think. “A while ago.”
“Was it days before you came here? Weeks? Months?” His eyes were hard and so light. They reminded her of when she’d first seen him. When he was in full hunt and attack mode. Two cold, hard glaciers.
She shivered. “Months. It was months okay? I’ve been trying to leave the business but Ellis wouldn’t let me. I finally stood up to him the day I was taken by one of your dragons. Ellis wanted me to take on another client. He wouldn’t listen to me.” She was breathing hard. Tears coursing down her cheeks. “I could tell that he was never going to let me go. He’d lined up another client for me and was taking me to see the guy that afternoon. He didn’t give a shit about what I wanted. I was an asset to him and nothing more. We argued. He hit me.”
Torrent snarled. The sound was loud and terrifying. His entire face morphed into the picture of violence. He sprang back up to his feet and walked away, cursing loudly.
He paced and stomped and paced some more. His hands rather than fisted at his sides, were clenched onto his neck. After what felt like forever, he strode back to her. “Come. We are leaving.” He began tossing things into the bag.
“We need to talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. Thank you for telling me about your past. We won’t speak of it again.”
Candy narrowed her eyes at him. “We have to talk about it. I should have told you about it sooner.”
Torrent shrugged. “It makes no difference.”
“I can see that you’re upset. Speak to me.”
“I don’t like the idea that you had males pay you for sex. I knew you had a past, you mentioned yourself that you weren’t a virgin. You said far from it. I knew you had lovers but this is a difficult concept for me. It doesn’t matter though. None of it does. We are bonded.” He grit his teeth together in a semi snarl. “Soon to be mated.”
Water Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 2) Page 13