Page 96 of Hold On Me

He tips his beer to me and nods his acceptance of my praise. Footsteps draw our attention to the stairs, and Angie comes down wearing a beautiful navy blue dress. Jenson would’ve had a fit if he’d been here.

“You look beautiful, Angie,” I tell her.

She smiles as she takes the last few steps towards us. “And what does my date think of my outfit?”

Jameson’s eyes fill with a familial affection as he stands, takes her hand in his, and dips low to place a kiss on it. “You are beautiful. If I wasn’t gay, and you weren’t ridiculously in love with my brother, I’d be all over you.”

Angie giggles, slaps his shoulder playfully, and embraces him in a hug. Watching their antics, anticipation builds in my stomach.

“Boss, will you take a picture so I can send it to Jenson?” Angie thrusts her phone in my hand and I turn to face both of them. I quickly snap a few pics, a nice one for Mama and then another for Jenson—Angie bent over, displaying her cleavage, as Jameson stands behind her, his tongue sticking out whilst Angie winks. He’ll either think it’s hilarious, or want to kill his brother. Either way, his reaction will be good.

Through our laughter, I’ve missed the footsteps on the stairs, and instead of watching her descend them, I turn and find Penelope watching us at the bottom of them. I’m frozen.I literally can’t move. She’s gorgeous. Her hair is swept up into a knot on the back of her head with little tendrils loose and framing her face. The makeup she’s wearing highlights her cheekbones, her eyes are sexier than I’ve ever seen them, and her full lips are begging me to kiss them and smudge their gloss.

My eyes scan over her body and take in the dress that’s clinging to every inch of her. A light growl emanates from my chest when I see the thigh high split and her silky smooth leg poking out from it. She tilts her head, her eyes looking at me with anticipation and hope, and I realise I haven’t said a word since turning to face her.

“Little One, you look… You’re… Fuck! You’re out of this world gorgeous. That dress was made for you. Come here.” The demand in my voice takes me by surprise, but her eyes darken and she quickly covers the short distance between us.

My hand brushes her cheek, the tendril of hair coiling around my finger, and I let the silky strands fall away. I’m gaping at her, I know I am, but I can’t look away. “I want to kiss you so badly right now, but I don’t want to ruin your makeup.” My voice is a whisper, and her shoulders relax slightly as my fingers toy with the thin strap on her shoulder. I let them trail up and down her arm and watch in satisfaction as goosebumps erupt on her skin. I dip my head to place a gentle kiss on her shoulder, and she sighs.

“Erm, sorry to interrupt but our car’s here.”

Angie breaks the spell and I whip my head up to face her and Jameson. I’d completely forgotten they were there. And from the grins on their faces, they enjoyed my little show.

“Right. Let’s go then.” My voice is all business, but as I reach my hand to Penelope’s lower back to guide her, I freeze. My fingers brush against bare skin and another growl falls from my lips. I take a step behind her and the breath catches in my throat when I notice the lack of material covering her back.

She turns her head to the side, speaking over her shoulder. “Surprise. I hope you like it, sir.” She whispers the last word and I am instantly hard.

Groaning softly, I step behind her and press my front against her back. She gasps when she feels my erection against her arse. “This is what you do to me, Little One. You, not the dress, or the make up, just you. But this…” I run my finger down the curve of her spine and smile when she shivers. “Being able to touch your skin all night. It’s absolute perfection.” I dip my lips to the base of her neck, letting my tongue taste her skin, and again goosebumps erupt all over her. “I can’t wait for tonight. Utter perfection.”

I swipe her coat off the hanger and drape it over her shoulders, placing a gentle kiss to her cheek as I do. Guiding her slowly out of the house, I no longer care whether we’re late or not. Because all that matters is that this beautiful, perfect creation is mine. All mine.

48

PENNY

Well, fancy galas are boring as fudge. Everyone I’ve met has been overly pretentious, and I’m so far out of my comfort zone, it’s practically nonexistent. On the positive side, Ben hasn’t left my side once, and continues to touch me constantly, murmuring compliments into my ear every chance he gets. The negative? I’ve had to endure every boring business conversation he’s had since we’ve gotten here. And there’s been a lot.

The tables have been cleared and the dinner portion is over, which means we’re finally free to mingle and dance if we want. I catch Angie’s eye and she motions with her head for me to go to the bathroom with her. Making my apologies to Mr. Whoever Ben is talking to, I gather my small clutch and prepare to extricate myself from the uncomfortable-as-hell chair. As I stand, a hand grabs mine and I turn back to find Ben standing too. He places a kiss on my cheek, and his whispered words tickle the shell of my ear.

“Don’t be long, Little One. I want to dance with you.” Nodding gently, my bottom lip between my teeth, I hurry over to Angie and we make our way to the ladies’ room.

“Oh my god, Pen, he is all over you.”

Grinning back, I nod. “I know. I can’t wait to go home.”

She cackles as she fixes her lipstick in the mirror. Her phone starts to ring and she squeals a little. “It’s Jenson. Can I run outside and speak with him? You don’t mind?” I wave her off laughing.

I head into the stall, my thoughts back on Ben and dancing with him, but voices entering the bathroom interrupt my thoughts.

“Did you see who he brought?”

Another voice replies, “Yeah, I think it’s his personal assistant.”

“Personalassistant? I heard she’s available to assist everyone.” As they laugh, a cold dread washes over me. I know they’re talking about me. It's only a gut feeling, but I just know. A cold sweat forms at the back of my neck and nausea swirls in my tummy, forcing me to swallow down my feelings.

“She got fired from the school, you know. My friend’s son goes there, and apparently she was caught coming onto a dadandthe director.”

My gut was right. Tears well in my eyes, but I try to push them back. I really don’t want to cry here.

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