Make Me - Tessa Bailey Page 0,37
thumbs-up and went back to staring at Honey. It took Russell a second to grasp why the loud music presented more of a problem than simply not being able to hear Abby speak. When her breath feathered his ear and lust spread to his groin, however, the clouds cleared and revealed the mind fuck.
“Um.” Jesus, she was talking an inch from his neck, having scooted closer on the seat. “The first thing any bank officer will want to know is how you’ll use the loan proceeds, where exactly the funds will be allocated to help them make their money back the fastest.” She paused to lick her lips, and he almost died. “Some officers suggest a ten-year business model, but most would rather see a strong five-year plan than a thin, long-term one.”
Huh. He’d been using the ten-year model in the meetings, but maybe he should reevaluate. This was Russell’s opening to inform her he’d been working on bank presentations for months. Presentations that had ultimately failed. She had no way of knowing how important securing the loan was to him—he’d never shared it with her or any of his friends for a good reason. If no one knew his ideal future hinged on being approved, no one could pity him if the bank stamped a big, red DENIED on his forehead.
Furthermore, if he revealed any of that to Abby, she wouldn’t feel the need to coach him. And right now, with her bare thighs angled toward him, giving him hope of a panty flash, he was keeping his mouth shut. To his detriment. Because he was an Abby masochist. An Abbychist.
Russell turned his head, so their cheeks were pressed together, giving him a lungful of white-grape sunshine. “We’ve got office space picked out over in Hollis. It’s small, but there’s a lot out back for storing equipment and supplies.” Voicing his plan, even partially, felt odd. But good. “Instead of paying rent to a landlord, we’d use half the loan to purchase the building. We’d rent out the top two floors to cover the mortgage, so most of our profit will go back into the business.”
“That’s great,” she breathed, shifting against his side. “Will you hire more employees?”
“Some.” Jesus, it was hot as hell in there and she smelled so good and that skirt had ridden up a little too high. “Mostly, we want to give our part-time guys a full-time gig. We’ll probably hire a secretary to search for jobs soliciting bids and submitting them for us. Alec and I would rather get our hands dirty than sit at a computer.”
“A secretary?” Abby tilted her head back and met his gaze. “Like a girl?”
“Now who’s the chauvinist?” Her eyes sparkled up at him in the darkness, and breathing became a challenge. “I’ll put you in charge of hiring the secretary. How’s that?”
Her mouth curved into a smile. “I’m thinking a cheerful grandmother of ten named Martha. Or Deloris.”
“Does Martha or Deloris bake?”
“Oh, yes. She’s a retired pastry chef.”
“Hire the woman.”
Abby laughed, and Russell felt it against his lips, but she sobered before he got his fill. “You liked baked goods so much, yet you completely ignored the cupcakes I brought over on Thursday.” He barely had time to register surprise that she’d brought up their afternoon together, before she continued. “I know. Abby doesn’t make people uncomfortable or discuss sore subjects. But I just defied my stepmother for the first time since I was a teenager, so I’m kind of on a roll. I guess . . . you just have to deal with it.”
“Okay,” he murmured, pride battling his shock. Somehow, this new development signaled impending disaster, but the determination on her face was so breathtaking, he couldn’t gather enough motivation to throw up a roadblock. “I never realized you were holding back.”
Her gaze dropped a moment before lifting again. “I don’t want to anymore.”
The husky change to her voice made his dick feel heavy. He felt like the coyote waiting for the anvil to fall on his head. Only Abby was way hotter than the roadrunner, with her tits rising and falling on shallow breaths. “Say what you want to say, angel.”
Something flickered in her eyes at the nickname. Fuck, he needed to be careful here, but the darkness and pulsing music had wrapped them in a fleece blanket where reality couldn’t intrude. The absorbent sound swallowed his groan when she wet her lips, her adorable ass shifting on the seat. “I want you to fuck