Bare Your Soul

by Rochelle Paige

  “Do lines like that actually work for you?” I teased.

  Morgan smirked down at me, his eyes dropping to my lips before he looked back into my eyes and responded. “I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to bother using one. You tell me, is it going to work?”

  His reply was like a splash of cold water against my face as I was reminded of the difference between us. He was hot, confident and wealthy. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that women probably threw themselves at him on a regular basis. Meanwhile, I was young, broke and inexperienced. How the hell could anything between us ever work? Especially if he was my boss.

  “I’m guessing no by the look on your face right now,” I heard Morgan mutter before he pulled me into his chest. “I get this might be scary for you. I can’t promise you anything except that you have nothing to fear from me. No matter what does or doesn’t happen between us, I’ve made a promise to you. One that I’ll keep.”

  “And what promise is that?”

  “You have a job that will pay for your schooling and a safe place to rest your head at night,” he swore.

  My mind was a jumble of thoughts. I’d left my cheap motel room this morning expecting to strip for strangers to make ends meet, and suddenly I had this drop-dead gorgeous man standing in front of me promising to make it all better. It was hard to believe things could change for the better so quickly. Not with how my luck had been lately. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Morgan’s eyes lit and his smirk changed to a full-fledged grin. “Damn straight I’m sure.”

  “How can you be so certain?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief. “You literally met me less than two hours ago.”

  “You sure you wanna know why?” he asked, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. I nodded my head in response. “You’ve gotta know you’re fucking gorgeous. I’ve seen plenty of beautiful women, but there’s something about you that surpasses each and every one of them.”

  My heart stuttered at his words. “But that can’t be it,” I argued.

  Morgan placed his finger over my lips so I couldn’t continue. “The very fact you’re arguing with me over something most women would leap at the chance to get from me is another reason.”

  I smiled and he moved his finger away. “There are lots of honest women in the world, Morgan.”

  “Not in my world, Angel,” he countered. “And none who look like you but also have a fighting spirit. You’ve been dealt a shit hand lately and you didn’t let it stop you from going after what you want. You have no idea how fucking hot that is, baby.”

  “I’m just not sure what to think about all of this. You’re going to be my boss. I’m going to be living in your home. I may be willing to fight for what I want, but it seems like I’d be risking too much if I agreed to sleep with you too,” I worried aloud.

  “Then I’ll just have to find a way to convince you I’m worth the risk, Angel,” Morgan said, before he brushed his lips across mine.

  “That’s going to take time,” I warned him. “I don’t know you and I’m in a vulnerable position here. It doesn’t exactly make me comfortable. Especially since I’ve learned the hard way that I can’t always trust men to stick around.”

  “I’ll give you time to get used to me, but I can’t promise it’s going to be very long,” he offered. “And I’ll do what I can to make you feel a little more secure in our situation.”

  I cocked my head to the side, studying his face and looking for any sign of dishonesty. I breathed a deep sigh when I didn’t find one. “I think you really mean that.”

  “I do,” he promised, extending his hand out to me. His warm fingers tightened on mine as I placed my palm against his. “Let me show you your new home.”

  Chapter 6

  Morgan

  With Angelica’s hand clasped in mine, I gave her a tour of the house. A place where none of the women I’d bedded in the past had ever crossed the threshold. And yet there I was, calmly leading her into my territory without a second thought. Not just for a visit either. No, I’d gone completely crazy and invited—no practically forced—her to move in with me.

  She was pretty quiet, only asking a random question here and there as we walked through the first floor. It wasn’t until we climbed the stairs and I opened the door to the master suite that she hesitated again.

  “I’m in here,” I told her as I watched her gaze scan across the room and stop when she saw my bed. It was a huge four-poster bed with dark oak spindles in each corner. The California king sized mattress was big enough for me to sleep comfortably and the frame was masculine enough to suit my tastes. I’d never really thought much about my selection until now when I could so easily picture tying her spread-eagle across it, leaving her at my mercy.

  “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, a pretty pink blush staining her cheeks.

  I nudged her so she’d walk further down the hall, giving me a moment to adjust my cock since it was straining against my zipper at the thought of her naked and begging me to take her. Without thought for the implications, I stopped her at the next door and opened it. As masculine as my décor was, the guest room was feminine. A queen-sized bed was the main focal point with champagne fabric tufted headboards and breezy curtains.

  “And you’re in here,” I said, pulling her gently through the door as she stood there gaping at the room.

  “No, Morgan,” she argued. “I can’t possibly stay in this room. There must be something smaller I can use instead.”

  Of course there were other rooms she could use, but I wanted her close to me while I bided my time until she shared my bed. And I wasn’t about to take no for an answer. “I’m afraid you’re out of luck then, because this is your room. I keep odd hours and placing you far away from me would make it difficult should I need your assistance in the middle of the night.”

  “Middle of the night?” she repeated.

  “I did warn you, twenty-four seven. And none of the other rooms have this added benefit,” I said as I opened the connecting door between her room and my suite. I never really understood the appeal of the door up until this moment, but it would certainly come in handy with my little Angel sleeping next door to me.

  “A connecting door,” she stuttered, gazing up at me with innocent green eyes.

  “Yes, so you can come to me anytime. This door is always open to you, but not to me until you come to me on your own,” I reassured her.

  “When you offered me the job as your live-in assistant, I wasn’t expecting to be treated to so much luxury,” she sighed, glancing around the room in wonder.

  “I promised to give you time, but I never said anything about making it easy for you to resist me,” I explained.

  Her green eyes flashed as she looked up at me again. “Just don’t think for a second that you can buy your way into my affections.”

  I felt my blood pump through my veins at her words and my cock swelled in my pants again. I wanted nothing more than to drag her to my bed, but she wasn’t ready for that yet.

  “I don’t pay for sex,” I chided her. “But making sure you’re comfortable is my responsibility, Angel.”

  “I’ve been responsible for myself for a long time,” she retorted, her spine straightening at the suggestion she couldn’t take care of herself.

  “Now you’ve got me to lighten your load then.”

  ***

  I left Angelica to get settled into her room and headed straight for my office. I might have allowed my dick to do my thinking for me by bringing her to my home, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try to be smart about it after the fact. I knew just who to call to make sure I hadn’t royally fucked up by moving her in here.

  “Long time no talk,” Brecken answered. “Just because I moved halfway across the country doesn’t mean we aren’t friends anymore.”

  “Phone works both ways,” I retorted, even though I knew he had his hands full opening a new business.

  “That it does. That it does,
” he murmured. “Things have been kinda crazy here getting everything off the ground.”

  “It’s going well?”

  “Yeah,” he confirmed. “I’ve got more jobs being thrown my way than I can handle. Shit man, I already need to hire more guys and it’s only been two months since I opened up shop.”

  “I’m damn happy to hear things are good,” I congratulated him. “But I’m not surprised considering the type of strings you can pull.”

  Brecken and I were childhood friends who took very different paths in life. While I was enjoying all the benefits that came from owning the restaurants, nightclubs and strip joints I’d inherited from my dad, he had joined the military to get away from his family. He’d done an excellent job serving our country, almost too good, and they weren’t happy when he decided not to reenlist a few months ago. Lucky for him, he’d managed to survive the hellholes they’d sent him to and learned a unique set of skills that he was hoping to turn into a profitable security business in Chicago.

  “When are you going to come out for a visit and check on your investment?”

  “Don’t be a dick,” I snapped. “It wasn’t an investment and you know it. It was a fucking gift.”

  “Call it whatever you want, but you better cash the checks I send to pay you back,” he warned.

  “How about you help me out with something instead of sending me a damn check?” I growled.

  “You in trouble?” Brecken asked, his tone turning serious.

  “I wouldn’t necessarily call it trouble,” I muttered. “But I need you to run a background check for me.”

  “A background check?” he parroted.

  “Yeah,” I confirmed before giving him all the information I had on Angelica.

  “I’ve only been gone a few months Morgan,” he reminded me. “How the fuck have you gotten serious enough with some chick that you need me to look into her? The girl must have a golden pussy or something to make you even think about giving up all the women who throw themselves at you.”

  “Don’t fucking talk about her like that,” I growled. “And I didn’t say anything about giving up other women.” I might not have said anything but I sure as hell had already thought it, which was scary as fuck.

  “You just bit my head off for saying something you wouldn’t have thought twice about before her,” he pointed out. “And you’ve never bothered to check into the background of any of the women who’ve been in your bed before. So don’t even bother trying to convince me there isn’t something different about this one.”

  “Fine,” I spit out. “She’s different.”

  “How’d you meet her? Please tell me she isn’t one of those frosty high society babes who love to spend your money.”

  I thought about how she burned up in my arms even as her innocence shown from her eyes. “No, she’s the furthest thing from it,” I murmured. “Considering I met her today when she came into the steakhouse to try-out for a position as a dancer.”

  “Thought you had a no stripper rule?” he asked.

  “I didn’t hire her to strip,” I replied. “She’s going to be my personal assistant.”

  “Since when did you need an assistant?”

  “Since I wanted to make sure she didn’t get away from me and I realized she was living in a shit-hole motel while she was waiting for college to start,” I countered.

  “Holy fuck, man!” he howled. “You met her today and she’s living in your house already? Why even bother with the background check? You’re a goner. She’s gonna have you wrapped up tight in no time at all. Mark my words.”

  “Shut the fuck up and do your damn job,” I grumbled.

  “Sure, no problem, man,” he chuckled. “I’ll get right on it so you’ll know if the chick you’ve already moved into your house hours after meeting her is on the up-an-up or not. Hell, it’s easy enough that I’m sure I’ll be able to do it from the plane while we head out for a K&R job that was just called in this morning.”

  “There’s no rush. Just get back to me when you can.”

  “At the pace you’re going with her, if I don’t get back to you tomorrow you might be married to her before I can,” he joked.

  I wanted to tell him he was being ridiculous, but the words just wouldn’t come. He was right about one thing, I didn’t understand how it was possible but I was pretty sure Angelica already had me wrapped up tight in no time flat.

  Chapter 7

  Angelica

  My first few days living in Morgan’s home and working for him were pretty boring. It quickly became apparent to me that he hadn’t been prepared to hire a live-in assistant when he made the offer because he had no idea what he wanted me to do. I should have realized when I saw the car and the house that he didn’t just own a strip club because as nice as Morgan’s was, it certainly didn’t pay for everything he owned. A man in his position already had a team of helpers to do his bidding, including an administrative assistant at the office who took care of his schedule and most of his correspondence, a cleaning service who came every other day and a grocery service who delivered everything he wanted to the house.

  It took me almost another week before I came up with enough things to do for Morgan to be able to pretend like I was earning the ridiculous salary he was paying me. It wasn’t an easy task though because it seemed like my number one duty was to stay by his side. I kept my eyes open and jotted notes down for everything I saw that I thought I could take care of and presented him with my list this morning. He’d looked stunned by my list before he’d smirked smugly and agreed with my ideas—right before he’d suggested we go shopping so that I would be properly dressed for the job. When I’d tried to argue, he’d just pointed out that I was representing him since most of what I’d come up with was me running interference between him and his army of helpers. He’d made it impossible to say no and I’d found myself bundled into his car and swept off to Nordstrom’s before I’d known what was happening.

  “Welcome to Nordstrom’s Mr. Cadwell,” an elegant redheaded woman closer to Morgan’s age greeted him as he led me into a changing room set off to the side. Her green eyes sparkled as she looked at him, lashes fluttering in a manner I would have thought she had grown out of by now.

  “Marla, this is Miss Rose,” he answered, drawing her rapt attention from him to me.

  “Yes,” she sighed. “Lovely to meet you.”

  “And you,” I replied, not meaning it since it was impossible to miss the annoyance that flashed in her eyes as she looked me up and down. I deeply regretted not taking more care for this shopping trip because my shorts and t-shirt made me feel incredibly young and unattractive compared to how well put together she was.

  “I’ve got the room set up with options selected just for Miss Rose based on our conversation, Mr. Cadwell,” she simpered.

  “A complete overhaul, correct?” he clarified.

  “Yes, I’ve included everything from shoes to sunglasses and I’ve got a couple girls who can help with sizes and pull other items if needed,” she said, clapping her hands to signal to the other shoppers that they should join us.

  It was like I’d walked onto the set of a high-end fashion-modeling shoot with the way everyone was dressed. I highly doubted they usually put this much effort into what they wore to work and figured they had hoped to catch Morgan’s eye based on the sly looks that were sent my way. Although we had spent nearly every waking hour with each other over the past week, he hadn’t made any more advances towards me so I wasn’t sure of how to act anymore. I wanted to stake my claim and make it clear that he was mine, but it just wasn’t true.

  Some of my indecision must have been clear on my face because the women seemed triumphant and ramped up the flirting as I tried on different outfits. Morgan didn’t pay any attention to them, though. I’d tried on a few options and would have been happy to stop there until I saw the dress that changed it all. The silky material was a swirling together of several shades of green. I knew it would make my eyes pop a
nd once I put it on I fell in love with it and couldn’t wait to see the look on Morgan’s face when he saw me in it.

  When I stepped out of the dressing room, Morgan was looking down at his phone while Marla leaned over his shoulder to speak into his ear. He nodded his head idly, and I cleared my throat to get his attention. “Holy fucking Christ,” he breathed.

  “I’m not sure where I’d wear it to, but I really love this dress,” I murmured, walking towards him with my eyes locked on his.

  “We’ll find somewhere,” he assured me. “Even if I have to throw a fucking party. You are getting that dress.”

  “I should probably say no because it’s ridiculously expensive, but I don’t think I can resist this one,” I admitted.

  He looked up at Marla and shooed her away before speaking again. “You’ll learn soon enough that there’s no point saying no to me anyway, Angel, because I’ll just have to find ways to change your mind if you do.”

  He reached out a finger and trailed it along my naked leg as he spoke. With him sprawled in a chair and me in heels, he could probably look up the skirt of the dress if he wanted to do so. He lifted the hem slightly and his eyes heated as he stared at me.

  “Why do I have a feeling I’d enjoy your method of persuasion?” I asked throatily.

  “Because I’d make sure you did,” he promised, glancing down at his watch afterwards. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the time or place for a lesson in persuasion.”

  “I haven’t tried anything on yet,” I objected. “I’ve only gotten through maybe a quarter of it so far.”

  He clasped my hand in his and rubbed his thumb in circles around my palm. “Was there anything you’ve tried on that didn’t fit?”

  “It all fit perfectly,” I answered, my breath hitching.

  The circles continued, the tip of his finger dipping between mine with each upward swipe. “Anything you didn’t like? Something that wasn’t your style?”