Chapter Text
It was not, in Kate’s opinion, an exaggeration to say that Anthony Bridgerton was one of the worst people she’d ever met.
In the three years since Edwina and Eloise met as flatmates at uni, Kate had watched him do any number of egregious things, including – but not limited to – coercing his sister Daphne into dating a truly awful man named Nigel because he came from a good family; fighting his best mate Simon for spending an entirely consensual night with Daphne at a party; dating Siena, dumping her because she wasn’t the right woman, winning her back and then breaking up with her again; and lastly, stringing along Kate’s own precious sister and then abruptly changing course because she was too young (a thing Kate had been shouting from the rooftops for months, and which he could have pieced together on his own much earlier seeing as how she was the same age as his younger sister).
Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on perspective – Kate quite adored the rest of the Bridgertons, and they were a close family. Anthony was a necessary annoyance, easily ignored as she sang karaoke with Daphne or took shots with Benedict and talked about art for hours.
He did have an irritating habit of staring, a flaw Kate chalked up to being so used to getting everything he wanted that he was flabbergasted by the idea she might not enjoy his company. Anthony had tried, absolutely. Propositioning her the first night they met, clearly looking for a quick fuck with some fresh meat. He hadn’t been so bold since then, now that she was no longer a stranger and there were strings between their families, but that didn’t stop him from insinuating: a quirked eyebrow, a glance at her legs, dark gazes over deliberate sips of his drink, standing far too close behind her at the bar as his warm breath dusted over her shoulder.
But Kate wasn’t that weak. If that dark gaze sent a shiver through her, she would hide it. If the heat of his body made her wet, he would never know. He wasn’t a good man, and he hurt Edwina. No amount of sexual frustration would ever be worth that.
And then everything went to shit.
She didn’t even like her job, really.
Her boss was a simpleton and the work was tedious and dry and the commute was nearly an hour each way.
But it kept them afloat while Edwina worked her way up in a string of barely paying internships in fashion design and Mary struggled to find a job of her own. It was tight, but Kate was making it.
Until they let her go on a Friday afternoon, dismissing her without a second look, like she was nothing. She supposed, to them, maybe she was.
Kate didn’t sleep at all that weekend, staring up at the ceiling as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. Failure, her mind screamed at her, failure failure failure failure.
No matter how hard she tried, it wasn’t enough. Mary and Edwina had treated her like family, loved her like blood and she did nothing but let them down at every turn.
Failure.
Kate hadn’t told them, but she guessed Edwina had, as Anthony sidled up next to her in the kitchen while she was fixing herself a vodka soda. Benedict was famous for his ragers, and Kate figured, what the hell – if she couldn’t do anything right, maybe she could do something wrong.
“I heard about your job,” he said without preamble. “Sorry.”
For a second, Kate could almost trick herself into thinking he sounded genuine. But she wasn’t interested in sympathy from a man whose family owned a Fortune 500 company and who, by default, would never understand what she was going through. He didn’t know what it was like to struggle with money, because he had enough to throw at any problem that came his way. “Bet you and your CEO friends get a kick out of laying off people like me. Gets you a second jet or your fifth beach house, right?”
Anthony’s jaw clenched. “You really hate me, don’t you?”
“I didn’t think that was a secret,” she said, raising the hand that was holding her drink so she could poke her finger into his shoulder. “And yet I can’t fucking get rid of you.”
“I can’t win with you, even when I’m trying to be nice.”
“You’re not nice, Anthony. I’m not some random you can pick up and fool with your charm. I know you too well.”
He stared at her, something heated and angry in his dark eyes, and Kate met him unflinchingly.
A tall woman with blonde hair cleared her throat, gesturing to the alcohol they were blocking, and Kate walked away, downing her drink in one long gulp.
Anthony’s harsh attention followed her the rest of the night, as she danced with Daphne and Simon, as she won a game of poker against Benedict, as she let Dorset pick her up and fuck the stress out of her against the bathroom door, staggering out laughing with her dress wrinkled and hiked up her thighs.
More than worth it, for the pure fury on his face.
He wasn’t even supposed to be there.
Simon had casually mentioned that Anthony had another engagement on the night of their dinner party – all the more reason to go, Kate thought. She could lose him in a crowd, but a small group would be harder.
But he stepped in an hour late, taking the seat across from her. Blazing eyes on her over his glass of wine like he had plans to strip her down and take her right there on the table. Forget the fact that she was dripping onto the cream fabric of the chair – she was going to stab him with a fork if he so much as touched her.
Anthony cornered her on her way back from the toilet, pressing his hand next to her head as he boxed her against the wall. “I need to talk to you. It’s important.”
“I highly doubt that, considering we haven’t had a conversation worth my time in three years.”
“Ben tells me you haven’t found a job yet.”
Kate swallowed, not letting on how much his words felt like a punch to the gut. He would not get the satisfaction of knowing that she was in far too much debt and lying to her family that everything was alright, that she had it under control. “Ben needs to mind his fucking business, and so do you.”
She tried to move around him, but he quickly blocked her. “You need money. I can give it to you.”
Stilling in confusion, Kate pressed her lips together. “I don’t want anything from you.”
“It’s not charity. I know you wouldn’t accept that.” The fact that Anthony Bridgerton thought he knew anything about her made her bristle, a wave of spite washing over her. “But I can make you a proposition.”
“A proposition.”
Glancing around to ensure no one else was listening, he leaned closer to murmur in her ear. “Give me one night with you, Kate. One night to do anything I want. And at the end of it, I’ll give you fifty thousand.”
Kate choked on nothing, putting both hands on his chest to shove him away. “Fuck you.”
“That’s the general idea,” he said calmly, looking for all the world like he was taking this seriously. But he couldn’t be, right? It was absurd and ridiculous and probably just a giant, sick prank he cooked up to get back at her for sleeping with Dorset.
She had no doubt he was cruel enough to play the desperate little poor girl card on her.
Fifty thousand would pay down her debts, give her room to breathe, help her sleep at night.
For her family, she would do much worse.
“You think I’m joking,” Anthony said when she didn’t answer.
“I think you’re insane.”
“Maybe.” Slowly, as if he expected her to slap his hand away, Anthony pressed his thumb into her jaw, dragging it down toward her chin. “Maybe I know what I want and what it takes to get it.”
Kate’s breath caught in her throat. She burned everywhere he was touching her and everywhere he wasn’t, his low voice dripping over her like melted honey. His thumb trailed up slightly, indenting her bottom lip, and for the life of her, Kate couldn’t explain why she wasn’t pushing him away.
He dropped his hand, and Kate finally took a breath. “You could pay a lot less for sex,” she said, still waiting for him to crack, to burst into laughter and tell her he almost had her going.
“I’m not paying for sex. I’m paying for you. All of you. And you won’t give that to me lightly.”
“I’m not for sale.”
“Of course not,” he said, molten eyes raking over her defiant face. “Call it an exchange. I have something you need, and you have something I need.”
Kate felt lightheaded. It was nonsense that anyone would need her body badly enough to pay an entire year’s salary for it, let alone Anthony Bridgerton, who could flash a smile in any pub and immediately drown in pussy.
“I like to think I’m worth more than that,” Kate said haughtily, raising her chin.
“Name your price.”
“A hundred.”
“Fine.”
Eyes going wide, Kate chuckled. “You’re full of shit.”
“I can have it transferred to an escrow account within the hour,” he said, straightfaced as ever. Anthony was a hell of an actor, she would give him that. “The money would be yours the second we concluded our business.”
“You’re not even going to negotiate?”
“You’ll be worth it.”
In the back of her mind, Kate knew they’d been gone too long, and someone would eventually come looking for them. And she did not want to get busted being backed against a wall by Anthony – the fucking rumors that would start. “Well, this has been something, but I need to-.”
“I can prove I’m serious,” Anthony said, desperation suddenly edging his voice. “Five hundred, right here, right now. And all you have to do is let me kiss you.”
Kate just stood there, slack jawed. It was disgusting, really, that he could throw away five hundred pounds on something so trivial. But considering that was the difference in her making their rent payment that month, her moral high horse wasn’t the most advantageous position. “Sure. You can kiss me for five hundred pounds.”
This was the moment it would all fall apart, she was certain. She’d called his bluff, and he would say something that made her hate him even more and they would go back to chipping away at each other like they always did.
Anthony tugged his phone out of his pocket, pulling up his bank app and tapping on the screen. He held it up for Kate to confirm her information and then-
He hit send.
Her phone pinged, confirming that the money had gone through. Five hundred pounds in her ever-dwindling account. Anthony had simply…snapped his fingers and solved a problem.
“You’re an arsehole,” she breathed, pocketing her phone. “But a deal’s a deal, I suppose.”
Pressing her back to the wall, Kate looked up at him expectantly. She already had the money; there was no stipulation she had to participate or enjoy it, and she was sure she wouldn’t. That was the thing about attractive men – they didn’t actually have to develop any skills, because women would suck their dicks regardless.
Anthony advanced on her, the woodsy scent of his cologne filling the air between them. His pupils were blown, a sign of legitimate arousal that he couldn’t fake, and Kate almost faltered, everything suddenly feeling a little too real.
But he was already placing two fingers under her chin, tipping it up as he grazed his nose against hers. His breath smelled like wine, and Kate was surprised to find that it didn’t bother her. Eyes fluttering shut as their lips grazed, barely a touch, Kate wanted to tell him to get on with it, get it over with.
But he had paid five hundred pounds for it, and clearly he intended to get his money’s worth.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, and then he was kissing her properly, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth as he cupped her jaw tenderly. She’d never realized how large his hands were, one splaying heavily against her cheek as the other dipped around her waist and pushed up her shirt, touching the bare skin of her lower back. His fingers were calloused, another thing that surprised her, considering he didn’t have to do much in the way of manual labor.
He tilted her head back, deepening the kiss, and Kate felt dizzy, wrapping a hand around his shoulder and curling it into his thick hair to hold herself steady. Anthony hummed against her lips, gently teasing the seam with his tongue until she opened for him, almost instinctively. Heat bloomed in her stomach, flowing like lava through her chest, her neck, her cheeks, all the way down to her fingers. A soft nip of his teeth against her lip made her sigh into his mouth, but she forced herself to swallow the moan that threatened to erupt.
Anthony swirled his tongue against hers, sucking on it with just the right pressure, and Kate knew that if she touched herself now, she would be embarrassingly wet.
Pulling back, Kate gasped for air. The whole night had been a fever dream, and as she gaped at a panting Anthony, pure lust glowing in his eyes, Kate felt like something had fundamentally shifted in a way that was exhilarating and terrifying.
“I have to go,” she said, not even sure what she meant, only that she needed to clear her head.
“Kate.”
“I- I’ll think about it.” Her head was spinning. Anthony, mercifully, nodded and stepped away, not following her back to the dining room.
She made up an excuse about feeling unwell and bid goodnight to everyone. Daphne glanced at the hallway, obviously putting the pieces together, but said nothing.
Back at her flat, with two fingers working feverishly in the mess of her folds, whining out a release into her pillow as her shoulders trembled, Kate was pretty sure she wouldn’t think of anything else.
The fact that she was even considering it was mental.
She hated Anthony Bridgerton. Hated his ostentatious wealth and his pathological need for control and the way he expected everyone in his vicinity to bend to his will. How could she do it?
Kate was now reasonably certain he was serious in his offer to fuck her for money. All because she was the only woman who didn’t drop to her knees and beg to suck his cock within minutes of meeting him. He wanted to break her.
But it was a hundred thousand pounds. A drop in the bucket for someone like him, but properly life altering for her.
She could wipe the slate clean with that money. Get a second chance to do right by Mary and Edwina. Erase the sting of failure.
And what would it cost her? Besides her pride, of course. Anthony had asked for whatever he wanted for one night, and Kate couldn’t imagine that a rich white man had all that much of an imagination. She was willing to bet he was as vanilla as they came.
Anthony talked a big game, but men were predictable. Kate could probably get the money for a half-decent blowjob and six minutes of penetration. He was a better kisser than she had anticipated, she would give him that – but she stood by her theory that anyone who could say the word and have all of his desires fulfilled would not be a master of pleasure.
But hell, she’d had underwhelming sex for free. She was attracted to Anthony, despite her better judgment; he had her drenched with a single look more times than she could count. If she was really lucky, she might even get to come.
There was another voice in her head, tiny but niggling, that reminded her of how she felt at Daphne’s dinner, shaky and confused and so aroused it hurt, from nothing more than a fairly chaste kiss. If he managed to defy her expectations and actually be talented in bed, Kate wasn’t entirely sure she would survive it.
She brushed her doubts aside. It was just sex. Just one night of her life. An insignificant price to pay for the people she loved.
Taking a deep breath, Kate pulled up Anthony’s number – she had it from a dozen group chats, she’d just never had any occasion to use it – and started typing. I want a contract. In writing.
Three dots popped up almost immediately, and Kate’s heart pounded in her chest. It’s already drawn up. I’ll give you a week to make changes.
Her phone chirped, and Kate pulled up the email. The contract was lengthy, clearly written by a lawyer – Anthony probably had a dozen of them on retainer – but the language was simple and clear. He wasn’t trying to trick her.
Kate would get the hundred thousand if she spent twelve consecutive hours at his home and fulfilled all of his requests to his satisfaction. She was allowed a safe word, which he would respect, but he would dock ten thousand for every use.
Alternately, he would give her an extra ten thousand for every orgasm she had as a direct result of his actions. Kate almost snorted. Someone was confident.
There was a section for her hard and soft limits, which she filled out diligently over the next few days, doing some research online so she wouldn’t forget anything.
He offered an extra twenty thousand for the option to fuck her without condoms and to come inside of her. She agreed, as long as he provided test results to prove that he was clean. Twenty thousand wasn’t enough to deal with an STD for the rest of her natural life.
When she was satisfied that she had covered all her bases, Kate sent the contract back. Her phone rang fifteen minutes later. “My lawyer is making the updates now. I’ll send it to you for final approval.”
“Great.”
“Are you comfortable with everything?”
Well, that was a complicated question. Anthony was treating this like a business deal, which was both reassuring and unsettling. It made it harder to ignore the fact that she was selling her body for sex. But it also ensured there would be no confusion, no blurred lines. This was a one-time transaction – never to be spoken of again, never to be repeated. “How do you know I won’t fake orgasms for the money?” she asked instead of answering him directly.
“You wouldn’t flatter my ego like that,” he said with a deep, rich laugh. “Not even for money.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Of course I do. I know you, Kate. You’ve always been perfectly honest about your feelings when it comes to me. When you come, with my name on your lips, it will be because I’m making you feel good.”
Tension crept up her spine and Kate squeezed her thighs together, humiliated at the powerful effect of his words in that low, commanding voice. “I guess we’ll see which of us has the stronger will.”
He chuckled again, throaty and dangerous. “I suppose I have an advantage here. I know exactly what I’m capable of. But you don’t.”
That familiar competitive spark flared in her. “Don’t I have the advantage here?” she asked smugly. “I get the hundred thousand even if I hate it. And I get paid to come. Seems like a win-win to me.”
“Ten thousand is a small price to feel you come on my cock,” he growled. “And you won’t hate it. I’m going to show you, Kate. What we could do together.”
She grabbed a blanket and laid it under her, suddenly afraid she was about to ruin the sofa.
Kate could not let him win. She would let him fuck her, but she wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of wanting it. Kate would die before she begged for him. “What about the other women?” she spit out, scrambling for the upper hand.
“What other women?”
“The other women I’m sure you’ve pulled this with. Doesn’t look like any of them stuck around.”
Kate could practically hear the muscle in his jaw twitch. “I’ve never pulled this with anyone else. I’ve never had to.”
Even though he couldn’t see her, she rolled her eyes. “Why, because you have a big bank account and a magic dick?”
“Something like that,” he answered without a trace of sarcasm. “Believe it or not, Kate, I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as you. Plenty of women were happy to have an ongoing arrangement of good sex and getting their bills paid on the side.”
“Good for them. Did you date their sisters too?”
Anthony huffed out a disbelieving laugh. “You’re still angry about Edwina, but you’re going to sleep with me anyway?”
“Trust me, I’m doing it for her,” she said, rage boiling in her blood. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
“No. You wouldn’t, would you?” He sounded frustrated, genuinely angry, and for just a second, something ugly and heavy solidified in her stomach. “I’ll see you on Saturday, Kate. I expect you to wear something nice.”
And he hung up.
Kate was cracked. That was the only reason she hadn’t called the whole thing off.
As slimy and awful as Anthony was, he’d never spoken to her like that before. Like he hated her every bit as much as she hated him.
It shouldn’t have stung. But it did.
She ran through all the scenarios, imagining how he might punish her. How hard he might fuck her throat, spank her, edge her until she was blind with need. Wondering if she was broken for ending every scenario writhing against her vibrator and gasping for breath.
Kate spent all of Saturday getting ready. Anthony didn’t deserve much, but for the money he was paying, Kate thought he at least earned the basics. Her skin smooth and glowing, her hair falling in loose waves down her back, an expensive – for her, though surely not for him – black lingerie set Edwina had smuggled from a job, with sheer cups that showed her nipples and lacy knickers that sat high on her arse.
She was almost desperate to touch herself, the adrenaline and anticipation mixing into a heady cocktail, but Anthony would only pay her for the orgasms she had under his touch. Kate closed her eyes and thought about the money, what she could do with it; how she could pay off Edwina’s student loans and allow her to find her dream job instead of settling for something soul-crushing, how Mary could get the wonky plumbing in her flat fixed up, how Kate could even do something for herself – buy a car, perhaps, so she didn’t have to take the tube at night.
Adjusting the straps of her dress on each shoulder, Kate ran her hands over the slinky black fabric, appreciating the way it flowed over her curves. She slipped small diamond studs into her earlobes and a silver bracelet onto her slim wrist, lining her eyes with kajal and dabbing stain onto her lips.
One night, she reminded herself as she sat in the backseat of the Uber, blood rushing in her ears so loudly she could barely hear the driver’s attempts to talk to her.
Anthony would take everything from her tonight, but he would never have her again.
She’d been invited to Anthony’s townhouse any number of times, always declining. It was one thing to see him in neutral territory; another to walk into the belly of the beast.
Opening the intricate wrought iron gate, Kate walked up to the gray-façaded building, a tremor running through her hand as she rang the bell.
He was at the door in no time at all, and Kate wondered if he had been waiting for her.
“You came,” Anthony said, sounding almost surprised.
“We had an agreement,” she responded simply, sharply. “I’m only here for the money.”
Stepping forward, Anthony dragged his eyes over her with agonizing slowness, a beautiful fire in his gaze. “Come on in and earn it, then.”