Morgan

With Angelica’s hand clasped in mine, I gave her a tour of the house. A place where none of the women I’d bedded in the past had ever crossed the threshold. And yet there I was, calmly leading her into my territory without a second thought. Not just for a visit either. No, I’d gone completely crazy and invited—no practically forced—her to move in with me.

She was pretty quiet, only asking a random question here and there as we walked through the first floor. It wasn’t until we climbed the stairs and I opened the door to the master suite that she hesitated again.

“I’m in here,” I told her as I watched her gaze scan across the room and stop when she saw my bed. It was a huge four-poster bed with dark oak spindles in each corner. The California king sized mattress was big enough for me to sleep comfortably and the frame was masculine enough to suit my tastes. I’d never really thought much about my selection until now when I could so easily picture tying her spread-eagle across it, leaving her at my mercy.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, a pretty pink blush staining her cheeks.

I nudged her so she’d walk further down the hall, giving me a moment to adjust my cock since it was straining against my zipper at the thought of her naked and begging me to take her. Without thought for the implications, I stopped her at the next door and opened it. As masculine as my décor was, the guest room was feminine. A queen-sized bed was the main focal point with champagne fabric tufted headboards and breezy curtains.

“And you’re in here,” I said, pulling her gently through the door as she stood there gaping at the room.

“No, Morgan,” she argued. “I can’t possibly stay in this room. There must be something smaller I can use instead.”

Of course there were other rooms she could use, but I wanted her close to me while I bided my time until she shared my bed. And I wasn’t about to take no for an answer. “I’m afraid you’re out of luck then, because this is your room. I keep odd hours and placing you far away from me would make it difficult should I need your assistance in the middle of the night.”

“Middle of the night?” she repeated.

“I did warn you, twenty-four seven. And none of the other rooms have this added benefit,” I said as I opened the connecting door between her room and my suite. I never really understood the appeal of the door up until this moment, but it would certainly come in handy with my little Angel sleeping next door to me.

“A connecting door,” she stuttered, gazing up at me with innocent green eyes.

“Yes, so you can come to me anytime. This door is always open to you, but not to me until you come to me on your own,” I reassured her.

“When you offered me the job as your live-in assistant, I wasn’t expecting to be treated to so much luxury,” she sighed, glancing around the room in wonder.

“I promised to give you time, but I never said anything about making it easy for you to resist me,” I explained.

Her green eyes flashed as she looked up at me again. “Just don’t think for a second that you can buy your way into my affections.”

I felt my blood pump through my veins at her words and my cock swelled in my pants again. I wanted nothing more than to drag her to my bed, but she wasn’t ready for that yet.

“I don’t pay for sex,” I chided her. “But making sure you’re comfortable is my responsibility, Angel.”

“I’ve been responsible for myself for a long time,” she retorted, her spine straightening at the suggestion she couldn’t take care of herself.

“Now you’ve got me to lighten your load then.”

I left Angelica to get settled into her room and headed straight for my office. I might have allowed my dick to do my thinking for me by bringing her to my home, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try to be smart about it after the fact. I knew just who to call to make sure I hadn’t royally fucked up by moving her in here.

“Long time no talk,” Brecken answered. “Just because I moved halfway across the country doesn’t mean we aren’t friends anymore.”

“Phone works both ways,” I retorted, even though I knew he had his hands full opening a new business.

“That it does. That it does,” he murmured. “Things have been kinda crazy here getting everything off the ground.”

“It’s going well?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “I’ve got more jobs being thrown my way than I can handle. Shit man, I already need to hire more guys and it’s only been two months since I opened up shop.”

“I’m damn happy to hear things are good,” I congratulated him. “But I’m not surprised considering the type of strings you can pull.”

Brecken and I were childhood friends who took very different paths in life. While I was enjoying all the benefits that came from owning the restaurants, nightclubs and strip joints I’d inherited from my dad, he had joined the military to get away from his family. He’d done an excellent job serving our country, almost too good, and they weren’t happy when he decided not to reenlist a few months ago. Lucky for him, he’d managed to survive the hellholes they’d sent him to and learned a unique set of skills that he was hoping to turn into a profitable security business in Chicago.

“When are you going to come out for a visit and check on your investment?”

“Don’t be a dick,” I snapped. “It wasn’t an investment and you know it. It was a fucking gift.”

“Call it whatever you want, but you better cash the checks I send to pay you back,” he warned.

“How about you help me out with something instead of sending me a damn check?” I growled.

“You in trouble?” Brecken asked, his tone turning serious.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it trouble,” I muttered. “But I need you to run a background check for me.”

“A background check?” he parroted.

“Yeah,” I confirmed before giving him all the information I had on Angelica.

“I’ve only been gone a few months Morgan,” he reminded me. “How the fuck have you gotten serious enough with some chick that you need me to look into her? The girl must have a golden pussy or something to make you even think about giving up all the women who throw themselves at you.”

“Don’t fucking talk about her like that,” I growled. “And I didn’t say anything about giving up other women.” I might not have said anything but I sure as hell had already thought it, which was scary as fuck.

“You just bit my head off for saying something you wouldn’t have thought twice about before her,” he pointed out. “And you’ve never bothered to check into the background of any of the women who’ve been in your bed before. So don’t even bother trying to convince me there isn’t something different about this one.”

“Fine,” I spit out. “She’s different.”

“How’d you meet her? Please tell me she isn’t one of those frosty high society babes who love to spend your money.”

I thought about how she burned up in my arms even as her innocence shown from her eyes. “No, she’s the furthest thing from it,” I murmured. “Considering I met her today when she came into the steakhouse to try-out for a position as a dancer.”

“Thought you had a no stripper rule?” he asked.

“I didn’t hire her to strip,” I replied. “She’s going to be my personal assistant.”

“Since when did you need an assistant?”

“Since I wanted to make sure she didn’t get away from me and I realized she was living in a shit-hole motel while she was waiting for college to start,” I countered.

“Holy fuck, man!” he howled. “You met her today and she’s living in your house already? Why even bother with the background check? You’re a goner. She’s gonna have you wrapped up tight in no time at all. Mark my words.”

“Shut the fuck up and do your damn job,” I grumbled.

“Sure, no problem, man,” he chuckled. “I’ll get right on it so you’ll know if the chick you’ve already moved into your house hours after meeting her is on the up-an-up or not. Hell, it’s easy enough that I’m sure I’ll be able to do it from the plane while we head out for a K&R job that was just called in this morning.”

“There’s no rush. Just get back to me when you can.”

“At the pace you’re going with her, if I don’t get back to you tomorrow you might be married to her before I can,” he joked.

I wanted to tell him he was being ridiculous, but the words just wouldn’t come. He was right about one thing, I didn’t understand how it was possible but I was pretty sure Angelica already had me wrapped up tight in no time flat.