Page 57 of Don't Tease Me (Made Men)

She trails off, but I follow the thread of her thoughts. “And you wanted to please me, so you went along with it.”

She shrugs. “Sort of. Yeah… I didn’t know what to do.”

I pull her roughly against me again. “Sweet as fuck,” I mutter, kissing the top of her head. “How can I make this up to you?”

She lifts that dazzling blue gaze. “Well, I thought you were taking me to dinner.”

“I sure as hell am.”

She walks to the closet and pulls out a broom and dustpan.

I take it from her and point to the bar stool in front of the breakfast bar. “You sit. Don’t move. I’ll get you a bandage for that cut, and then I’ll clean up the mess.” I find an adhesive bandage in the bathroom and return, applying it to her arm, needing to take care of her like I need my next breath.

After I sweep up the remaining broken glass, I dump it in the trash then return with a rag to wipe up the spilled wine.

“Some wine spilled on the rug.” Lexi sounds angry.

“It'll come out,” I promise. “If it doesn’t, I’ll replace it, okay, babe? I don’t want you to worry about it. This was supposed to be your special night.”

Lexi moves to stand, but I point to her. “I said don’t move, doll.”

She rolls her eyes but smiles.

I find a spray cleaner under the sink and scrub the stain on the rug. It doesn’t come out, but I move the coffee table leg over by a few inches, and it covers it.

“I’ll buy a new rug, okay?”

She shrugs. “It’s not my rug.”

“Yeah, but you’re the one who has to live with it. And I don’t want you thinking about what happened.” I put the cleaning supplies away and wash my hands. “Can you do me a favor and just erase it forever from your mind?”

“It’s fine, Bobby.” She hops off the stool and comes to me. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m not upset.” She stands on her tiptoes to kiss me, and I go in hungry, grasping the back of her head to kiss her deeply.

The kiss is different this time. It’s not driven by lust although I do want her. I always want her. No, this is more of an expression of…fuck. An expression of love.

I’m in deep with Lexi now.

Something tells me it’s time to reevaluate our situation.

Then again, it’s working. If we need to adjust later, we can.

ChapterFifteen

Lexi

On Friday afternoon, I finally get the call about the job. I’ve been waiting all week for the news. Bobby was over every night in time for dinner, which helped the time go by. He brought flowers and wine. Bags of specialty groceries–expensive stuff that I wouldn’t buy for myself. I loved cooking for him. He’s so easy to please.

He took me to dinner a couple of times, and we stayed in watching a movie one night.

For someone who’s not supposed to be my boyfriend, he sure as hell acts like one. Another great thing about this past week is that for the first time in a long time, my earnings belong to me. Well, not really, because I still have the thirty thousand in medical bills to pay off, but there’s no looming financial emergency. I’m making enough this month to pay the rent at the salon, put some toward the medical bills, and still be able to buy lunch at the deli.

“This is Lexi,” I answer breathlessly, recognizing the phone number.

“Hi Lexi, this is Erica Applegate, Human Resources Director at Stellar.

“Yes, hi!”

“I just wanted to let you know that you made it to the next round. The next step is for you to teach a sample class to a group of stylists. Does next Thursday at eleven work for you?”

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