4. Dominance

Dahlia Carrington

~•~

I stood nervously in front of the hotel, anxious to go inside.

I had responded to the offer of one of the men, Damon Valentino, and we had gotten along through texts, enough for me to make the decision to meet him in person. Besides, I was running out of time. If he wasn’t going to be the one to help him, I should get it over with and move on.

With those thoughts, I smoothened the crease on my blouse before walking in. Anya had encouraged me to put on something more appealing but I refused. Besides, it was just dinner and I figured a plain blouse and some jeans would suffice.

I met the receptionist and even though I was feeling shy, I greeted her warmly before telling her I had a reservation under the name, Valentino.

Handing a pass to me, she instructed me to use the private elevator that led to the rooftop. She most likely knew what I was here for but I didn’t let it deter me.

In no time, the elevator doors opened, revealing the rooftop. It was wide and spacious with only one table and two chairs opposite each other. The man that was sitting on one of the chairs stood up on my arrival and I sucked in a sharp breath.

If I thought he looked handsome in his pictures, then he looked ethereal in real life. He even looked younger. His light brown hair parted in the middle and fell to his ears, his bright blue eyes shone in the dim light and when he smiled softly, I almost took a step back. He was otherworldly, too young to be a supposed sugar daddy, and too handsome to be in the app in the first place.

But then again, what if he was a predator?

“Miss Carrington.” He said politely as he approached me.

My legs felt glued to the ground so I stayed rooted in place as he walked closer to me, only speaking when he was in front of me. “Mr. Valentino.”

“Call me Damon.” He extended his arm to me and I took it hesitantly. He laughed when he saw this; the sound was like music to my ears. I always thought Anya exaggerated things whenever she was describing a man to me. She wasn’t. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

I shook my head instantly. “No. No, you’re not.”

“Good.” He directed me to the table and pulled out my chair for me. After I sat down, he sat in front of me. “Did I tell you you’re pretty yet?”

I could not stop the blush that came down my cheeks. I’d been called pretty a lot, but coming from him, they sounded so sincere even if I knew all he wanted was sex. “You’re not so bad yourself.” I decided to return the compliment.

“Thank you. What would you like to eat?”

I was a very indecisive person and I didn’t know what and what not they had in the restaurant, which was why I said. “Anything is fine.”

Nodding, he texted something on his phone before he placed it down on the table and stared at me.

We were silent for the first few seconds and while I tried to return his stare, I ended up blushing again. He was looking at me so intensely that I wanted to run. When I planned to meet him, I was not expecting it to go like this. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Like how?”

“Like you’re trying to figure me out.”

He shrugged. “I want to ask what a beautiful young lady like you is doing on that app but I guess that would be personal.”

“It is.” I nodded. I didn’t know him that well. Just because I was going to be having sex with him didn’t mean I needed to spill my life problems to him. “And I could say the same about you?”

“Relationships these days are ass and I’m a man with needs.” He said honestly yet vaguely.

I nodded at his answer, but he didn’t stop looking at me. By the time I’d leave, my face would probably be red. “Stop staring at me.”

“You look like a doll.” He confessed. “I’d recognize your features even if it was pitch black.” When I didn’t know what to answer, he chuckled. “Sorry, I’m used to saying it as I see it. I meant that as a compliment.”

“Thank you, I guess.” I subconsciously tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Why don’t we get to business?” I couldn’t handle him staring at me like that. I needed to keep him busy; us busy.

He cocked his head to the side, the night light complimenting his perfect face. “Shouldn’t we get to know each other first?”

“Why? Do I need to know about your issues before we fuck?”

I didn’t know when those words exited my mouth but it amused him. “No, but what if you’re here to trap me with a baby or something?”

I scoffed. “I barely even know you.”

“Exactly. Isn’t that dangerous to you?”

“Fine. We’ll keep things on a surface level and we’ll make it fast. I have to get back to work in an hour.” The words came out cold and harsh and for a moment, I thought I offended him with how rude they seemed.

For a few seconds, he just stared at me even if I just told him we needed to make it fast, as though he wasn’t used to being told what to do. He proved me right when he opened his mouth to speak finally. “I hope this comes across as surface-level shit because for this to work, you’d learn to control your pretty little mouth and let me make the big decisions, okay?”

That was the most demeaning thing a man had ever said to me. If it were one of the suitors my father prepared for me? I would’ve thought of ways to ghost them but it seemed like I was already far too gone because I found his dominance hot. I feared it even turned me on.