Page 29 of Caden's Situationship

“So, you’re a stripper,” she stated after she cut off what sounded like the faucet. “I can’t say I wasn’t surprised tonight.”

“I used to be a stripper,” I told her. “Contrary to what you saw tonight, Hou and I got recruited right around our senior year of college. At first, it seemed like a good way to make some quick cash. Then we realized we were good at the business end of things, too. Before we decided to take our careers elsewhere, we pitched the idea to Black Lush for a partnership to take that side of the business to the next level. The owner never thought it would take off like it did with us running things, and more than a decade later, here we are.”

“So tonight was a fluke?” she asked. “Was it Linc and Wade’s first time doing this?”

“We brought Linc and Wade into the fold later,” I explained. “So they’ve performed before. None of us actually go on stage anymore, though, unless we absolutely have to. Before tonight, I hadn’t been on stage in over five years, but we were overbooked and with no time to train new people, Drew let us know our options were limited.” I heard the bathroom door creek open, but my back was to it. “Ideally, you never want the men behind the success to be the ones on stage, but when duty calls, we always answer.”

“How noble of you,” she muttered, standing right behind me.

I turned around slowly, my eyes landing on her white tank top before I looked down, my dick eager to do the rest of the talking for me. “What the fuck are those?”

“Wow, with the curse words.” She placed her hands on her waist. “They are pajamas, what do they look like?”

“They look like a small tank and two large ribbons tied together.” She was sexy as hell, but I was teasing her to ease the electric tension in the room.

Instead of taking the bait, she smirked and walked past me, and my nose was immediately met with her strawberry and vanilla smell.Must be her lotion.Whatever it was, it was making it even harder for me to ignore the obvious.

I’d wanted to fuck her since the day I met her, and while some women would walk out of the bathroom in lingerie or nothing at all, nothing was sexier than me seeing a normally conservative Cordelia walk out wearing a tight tank and bottoms that were too small to be categorized as shorts. But that was Cordelia. Proper. Put together. I didn’t call her princess for no reason.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said, interrupting my thoughts. “You don’t think I’m ready to be with you in that way.”

“Darlin’, when you say things likein that wayand not sex or fucking, I already know that I’m too much for you.”

“It’s only because I don’t have much experience with this,” she stated.

My eyes widened. “You’re a virgin?”

She gasped. “What? No, I’m not a virgin, but it’s nice to know it would have freaked you out if I was. What I meant was that I don’t have much experience with talking dirty.”

I eyed her curiously. “You never had phone sex in your past relationships?”

“My past boyfriends would have lost their marbles if I even suggested phone sex.” She sat on her bed, crossing her legs out in front of her and leaning back on her hands. “I guess you could say all the sex I’ve had has been pretty PG compared to what you introduced me to tonight. I want to have that feeling again. I want to go back to Texas with a newfound sexual appreciation and be the kind of woman to strip tease for my man without questioning if I look clumsy doing it.” She worried her bottom lip like she was thinking of more things to add. “I need to feel sexually free like I did when you danced with me, and I know you could help me do all of that.”

Hmm.It all sounded good in retrospect, but this wasn’t just any woman. This was Cordelia. Granted, our relationship had taken a major turn, but I wasn’t sure I was the guy who needed to help her figure all this out.If not you, bruh, then who?

Truth was, I also didn’t want another motha fucka touching her either.Shit.Not even around her for an entire month and she was already messing with my mind.

“I need to find myself,” she blurted. “You even said it yourself. I’m not the same Cordelia you knew in college. I’ve let my family and my circumstances turn me into something I’m not. I’m not sure if I’m a sexual person, but I know that I should be allowed to figure out whatever I need to … otherwise, how can a man love me when I’m still figuring myself out?”

She pinned me with those big, beautiful eyes that almost made me want to say yes right there. But she needed to understand something first.“Even though what we’d share would be temporary, you’d be fine with that?”

She rolled her eyes. “What part of going back to Texas with a newfound sexual appreciation didn’t you understand? I’d be fine with it, Caden. Let’s not act like our relationship wasn’t already headed this way, so it seems to me we have a situation on our hands.”

Story of my life.Except this time, I really wanted to deep dive into the offer Cordelia was gifting me. Problem was, I’d wanted this woman before and I’d been turned down before.True, but now you’re the one who’s been keeping your distance.

Walking over to the bed, I leaned closer to her and made sure I had her undivided attention. “Darlin’, before I get my hopes up, I need to know you’re absolutely serious.”

“I’m serious,” she said quickly.

“Don’t ask for something you’re not ready for,” I added. Cordelia may be talking all tough, but I didn’t think she knew what she was getting into when it came to giving a nigga like me permission to take her to bed. And I wouldn’t please her until I knew there was no mistaking the fact that sharing a bed with me meant I needed full control. No questions asked.

CORDELIA

“Don’t askfor something you’re not ready for.” I repeated his words in my head, trying my best to figure out which part he didn’t think I was ready for.

I sat upright on the bed. “What makes you think I’m not ready to have sex with you?”

“Because I don’t just have sex the way you’re used to,” he said, his voice raspy in a way that made my thighs ache. “When I fuck, I fuck hard. Long. There’s nothing sweet about the shit I do.” His eyes darkened as they made their way over my body, the intensity making me feel as though every caress of his eyes was removing a piece of my pajamas. “Based on what you’ve told me, you’re used to things being proper and planned. And I may seem like a gentleman in every aspect of my life, but I’m not.”

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