“My chakras,” I repeat, leaning back to look her over. Fuck. Now that she’s inside, I can see those black, see-through tights end just below the hem of her T-shirt. If she bent forward, those sweet curves of her buns would be right there for the taking—and oh, I plan to take.
Hard.
“Yes, your chakras.” Her expression is very solemn. Even a little worried. For me. “You can’t see what I see, Papa Bear.” Nimble fingers dance over my shoulders, digging into pressure points and massaging. “All this locked-up tension.”
Her fingers find a knot and I groan, “That’s what you’re here for, Josie.”
Is she blushing? This girl who seduced me in my office? “Yes, I am.” She chews on her luscious lip a moment. “But I was thinking…when was the last time you went out?”
“Out where? To eat? I had a business dinner earlier this week.”
“Let me rephrase. When was the last time you went out when it wasn’t work-related?”
I flip back through my mental calendar containing engagements from the last year and I can’t think of a single time I did anything if money wasn’t on the line. “I don’t know.”
Her blue eyes flicker with sympathy, then determination. “Come on.” She picks up her purse, hanging it on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Josie.” Shaking my head, I catch the front of her T-shirt and haul her up against me. “No more of your cock teasing. I need to fuck you. Badly.”
“I know,” she breathes—and there’s that vulnerability again. It makes her look startlingly young. Innocent. A little girl in front of her Papa. “I…I…”
Following instinct, I fold her into my arms, shocked at the level of comfort I get out of holding her, offering her security. “What is it, baby?”
“I’m a little nervous about tonight. M-my first time,” she whispers into my throat. “Maybe if we go out for a while, I’ll quit wondering if I’ll be good enough. Or if I’ll be what you’re hoping for—”
I interrupt her with a sound of utter disbelief, leaning back to see if she’s joking. And…she’s not. She’s actually serious. “Are you forgetting you made me come in my pants at the office?”
“No.” A hint of a proud smile dances across her lips. “I’ll never forget. But talking…a big game is what I’m best at. You know? Flaunting and flirting. I’ve never had to deliver.” She runs her hands up my chest and releases an uneven breath, her eyes going a little hazy. “I really, really want to deliver, I’m just…”
“You need foreplay.”
Inhaling the scent from my shirt collar, she nods. “I think so, yes.” Her body presses to mine and I indulge the insistent need to envelop her in a hug, rocking her side to side in her big girl tights and high heels, ignoring the agonizing pain between my legs. I give this girl what she needs. I’m her…Papa. It’s getting easier and easier to think in those terms. The dynamic between us is slightly twisted and a whole lot intoxicating. Do I want to carry her into the bedroom and bang her rotten on that extra-large bed? Yes. Fuck yes. I want to look into her big blue eyes and watch them widen when I pop her cherry.
But I’m also driven to provide what she needs. And if she needs time to calm her nerves, there is no way I’m going to deny her, no matter what my body wants.
“You’re not old enough to go to a bar,” I say dryly, combing my fingers through her long, icy-blonde hair. “Where do you propose we go?”
She leans back and gives me a dazzling smile that sends my heart flying up into my throat. “I know the perfect place.”
* * *
Josie
Oh my God, he is so hot.
Does he know I get wetter every time he adjusts his belt buckle?
Standing outside Wonderbluss, I call myself nine kinds of crazy for wanting to leave the hotel room. He could be on top of me right now, pressing me down with his full, delicious weight, taking his male relief with my body. I could be giving myself to him. Completely. My body would finally belong to Gunner, joining the heart he claimed a long time ago.
But I meant what I said. I’m nervous.
I spent all day trying on outfits and binging espresso. Lotioning. Pacing.
Gunner is a powerful man. I’m a virgin with a fast mouth.
What if I’ve oversold myself and then I underdeliver?
What if, in the end, he only wants sex from me and breaks my heart?
What if—
“What is this place?” Gunner asks, opening the door for me.
“Oh, um…” Grateful for the cool, dark interior of the establishment, I rein in my wayward thoughts. “It’s a series of rooms with art installations for adults. It’s meant to stimulate the senses.” We stop in front of a black, floor-to-ceiling velvet curtain and Gunner pays the indifferent man at the front desk. A moment later, we enter the broad, pitch-black hallway and I thread my fingers through Gunner’s, giggling over the skepticism I can feel radiating from his big body. “Pick a door. Trust me.”