He pulled back, allowing me to turn my head and look at him through tear-soaked eyes.

I was no longer wanting to be his girlfriend. This was so much better.

“That spell it out for you?” he asked.

I didn’t get to do the Baby thing because I was already in his lap and the table wouldn’t allow for any launching, but I did throw my arms around Brian in an equally dramatic way, a sob catching in my throat and my chest quaking with broken breaths as I buried my face in his neck and hugged him with every ounce of strength I had.

“I love being your girl. I think it’s my favorite thing in the entire world,” I said, feeling his arms tighten around me. “And you’re my boy.”

“Your man,” he corrected.

I shook my head against his.

“Man doesn’t go with girl. If you’re my man, then I’m your woman.”

“I’m not changing what I’ve been calling you for weeks, Wild. You’re my girl.”

“Then you’re my boy.”

He leaned back, pushed the chunk of hair out of my face that had fallen out of my pretty jeweled clip and was now damp with tears, tucked it behind my ear, and held me there, fingers curling around the back of my head and neck.

Brian stared at me, looking ready to argue.

I stared back, feeling a million different things, but the predominant feeling was love and it was blooming so quick inside me, I was certain the word was going to start sprouting from underneath my skin.

I cleared my throat, prompting him to speak.

“Just told you some things that meant a lot to me so I don’t feel like fighting you on this and ruining the mood,” he started. “That being said, you call me your boy and I don’t answer to that, you know why. It’s not ’cause you don’t got a hold on me, Wild, so don’t go thinking that.”

I blinked away more tears.

“Okay,” I said.

“You wanna call me your man? I will always answer to that.”

I closed my eyes, loving the idea of Brian being my man, smiled, and probably did it looking all doped up on something but I didn’t care, then I looked at him with that same smile and said, “I’ll answer to anything you wanna call me. Just don’t call me late for dinner.”

Brian stared at me, face serious through several blinks, then breaking into his own slow smile and laughing quietly through a shake of his head.

“Jesus. How long you been wanting to use that, babe?” he asked, arms squeezing me. “Honest.”

“Forever,” I confessed, laughing a little. “But I swear, no one ever set me up for it. It’s torture having a joke cued up and never being able to use it.”

“It’s a really bad joke.”

My eyes narrowed.

“It is not,” I argued. “It’s hilarious. You totally laughed.”

“I was laughing at you for using it, nut.”

“Don’t call me nut. I’m your girl.” I tilted my head. “Or Wild or babe.”

“Nut,” he added.

Eyes narrowing again, I leaned in close to whisper, “You might not know this, but over the past month I’ve thought a lot about sucking you off, Brian.”

His brows lifted in interest.

Knowing I had his attention, I continued on just as quietly.

“And I’d love to make that a reality, maybe even later on tonight, but you should know, I can go from wanting to suck you off to not wanting to suck you off in a second if you keep calling me nut. There are women out there who aren’t into that, the sucking-off part, and I don’t think you want me to become one of those women.”

I was feeling powerful in my speech. My chest was even puffed out a little.

Too bad I forgot how badly I wanted to suck Brian off, that being something else I’d dreamed about frequently, and the urge to see it through being something Brian was apparently well aware of, giving the triumphant little gleam flickering in his eyes as he stared back.

It was possible he was a mind reader and was watching me work out this predicament in my head.

It was also quite possible I’d spilled the beans on this dream of mine one night when we’d been getting each other off over the phone and I was so far gone, I’d shared my deepest darkest desires with him.

Brian smiled, licked his full, soft lips, then uttered, “Only way you’re keeping that sweet mouth off my dick is if I keep you off it, babe. We both know you’re hard up for it.”

My shoulders slumped in defeat.

Damn. He knew.

“But I’ll drop the nut,” he continued. “Doesn’t have the same ring to it as the other shit I call you.”

My chest puffed out a little again.

“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate your sensitivity on this matter.”

He smiled bigger.

“Anytime.”

A door shutting at my back had me craning my neck to see behind me.

Tori was coming from the direction of Nate’s office with Nate on her tail, her eyes finding me and filling with approval once she took in whose lap I was sitting on.

She headed in our direction, smiling at Shay, who was avoiding the kitchen window and hanging out at the bar instead, filling salt and pepper shakers by the looks of it.

Nate was headed for the coffeemaker behind the bar, it appeared. He wasn’t looking my way yet.

Probably not best for your boss to see you canoodling with patrons the way Brian and I were canoodling. His hand was currently squeezing my ass and his other was settled between my legs, holding firm to the inside of my thigh.