Page 2 of Stand Your Ground

She was so gorgeous I could barely think straight as I listened to her threats, the corner of my mouth lifting helplessly. Deep brown skin, smooth and enticing, dark black hair pulled into a tight, professional bun. She wore little makeup today, and she was still stunning.

But I also knew that woman when she wasn’t wearing a white coat.

I knew her in silky, body-hugging dresses and sky-high heels.

I knew her with red-painted lips and gold metal through every hole on her body.

And I knew, from the little comments she’d let slip over the years, that she owned more than a few leather outfits that had whips to match.

Which was exactly why I knew she was the right one to propose my hare-brained idea to. Any other woman would have already laughed in my face — if they’d even managed to hear me out.

What grown ass man asks a grown ass woman to teach him how to have swag in the bedroom — and out of it, too?

Me.

The kind of man who clams up or shoots off a corny pick-up line any time he’s remotely attracted to a woman, all thanks to a bald, bastardly son-of-a-bitch who made him feel like the dirt beneath his feet years ago.

“Come on,” I begged again, swinging my legs over the chair so I could sit up and face her. “Look at me, Li— er, Doctor Young,” I amended when she cocked a brow. “I need help.”

“I won’t argue that.”

“And who better to teach me than the master herself?”

I smirked a little with the use of the wordmaster— well, as much as I could with half my jaw numb, anyway. If I knew anything about Livia Young, it was that she loved a compliment. And damn if she didn’t deserve every single one that had ever existed.

There were women, and then there were women likeher— elegant without effort, sophisticated and composed, polished like a fine jewel. She didn’t have to try to be beautiful or powerful or confident. All of it existed within her like the blood that ran through her veins.

She commanded attention from the second she walked into a room.

And from the first time I’d met her, she’d turned me to absolute putty any time we were within a foot of each other.

She was used to my antics, to my non-threatening grin and eye roll-inducing pickup lines. And even though she pretended to be annoyed by me (okay, she probablywasslightly annoyed by me), she also laughed at my jokes. She smiled and tilted her head at me when I flirted with her, like she was just a little curious even if she pretended not to be.

I knew the woman saw my attraction for her, but this was the first time I was calling her on it — really bringing it to the surface.

And asking her to agree to the most ridiculous agreement anyone ever had, I was sure.

Livia watched me for a moment before she sighed, nodding to her assistant to take a break and leave us alone. I could hear the distant sound of drills and water picks from rooms down the hall as the door opened, the assistant left, and then it was just the two of us.

Liv crossed her arms, leaning a hip against the counter as she finally released the tool she’d been holding fast to. Even in the sharp and harsh light of the fluorescents above us, and even with a strange pair of magnifying goggle things strapped around her neck — she was still a knockout.

“What exactly are you proposing?”

I sat up straighter, hope ballooning in my chest. “Simple — I want you teach me how to break a woman’s back in bed.”

“There are magazines for this, you know,” she shot back. “And YouTube.”

“You think I haven’t tried that?” I grabbed the back of my neck. “You think I’m not embarrassed as fuck to admit to anyone, least of allyou, that I’m still a virgin?”

Something sparkled in her eyes at that.

“I mean, unless you count the one time a puck bunny let me stick it in her butt, which I don’t, because it was in a room with three other guys getting to do the same thing.”

Livia barked out a laugh. “Okay, I want that story someday, but while we’re on limited time… why do you want this?”

My throat thickened a bit with her question, the truth churning in my gut. But I was too numb and too desperate to get into the real meat of it right now. I wasn’t too proud to beg for help, but I was maybe a bit too proud to admit the source of my despair.

So I went for the shallow reason, instead.