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Cal looked over his shoulder at where Stephan was sitting, then back at me. “Protective, isn’t he?”

I looked up at Stephan. “Yes.” Stephan was protective. But he made me feel safe. Cal snorted. “What’s wrong?” I asked, not understanding.

“The pretty boy doesn’t have enough? He has to own you, too?”

At his words, I curled in on myself. My legs came up onto the couch, and my arms wrapped around my knees. “He doesn’t,” I whispered.

I felt his hand on me, and I jumped. He pulled back. “I’m sorry, Anna. I just . . . I’m worried about you.”

When I finally calmed myself down, I answered him. “Don’t be.” My voice was still shaky, and he didn’t look convinced.

There was movement from behind Cal, and I glanced up to find Stephan looking straight at me. His eyes were guarded, as if he was trying to force himself not to react or something.

Cal began speaking again, and it brought my attention back to him. “Can I ask you something?”

He seemed more hesitant now. I nodded. His mouth opened and closed again. I watched, but didn’t say anything.

Cal looked back over his shoulder at Stephan, who’d returned his focus to his computer. He turned back to me. “How long have you and Coleman been dating?”

Dating? Cal thought that I was Stephan’s girlfriend. “I’m n—” I stopped myself. If I denied being his girlfriend, Cal would want to know why I was living with him. I wasn’t ready for anyone to know that, especially not Cal. “We’ve been together for almost two months.”

“Almost two months?” Cal’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “Two months? What does the man have, magic or something?”

The last part he said almost under his breath, but I heard him anyway. “Be nice, Cal Ross,” I snapped.

Cal looked at me again as if he didn’t know what to say. Then he sighed. “All right. I’ll leave Coleman be for now.”

“Thank you.”

And I was thankful. I didn’t like it when people said bad things about Stephan, or even hinted at them. He’d been better to me than anyone had. And he was helping me.

My eyes drifted back over to where he was working. I noticed the way his shoulders were slumped forward a little as he leaned into the computer screen. How his long fingers typed effortlessly on the keyboard. It brought back the memory of what those fingers had done to me last night. I felt the heat of a blush burning my cheeks.

Cal was talking again. He was telling me about his and his dad’s business. I made myself focus on what he was saying.

Stephan

When I’d first seen Cal there in the lobby with Brianna, I’d wanted to grab her and take her out of his reach as fast as possible. Ross was not on my list of favorite people. He fell into the category of individuals I had to tolerate given his family’s support of the foundation.

That reaction had lasted only as long as it had taken me to realize that Brianna had gone down to see him. On her own. I still felt the need to protect her, but it was mixed with a feeling of pride as well.

The last thing I wanted was to have Ross in my home, but I wasn’t about to leave her alone downstairs with him. He was from her past. He had connections to her father. And he’d been nothing but a thorn in my side since he’d taken over from his own father. I didn’t trust him.

I left him in the living room, and brought Brianna into the bedroom with me while I retrieved my laptop. I would let them talk, but I would be watching. No reason I couldn’t try to make some progress on the work I’d brought home at the same time.

Before we headed back out to where Ross was waiting, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. Maybe it was stupid or immature, but I wanted to leave my mark on her. I wanted her to think of me while she was talking to him.

Her eager response to my kiss caused me to get a little carried away, and I pushed her back against the wall, wrapping my hands in her beautiful brown hair. By the time I released my hold on her, she looked properly disheveled. Let Ross think about that while he sat and talked to her.

He stayed longer than I would have liked. It was well after six by the time he walked out of my door, giving me a hard stare and her, a vow to return soon. I had to suppress the retort on the tip of my tongue.

As soon as the door closed, I had her in my arms.

She was stiff for about two seconds. I knew I’d caught her by surprise. Then she sighed, and slipped her arms around my waist.

Given the time, I decided we would once again go out for dinner. Tonight, I wanted something casual. Brianna was in jeans, and I wanted her to feel comfortable. Mitchell’s American Bistro was perfect. When we walked in, it was clear I was overdressed in my suit and tie.

The hostess showed us to a booth and left us with our menus. Brianna had been quiet on the ride there. Not that she was usually overly talkative, but it was the kind of silence that seemed to speak volumes. I knew there was something on her mind so I waited until our server had taken our orders and disappeared into the kitchen before addressing it. 

“What are you thinking, Brianna?”

She pressed her lips together and thought for a minute before answering me. “You don’t like Cal.” Instead of following that up with a question, she just left it hanging there. 

I decided to answer her anyway. “No. I don’t.” Anxiety returned to her features with this confirmation. “Was there something else you wanted to know?” She glanced over at me, and then down. Before she could open her mouth I added, “And a question this time, please.”

Again, her lower lip disappeared. I waited.

“Why don’t you like him?” she whispered.

I took a drink of my water before I answered. “Last year, he took over running Ross Builders from his father,” I explained, not knowing what she’d been told. “They contribute to The Coleman Foundation. Neil was very generous. Cal . . . has been less so.”

She looked confused. “I don’t understand,” she finally said.

With a sigh, I turned to face her. This was not something I really wanted to discuss. In fact, I’d rather talk about anything else besides Cal Ross. “Neil Ross promised the foundation a certain amount of dollars this past year. Cal didn’t see the need to donate such a large sum of money.” At least, that was what he’d said. I had my doubts about his reasoning, but I’d keep that to myself. Cal had always given me the impression that it was his dislike of me—for whatever reason—behind the difference in his attitude.

“Cal doesn’t like you,” she whispered as our food arrived.

I waited until our server walked away again before addressing her statement. “No. He doesn’t. Although, I’m not sure exactly why that is. I’ve never done anything to the man.” She seemed to be contemplating this. “Eat your food, Brianna.” She could think about it all she wanted while she was having her dinner.

After a few minutes, I tried to steer the conversation in a new direction and asked her about her day. It worked for a while, but eventually, as she worked herself toward telling me about the end of her day, Ross returned to the forefront.

Brianna lowered her head before looking back up at me through her eyelashes. “You aren’t mad at me about Cal? Even though you don’t like him?”

“No,” I answered before laying my fork down on my now-empty plate. She thought about it for a long minute, and then went back to eating, seeming to be satisfied with my answer.

Once Brianna was finished with her meal, I paid the check and we headed home. It was still early, which worked out perfectly. I wanted to go slow with my plans tonight. That was, if she was willing. There was also the added bonus of getting Ross off her mind. I was definitely up to the challenge.

Upon entering our condominium, I walked over to my chair, sat down, and waited to see what she would do. Her eyes followed my movement. Once I was settled and waiting, she walked over. I gestured to let her know that she could sit.

I wrapped my arms around her as soon as I felt her body sink against mine. This was comfortable. This was perfect. Her head rested against my shoulder as my hand ran up and down her arm. It’d been a few days since we’d been in my chair. I’d missed it. And from the contented sigh she’d just released, I’d have said she felt the same way.

I was happy to let us sit there for a while. We had hours before bedtime for me to push her more if she would allow it. So that’s what we did for the next forty-five minutes.

When the clock on the mantle read eight thirty, I knew that if we were to accomplish anything tonight it would have to begin. I brushed her hair back from her face and placed a kiss on her forehead. 

“Did you think about the question I asked you last night?”

She nodded. 

“What did you decide?”

“I . . .” She paused. “I’d like to try.”

I contained my excitement and just nodded. “If you need me to stop, say ‘red’, and I will stop. We’ll end for the night, and you can think over whether you’d like to try again another time. If you just need a minute, or if I’m going too fast and you need to take a break before continuing . . . say ‘yellow’, and I’ll stop until you are okay to start again. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“I want to hear the words, Brianna.”

“Yes.” She visibly swallowed. “I understand.”

“Good,” I said and patted her thigh to let her know that I wanted her to stand.

Once on my feet, I took her hand, led her back to her bedroom, and brought her over beside her bed.

The fitted top she was wearing buttoned down the front. I reached out, and beginning at the top, began slowly undressing her. Every chance I got, I made sure my fingers or the back of my hand brushed against her skin. I pushed her shirt from her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, leaving her in only a beautiful cream-colored bra.

My fingers traced the outline of the straps and cups, but stayed clear of where I most wanted to touch. We would get to that later. Right now, she needed to be teased. She needed to feel the want of this.

As my hands reached the underside of her breasts, I trailed them down her torso to the clasp holding her jeans. It would have been easy just to release and remove them, but I wanted to play with her. Wanted her to know just how desirable I found her body.

My fingers were light along her stomach. It was soft and just slightly rounded. Perfect. I couldn’t wait to have my mouth on every inch of her body.

I looked directly into her eyes as the button of her jeans gave under my hands. My lips touched hers in a soft, brief kiss as the zipper released its hold and I pushed the material from her hips.

Her panties were cream-colored to match her bra. They were just a few shades lighter than her skin.

With my assistance, she stepped out of her jeans, and they joined her top. I took a minute to drink in her stunning features. Although I’d seen her many times in varying stages of dress, her beauty never failed to amaze me. Was this why her father had sold her?

I closed my eyes, dispelling that thought from my brain. Later, I’d think about that when I was alone. Right now, there was only her.

Closing the distance between us, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. She was more tense than usual. I pulled back just a little and whispered for her to relax before brushing my lips down her collarbone to the spot on her neck that I knew she liked so much. Just as I’d hoped, I felt her muscles begin to release that nervous tension.

I reached around to her back and unclasped her bra, revealing the angry red cigarette marks around her nipples. I made quick work removing her bra, leaving her bare breasts pressed against me. It was heavenly feeling their softness, their weight. The only thing that would’ve made it better would have been if I had been in the same state of undress as her. All in good time, I told myself.

Her panties were next. My lips left her skin as my fingers dipped inside her undergarments. The hair that had been waxed was growing with vigor now. I would have to talk to Lily and see if she could talk Brianna into being waxed again. If she decided to become my submissive, it would be a requirement, but right now, it was her choice.

The hairs brushed against my fingers as I stepped behind her. I wanted to ease her into this, so my first touch would be with her panties still on.

My touch was light and gentle as I continued to draw nearer to the junction between her legs. Her body was giving mixed signals. She was tense—not in a good way—but she was also leaning back against me. I knew this was due to her past, which was why we were going slowly.

I finally found her soft folds with the tips of my fingers. She was wet, but not as much as I would have liked. I knew it was because of her nerves.

I found her clit as I had last night and pressed down with a slow and constant force. Her body responded, and I smiled. 

“That’s it, Brianna. Just relax. Enjoy what my hands are doing to you.”

She tried to relax, but for some reason she didn’t seem as into it as she had last evening. I wondered if that was due to the knowledge that we would be going farther tonight, that it was an unknown, or maybe it was to do with her visit from Cal Ross. I was really hoping it was not the latter. Brianna didn’t need more obstacles to overcome.

I circled my index finger around her clit several more times before I removed my hand completely. Her hips moved reflectively toward my hand as if she didn’t want me to stop. That was a good sign.

I easily pushed her underwear down her legs, and she stepped out of them.

Last night we had done this standing up, but I wanted her in the bed tonight for several reasons.

“Lie down,” I said, motioning toward the bed.

I saw the tension completely return to her body, but she did what I asked. The amount of trust she had in me was amazing.

Once she was lying on the bed, I climbed on, and lay down beside her. I didn’t want to be fully clothed. I wanted to have my own naked body pressing against hers, but I knew that wasn’t possible—
yet
.

I pulled her against me so that her back was to my front. I grazed my lips across her shoulder as I cupped her breast. “You are so beautiful,” I whispered. “So, so beautiful.”