Page 35 of Degrees of Control

From their position on the floor she could see into what she assumed was James’ spare bedroom. There was nothing remarkable about it except the sleek black guitar propped against the bed. A Taylor Baritone. “Whoa.”

James followed her gaze. “You play?”

“I could do a pretty goodSmoke on the Wateruntil my sister Tess took dad’s guitar away and threatened to beat me to death with it.”

James chuckled. “You’re a funny girl, Blue-Eyes.”

Flattered, Charlie felt herself grow bold. “Can I ask you something?”

He nodded, brushing a length of hair from her eyes.

“What you said about my underwear…Do you, um, hate natural fibers or something?”

Whoa, James Hunter wasblushing, wonders would never cease.

“No I don’t,” he said, turning away from her.

Charlie gripped his forearm. “I know cotton briefs aren’t the sexiest undergarments known to man, but I own a lot of briefs. Is that going to be a problem?”

Yep, he was definitely blushing, blood pumping hot under his golden skin. She’d never seen him this uncomfortable. “Oh come on, James, you can laugh about the ‘daddy’ thing, but not this?”

He closed his eyes as though wishing her away.

“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to think it’s worse than it actually is.”

James sat up, the planes of his stomach contracting. “I’m not a creep, Charlotte, I just like nice underwear on women, it—it turns me on.”

Charlie couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, you and every other straight guy on earth. Is that why you asked for stockings the first time we had sex?”

He nodded stiffly, barely inclining his head.

“So you have kind of a…panty fetish?”

James scowled at the F-word. “I don’t have a fucking fetish. I just—I justlike it,okay? When I was younger, my sister used to have all theseVictoria Secretcatalogues lying around and I just…”

“Beat off to them?” Charlie suggested, trying not to smirk at the idea of a teenage James pilfering lingerie catalogues.

“Pretty much.” James ran a hand through his thick blond hair. “But I don’t jerk off into thongs and I don’t have afetish,okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Charlie said, still unable to keep from smiling. “I didn’t mean to tease you. It’s nice to know lingerie isn’t a scam invented by Agent Provocateur to sell three-hundred-dollar bras.”

“Yeah, well, a chick doesn’t have to be wearing a corset for me to get a hard-on, so I usually keep this shit to myself. It just came out when we were…doing what we were doing.”

James’ perception that his needs were weirder than what they’d just done made Charlie giggle. “No offence, Hunter, but that’s the lamest kink I’ve ever heard. It’s like having a fetish for blowjobs.”

“Thanks, Blue-Eyes.”

His tone was dry but the corners of his mouth quirked up. God, she shouldn’t like him saying that so much, he was clearly a nickname kind of guy. So why did it feel so intimate? She gave a great mock-sigh. “I want to be more supportive, James, but honestly, I feel betrayed.”

He was definitely smiling now. “Oh really, Charlotte?”

“Yeah, really. You don’t realize how lucky you are. I bulk buy cotton underwear but most women don’t, and even if they do you just give them a few nice gifts and bam, fetish accommodated.”

“I don’t have a fetish—”

“Take it from me, you can’t fool anyone into doing sadistic stuff to you.”

He stared at her, hazel eyes narrowed. “Wait, so what do you call what you like in bed?”

---