Текст книги "Opening Up"
Автор книги: Lauren Dane
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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 19 страниц)
She’d be wet. So wet and hot her body would melt around his fingers when he teased inside.
“Yeah, so if you could stop thinking about whatever it is you want to do with her, that’d be great. You’re making me uncomfortable now.”
Asa gave Duke a look. “Can I help you with anything else? In case it missed your notice, we’re at work and there are things to do that aren’t about fucking with me for amusement.”
“None of them are as much fun, though. I need to call to check in on a special order I thought was coming today instead of your stuff. When I’m done I’ll come out and help.”
“For a dick you’re pretty cool sometimes. Thanks.” Asa grabbed one of the hair band things Lottie kept bringing him – so he’d stop using her rubber bands – got his hair up and out of his face, and headed down to get back to work. And to pretend his office didn’t smell like that spicy perfume she wore.
Chapter Six
Julie gave her an encouraging smile from her place at the other end of the table. It was the second Wednesday of the month, so all the top management had gathered in the conference room for the staff meeting.
Unfortunately, their father was still in California. PJ had really hoped to impress him with her presentation.
Shawn looked down at the agenda and then over to PJ. “You’re up.”
“As you know, I’ve been looking at ways to further integrate Colman Enterprises branding into other sectors of the industry, with an emphasis on the hot-rod and custom-build people. Over the last three months I’ve done custom paint work for several shops in the area, including Twisted Steel.”
Her uncle frowned. “We don’t sell paint, Penelope, we sell tires.”
“I’m aware of that, which is why I’m working on this presentation. It doesn’t all have to be tires. We already offer other custom services as the need arises with some of our bigger clients. I have the skill, and I’m continuing to build on that. I just attended a class a few weeks ago and plan to keep on with that sort of education and training. Over time my connections will continue to grow as my reputation does.”
“It’s a waste of time.” Fee was grumpy and had been divorced five times. She wasn’t sure if he got divorced a lot because he was grumpy or if getting divorced a lot made him grumpy. Whatever the case, he thought women were stupid and helpless and that she and Julie should shut up, play nice, and let the men run Colman. He liked to point out his daughters as examples of this.
One of these days PJ was going to tell him he shouldn’t confuse his estrangement and half abandonment of his daughters with being well behaved. They avoided him because he was a terrible, toxic person.
“It’s not a waste of time, actually.”
“How much Colman money did you fritter away playing with paintbrushes?”
“If you let her finish a sentence she might be able to give us specifics on the financials of this, Fee.” Shawn said this to their uncle without looking at him. Her brother winked at her and also gave her a definite push.
Talk money.
“Right now as vice president, I have accounts. Some of them are pretty important, though most large accounts are with Jay and Dad, which makes sense. I most certainly earn my keep. In fact, in ten of the last eighteen months I’ve been in the top two sales slots. But if you split my clients between Shawn and Jay, I could handle the custom paint work on my own. We have bays here and the accounts with the paint suppliers I need. I don’t use brushes usually, but I already have the equipment.”
“And we pay you to play while we take a loss?”
She reminded herself not to rise to the bait her uncle tossed her way. Instead, she took a deep breath and continued as if he weren’t being a disrespectful asshole. “No. Actually, I believe I can make as much money, if not more, with custom jobs. I recently spent several months learning how to mix and create custom colors. Not a lot of people take the time and get certified, which means my work is not only truly custom, but at the upper end of the spectrum especially, I’m rare. Which means as time goes on, I’ll continue to make money for Colman. I’ll be doing something I love to do, something to serve car people, which is why we’re here, isn’t it? Bottom line? It’s profitable. You don’t need me to sell tires. You have plenty of people who can do that just fine.”
“We don’t sell custom paint. That’s not what we do.”
“We didn’t sell tires at one point either,” Julie said. “Shawn, Jay, me, and PJ, we’re the future of Colman. If we’re allowed to shape it as we go, to fit who we are as a family moving into the future, it’s going to remain vibrant. PJ is smart. She’s talented, and those grease monkey shops love her. They love her, they love Colman. I just can’t see this as a losing situation. Especially when she’ll be bringing a profit in.”
“She claims.”
PJ hit a button on her keyboard and an image popped up on the big screen at the end of the table. “Those are my receipts for the last three months. Broken down per job and by profit after expenses.”
There was savage satisfaction when her uncle’s face changed as he added it all up.
“Obviously we need to establish things like hourly rates and that sort of detail, but this is not only viable it’s smart. This is adding to what we do in a way that is relevant to me as a Colman but also relevant to car people, which is part of our mission statement.”
He frowned again. “Just because we can do something, young lady, doesn’t mean we should.”
“Why shouldn’t we? I’m not indispensable as a sales rep. I’m using my skills in ways that benefit this company and expanding our client base.” Then she turned to Jay. She’d tossed him a sweet deal with the offer to split her accounts between him and Shawn.
Jay loved money and he loved power. Those accounts would give him more of both. And he loved Colman. He might think her vagina clouded her thinking on most things, but that offer of those accounts was what she planned to use to crowbar her brother onto her side.
Shawn had recommended she come up with a few different ways to be compensated in her new position, so she’d gathered the financial information, and as she did it, she’d realized what a huge thing he’d done for her. She probably wouldn’t have included it at first, thinking to make her point verbally in her presentation. But Fee never would have taken her word for it, and without the data, others wouldn’t be so eager to come down on her side and risk her uncle’s grumpy wrath.
“I’ve e-mailed everyone copies of three different approaches to compensation for this new position and I’m happy to talk about each one. I’ve included pros and cons of each as well.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Fee bitched. “Your father isn’t here, so we can’t vote on anything anyway.”
He wasn’t. Yet another disappointment in years’ worth of them. She’d reminded him of this meeting several times and not once had he said he’d be gone.
“I’m not asking you to vote today. Naturally I expect you all want time to read the material and make a decision. I’m available if you want to speak about this more.”
Fee grabbed his things and rushed from the room without saying good-bye. Jay stood. “I’ll look at everything. I’m not convinced adding more things won’t actually hurt Colman.”
“That’s fair. We’ll talk when you’re ready.”
He nodded and then spoke again. “This is excellent work.” Jay then left, along with everyone else but Shawn and Julie.
Shawn gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. “You did good, Penny-Lope.”
She rolled her eyes at his use of her nickname. So many people mispronounced her name when she was a kid, her mother finally gave up and allowed the use of PJ instead of Penelope. But Penny-Lope had stuck with Shawn.
“You saved my butt with the suggestion about the compensation comparison.”
He winked. “Nice work tossing half your accounts to Jay. He’s greedy enough that it’ll be a factor for him. Not that I’m complaining about my half of those clients. I need a new car. My transmission is making noises again.”
“Colman has three full-time mechanics. All in a garage about two miles from here. Why are you driving a car with a dodgy transmission?” Julie shook her head at their brother.
“Okay, so to be more accurate, I want a new car.”
Laughing, the siblings headed out to their own offices and jobs.
Audra leaned across the table. “What is the story with tall, dark, and pierced?”
“Asa?” As if anyone else was on her mind these days.
“Yes.”
“Months now he’s looked at my tits and he’s looked at my ass. In that way, you know how they do. I know what it looks like when someone is imagining me naked. He does it all the time. Flirts with me like crazy, but he holds back. I thought it was that he had a girlfriend, but now I’m not sure. I don’t think he’d go as far as he does with his flirting if he was seeing someone. Maybe he just doesn’t dig me that way and I’m too stupid to see it.”
“Please. Have you looked at yourself lately? You’re adorable. And gorgeous and sexy. Maybe it’s the business thing? Like you two work together at times, so maybe it’s that. If it is, just change his mind. Flash your boobs. Makes them forget what they were going to say.” Audra raised a glass.
“Well, here’s the thing. Twisted Steel calls me regularly now. I’m their go-to person. That’s great and it makes me happy to know this thing is working out. But I want him. Oh man, do I want him. At the same time, it’s hard enough to be taken seriously. If I go hooking up with Asa, how’s that going to look? What if people think I banged my way into a job instead of earning it?”
“A round of shots first and then we’ll continue to discuss this.” Audra tried to get their server’s attention, but it was crazy busy so in the end, PJ headed to the bar to get them herself.
Of course as she stood there, several of her friends already at the bar passed her back a shot, and then another, so by the time she made it back to the table they’d been joined by half a dozen more people.
“I might have already gotten started.” PJ grinned at Audra.
“I’ll say you got started.” Audra took two quick shots. “That’s better. No wonder you look relaxed.”
“Whatever. Stress is bad for you.”
“We need music.” Audra stood, rooting through her bag for change.
“We do. I need your change,” PJ told everyone at the table.
The jukebox was one of her favorite things about the place. The selection was fantastic, with every type of music imaginable.
She was happy. It was a good day, even without the shots and music that made her dance as she and Audra sang along.
That’s when she realized the prickle on the back of her neck was someone watching her. She turned and halted as she caught sight of none other than Asa.
Well.
“So that happened,” she said to Audra without taking her gaze from Asa.
“Go break off a piece of that. My god. And then you have to tell me every last really dirty detail at brunch on Sunday.”
PJ faced her friend. “Such confidence! You don’t think you’ll be seeing me until Sunday?”
“He’s currently looking at you like he wants to eat you up with a spoon. You’re pretty and relentless when you want something. He wants what you have in your pants.”
“He looks like he does. Yes. But he’s wily.”
They both continued to watch him and he watched PJ right back. Walt, the server, walked by and PJ stopped him, arranging to have shots sent to Asa’s table. She waved at Asa and then turned to go back to her table with her friends.
“Why are you headed over here instead of jumping on his peen?” Audra asked.
Asa’d had his chance to catch all the softballs she’d pitched his way over the last five months. She wanted him, yes she did. But that hadn’t worked.
Maybe he liked to do the coming over.
Or not, but she wasn’t going over there. He knew she was into him, but she had some pride, for goodness sake.
“He knows I want to jump on his peen. He needs to work for it. But nothing says I can’t be as alluring as I possibly can to help that along.”
Audra nodded. “All right then! By the way, you look seriously hot. He can’t miss that part.”
She didn’t sit. The booth was full anyway, so she stood with Audra near the windows, just next to the table. Trixie Whitley’s “Undress Your Name” came on and PJ swayed a little.
“This song is sex on a stick.”
Asa couldn’t take his attention from PJ. When she’d seen him first a few minutes before, he figured she’d come over and say hello. He could flirt with her and jerk off when he got home, thinking about what he should have done instead of saying good night.
But she waved and went back to her friends. And then she’d sent over drinks, which were currently warming his system and eroding his decision-making skills. He’d be making bad choices in no time.
Thing was, she wasn’t looking over. Or paying any attention their way. Her group seemed lively enough. More men than women, and certainly he wasn’t the only man in the bar looking at PJ right then.
None of them mattered though. She seemed to throw off some sort of pheromone that pushed his every damned button.
She’d changed her hair. Again.
It was still blond, but this time it had streaks of blue shot through it. He bet she twisted it up into one of those bun things she liked. So you’d see mainly blond but a flash of color. Unique, like her.
Who was that guy leaning so close to her? Asa couldn’t see his face as the other guy bent to speak to PJ.
“Who is that guy on PJ?”
Duke, who appeared annoyed to pull himself away from the voluptuous brunette halfway in his lap, peered across the room. “Isn’t that Craig Salazar? He does transmissions, I think. Yeah, up in Lake City. He appears to be pretty enchanted by Penelope’s breasts. Can’t blame him.”
There it was. If he continued to sit there with his friends, she’d leave with Craig and he’d have survived another day not giving in and fucking her.
Question was, could he? For months he’d been circling her. Knowing he should leave it alone but always finding himself unable to do it. Could he sit there after he’d tasted her? Neither of them had mentioned that kiss at Twisted Steel, but he certainly hadn’t forgotten it. Could he really let another man take her from that bar? To have what Asa could if he just made a move?
With PJ, though, it wouldn’t be just a move. He knew that right to his toes. What he felt about her, he knew it would be more.
Which brought him right back to the question. Was it enough to let her leave with another man?
Asa shot Duke a look and got up. “I’ll see you later.”
“Finally.” Duke tipped his chin in good luck before Asa headed over to where she stood.
She leaned against one of the scarred and carved-up wooden posts lining the long room. Smiling.
A great smile. Full of pretty, perfect white teeth. A dimple peeked to the right of her mouth. Her mouth. Christ. The memory of that kiss slammed into him.
But those big blue eyes widened and then went half-mast when she finally noted him approaching. And that smile she’d been wearing with her friends changed into something else entirely just for him.
And then she shifted to brush her hair back over her shoulder and he was gone.
She waited. And he liked that too.
The problem was that the place was jam-packed and it took him longer than he wanted to get to her.
Once there he didn’t bother scowling or paying any mind at all to the other dudes around her trying to catch her eye. He had her focus and that was all he needed.
The weight of his attention stole her breath. She knew Craig was talking, but her brain didn’t care one bit about anything but the way Asa prowled toward her. He towered above most of the patrons in the bar as he actually sort of rippled at the shoulders and across his chest as he moved.
People scampered out of the way as he passed through, his features showing irritation each time a knot in the crowd slowed him up.
His hair was down that night. Close shaved at the sides, the bulk of it would fall down over his eyes and then he’d shove a hand through it. A simple thing really, but when he did it, it was sexy times a million.
So utterly badass and male.
She’d seen him on his knees the week before when she’d stopped in to Twisted Steel for a job. PJ had come around the corner and nearly run into him.
He’d looked up at her and it hadn’t mattered that she was standing. Even on his knees Asa was in charge.
There’d been a flash of hunger in his expression. Just for a breath or two as she’d stood, stunned into stillness. Staring at him.
He’d let it go then, the same way he had over and over for five months, and she’d wanted to punch him in the throat but managed to raise her brow at him and keep on her way.
They’d had that damned kiss the month before and then nothing!
Only now he wasn’t hiding the hunger in his gaze. And he wasn’t walking away. The difference in his approach told her that.
A delicious thrill raced through her as he came to a halt just inches from touching her. Close enough the heat of him was a caress. PJ was pretty sure she gulped, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Penelope Jean, you’re looking lovely this evening.”
A shiver at the low tones in his greeting.
“Thank you very much, Asa. You’re looking ridiculously gorgeous, as usual. Really, you’re sort of a menace.”
The predatory smile he gave her was full of stuff that was going to make her sweaty. She hoped. Hell, she was sweaty already!
“Thanks for the drinks.”
“Of course.” If he walked away again she might actually tackle him and demand he tell her why he tortured her so much.
Instead he took one more step, bending to speak into her ear. “Have you had dinner?”
She shook her head. “You going to remedy that?”
He held out a hand and she took it.
Chapter Seven
Asa paused once they’d reached the sidewalk. “I don’t know the neighborhood very well. This place is between Duke’s house and Twisted Steel, and I’ve only come in a few times. Any ideas?”
“The Italian joint across the street is really good. Family run and owned. Thai two blocks that way, also really good, and if you’re vegetarian or vegan they’ve got a lot of options.” She went ahead and took a risk. “They both deliver. My house is just a few blocks away.”
“I like that option.”
“I should probably let you hold off making that decision for certain until we get to the end of the block just up here.” PJ pointed.
He snorted when they did and faced a rather daunting uphill walk. She’d gotten used to it, but sometimes she had to admit she thought twice about the last few drinks at the end of a night at the Ditch because facing this walk while really tipsy wasn’t any fun.
“This just means I can have a little extra helping of whatever we decide on for dinner. I guess you’re less likely to get mugged if criminals have to make this walk.” He started up the hill and she took up at his side.
“Another benefit. I love this neighborhood. Just a short walk and there are bars and restaurants. Most of the time Audra and I walk together. Usually with her boyfriend. They live across the street from me.”
When they got halfway she spoke again. “One more up and then two over.”
“No wonder your ass looks as good as it does. This is a great workout.”
Flattered, she smiled. “Thanks.”
Asa wasn’t sure what he had expected, but the duplex she led him to wasn’t it. “I’m on the top floor.” They climbed more stairs – and he watched her ass some more – until she unlocked her front door at last.
He might have needed a Sherpa to get there, but her apartment was big and would be bright during the daylight hours. Because of the slope being so steep and the apartment being on the top floor, the windows and the slider to her deck all faced Shilshole Bay and Bainbridge Island.
“Menus are in that little holder next to the fridge. I’ll be right back.”
He pulled out an Italian menu and one for an Indian place and then went to look around. Not extravagant. The furniture was nice, but nothing someone making a good wage couldn’t afford. The neighborhood was good, yes, but not trendy, so he bet her rent was decent. What he didn’t know was why she hadn’t just bought a place. She came from money, so he’d assumed she had a nice house somewhere.
Like he’d assumed that after the first job or two she did for them she’d wander away bored.
But not only had she continued to do great work, it was timely and handled professionally. He knew she’d hooked up with other shops and was freelancing for them as well.
His assumptions had been pretty unfair, and he had to admit he wanted to get to know her better – and not just what parts of her body she liked to have licked.
She came back in, this time shoeless. “Sorry, those boots need to be resoled. I shouldn’t have worn them today. Did you decide?”
He handed her the menus. “Choose.”
She drew in a breath and then looked down. “They make the naan fresh. And the samosas are excellent. I have beer that’ll go with it. Shall I order then? Do you have any preferences?”
If she had been just five years older, he’d feel so much better about the way his cock seemed to want to bust through his zipper when she’d simply obeyed. Ordering women around was fine – and sometimes it was scorching hot.
But there was something deeper between him and PJ. Normally, though he expected exclusivity when he was sleeping with someone, he didn’t get bound up when things ended. But he had a deeper attachment to her already. One he was still wary of.
Too late for second-guessing. He was there in her apartment and they both knew why.
“Surprise me. I’m not vegetarian.”
She called in the order and opened her fridge. “Want a beer out on the deck? It’s a nice view and it’s pretty warm for late May.”
He nodded and followed her out, where she settled on an outdoor couch of sorts. He took the beer she handed his way when he sat beside her.
“Thanks.”
They drank in silence for a while as late evening settled in around them.
“How long have you lived here?”
“Three years now. I came over to hang out with Audra and saw the ‘For Rent’ sign, and that was that. I’ve lived in a giant house, and in a tiny studio, shared apartments, but this is the first place that’s felt like home.”
“Home is good. Important. I feel that way about Seattle in general. I didn’t grow up here.”
“The accent sort of gives it away.”
He laughed. “You can take the boy out of Texas, but the accent seems to live on. I grew up in Houston. And then in the army I lived in Iraq, and as fucked up as my old neighborhood was, believe me, living in a place where every day people tried to kill me was worse. And after I got out I landed here with an uncle. I hadn’t planned to stay, just work awhile, get an idea of what I was going to do, but it was like I just relaxed. I loved the rain and the gray and the green.”
He hadn’t meant to share all that.
PJ nodded. “I get to travel a lot. It’s one of my favorite things. But every time the plane approaches SeaTac I’m so happy.”
Neither spoke for a while. Her perfume rose and he leaned close to breathe her in where shoulder met neck. She tipped her head back, giving him access.
He was damned the moment his lips touched her throat. This was exactly where they’d been headed since the first time he’d laid eyes on her at that party months earlier.
Her fingers sifted through his hair and then she yanked, demanding. Groaning, he managed to get his beer on the table before taking her mouth.
PJ swung a leg up and straddled his lap to face him and he hissed at the heat of her as she undulated, rolling her hips.
He nipped her bottom lip, holding her close as he sucked her tongue and then backed off, licking slow until she’d melted against him. Then he nipped her lip again and kissed his way down to her chin and up her jaw to her left ear.
She made a sound.
A low moan. Needy.
“Shhh. Trust me to get you there. Now that I know you like this…” He licked the hollow beneath her ear again to underline his point. “Well, now that I know it makes you give me that sound? I’ll be sure to do it again and again.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Promise?”
He laughed. “Oh yes.”
“All right then. Get to it. But not too hard because the delivery guy will be here soon.”
Well, that sucked.
Since he was already violating his rules, he might as well enjoy it. He needed to remember he had a lot more experience than this silly flailing indicated.
“All right. Let’s see just what we can get up to before anyone knocks on your door.” He cupped one of her breasts through her blouse and she arched into his touch.
Just right. Everything was just right. The right size. The way she reacted was right. The weight of her on his lap, the way she smelled, her taste, everything.
Not willing to let go of her breast, he used his free hand at her waist to hold her in place. “I’m wondering how long it takes to make you come, PJ.”
“You’re already past the surface streets and on the freeway,” she said in his ear before she sucked the lobe into her mouth.
He shivered. “Good to know.”
She did that thing again, undulating so she ground herself against him, and the power between them shifted as she began to own her allure. She was confident and certainly not hesitant about demanding what she wanted, but this was new.
He dug it.
Warm flesh greeted his caress when the hand he’d had at her waist slid beneath her shirt and across her back.
“Do you have ink back here?” he asked, stroking fingertips over her skin.
“I’ll show you if you like.”
He certainly did like.
The doorbell rang twice and he groaned, standing and holding her like she weighed nothing.
“Food’s here.”
Hormones made her slightly woozy for a moment as she worked to get herself back in order.
“I’ll handle it.” He put her down carefully, and they both headed back into the apartment.
He walked like he was in pain, which she supposed if she had a penis she’d understand. “Why don’t you relax a little? Drink your beer,” PJ said.
He gave her a look that approached an eye roll as he continued toward the door. But she let it pass because he was hotter than the sun and she’d finally gotten him nearly to her bed. Also, she realized Asa was a handful. Like the other alpha males she knew, he’d have to be managed without realizing he was being managed.
He opened the door with a smile so intense the woman on the other side carrying a tote of takeout seemed to black out for a moment as she tried to process over six feet of hot, clearly sex-disheveled man standing in front of her.
PJ let him take the bags and then inserted herself so she could sign the credit card receipt.
“How much do we owe you?” Asa asked.
“I’ve got it, Asa. Can you please take that to the kitchen?”
The delivery driver looked back and forth between them and shoved the receipt into the space. PJ grabbed it before Asa could. “I already paid when I called it in.”
He made a sound she knew meant he’d be giving her his opinion on this turn of events when they were alone. Whatever.
She signed the receipt after adding the tip and closed the door, locking up when she finished.
“I asked you to dinner. I should pay.”
“Huh.” It wasn’t a question. She needed him to understand she wasn’t some silly woman who needed taking care of. “Next time you can pay.”
He frowned and she got all hot for him again.
“I’m wondering if I should tell you how hot you are when you glower at me. Will it make your ego worse?” She put the bags down and moved to him. He excited her. Made her feel bold and strong. And yet, also precious.
He fought a smile but she saw it and he knew that too, so he encircled her waist and pulled her in close.
“I don’t glower.”
She rubbed her cheek along his beard. “Oh, you totally glower. Grrr. I’m glowering. Fear my testosterone.”
He snorted a laugh. “But you don’t. Do you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t fear it. I like it. It’s sexy. But.” She paused to tiptoe up to kiss him quickly. “I do push back if necessary.”
He took two handfuls of her ass and pulled her totally snug against him. “I’m wondering if I should tell you how hot you are when you set me straight,” he echoed back at her, teasing.
“You definitely should.” Not that she thought he’d back off in any case. This was a man who did what he wanted.
She wasn’t hungry at all. Not for the food on the counter.
A low hum of pleasure seemed to vibrate along her spine as he drew his fingertips along it.
He took up so much space in the room. So confident in his skin, the way he moved, like a man who was 100 percent cool with what he had going on. That confidence of his was so totally sexy.
“It’s very hot. One of the most appealing things about you, as it happens.”
He kissed her and she sank into it, let herself fall into the feel of his beard tickling her face, of the firmness of his lips, the sharp nip of teeth, and his tongue – oh god his tongue – sensuous, licking, tasting her.
His cock, hard against her belly, drove her crazy as she restlessly moved from side to side, brushing herself against him.
Asa groaned into her mouth. “Cold takeout. After.”
She took his hand and led him back to her bedroom, totally glad she’d changed her sheets just the day before and the place wasn’t a total mess.
“You keep surprising me.” He stood in her doorway, looking around.
“That doesn’t sound like you know if it’s a compliment or not.”
PJ loved her bedroom. In shades of cool blues, deep purple, and a tiny bit of saffron, she’d made a place that was her sanctuary. Fluffy bedding, comfortable enough to read in all day on a Sunday. Heavy curtains covered the windows because she liked to sleep in total darkness, but when she pulled those back, sunlight streamed in. A chair she’d reupholstered during a community college class she’d taken with Audra the year before sat in a corner with a small side table and lamp.
It was a calming place she sank into every night.
“It’s beautiful. Feminine.” He walked in and looked around. She liked having him in her intimate space. Made her want to rub on him, mark him like a cat. “You’re most certainly those things.”
“My layers surprise you? Did you expect cinder-block shelves and a mattress on the floor? Ah, because I’m young.”
He didn’t deny it, though he sort of tried to be really hot and make her forget.
“I didn’t say that. I figured you’d have style. Clearly you have good taste in cars and men.”
