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“As soon as you accept that, you’ll know your worth, and you’ll project it to the world. Nothing will stop you then. Not even yourself.”
Now, as always, Gage gave her a few moments to let his lesson sink in. And sink in it did.
Confidence had never been an issue for her at work. She knew her shit when it came to computers, cybersecurity, programming. So much so, she could almost be described as cocky at times. She had no trouble fighting for higher pay or going for promotions because she knew she could do the job and do it well.
The same didn’t hold true when it came to her personal life. Penny had filled out at least a million of those online dating profiles over the years, but she’d never—not once—managed to click the button to upload the thing. The same confidence she had when it came to her career didn’t exist when it came to herself.
But in that moment, with Gage’s words…she realized she’d never needed an external makeover.
Well, okay, her hairstyles had sucked, and the glasseswerekind of big and ugly. And some—just some—of her clothes had bordered on too tatty to wear in public.
But she understood now that all the surface changes in the world weren’t going to help her achieve her goal if she didn’t see herself as beautiful, as worthy of attention and love.
“You’re a really good teacher,” she said after several minutes, aware her tone was thick with unshed tears.
And because he was Gage, the very definition of confidence, he gave her a cocky grin and said, “I know.”
Then he released her, took a couple steps back, lifted his hand, and repeated his original request. “Strip.”
This time, Penny didn’t attempt to rush, didn’t seek to shed her clothes in a mad dash. Instead, she reached to the side of her skirt and pulled the zipper tab down slowly, her gaze locked with Gage’s.
The expression “fake it ’til you make it” drifted through her mind. Because while Gage had said he saw her as beautiful, it was going to take her some time to truly believe that all the way to the depths of her soul, as he requested. So she let the admiration, the naked desire in his eyes, guide her through her sexy striptease. She pulled her confidence fromhim. Something he was making easy because, damn…no one had ever looked at her the way Gage was right now.
Once she’d lowered the zip, she shimmied the tight skirt over her hips, leaving her boy-cut panties on. They weren’t as sexy as a thong, but Penny had spent a lifetime pulling wedgies out because they were freaking uncomfortable. She would never understand women who willingly embraced the concept of flossing their ass all day long.
Gage’s gaze lowered, and she realized she’d probably done this striptease in the wrong order. Her blouse hung low enough that—apart from her upper thighs and brief glimpses of her panties—she’d revealed nothing yet.
She lifted her fingers to the first button on her blouse. She’d left one more unbuttoned than she normally would, something she could tell Gage had appreciated. She’d caught his gaze drifting to her cleavage over dinner more than a few times.
Once her blouse was open, she slipped it over her shoulders. She was wearing the balconette bra he’d bought her from the salon because she loved the way it pushed her breasts up, made them look sexy.
She dropped her blouse to the floor then hesitated. Much of her shyness with Gage had faded, but there was something about the way he was looking at her right now that was too…intense. Too much.
While she dithered, wondering what to do next, Gage took the decision out of her hands. He closed the distance between them, running his fingers along the top of her breasts.
“I love your tits,” he murmured. “I dream of putting my cock right here,” he pushed one finger into her cleavage, “and fucking until I’m coming all over them.”
Gage had revealed himself to be quite the king of dirty talk. And Penny was here for it.
She reached out, anxious to get him to the same state of naked as well. Not because she was uncomfortable but because she loved looking at him, touching him. The man was chiseled, hard in all the right places.
Gage brushed her hand away. “Keep your hands by your sides.”
She did as he asked. “Fine. Now give me my show,” she demanded.
Gage tsked at her command, something she should have anticipated. He didn’t take orders in the bedroom. Not that that fact stopped her from trying nightly.
He slipped one strap of her bra over her shoulder then the other. Without their support holding the delicate lace up, the bra slipped lower, revealing the tops of her areolas. Gage used his pointer finger to draw the bra completely down, the tip of it tickling through the valley between her breasts. The second they were fully revealed, he was there. His head lowered so that he could take the right nipple into his mouth, sucking it hard enough that she saw stars.
She’d teased him last night about his tendency to go left, jokingly accusing him of “playing favorites” when it came to her breasts. He’d promised to correct that oversight in the future.
Well, the future had arrived, and Rightie was mighty happy right now. Gage was a master of foreplay, never in a hurry to move on to the next part. The man could spend hours just playing with her breasts. Penny, on the other hand, was too new to all of it. As such, she found herself constantly pushing for more, desperate for the orgasms she knew were right there within her grasp.
“Gage,” she gasped. “Please.” She kept trying to rip his shirt off, but he kept catching her hands, pulling them away. After the fifth time, he straightened up and looked at her, his expression sterner than she’d ever seen.
“I can see I’m going to have to save you from yourself before you cross the line and I’m forced to punish you.”
Penny’s eyes widened. “Whoa. I realize those are all pretty basic words, but when you put them in order like that, they suddenly become seriously hot.”
