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“I already took the tags off. Try them on so I can take them off later.” She held them out to him with a seductive smile.
He had his robe open in seconds and the shorts over his hips a moment later. He shuddered as he felt the soft brush of her delicate hands on his shoulders as she slipped his robe completely off, leaving him standing before her in his new pair of favorite underwear.
“Hot. Definitely very hot,” she whispered.
The needy, breathy sound of her voice nearly made him come undone. Actually, he liked the feel of silk next to his skin, caressing his engorged member. And he positively loved the look of hunger in his woman’s eyes as they roamed over his body, narrowing on the bulge at his crotch.
She didn’t bother to hide her desire for him and it made him insane. “What’s this?” He opened his fist, exposing the tiny cardboard heart. Flipping it over, he saw the handwritten words.
Good For One Wish!
He looked up at her, perplexed. She was worrying her bottom lip, looking anxious.
“It’s a heart-wish. I didn’t really have my own money-” She held her hand up as he drew in an audible breath to argue. “Don’t start that again. Anyway, I made these up. You can cash them in any time. They’re good for one wish or favor that you want from me. Anything that you can think of that’s in my power to grant you.”
“Anything?” His heart pounded as his mind filled with images.
She raised a brow. “Anything I’m capable of doing.”
“I wish you would keep the money I put in your bank account and not argue about the security.” Feeling a little guilty that he was using his gift against her, he frowned.
She gave him a look that his mother used to give him as a child. It was the dreaded “I’m-so-disappointed-in-you” look. Fuck! That hurt.
She folded her arms in front of her. “That wish interferes with my morals and values. Plus, that’s two wishes. Not fair.”
“Compromise?” he breathed softly, not liking the disgruntled look on her face.
Her face softened. “I’m open.”
“Keep the money in your account. Use it if you need to. I’m not saying you have to keep it forever. Just keep it for now. Until you graduate and get a job. We can renegotiate later.” Of course, he’d refuse to take it back later. But this was now, and he wanted her to be safe if anything ever happened to him.
“Wish granted.” She let her arms slide down her body and planted them on her hips. “Security?”
“Let me leave the security in place, but I’ll make them back off. You’ll barely know that they’re there. But let me keep security on you.” Holding his breath, he watched her expression. “For my peace of mind, Kara. For me.”
“I’ll do it for you provided they back off and quit scaring my classmates. Wish granted.” She snatched the paper heart from his hand and tore it up.
He dropped to the floor, searching frantically for the other heart-wishes. “How many were there?” He’d found two. Seeing another one lying under the table, he crawled forward, totally oblivious of the carpet burns on his knees. He wanted every one of those bad-boys in his hot little hand. They were definitely made of solid gold.
“Five,” she choked out with a laugh.
He heaved a sigh of relief as he snagged the last one from the carpet. As he stood, she had her hand out and an expectant look on her face. “What?” No way was she getting another one to tear up.
“You made two wishes. You owe me one of those.”
“I compromised,” he said heatedly. Compromise should count for something. It wasn’t like he did it every day, or for just anybody.
“Gimme,” she answered, wriggling her fingers.
Oh, hell. Hehadgotten his way. Mostly. Pulling one of the small hearts from his palm reluctantly, he handed it over with a grunt. “Can I have these every holiday?”
“We’ll see,” she muttered vaguely, a secret smile on her lips, as she tore up the paper.
“What did you mean when you said you’d never gotten flowers? You had a long-term boyfriend.”
She sighed heavily. “He didn’t do gifts. Thought they were a waste of money. Especially flowers, because they eventually die.”
“No offense, sweetheart, but why in the hell did you stay with him for so long?” His jaw clenched, wishing he could beat the hell out of her ex.