Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67259 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
"No, not at all." He looks at me. "It would have no bearing on them at all."
"Please present them with a counter offer." I hold up my hand to halt him. "I've considered everything you've told me, but this is my life. I want to get on with it. I want this to be over. Please help me make that happen."
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Gabriel
"You sent your driver to get me." She brushes past me as she walks into my office. "Cicely had a million questions about that."
"I'm sure she did." I close the doors, noting Sophia's empty chair. I'd sent her away with a list of mundane errands I've been putting off. I don't want any interruptions.
"You look beautiful, Isla."
Her eyes drop to the blue wrap dress she's wearing. "Thank you, sir. Are you going to fire me?"
I try to contain the smile I feel on my lips. "Fire you? Have you done something that warrants that?"
She rubs her index finger under her nose, just above her top lip. "Is there a rule about opening your dress and showing a customer your lingerie?"
My hand leaps to my tie. The air in the room suddenly feels thick and stifling. "When did that happen?"
"This morning," she says sheepishly.
"You opened this dress and showed someone your body?"
"Yes." She smiles, leaning against the corner of my desk. "I showed my bra and panties to a customer."
"A woman?" I ask half-jokingly, trying to will away my erection. I didn't call her here for this but now that she's confessing, I can't concentrate on anything but what's under her dress.
Her hands drop to the belt of the dress. "I know there's a rule about not taking a man in the change rooms. There's not a rule about displaying the lingerie you're wearing in the middle of the boutique, is there?"
My own hand drops to the front of my pants. I adjust my belt. "Did you show a man your lingerie, Isla? Did you let a man see your beautiful body?"
"What would happen to me if I did?" she asks quietly. "You'd punish me, wouldn't you?"
Why the fuck can't I tell if she's toying with me or not?
"Open your dress." I lower my voice. "Show me what you showed him."
Her delicate fingers make quick work of the sash, undoing the double knot and bow. She holds the dress closed in front of her, the only hint of what's beneath is a sliver of blue lace visible in the middle of her chest.
"Open the dress," I repeat. "Take it off."
"You got my flowers." She pivots on her heel so she's facing my desk. "Do you like them?"
I'm behind her before she can react, my hands inside the front of the dress, skimming across her stomach. "They're black tulips, Isla. You sent me black tulips."
She pushes her body back into mine, grinding her ass against me. "Do you know why I choose those?"
I glide my hand down her smooth stomach to the top of her panties. "They symbolize power and strength."
She nods, her hands moving to cover mine. "You're those things to me. That's how I see you."
"The card," I whisper the words into her ear as I slide my hand over her thigh. "The card took my breath away."
She picks it up, cradling it in her fingers. "I want to be under your touch. Isla."
"Under my touch," I repeat the words back to her, my fingers over the panties now, feeling the heat of her arousal through the lace.
She moans, softly. "I could come from that touch."
"Turn around."
I feel the hesitation in her entire body as she pulls away from my hands and twists around so she's facing me. I stare down at her face. Her makeup is exactly as it was the first day I saw her at the boutique. It's dark, the contours make her look untamed and edgy.
I cup her ass with one hand, the other moves quickly to her back as I pick her up and turn her, moving until she's flat on her back on the leather sofa, her dress open to reveal a light blue bra and panties.
I brace one hand on the back of the sofa, the other next to her shoulder. "I will punish you if you opened this dress to show another man this. Tell me that didn't happen, Isla."
Her lips move faintly before her tongue darts out to moisten them. "You can see my nipples and my pussy, can't you? The lace is very thin."
My eyes travel slowly over the length of her. Every intimate part of her is visible through the thin, blue lace. There is absolutely nothing left to the imagination. "Tell me who you showed this to and I'll kill him with my bare hands."
She laughs loudly, her hand flying to her mouth to shelter the sound. "You wouldn't kill a man for looking at my body. You're not that intense, Gabriel."