Chapter One

Maya's POV

"Maya, this man is not like our usual clients. Are you sure you still want to do this?" Madam Julia asked, her eyes peering into mine for answers. She wasn't one to say much so I knew it was really important.

"What do you mean?" I licked my dry lips, avoiding eye contact with her while my fingers twirled a strand of my hair.

"He has a special taste; quite dominating and demanding in bed. Can you handle that for your first time?"

"Yes. I want to do this." I flashed her a fake smile, raising my shoulders to appear confident but the truth was that my nervousness was like a swarm of bees, buzzing uncontrollably in the pit of my stomach. "Trust me, I can handle him."

Madam Julia patted me gently on the shoulder before walking away to talk to other girls who were getting ready to meet their clients.

If you haven't already guessed, I was in a motel. But I wouldn't be there if I wasn't desperate—and I was. I was going to sell my virginity to a man I didn't know.

Apparently, the man was willing to pay a large amount of money for my body. Money that I needed to pay my college tuition. I knew it was the worst thing I'd ever done in my life but I desperately wanted to be an artist.

All I've ever wanted was to paint pictures. Ever since I was a little kid and my mum bought me some paint brushes for my birthday, I've been painting everything that caught my interest. It was my passion, art gave me a purpose and I couldn't give up on it.

Two months ago, when I received my acceptance letter to The Emerald School Of Art, I cried for an hour without stopping. Part of my tears came from the excitement that I was part of the 2% of student artists accepted from the entire applicants. But the major reason for my tears was that I was painfully aware that I could not afford the tuition.

Orphaned at fifteen with no extended relative who cared for me, I was all on my own. No one was going to help me pay the tuition. No one.

I had worked two jobs in the past month; a waitress and a bartender, to raise money for my tuition. But with an average salary of $4 per hour, it would take 3 years for me to get the needed amount.

My desperation had even moved me to apply for a loan from the bank but it was denied. "We can't loan you that amount, especially with your credit card score." The manager had told me, while trying to convince me to become his mistress.

Day after day, I met dead ends. Every single plan I had failed me and I was left with nothing but unfulfilled promises and hope.

I had almost given up on my dreams, not until I met Madam Julia at the bar I was serving. At sixty-five, she managed a sex for cash motel at the quiet side of town. Her motel was known to house many rich men, men who would spend hundreds of dollars in one night for fresh skin.

"Come and work for me. I promise that all your financial problems will go away. You're a pretty girl and pretty girls like you deserve good money." She had said to me that night, while giving me her card.

I didn't immediately consider her offer because it was an outrageous idea to me but as the time to claim my spot at Emerald School Of Art drew closer, I gave in to the pressure. And that is what brought me to this point.

"Your gentleman is here already." Madam Julia poked her head into my dressing room, pulling me out of my thoughts. "You don't want to keep him waiting."

I heaved a heavy sigh as I rose to my feet, my eyes roaming my reflection in the mirror. I had a transparent black robe draped around my body which basically covered nothing. My nipples were like hard buds against the fabric, shooting out clearly. I had never worn anything so revealing in my life, let alone in a motel.

"Do you know why he's paying so much for me?" I asked in a whisper. It was still unclear and suspicious to me that a strange man was willing to pay $3000 for just one night of sex.

Madam Julia chuckled. "You're a virgin. Virgins are in high demand these days." She rubbed my chin. "There is no judgment here. Go in there, satisfy your client, get paid and enjoy the money."

"And what if he doesn't like me?" My thoughts tumbled over each other, a jumbled mess of 'what if's' and 'if only's', my heart pounding recklessly.

"All you need to do is call him daddy, get on your knees and moan like a slut as he fucks you. You're allowed to enjoy it and I'm sure he certainly will. Do you understand?"

After a single nod, she led me out of the dressing room. "He is waiting in room seventeen. Be confident."

My legs wobbled as I made my way to my client's room. I wondered what he would look like because most of the men who frequented places like this were old, rich blokes who craved young women.

My client could probably be a slobbering old man with bad breath and balls sagging down to his knees. I gulped, pushing away the disgusting thoughts and focusing on the money.

It was just one night, and probably wouldn't last more than five minutes. And then, I would have enough money for my first year in college.

When I reached the front of room seventeen, I could barely breathe normally. Selling my body for money felt like falling on a sword but I had to do it. "You can do this, Maya. There's no going back." I reminded myself, fidgeting with the belt of my robe.

Neglecting my pounding heart and sweating palms, I slowly pushed the door open, to see who I would be spending the next one hour with. I had prepared myself to meet an old man but as I stepped into the room, my breath faltered.

My eyes widened and a hot tremble coursed under my skin the moment I saw him, in his dark, tall, and tasty-looking stature. He wasn't an old man, not at all, he was a breathtaking man. He was so young—and very attractive, very attractive. In spite of my best efforts, I was briefly tongue-tied.

He wore a suitpant, and a white shirt, the sleeves folded to his elbow. His deep blue eyes were fixed on me, and all my negative thoughts faded behind them. I could only think of running my fingers through his dark, wavy hair. Or kissing him and feeling his hands all over my body.

It was a strange feeling but I was drawn to this sexy, strange man, in a way I didn't expect. Whatever frightened and confused tendencies my body harbored suddenly evaporated at the sight of him.

"Close the door!" his masculine purr ordered and my body instantly obeyed him.