Page 39 of Only One Tent
“Something for tonight.”
I sat on the bench at the end of his king size bed, where I’d slept so comfortably the night before. Seriously, I might stay with him forever for the cozy bed alone. Skeptical of the present, I opened it slowly. And pulled out a mesh shirt, lined in leather. “Woah.” Underneath it was more leather—a pair of booty shorts. I’d never worn anything like this, but I’d seen guys at the club in similarly revealing outfits. Maybe even some showing more skin than this would. “I don’t know…”
“You’ll look fantastic. Grab a quick shower and try it on.” Now that was the Crow I knew, pushy arrogant bastard.
“Fine…” I sounded like I was giving in, but there was a part of me that was giddy at the idea of wearing such a sexy outfit. But oh. “What shoes am I going to wear with this?”
“Don’t you have boots?”
“Boots? No.” I had dress shoes, loafers, and sneakers. And flip flops but none of those were going to work.
“I want you to be comfortable. How about black tennis shoes?”
I shook my head and held up the shorts. “This is not comfortable, and sneakers won’t go with it. I think. Not mine, anyway.” Maybe I should call Danny, but honestly, this wasn’t something he would wear. Completely different style. “They look small. They might not fit.”
“They’ll fit. Shower. Try them on. And then we’ll go to the store and find some fancy footwear for you.” He winked at me.
“Prick.”
His maniacal laugh followed me into the bathroom. And what a bathroom. I mean, mine was nice with subway tile and all that, but his was like a spa with full slab marble on the walls of the shower, a separate soaking tub, which I was dying to get into—maybe tomorrow. The wall behind it was wood, maybe bamboo. Whatever it was, it was gorgeous. I loved everything about his house. Especially the living room. It was so modern, but still cozy. It had an electric fireplace that was set into what looked like stacked brick to the ceiling. Obviously, it wasn’t a real fireplace, like wood-burning, but it was really cool, and his big ass TV was mounted above the firebox. But that wasn’t even the best thing. Nope. The back wall leading to the pool was three quarters sliders that opened all the way up. The last little bit was a big window over the wet bar. At first, I thought it was odd, until he opened the window. It lifted on some kind of hydraulic springs and acted as a passthrough to the pool. For drinks. Or whatever. And that wet bar was slick.
And so was my hair under the hot water dropping from the rain head above me. Fuck. I could get used to this. My place was great, and I’d earned it myself, but I was fast loving this one. And having Crow along with it wasn’t bad either. He was growing on me. To be honest, I was falling for him. I hadn’t said those three words yet, and since that day in my office, he hadn’t said them again either. He was waiting for me, and I was pretty fucking close, even without the gorgeous house.
I tried the club clothes on and strutted out into the bedroom wearing them. Crow’s eyes grew wide. “Holy shit, baby boy. You look incredible. I knew you’d look good, but fuck me, you’re a knockout.” He whistled.
“Thanks. And great job on the sizes.” I turned and slapped my ass that filled out those shorts like they were made specifically for me.
Crow made a growly sound and grabbed me, tossing me to the bed. “Maybe we skip the club and fuck here all night.” He mouthed at my throat and the side of my neck.
“Oh no. We said we were going, and Ihaveto show this off now.” I trailed my hand down the center of my shirt along the leather where the buttons were to emphasize it. There was more leather at the cuffs and along the waistline. It really was a nice top. And I did really want to go back to Afterglow. I had something to prove.
“I have a friend who designs club wear, and I sent her your size. She wanted me to get your exact measurements but that was tricky. I used that black tee you left here that fits you like a glove.”
“Uh-huh. The one I have a hard time getting out of that you almost ripped?”
“Yeah, that one.” He kissed me quickly, then gave me a cheeky smile. “Okay. Get some regular clothes on and let’s go get you some boots.”
I’d never owned boots. Never needed or cared for them. Loafers were more my style, but I had to admit, I found a pair I liked that would look good with the outfit, probably other outfits, and felt good on my feet. They weren’t heavy like combat boots, or sleek like dress boots. They were somewhere in between. They laced up the front and were shiny black. They cost a couple hundred bucks, which had me scoffing, but Crow grabbed them and headed to the checkout.
Afterward, we had lunch at a nice steakhouse down the road. You needed reservations for the main seating area, and it wasn’t open for a few hours, but the lounge was. We ordered eight-ounce filet mignon and salads. As I chewed my delicious steak, Crow pointed at me with his fork. “We need to have dinner here some time. Half this menu is absolutely fantastic, but I haven’t tried the other half. Yet.”
He could be so charming. “I’d love that.” I knew he had money. He owned a holding company that bought and sold other companies. That’s how he’d gotten in trouble all those years ago. He tried to buy a company from a desperate man who didn’t actually want to sell but needed the money. I hoped Crow got a lot of karma out of that deal, and he must have. Fancy house, two cars, expensive restaurants, and he thought nothing of dropping hundreds of dollars on clothes for me. Maybe thousands. That top could not have been cheap. “Crow…”
“Hmm?”
“You know you don’t have to impress me.” I waved my hand around, indicating the restaurant, then gestured toward the plate. “I know—”
“Nonsense.” He scowled.
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate it.”
He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “Skyler. I have money. I do. More than I’ll ever spend, even giving a lot away to charity. So if I want to spend some on you, I will. It makes me happy. I want to spoil you.”
“Okay. I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage. That’s all.” I squeezed his hand. I had what I needed.
“I don’t think that at all. You’re a very successful lawyer. You own a beautiful home and a nice car. You wear designer suits. And I bet you save or invest most of what you make. If you wanted those boots, and I wasn’t around, you would have bought them.” He shrugged as if it were nothing. And in a way, it was nothing. He was right. I could afford them.
“I do invest a lot.” They weren’t the words I wanted to say.
