“You can talk to me about anything, whether it’s my mistakes or something related to Tabi or what you watched on television last night. I’m here for you and to help you however you need.”
I bet Niki Coulter could give me the orgasm no man ever has, but those aren’t the needs he’s referring to. Fuck my brain going straight to that.
“Yes, sir,” I reply with a smile that has him shifting in his seat and swallowing slowly. I curse myself for turning his sweet sentiment into something cheeky, but the guy is wearing his tight T-shirt and black jeans. He’s a living, breathing thirst trap. He can turn my underwear to dust with one naughty side-eye.
“Indeed.” He clears his throat noisily.
I want to make him squirm again. From how he’s managed our touches and the boundaries he sets in place with everything he does, I suspect intimacy for Niki means taking control, and I want that from him. That and the way he stares at me, full of desire, when I call him sir adds to my boss fantasies.
“Next Wednesday, once I’m back from Miami, it’s G Day. Graham Day,” he qualifies. “Are we all set?”
“Yes.” I use my fingers to tick things off. “We’ve got toys, bed, bowls, leads, paperwork?—”
“Bandana,” he says, waving the one that’s sat on his desksince the awkward moment with his parents. “Which was the sweetest gift I’ve ever received.”
I smile. “Bandana. And it was for Graham, not you.”
“It was for me, really.” He puts it around his neck and strides around the office. “It suits me. Do I resemble the kind of hipster guy you’d let chat you up?”
I try to grab the bandana, but he ducks out of my way. “People my age don’t say hipster. And maybe I don’t want a man my age.”
“No?” He stands still and locks my stare.
“No. Maybe I want an older man who…” I press a fist to my mouth to stop from saying that I want an older man who bosses me around and tells me what to do in bed, but words flow out of me anyway. “I just don’t like guys my age. It must be my praise authority kink.” I force a laugh, but it comes out as a squeak.
Niki’s eyes don’t leave mine. It’s like he can read every filthy thought I have about him.
I whip the bandana off him and rush away.Change the subject. Say anything.“Your hair has grown long. Shall I organise someone to cut it for you?”
He returns to his chair, rubbing the curls peeking from under his cap. “I don’t want anyone to see my scars,” he stammers, “and I wouldn’t cope with a stranger touching me.”
“I could cut it.”
“Really?”
I force a smile. I can’t cope with that level of intimacy, but I can’t refuse now. “I always cut Tabi’s hair. We couldn’t afford a hairdresser, and with messy curls like hers, it’s not like I can go wrong.”
“You can’t go wrong with me either.”
If only that meant what I wanted it to mean. The “feckless playboy” would be unimpressed with my lack of experience.
“You could cut it next week on the morning of G Day at my house so I’m my best for Graham’s arrival.”
I nod and start to leave.
“And one other thing,” he says. He does this every time I’m about to leave his office. I dream it’s because he doesn’t want me to go, but I suspect it’s because I chatter so much he can’t remember everything he needs to tell me.
“Do you want to watch me drive tomorrow? My sister feels guilty for bringing my parents in. She’s planned a fun racing activity for Jacs, Connor, Tawny, and me at the aerodrome before we fly to Miami. We organised for daytime rather than evening so you could come. What do you think?”
“I can’t wait.”
“And if you’re lucky, I’ll let you sit in the car with me and rest your hand on my thigh,” he says with a smirk, and my insides scream with hope as I demand they shut the hell up.
CHAPTER 32
Niki
Izip up my driving suit under the stare of a wide-eyed Rosie.
