AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And I rooted out every detail of Greer’s life, which was simple. Her accident and subsequent jail sentence made the local paper. Not to mention, Trig and Greer’s boyfriend, Byron, were Army buddies. It hadn’t taken more than a crass prompt about what products Mind Your Beeswax carries—it’s some impressive shit you can make from bees—for Trig to give me the same abrupt and irritated speech that Paisley had; Keep your distance.
What’s been complicated is learning Paisley prefers hot tea over an Americano and Thai and Indian food over burgers and pizza. I can’t use Trig to scope out the subtleties of her life that he’s provided in the past for other my targets whenever I’ve needed it. To get to know my supposed girlfriend, I’ve had to get to know Paisley one-on-one. So, I defaulted to what initially worked best, cornering her and caging her in.
Not like a dog. Paisley’s been free to leave the office and wander the club. I’ve given her leeway to get friendly with Kelsey and the bouncers. The club’s staff seem to like Paisley a lot. More than they like me, that’s for damn sure based on their reactions to her early departure last night. Which is fine, since I like Paisley more than I do most of them, too.
After a week or two, she could have stood up to me or shaken off my requests to spend our evenings together and I would have given in. But I hadn’t realized that until last night when she wiggled in my lap and groused about us never going anywhere.
Like any other woman, there are parts of Paisley that make me hard. But far fewer women that I’ve softened for. The key to my survival has been keeping those women in the dark. Being a wolf in sheep’s clothing has its benefits. I won’t shed my wool cloak. The days are too long and the nights are too cold, even in the company of the pussy so eager to surrender to me before Paisley came along.
Paisley doesn’t seem to grapple with that, though. Her prissy pouting when I asked for a kiss aside, Paisley is an anomaly. She doesn’t struggle to get away when I kiss her. Nor does she reach for my cock when she’s well aware our close confrontations allow her the power to do so.
Maybe I’m as inconsistent. I don’t want to be her bully, but I want to push her to fight. When she does, we both win.
“Give me a bite of that.” I lean my elbows on the counter so that we’re at eye level.
“Not. On. Your. Life.” She dives into the flaky pastry. Her eyes roll back and she moans. It’s the sound I want to hear when I’m buried inside of her. “Get your own.”
I grab her chin and press my lips to hers.I’ve got my own. She’s mine.The chocolate my tongue laps at tastes rich and sweet and the faint burn of the chili powder brings me back to how hot our first kiss was.
“We’re going out tonight to Royce’s.”
Paisley puts down the confection. She wipes her mouth, avoiding my eyes. “Can it be someplace else?” Her tone begsanyplace, but I’m not yielding about the steakhouse. We’ve consumed enough Pad Thai from paper cartons for a lifetime.
“Trig and Kimber are coming with us. I made reservations for four. Six sharp.” I asked them after Paisley said she hadn’t seen Kimber in a while.
With Paisley opening today, she’s not closing. I’ve been keeping her up all hours of the night. There are dark circles under her light amber eyes. She can nap all afternoon and I’ll still have her home before what used to be her bedtime. I thought she’d like the break from Sweet Caroline’s and go out on the town. Paisley is the type to appreciate a pricy meal, and I was trying to do something nice for her. Hell, any other woman would suck my dick for dinner at the most expensive restaurant in Brighton. I wouldn’t turn Paisley down if she dropped to her knees, but that wasn’t my intent when I made the reservations—Something I did before even asking another couple if they could join us.
“We could stay in. I’ll cook.”
Her timid suggestion raises my hackles, leading me to believe that it’s me she’s hesitant over being seen with in public.
“For fuck’s sake, Paisley. You grumbled you were sick and tired of the club. Be ready on time. And wear this.” I grab the nearest item with a low neckline and thrust it at her.
She lets the dress fall to the floor and, rage flaring, beckons me with a finger. The middle one.
I step into her space. She grabs me by the chin, forcing me to bend. “I will go out and play nice with your friends. But you can go screw yourself if you think you can tell me what to wear. I am my own person, Jake Ballentine. There are things you will not take from me. And no matter what it is you think you’re holding over my head, this is my last compromise if you don’t stop acting like an overgrown toddler.”
Molars clamped shut, I bare my teeth.
Paisley? She’s giving me the sweetest fuck-off smile that’s ever graced a face. Tiny as she is, Paisley’s not the least bit scared of me, and the lack of intimidation she’s showing is highly attractive. If this were happening in my office, those tight jeans would be around her ankles, covering the chain she still hasn’t taken off. The chain binding her to me.
At that moment, a customer walks into the shop. Paisley puts on the charm, directing the customer to new items in Greer’s display in the rear of the store.
“I’ll see you tonight,” I grit out.
She blinks as I back away. “Jake, areyouforgetting something?”
I step forward, pecking her on the cheek like a gentleman.
“That was nice. But I meant the dress. Pick it up and put it back on the rack. Unless you plan to wear it yourself?”
I dip to a knee, snatching the garment. On my way up, my opposite hand glides over the back of Paisley’s thigh, grabs onto her ass, and tears her tee out of the waistband of the tight jeans that I’m jealous of hugging her curves. My fingers tickle underneath the anchor of her bra, caressing her soft skin. The way we bicker has my entire body throbbing with the need to pull her close. But as soon as Paisley settles into that warm spot in my chest, I do what she’s demanded.
I move across the floor and put the dress back on the rack, adjusting the straps so the garment hangs nicely on the hanger.
I’m hanging on by a thread. One I won’t let unravel. Paisley doesn’t know what she does to me and I’m not about to tell her.
“Look nice.” I bumble like a jerk, who is too dense to recognize Paisley has a choice of any outfit in the store she owns.
