He shifted with a grimace and an uncomfortable grunt as his knee clicked. His legs spread wider, and I caught a glimpse of the hard, flat muscles of his stomach flexing under the ever present perfect white t-shirt.
The flutter in my belly quickly moved lower, and I sighed before I could catch myself. “Um, yep, I guess I am.”
I wasn’t quite ready for the world yet, so I gave another big stretch and turned onto my side, my hands snaking around the huge teddy bear and pulling it close, fully aware the movement was thrusting my ass toward Jesse.
I buried my face in the soft fur of the plush animal and wiggled, feeling a wondrous sense of contentment for the first time in years.
I listened to the deepening of Jesse’s breathing, as his masculine scent and quiet dominance wrapped around me like a shameful hug.
“Jesse?” I whispered into the fur of the stuffed animal, keeping my eyes closed.
“What is it, baby?” I could feel his eyes on me and my insides clenched, my toes curling and uncurling under the blankets.
“You know girls my age... Well, we don’t wear this kind of stuff. I know you still think of me as your little sister, but you do know I’m grown up, right?”
“Are you?"
I opened my mouth to give some sarcastic bullshit reply, then hesitated. "I'm twenty-three..."
"You’re all grown up, huh? Well, from where I'm sitting it doesn't seem that way, little girl. From what I see, you are still in need of a strong hand to guide you. You certainly haven’t done all that great on your own the last few years.”
I jerked my head around and narrowed my eyes. “Seriously?"
He shrugged. "The truth can be painful, but you need to hear it. There's only one way forward, and that's my way."
"What the fuck, Jesse? Thanks for helping me out of a tight place, but--”
“Watch your mouth.” His eyes turned to slits and his voice lowered two octaves, but his formidable body remained perfectly still in the chair. "Have you forgotten our agreement?"
“What agreement? You telling me how things are going to be isn't an agreement, it's..." I tried to think of the right word, but nothing seemed right. Entrapment? Coercion? "You can’t tell me what to do, Jesse. I’m an adult.”
I whipped the cover off and bounced to the edge of the bed. Today I was dressed in soft white flannel pajamas with little bears on them, complete with lace trimmed collar and bottoms that snapped onto the pajama shirt around the waist and had feet in them.
They were cute, I had to admit. And they made me feel special.
His special girl.
No. No, no, no. I would not admit that I liked it.
"This is baby shit, Jesse! It’s weird!”
“So, you’re all grown up then, are you? What exactly does that mean?”
It was making me more nervous that he was just sitting there, his body flexing but not moving. The muscles in his jaw clenched and released, revealing his growing irritation, but he always stayed calm. Scary calm.
I knew there was so much more brewing behind that icy stare.
There was a smart part of me telling me to be careful, but there was also a not-so-smart part of me that always seemed to drown it out.
“Jesse... Thanks for letting me crash, but I think it’s time for me to go.” My feet hit the floor and my righteous indignation lost some of its steam when I looked in the mirror and caught my reflection staring back at me.
The pajamas were adorable. And comfy. My long sandy blond hair was tied in two neat braids, and my eyes were actually bright and visible, not sunken in. My cheeks were the color of the living instead of the dead.
Something about the girl looking back at me made my heart break. She looked…happy. And cute as heck to be honest.
Dragging my gaze away from the mirror, I dared to meet the dark penetrating stare of my pseudo-brother as he crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair. His power seemed to cling to everything in the room, including the air I was breathing.
Without warning, our conversation just before he gave me that bizarre spanking in the office came back to me. What did he mean he stayed at that clubfor me? He was right, he owned eight other very successful businesses. The one he let me work at was not on the top of the prestige list, but was probably the quietest and safest.
