Page 6 of Her Christmas Beast

Billy waves a dismissive hand. “I’m not really reclusive about that, you know? A reporter showed up at my office once. When I opened the door and he asked for William Zver, I told him he’d have to talk to me. He turned around and left. And thus the legend was born. I’ve never denied it, I’m simply never asked.”

“People! — Um, Billy?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you please carry me into the bedroom and fuck me senseless?”

That shocks him. He gapes at me like I’ve suggested something heinous. “But…”

I pull back from him because I knew that didn’t come out quite right, but I’m so frustrated with myself that I don’t know how to fix it. Except he doesn’t loosen his arms to let me go. If anything, he tightens them around me. “But… Angel. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t. I’m thirty-two, you’re thirty-eight. We aren’t teenagers and I don’t live on a pedestal.”

“I’m too big, baby Angel. Not to mention that I can’t have a casual fling with you. If I took you, I could never let you go.” His voice is gruff and solemn and if it were any other man than Billy, I would run out into the night in fear of my life. And because he only ever called me baby angel when he wanted to lord his six-year age advantage over me and point out that he was legally an adult when I wasn’t even a teenager. But I’m over thirty now, so the argument has lost most of its power.

“What if I said I was okay with that?” The only way to tell if Billy is bluffing is to call him on it.

He glowers down at me, his mouth set in a uncompromising position. “I don’t think you understand what you’re offering, Angel.”

“I’m not a virgin, Billy. It’s true I don’t have a lot of experience but I do know what’s involved,” I grind out with exasperation.

His lips quirk slightly. “Do you? I’ve got my doubts.”

Now it’s my turn to growl. Finally, he lets me up, and I return to the kitchen table to grab my coffee.

“I’m going to go take a shower,” he announces, standing up. “There’s some fancy baked goods and things vendors have sent on the counter. Help yourself.”

I swear he’s running away and I’m not quite done with this conversation, but I suppose he deserves some alone time since I took over his bed earlier. It’s while I’m munching on a giant sliceof almond kringle that I have the brilliant inspiration to seduce him in the shower. I blame the sugar.

3

After I eat a few more bites of the most delicious almond pastry I’ve ever encountered, I head back to the master bedroom. I’m a little nervous. It’s not like I’ve tried to seduce anyone before. It’s more daunting in practice than I’d anticipated. And I’ve definitely never slept with someone I considered a good friend first, either. But any advantage I’d gained by shocking Billy earlier is clearly gone by the time I sidle into the bedroom, determined to overcome the nervous butterflies in my stomach. Authoritative William Zver is back in control, despite looking absolutely lickable in loose fitting black pants and a gray cashmere pullover. He frowns when he sees me and I stop abruptly in the middle of the room.

“Come here, Angel. We need to talk.”

I pout. “You’re not naked.”

He smiles ever so slightly at that. “I swear you’re the first person to ever say that with genuine disappointment.”

I reach out my hands to rectify the situation, but he stops me with a loose clasp around my wrists. “I think I’ve let you linger under a misconception, little one. You aren’t in charge here.”

Now I’m the one losing my smile. “Well, no, but I thought…?” I try to step back.

“You’re doing it again. You aren’t ready for me, despite what you’re trying to tell yourself. Just listen, Angel. I’ve decided I’m keeping you. Forever. You’ve had at least ten years to find someone more suitable and you haven’t done it. If I’m guessing correctly, you’re not eating when your body tells you it’s hungry,and it’s fairly obvious that you aren’t satisfying your sexual appetites either.”

“Billy!” My face flames red, and I try to pull away. He makes it sound like I’ve chased him down because anything with a cock would do.

“Oh, no. You’re done hiding. Mine now, remember? In about five minutes, I’m going to spread you out on that bed and show you how you should be treated every day. But it won’t be with my cock. Not until you can prove that you’re able to take all of me without getting hurt.”

“But…”

“But?” He waits patiently.

“But it’sChristmas.”

“Which means I’m going to feast on your pussy while you concentrate on feeling things instead of thinking them.”

I’m sure my expression is beyond confused. He wants me, but I’m not allowed to want him? Or…?

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