Page 4 of Irresistible Little Ivy

“Didn’t you bring a jacket?” he asked while the two women whispered together, watching us closely.

I turned back to face him, rubbing at the still numb tip of my nose. “Of course I did. But I lost it at the airport. I didn’t know it was like negative a million degrees windchill outside. Never in my life have I been in weather this cold. How do you stand it?”

The corner of his mouth kicked up a smile, the shadows of the fire giving his strong features interesting shadows as his sapphire-blue eyes glinted. “We know how to bundle up and we tend to stay indoors a lot.”

“Yeah?” More than aware of the women openly whispering about us had me taking a step away. “Well, I better get checked in. They’re bringing my bags straight to my room for me and I can’t wait to get into my jammies. Maybe after a warm shower. I could use a good soak to get the cold out of my bones.”

He smiled at me, his stance changing somehow so that he was almost looming over me. “That sounds like a good plan. Have the front desk call to have a bath started while you check in so it will be ready for you. I’d recommend the hot chocolate bath. They use a cocoa-based bubble bath, and you get a giant cup of hot chocolate and some cookies.”

“That sounds divine, thank you for suggesting it.”

He gave me a little mock bow. “Here at Rawhide we’re all about going above and beyond for our guests.”

“Caleb,” Georgiana sang out, “why don’t you offer to scrub her back.”

“Ignore her,” Caleb said with a grin and I couldn’t help but smile in return. “She’s had too much sugar. What’s your name?”

“Ivy,” I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Georgiana said in a snide voice as she mocked me. “My name is Ivy, can I suck your dick?”

The laughter fled from Caleb’s face and a rather scary look took its place as he glared at the cat woman. “Georgiana, this doesn’t concern you. Please stay out of it. You’re being rude.”

“I’m being rude?” The brunette pouted as she said, “You and Mason invited us here to spend the weekend—maybe longer. And now you’re obviously flirting with a woman right in front of us and you’re saying I’m being rude?”

“Youmessaged us, asking us to meet you here at the fire,” the blonde said, her Hispanic accent deepening.

“I messaged you to meet me here to discuss a possible contract.” Caleb gave a tired sigh, then rolled his eyes in my direction before he said in an exasperated voice, “Mason and I contacted both you on behalf of Rawhide Ranch to see if you wanted to be judges in our Pet Parade and do a guest lecture series. You both live the Pet lifestyle, have a podcast with over five million viewers, a social media empire, and are extremely driven and talented.” He glanced over his shoulder as he said, “Don’t make our relationship sound like it’s anything more than business. You love drama, it’s part of your cat personas, I get it, but keep our relationship professional. If you want to film some drama for your social media, fine, I’ll play along, but do not talk to our guests in such a rude manner. It’s uncalled for and will not help you in our negotiations. In fact, Derek may decide he doesn’t want you to teach here at all if he believes you’re trouble makers.”

The women both looked down, whispered to each other, then Georgiana said, “You are correct. Forgive me, Ivy was it? I sometimes forget myself during negotiations. Some places anything goes… others”—she gestured to the busy lobby—“others have a more stringent code of rules for business. I misjudged you, Caleb.”

“We’ll discuss this in a moment,” Caleb said swiftly before dipping his chin in my direction. The firelight turned his face sinfully handsome as he drawled out, “Ma’am, I apologize for this. If you’ll go ahead and go over to registration, they’ll make sure you get into your room right away. Tell them Caleb sent you. Go on now, I need to have a frank conversation with Georgiana and Petal. Leave your room number for me at the front desk.”

He was so well-mannered, his deep voice so smooth and velvety soft, yet I felt like he’d ordered me rather than requested. There was something in his tone, in the way that he looked at me right in the eyes, that told me he expected me to march on over to the counter like the good little girl he evidently thought I was. I took a step back, glanced around, then smirked at Caleb.

Sometimes, I loved being a brat.

Okay, most of the time.

Brats got to have more fun.

Placing my hands on my hips, I raised my eyebrows and said, “I’m sorry, you must be used to dealing with Littles. See, I’m a Middle. I don’t blindly follow orders. Quite the opposite. I do what I want and what I think is right.” I even added a snotty little tilt of my nose, waiting to see the man’s blue eyes darken with anger. Controlling men usually didn’t like mouthy brats who didn’t instantly fall to their knees in subjection. My submission had to be earned, not given. “At the moment, I need to thaw out a little more before I leave the lovely heat of this gigantic fireplace because I’m pretty sure my eyelashes still have frost on them.” I frowned and rubbed between my eyes. “And my head is starting to hurt.”

My body erupted in tingles as he slid his warm hands into my hair, cupping my still chilly skull and massaging lightly. Those long, graceful fingers of his worked pressure spots on my skull that had my knees going weak. Literally, I found myself leaning into him, surprised that the chest my forehead rested against was rock hard beneath the smooth cloth of his suit. I would have been embarrassed, but he was making the pain and tension of my hours of travel go away.

“You’re very good at this,” I mumbled, wondering if I was drooling as he worked my neck. “Don’t you have a conversation to have or something?”

“They can wait a moment.”

My head was as limp as a doll’s, and I instinctively followed his directions. Moving with him felt as natural as breathing, and soon my whole face was smooshed against his chest. I allowed myself to fully enjoy the sensation, already giving permission to my inner teen to come out to play. She was all about pleasure and reveled in his unique ability to make our body relax.

“That is so good,” I grunted as he pressed his thumb into a tense muscle at the base of my neck. “God.”

“I’ve heard that before,” he said in a soft and slightly arrogant voice that plucked at my nipples.

The hint of overconfidence irked me a little, even if it was deserved, so I said with a mock sad sigh, “It’s so lame that men with really good hands usually lack in other departments. What is it? Are you one of those guys who doesn’t believe in going down on a woman? Or do you have terrible rhythm in the sack? Maybe an issue with premature ejaculation? I heard wearing two condoms might help with that.”

The cat women gave little delighted gasps of shock, and the hands around my neck stilled.

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