Jillian had a cousin that used CBD—a product of marijuana with virtually no THC, meaning when she took it, it didn’t get her high—to stop her seizures. “Charlotte’s Web is the product I’m familiar with,” Jillian said. “My cousin uses it.”
The woman stopped and smiled. “Yeah, Charlotte’s Web. I really hope he gets the job. Our lives would change for the good. Can I try these on?”
“Please. Let me take them and get you a room. Feel free to head back when you’re ready.”
Jillian gathered the woman’s items and fixed her up in one of the dressing rooms. The lady had picked nice things—a baby blue chemise, matching magenta panties and a bra, as well as a piece Jillian had also had her eye on—and she hoped the woman would buy something. For the past week since Rebekah had left, and Jillian and Levi had gone through the inventory, sales had been dismal at best. Out of the record number of women that had come into the store, only a handful had bought something and the items they’d purchased hadn’t amounted to enough to pay the electricity bill.
Tonight, she wanted that to change.
Cole had unknowingly given her a boost in the sense that she knew she could sell this woman anything she wanted. Jillian had it in her. Jillian knew what women wanted and she knew how to make them feel like a million dollars. Like they owned the lingerie and could walk out of there feeling like a winner. She simply needed to harness the power from within.
Once the woman entered the dressing room, Jillian casually waited around to see if the woman would require more assistance.
“With your skin tone, I bet the magenta set will look amazing on you.” Jillian fiddled with her phone, checked Instagram, and liked a photo of Playboy magazine model Kristiana Slesh wearing only a pair of pink panties and using her hands to cover her top half. “Let me know if I need to grab you a different size or a different color.”
“I think I’m good.” The woman said after a few moments. She came out of the dressing room holding her treasures. “I don’t want this.” She handed Jillian back the chemise. “But I love these things. In fact, I want these two in that royal blue there as well.” The woman pointed to the matching pair of panties and bra that were on the shelf. It was almost the same style as the magenta set she’d found. Jillian pulled the proper sizes and handed them to the woman.
“This is great. I’m good.” The lady smiled as she looked over the items.
Jillian’s heart leapt in her chest. “Wonderful! I’ll ring you up over here.” Jillian quickly scanned the woman’s purchases and took her credit card. Jillian then folded her garments inside lilac-colored tissue paper and then placed the items inside Lacie’s signature purple paper sack that was adorned with a large amethyst ribbon and Lacie’s logo.
“Thank you!” the woman exclaimed. “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. Thanks so much.”
“Thank you! I’m so glad you stopped in. Have a great rest of your vacation and good luck to your husband,” Jillian said. She stopped short of saying “tell all your friends about us” even though she did want to say exactly that.
With the woman gone and the store set to close, Jillian locked up and did her nightly ritual of closing out the store for the night. Once she made it home, she did exactly as she’d fantasized about while she’d been at work. She took her time experimenting with her new toys and tested each one out. Her favorite was the Beach Lover – a small, compact vibrator that fit discreetly in one’s purse. Powerful, efficient and got the job done in a breeze.
Admittedly, her thoughts drifted to Levi and Cole as she tested the products, and that could have been part of the reason it left her satisfied so quickly. Both men—from what she could remember of Cole—were similar in build even though everything else about them was different. Different smoldering eyes, different colored hair and voices. But they were both good looking in their own ways. Extravagantly good-looking. Okay, enough about thinking of Levi—her assistant—and Cole, who did seem a little interested in her, but hadn’t made any move to ask her out. She sensed he was leery of jumping in head-first into anything more than a friendship. Maybe if he called her again, she’d ask. They could grow to become friends, right? And a friend would ask intimate relationship questions, wouldn’t they?
She threw away the scented lubricants, leaving an okay review for that as the promised orange flavor wasn’t as strong as proclaimed and could be easily confused with lemon. She also threw away the nipple clamps that were guaranteed for maximum pleasure or your money back. Jillian wanted her money back, because ugh. No clamps for her. Free or not.
She left her review for the Beach Lover on the company’s blog as well as on another smaller adult toy site. She also left it on the most-popular adult blog and magazine—Dish the Dirty—one she always used and sometimes, would write an article about the products she tested, in which she received a nominal fee. Dish the Dirty was a mixture of Cosmopolitan magazine and a local gossip. It offered women ideas ranging from fashion to sex as well as advice on dating, fitness and the best vacation spots for lovebirds. It also offered news and noteworthy gossip on local celebrities as well.
Unlike monthly magazines, Dish the Dirty only came out in print every other month and lucky for Jillian, she was a featured writer for their latest issue. Her article was The Dirty Dish on Sex – Alone. She’d worked so hard on the article because not only did she want it to reflect her best work, she wanted women to believe in the power of giving themselves joy and experiencing satisfaction when there wasn’t a man in the picture. Writing reviews for sex paraphernalia for a living, she was a pro at sex alone. Not to mention her bleak single status which was making her a pro in and of itself. She laughed at how everyone was so afraid to use the term masturbation – like sex alone was so much better. Masturbation didn’t have the same ring to it the way ‘sex alone’ did, she’d give them that.
So instead of throwing away the Beach Lover, she kept it. She didn’t keep the majority of products she used because she wasn’t that big of a hoarder. But the ones that did the job well enough, she kept. Often tossing out the old and keeping the new.
Her thoughts drifted to Cole and how he was surprising her with the way he was treating her. When he bought the boutique, she had made up her mind that he was going to be a corporate prick kind of guy. Truth was, he wasn’t like that at all. At least the couple times they’d spoken. And the fact that he was willing to try the postcard marketing strategy she’d approached him with had her feeling more and more like he was a stand-up guy, and not the cute jerk she thought he might be.
So far, she’d yet to see what she hadn’t been doing right at The Peekeasy, to not have enough money in reserves to afford a new building. Maybe she never would, but it would be nice if she could. It would be good for her to understand if there was a point in which she’d begun to take The Peekeasy in the wrong direction.
On a whim, she sent a text to Cole.
Jillian: Thanks for being ok with the postcard idea :-)
She’d meant it to be brief. Then once she sent it, she realized it could go either way. He could ignore the message or respond with a curt thanks and that would be the end of the conversation. What if he didn’t respond right away? Her phone buzzing cut her agony short.
Cole: Anytime. Always open to hearing new things.
Jillian released a breath.
Jillian: I have to admit, I thought you were a corporate prick.
Crap. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that.
Cole: Corporate prick??
Jillian cringed at his message.
Jillian: Sorry about that. I was wrong.
Cole: No, I can be like that sometimes.
Jillian: You weren’t to me. I was a little too judgy.
Cole: No worries. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with the store.
Jillian: Me too…Does that mean you’re going to stop by sometime?
Cole: Maybe. I’ll let you know when I can. I’m pretty much giving you full control which I never do. I
trust that you’ll treat Lacie’s like your own.
Jillian: I’m fluttered.
Cole: Fluttered?
Damn, auto correct! She re-typed.
Jillian: Damn. No! Fluttered.
Not again! She cursed and re-typed, this time making sure it didn’t auto-correct.
Jillian: Flattered!!!
Cole: That was almost difficult ;-) I like that you’re flattered, but I think I liked it better when you were fluttered.
Jillian: I’m fluttered, too.
Cole: Is that so?
Jillian: Hard not to be with you.
Cole:…?
Jillian laughed to herself before fluffing her pillows on her bed and settling in. He wanted her to elaborate she guessed.
Jillian: Come on. You know you’re good-looking. Confident. What woman wouldn’t flutter?
Cole: I’m blushing.
Jillian: Good! What are you doing?
Cole: I’m at home thinking about this beautiful brunette I know.
Jillian rolled her eyes and typed out: Charming, too.
Cole: Honest
Jillian: Single?
Cole: Yes. You?
Jillian: Yes
Cole: I was hoping.
Jillian: Me too. Hope to see you at the store sometime.
Cole: Is this goodbye?
Jillian: I assumed you have better things to do at this time on a Friday night.
Cole: I could say the same about you. Oh! You do! Which is why you’re saying goodbye!?
She smiled and glanced at her notepad and pen.
Jillian: No. Just want to make a few notes for some ideas I have for the store.
Cole: As your boss, I insist that you don’t have to work from home on a Friday night.
Jillian: Is it weird that I’m flirting with my boss?
Cole: Is it weird that I’m attracted to my employee?
Jillian: Well, maybe if you were on the outside looking in…but since we’re on the inside…
Cole: Right. It’s easier to understand.
Jillian: Yep. Goodnight, Cole.
Cole: Goodnight, Jillian.
She squirmed in her bed, her hand flying to her chest that was beating outrageously hard. Cole Carrington. Levi Clark. She couldn’t very well tell Cole how she was beginning to fall for her co-worker, could she? That she was flirting with both men. She giggled at the wanton feeling that floated in her belly to know that she was flirting with two men and how much she liked it, before she got to work.
Chapter Ten
As Cole lay on the bench lifting weights, he replayed their text conversation for about the tenth time in his head – is it weird I’m attracted to my employee? Hell. He never mingled work with pleasure. Granted it had been two long and lonely years since he’d ventured into the world of dating, but he had always followed that rule.
Always.
Until he’d met Jillian Winters.
Before Francesca passed away, he’d never been looking for long term. He was a perpetual bachelor, enjoying the fine things in life and the fine women that accompanied it. He wasn’t like Michael had been where he went on a maximum of two dates with women before he kicked them to the curb. Cole had never minded casual sex for a few weeks with the same woman. In some cases, it made the sex better. He got to know their preferences and they got to know his. He appreciated knowing a woman – inside and out. He enjoyed when they knew him, learning his likes and dislikes.
Being with a woman longer than a quick night gave him the opportunity to spoil her incessantly. He loved taking the Bombardier and flying to New York City for the weekend over the holidays. That time he’d taken Angel to see The Rockettes and they’d gone ice skating at Rockefeller Center, and ended with a long sleepless night at The Plaza, had ranked up there with one of the best moments he’d ever had with a woman. Come to think of it, that might have been the last time he’d dated before Francesca had died. Which was probably why it was so easy to remember that one because it had been the last one.
Angel. Yep. She was the last. He remembered distinctly because once they’d gotten home, Christmas had come and gone and then so had Francesca. And because he was in a desolate state of anger and heartbreak after his baby sister’s death, he’d stopped seeing Angel.
He set his weights down, the metal clanging hard against the bars and he wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, taking care not to wipe the fresh cut above his eyebrow that he’d suffered at the hands of Zander. Damn, the guy had a nasty right hook. One day, Cole was going to be the one left standing. Not the other way around. Being in the ring with Zander was always a great stress reliever, even if he never won, and it was a way to keep his mind from being occupied with thoughts of his sister. His stomach did its standard tilt and spin, the guilt always thick with turmoil. No. Not today. He was determined to make the best of it. In a week, Levi would be leaving Jillian’s store and he wanted to spend as much quality time with her as he could.
Even if that meant being someone else.
And boy did he have his work cut out for him because he was sure that Jillian was starting to like Levi more than a friend.
His phone vibrated with an incoming call. Dylan.
“Dylan. What’s going on?” he said.
“Oh, standard bullshit. I was looking over these plans for The Project and was wondering if we can add on to the gym? I called Zander and was waiting for him to call me back. What are your thoughts on that?”
Cole shrugged. He’d have to take a more thorough look, but he couldn’t see a downside to it. “The thought of the gym not being to your liking had actually crossed my mind at some point, but I’ve been so busy that I forgot about it.”
“Cool. I’ll see what Zander thinks.” Dylan paused. “You want to join us for poker tonight at Jericho’s?”
“Nah. Can’t. I’ll be at Lacie’s and that is much more interesting than being around a bunch of guys,” Cole said.
“Don’t tell me the sugar cookies have gotten to you too,” Dylan said, his voice laced with disbelief.
“What do you mean?” Cole asked.
“Every fucking time someone eats Regina’s cookies, they end up pussy-whipped.”
Cole laughed. “Whatever. It’s better than fucking everything that moves.”
“I don’t fuck every thing that moves.”
“Yeah. Only those with pussy.”
“I could go without it if I needed to,” Dylan said.
“Yeah, right. Prove it. Go the rest of the year without sex. You do it, I’ll pay you fifty grand. I win, you pay me. Deal?” Cole smirked, already feeling the fifty grand in his pocket. Easy money.
“Deal. I can do it.” Dylan sounded just as smug as Cole felt, but what the hell?
“Can’t wait to collect my money. Later.” Cole ended their call and got undressed for the shower.
In the shower, he thought about how things hadn’t changed since his last night with Angel. Two years since he’d felt his cock slide into the sweet and slick folds of a woman. Two long years since he’d felt the smooth flesh of a woman’s nipple as he’d pulled it into his mouth, getting lost in the way it’d harden instantly under his touch. The way he could get a woman to lose control with the simple ebb and flow of his fingers inside her wet pussy as he brought her to a high she hadn’t known she was begging for. The pure curves and smooth skin of a female—the fresh smell—all things he hadn’t considered too much, until Jillian.
His cock hardened at the thought of what he’d been missing out on, and he couldn’t help but wonder what Jillian would do to him if she knew how long it’d been since he’d had the pleasure of a woman’s company. How long it’d been since he’d enjoyed running his tongue along the hot wetness between her legs, and feeling her convulse across his lips and against his tongue.
Damn.
His large hand gripped his cock. He knew Jillian would be tight. Drenched. Hot. She’d beg for him to strum his fingers along her clit and run his tongue along her nipples as he m
ade her come. He envisioned her writhing, screaming body beneath him with her dark hair splayed out across the mattress, as he pressed that oval-shaped vibrator into her clit—and felt the scrapping of her nails—as he relentlessly helped her achieve satisfaction.
The water pounded down against his head and back as he continued to stroke himself while his brain focused on Jillian and how her small hands would look gripping his dick. Two hands along his shaft and they still wouldn’t cover the length of him. Somehow he knew, deep inside of him, that she would make him come undone though and not just because it’d been so long, but because she would be as wild as himself when it came to sex.
He could see it in the glimmer of her eyes when she looked at him.
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