Page 134 of Give Me Love

“Yes, really. They’re all dying to meet you.”

“Do you talk about me that much?” she questions with a grin.

“You’re all I talk about,” I say in all seriousness.

She smiles more and then bites her lip. Looking a little nervous, she murmurs, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” she says. She looks so damn sincere it makes my chest fill with some unexplainable feeling.

I nod. “Good. We’ll leave early in the morning.” I unwillingly let her go so she can fix her skirt.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” she says, her bracelets clinging together as she straightens herself out. Her hair is braided to the side, and she puts a loose piece of hair behind her ear. As she does, I notice she has on dangly ghost earrings.

“What’s that?” I ask, leaning back against her desk.

Her face gets all serious-like. “Well, you see how crowded it is out there. We’re gaining new customers. We’ve got a sale on pumpkin-spiced coffee, and now that I’ve made the Wi-Fi free, all the college kids are practically living here.” She walks around her desk, and my eyes follow. I shift my body and see her pick up a piece of paper she’s sketched on. It’s actually pretty good. “I wanna expand,” she says, handing the paper to me. “And start selling food.”

My eyes shoot to hers, and I think back on when I had that idea myself. “That’s a big step.”

“I’m aware, but I’m not talking fine dining or anything. Just small stuff. That way we’ll have more business in the evenings.

“The building next door just went up for sale, and if we rip down the wall that connects us,” she shows me on the sketch, “we can have a small kitchen, have a bigger seating area where people can have study groups, and have more plug-ins for laptops. Maybe even host a reading night for kids. What do you think?”

I smirk at her enthusiasm. She really does love this place, and that would be a good thing to put the money she’s been giving me into. I want that for her. I want everything for her.

“Okay.” I hand her the sketched paper back.

“Seriously?” she asks, half-smiling.

“I’ll get my real estate guy on it.”

“Damn, that was easy.”

I lift a brow. “You thought I’d put up a fight?”

“When do you not?” she asks.

“Only when you don’t do what I ask.”

“Oh, baby, you’re going to be sadly disappointed if you think that’s ever going to happen.”

“Baby?” I ask, loving that she’s called me that twice now.

“Is that corny?” She laughs as I walk around the desk. “Bryce,” she warns, backing up toward the wall and putting her hands against my chest. My eyes look down at her body. How easy would it be to lift that skirt and bend her over?

“Stop looking at me like that.” Her back hits the wall and I put my hands up beside her head, caging her in.

“I like that you call me baby.”

“Really?” she asks. I look down and run my finger up the inside of her thigh. Her chest starts moving faster, and I can almost smell her arousal.

“Really.” I move her panties to the side and run my finger along her slit. She moans and her head falls back. I kiss her neck and taste her skin as I slide a finger inside of her. Her legs spread wider, and I can’t help but chuckle. “So easy,” I whisper.

“Shut up,” she replies. Her voice is needy and filled with lust. My dick hardens. I want her now. I remove my finger and lift her skirt up.

“This will be quick, and you’ve got to be quiet.”

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