Once his hands were free, he came right back up to me again.
“You are very attractive, too,” he told me. “I bet you have heard that from someone before.”
I swallowed and refused to make eye contact. When I felt his hand on my arm, I followed the motion with my eyes as his fingers traced my flesh down to the end of my sleeve where they met with the back of my bare hand.
“You are at least curious, right?” he said. “I’m not completely off base here, am I? I mean, if I am, say something.”
I let my tongue dart over my lips.
“I…I’m not sure.”
“Have you been with a man before?”
He was a straightforward little fucker at least. I had to give him credit for that.
“Not…um…not really,” I said quietly. “I mean, there was one guy who…well, nothing really happened, you know?”
“I do know.”
Glancing away, I shuffled my feet a bit.
“Thought about it since then?” he pressed.
I swallowed again as I nodded once. I had actually thought about sex with a man – thought about it, sure. Actually, really, truly considered it? That was a completely different question.
Brad Ashton wasn’t really interested in any kind of reality, though, so my answer was exactly what he thought he wanted. His mouth curved into a smile as he focused on my lips. One of his hands moved up to my shoulder and then over my jaw while the other one latched onto a belt loop to pull me closer to him.
My heart began to beat faster, and I forced my face to only show my feigned nervousness over this whole situation and not my actual nervousness. What Brad Ashton wanted was blindingly obvious, but I’d never given anything up for a guy and didn’t particularly care to now. I hadn’t actually planned to let it get as far as that.
Ultimately, I had a job to do though, and this was going to be the best way to get it done.
His lips touched mine, and his hand moved to the back of my neck to pull me a little closer to him. I responded reluctantly, both because it wasn’t something I was interested in, but also in hopes of showing Marshall’s hesitance.
“Not so sure,” he whispered against my lips.
“Everyone…everyone keeps telling me I shouldn’t,” I said. “In the military…”
I let my voice trail off, figuring the rest of that sentence pretty much spoke for itself. Brad gave me an understanding smile and ran his index finger over the edge of my jaw, down my neck, and to my chest. He rested his palm there, presumably feeling the beat of my heart under his skin.
His lips brushed against mine again, softy and unhurriedly. My response was a little more encouraging, but only just. His hand gripped my shoulder a little more before running up the back of my neck and into my hair.
“Are you nervous, Marshall?” Brad pulled back and looked into my eyes.
I swallowed hard and nodded slightly.
“I don’t want you to feel pressured,” he told me. “You are in my employ, after all, but this has nothing to do with that. I’m afraid I chased off your predecessor when he believed it was all part of his job. It’s not, I promise you. This is only if you are interested.”
I let my tongue draw over my lips as I looked at his. My gaze flickered back and forth from his mouth to his eyes as the remainder of my plan began to form in my mind.
“I…I don’t know,” I stammered.
“Maybe just hang out for a little while?” he suggested. “Get to know each other?”
The finger in my belt loop pulled again, and the pressure I felt on my leg was pretty damn obvious. I mean, the guy was just huge.
No pressure. Right.
“I don’t know,” I replied again quietly. I took a hesitant step backwards, and he released me. “I…I just hadn’t thought about it. I mean, you’re Brad Ashton for Christ’s sake. I’ve seen every one of your movies.”