Page 4 of What He Wants

Badly.

I saw her swallow hard. I could just imagine the hitch in her breath and the quickening of her heart rate. She was afraid, I could sense it, but I could also sense that she was under the same fucking whatever-the-hell-it-was that I was. She was attracted to me, frightened by it, yet helpless to turn and walk away.

“Not until Friday,” she said in a too soft tone. Christ, we may as well have been alone. She ran the tip of her little tongue over her lip, and my dick punched forward.

I forced myself to relax, not realizing that I was all tensed up until then. I dipped my head. “I’ll be back on Friday. What’s your name?”

“Daisy Mae Flowers.”

I turned and got the hell out of there.

Chapter 2

Daisy

Ohmygod!What had just happened? What had I just let happen? After the door closed behind the huge, Viking-like-man, I released a sigh of relief and met Jasmine’s slightly amused gaze. I’d acted as if the man had put some kind of spell over me. I hadn’t been able to look away, hadn’t been able to hold a thought like an intelligent woman, much less speak like one. His overwhelming presence had frightened the hell out of me, while at the same time something else had happened. My body had responded rapidly to his maleness, and not in a good way. And by that, I meant that I had responded with arousal.

Something about him had turned me on.

I didn’t want to be aroused, didn’t want to put myself in the position of being controlled and abused again. The man that had just left the salon was controlling. I doubted that anyone daredquestion him, or that he was ever refused something that he wanted. I just stared at Jasmine and shook my head in disbelief. I’d hired the beautiful ex-call girl for a reason, knowing that I was setting up shop in an area with a local MC. She was there to keep the men happy and away from the rest of us, and I didn’t care how she had to do it.

Okay, maybe “the rest of us” included two dumpy, slightly religious, middle-aged women and me, but I didn’t want to fight off any unwelcome advances. I was there to run a business, and I didn’t have time to waste on men who were more concerned with coming on to me than getting a haircut or a shave. I didn’t need or want a man, and Jasmine was there to run interference for me. She thrived on the attention.

“Well, it’s certainly clear who he wants,” Jasmine teased lightheartedly. “You can’t accuseme of not trying.”

“I don’t understand what just happened,” I admitted, totally confused.

“It’s simple, honey,” Betty said from where she was standing next to her station. “Some men like a challenge.”

“And a little mystery,” added Jackie. “No offense, Jasmine, but you’re pretty obvious.”

Jasmine shrugged with a smile. “It’s why I’m here.”

“And you underestimate yourself,” Betty said, her eyes on me. “Look at yourself. You’re beautiful. Anyone with eyes in their head can see that. You think every horny man wants an easy woman?” She glanced at Jasmine. “No offense.”

Jasmine laughed, we all did. The words ‘no offense’ came out at least several times a day. We were all as different as night and day, and yet we’d become fast friends. No one wanted to hurt Jasmine’s feelings, knowing what she used to be. Betty and Jackie were older women, working part-time shifts a couple of days a week. Both were married, church-going women, and seemed to share the same philosophy in life, one of caring and forgiveness. Neither treated Jasmine any differently for what she’d done in her past. Or future, for that matter, because she still used her body to win men over.

I wasn’t questioning their observations, I knew that I was okay in the looks department. The interested looks I got from men when I was in town, or when Jasmine happened to be off, backed that up. But the look that the bearded giant had given me had been thorough and intense, and words hadn’t been needed to know what he really wanted. I was only worried that I was giving off the same vibe, because looking into his eyes for the first time had thrown me for a loop. I knew it sounded silly, but at the time it had felt as if I were looking into the eyes of my soul mate, and someone I might have known in another life.

That notion frightened me, it had been so strong.

“Well, I can’t wait until Friday to see what happens.”

That reminded me. “Just to give you a heads-up, we have a large group booked here for Friday, so I’ll need everyone here by nine, please.”

“A large group? Who?” Jackie asked, furrowing her brows. “I haven’t heard of anything going on in town.”

“According to the woman who booked it, there’s a big Christmas party somewhere,” I responded.

“That would be the Phantom’s clubhouse and restaurant.” We all looked at Jasmine for further explanation. “Phantom Riders is the name of the MC.” Yeah, I knew that. “The wives of the members are holding a party Saturday night at their bar and connecting restaurant. I’ve been invited.” She stuck out her tongue.

I rolled my eyes. “How old are you?” She shrugged, unaffected. “That explains it then. We have eight coming for sure. All haircuts and styles, nothing fancy. Jasmine, you handle the waxing and nails.”

“And you’ll handle the big, blonde, Viking sex on a stick?” Jasmine teased with a twinkle in her eye.

“He won’t be back,” I said, brushing the thought of him away. It didn’t matter that I was intensely attracted to him. It couldn’t go anywhere. I forced myself to move on from the subject. “Since no one is here, let’s decorate the shop. I have a small tree and some garland in the back. I’ll run upstairs and change.” Christmas was quickly closing in on us and was only three weeks away.

“It’s your day off, we can decorate. Besides, you look like you were going somewhere.”

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