Page 3 of Take Me, Sir

Dean

I couldn't decideif I'd come home or left home, but I definitely liked the weather in California better than that of London. There were many fine points that the city of my birth had to offer, but an abundance of sunshine wasn't one of them. I'd stopped in England on my way back to LA from my business trip to Madrid, talked to a couple friends of mine, but I hadn't felt an overwhelming urge to stay there for long. I had friends here, too, after all, and I was closer to them than most of the people I knew in London.

I looked down at the gift I'd picked out and frowned. Up until a year ago, I had a personal assistant who usually took care of things like gifts and wrapping and shit like that. I hadn't minded doing my own shopping for Christmas last year or buying my parents their anniversary and birthday gifts. They were actually pretty easy to buy for. I just hadn't thought about what I'd do if there came a time when I didn't know what to buy.

And then my friends, Cross and Hanna Phillips, had announced they were having a baby. Cross was rich enough that they didn't need anything, and they hadn't asked for gifts, but I wanted to get them something for the baby.

Except what the hell did I know about babies?

Not only was I an only child, but my parents had been a lot older when they had me, so I'd lost my grandparents young, and the last of my uncles had passed two years back. Since I'd been raised in London, then gone to Oxford, I'd never gotten to know any of my much older cousins. Basically, the only kid I'd spent much time around at all was Dalton and Juliette's son, Anthony.

So I found myself standing in a baby boutique during a layover – who the hell thought of something so daft anyway – trying to figure out what a nice gift would be, and I realized that for the first time in my life, I was in over my head. Fortunately, a pleasant looking sales person had come up at that point and helped me. She also wrapped it up for me when she saw how completely clueless I'd been.

So, now, back in LA, I was on my way to drop the gift off at Cross and Hanna's. The last I heard, she was supposed to go to the hospital tomorrow to be induced, but it was still early enough that I could stop by with my gift without disturbing them both.

A sudden gust of hot summer wind caught the ribbon on the package, and I looked down as I tucked the box more tightly under my arm. Before I'd gone two more steps, I collided with something soft...and short.

Someone. Not something.

I looked down, ready to apologize, and found myself staring into a pair of the deepest midnight blue eyes I'd ever seen. Honey-colored waves hung a couple inches past her shoulders. Her features were breath-taking. Full lips I immediately wanted to taste. Then my gaze dropped, and I saw curves that made me instantly and painfully hard.

“Pardon me, mum.”

She blinked. “Did you just call me 'mom?'”

I grinned, unable to stop myself. “Sorry, love. No offense meant. I said mum. Similar to your American ma'am or miss.”

Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “You're British.”

I purposefully thickened my accent. “What gave it away, lass?”

She chuckled, and damn if that wasn't the sexiest thing I'd ever heard. I wanted to hear it again. Plus, that dimple appearing next to her kissable mouth...

“Pink teddy bears?”

Shit. She'd caught me off-guard, and I had no idea what she was talking about. “Pardon?”

She gestured toward my arm, and then I remembered that I was carrying a box wrapped in cream-colored paper with pink teddy bears decorating it.

“Gift for a friend.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, Cross and Hanna.”

“You know them?” How in the world was that possible? I hadn't been away that long. If they'd known her, why hadn't I met her before? Where had this exquisite creature been hiding?

She nodded. “Hanna went into labor in the middle of her sister's wedding. I offered to lock up so the family could go to the hospital.” She held out a hand. “I can put that inside for you.”

I was reluctant to let her have the gift, but not because I didn't trust her with it. I didn't want to have to walk away. As she took it, I found myself blurting out a question, “Would you like to have a drink with me?”

She looked startled but didn't balk. Instead, she gave me a once over, her expression making me wonder if she was picturing me naked. Not that I minded. I'd like a drink, but naked was the ultimate goal.

“I'll be back.” She turned and walked away, giving me a prime opportunity to check her out from behind.

Damn, that was a nice view.

Some guys may have liked girls who were thin, but I'd always been partial to curves, and this woman had them in spades. The dress she was wearing said she'd been a guest at the wedding rather than working. I couldn't tell what sort of fabric it was made of, but it clung to her body in a way that made me want to peel it right off. A deep blue that made her skin practically glow, the neckline was high enough to be decent, but low enough to tempt my restraint. The hemline affected me similarly. Without her heels, she was probably a good foot shorter than me, and the thought of picking her up and having her wrap those legs around me...fuck. I was uncomfortably hard by the time she came back outside.

“I'm Kyndall, by the way,” she said as I led her across the driveway to where my car waited.

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