7. Claire

The way Julian makes me feel has my entire body pleading for release. I need something to make this energy go away. My breasts are tight and my pussy begs for his touch. I push myself off the bed, opting to take a shower with the hope of washing away my lust.

The bathroom is magnificent with beige and white stone tiled floors. The large white oak vanity with a mirror that shows the redness in my face and the puffiness of my eyes. I take off my long shirt, staring at my body in the mirror, and wonder if it will fill out more. My breasts are too small. My body doesn"t have anywhere near the number of curves that Bonnie and Fiona have as older women.

Still, if Julian"s attracted to me, I have to be okay with the way I look, right?

I don"t want to cry again. I hop into the massive shower with its rainfall shower head and body jets. There"s one attached to a hose I like to use when washing my hair, but the way Julian has my body in need, my imagination takes over. I pull the steel shower head out of its holder and adjust the nozzle. There"s a setting that spurts out water at a furious pace, like it"s trying to send a Morse Code signal. That one feels amazing on my scalp, but I wonder what it would feel like, down there. The bench against the shower wall lets me use the space as a sauna too, but for what I"m about to try, it"s perfect.

I adjust the temperature and sit down, with one foot on the bench and the other planted on the floor. There"s enough steam in the bathroom by now to hide my reflection, shielding me from the embarrassment of having to relieve myself.

The water strikes my stomach hard, but I gradually lower the powerful stream until it shoots against the lips of my pussy. My heart races and nipples harden as I lower my other hand to spread them and let the water tickle the inside of my folds. However, there"s nothing funny about the sensations racking my body.

My breathing comes harder, faster. My hips begin moving as I imagine Julian between my legs again. The water hits so many nerve endings at once, my entire body clenches on the brink of release. I can"t stop the moans of pleasure, the cries of my yearning. The pressure against my clit dares me to move the shower head a bit lower to hit my entrance as well.

I can feel the pressure traveling from my pussy to my stomach and up to my eyes. I close them as I finally feel the sweet release of my climax. My clit pulsates and my walls throb. The release is adequate, but it"s nothing compared to what I feel when Julian has his fingers inside me.

It"s the longest shower I"ve ever taken. One climax after another has me clutching the shower bench, hunching over the shower head as I"m now standing to reach the proper angle. The only thing that snatches me out of my orgasmic trance is the small clearing of steam giving me the horrific sight of my stance in the mirror.

I screech, dropping the shower head that sprays around the bathroom in all directions before I hit the faucet controls to turn it off.

"Claire?" Julian"s voice calls out from outside the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

My heart lurches before sinking to the pit of my stomach. I wonder how much he heard.

"I"m fine," I call out. "I, uh, slipped on some shampoo and scared myself."

"You sure you"re okay?" he asks.

"Yes, I"m fine. I"ll be out in a second." I tell him and decide the best thing for me to do is go to bed. It doesn"t take long for me to get out of the shower and step out of the bathroom.

However, the last thing I expect is for Julian to still be in my room. He eyes me from head to toe, before returning his gaze to the window. The towel wrapping around me does little to shield my body from his piercing gaze.

"I told you I was fine," I say, walking past him toward my closet where I let my towel drop to slip on a different t-shirt.

He grunts, but when I glance in his direction, he turns his gaze back toward the window. There"s nothing interesting about the freshly trimmed lawns of Blackwell Manor. His voice cuts into my thoughts. "I just wanted to be sure. You sounded like you were in distress."

"Don"t worry. No one"s in here trying to kidnap me or anything. I"m going back to bed, so unless you want to join me…" I let my voice drift before gesturing for him to leave. He"s hellbent on not following through with whatever this thing is between us.

"Don"t be that way, Claire. You have no idea what you"re asking for."

"What am I asking for, Julian? Seriously, tell me."

Before I can say anything else, Julian crosses the room. I back into the frame of my closet door, waiting for him to touch me, to bring me to the climax I chased during my shower.

The way his fingers delicately stroke the side of my face shows the amount of restraint behind their ruggedness. Yet, the softness of his touch disappears when he grips me by the chin, holding my face firmly as he leans in close and lets his lips move over mine.

My breathing stutters as I lick my lips. A quiet whimper escapes out of my throat.

"You don"t get a happily ever after with me, Claire."

I take a breath. "How do you know that? You won"t even consider the?—"

He cuts me off. "Pain and pleasure blur when dealing with me. The things I like to do, that bring me satisfaction? I don"t want to hurt you, Claire. That"s just between you and me. Don"t get me started on what a relationship with me looks like. I"d look like a creepy old pervert at best and a predator at worst. Don"t push this, Claire."

"Fine," I tell him, shrugging out of his grasp and sitting on my bed. "I want to date. No, I"m going to start dating. I don"t need your permission, right?"

He lets out a heavy exhale, the line of his jaw tensing. "Fine. You"re right. You"re old enough to date. Anyone in particular?"

"Does it matter?" I ask him, folding my arms over my chest.

"It matters if they"re going to have access to this property. Give me the name, address, profession, job address?—"

I cut him off this time. "You want their social security number, too?"

"They need to be vetted, Claire. One, it"s to keep you safe. Two, it"s for the safety of this home."

"Don"t give me that shit, Julian. You"re being difficult on purpose. You don"t get to keep me to yourself, get me all riled up to the point I nearly bust my ass in the shower trying to give myself the same feeling your tongue—" I stop myself from saying too much and redirect back to what I"m asking for. "You"re hosting a lavish event masquerading as a birthday party for me. None of those people have to be vetted. All they need is an invitation to get on this property. Allow me the same freedom."

"Fine, Claire. Invite whoever you want to the party. Date whoever you want, but Bonnie has to chaperone the first six dates."

"The first date only and she stays in the car," I counter.

"The first four dates, she comes inside for the first two and waits in the car for the last two," he replies.

"Three dates, one inside wherever my date takes me, and the other two she waits in the car."

He sighs, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Deal. Also, dating does not interfere with your job. You"re still my assistant. If I need you, you drop everything and you come to me."

"I was trying to, but you didn"t want to cross that line," I tease him, hoping he takes away this permission to date. I don"t want to go out with anyone else, but if he insists on keeping the sexual aspects out of our relationship, I might as well enjoy myself.

"Claire," his tone is loaded with warning. "I"ll see you in the morning."

"Sure thing, Boss-well. Good night," I tell him as he walks out of my room. He leaves without another word. My dreams don"t get the memo that Julian"s officially off limits. Every toss and turn tempts me into touching myself, but this has to stop.

By the time my alarm rings the next morning, I"m ready to hurl my phone across the room. My training session with Bonnie sucks. She pins me way too many times. It gets to the point where she stops the drills.

"Okay, what"s going on?" Bonnie asks. "You"re not here."

"Julian said I can date and you need to chaperone."

"Oh," she raises an eyebrow with a grin. "Nice. I promise not to get in the way. It"s good for you to get out, Claire. There are too many older adults who stop you from having a good time. This is going to be fun and I promise I"ll only be around to keep you safe. Okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Bonnie," I tell her with a sigh. It"s clear she has no idea of what"s going on between me and Julian. I"m happy because I"d hate to see how she"d react. Julian"s words sit with me. I don"t want his reputation under fire because of me.

"Let"s call it quits for this session. We"ll pick back up tomorrow. Meet me in front in an hour." Bonnie shifts back to bodyguard mode and leaves the training room.

I can"t get out of my head. Thoughts whirl like a tornado, snagging all my attention. I don"t even know where I"ll meet someone my age to date. It doesn"t take me nearly as long as it has previously to get ready. This morning, I"m not looking to impress Julian at the office. Instead, I"m ready to be his dutiful assistant.

When I step outside, Bonnie doesn"t have the car waiting, but I hear a noise coming from the side of the house. There"s an engine running. Maybe she"s still in the garage with the car. The smell of the grass and moisture in the air are strong this early in the morning. It"s a beautiful home and the landscaping crew does a fantastic job.

I round the corner of a very trimmed hedge to see a beat-up car running just outside the garage. There"s a door beside the larger one meant for vehicles to come and go which swings open, and Devon walks out.

"Wow. Good morning, Princess." He smiles and licks his lips. "How about breakfast?"

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

He pulls a phone out of his pocket, waving it in front of him. "Fell out of my pocket when you went all kung-fu on me. Just came to pick it up. So how about it?"

"How about what?" I ask him.

"Breakfast, Princess. I know it"s early and all, but even the rich and famous need to eat. Wait, I get it, you already ate? Avocado toast, sesame seed something or some other fancy shit that"s inedible but pretty to look at?"

I laugh, sliding a lock of hair behind my ear. It brings a smile to his face as he drags his eyes down the line of my neck. "How about dinner?"

The surprise in his eyes isn"t shocking, and he takes the hint. "Dinner it is, Princess. Tonight? Eight o" clock?"

I nod. "My name"s Claire, Mr. Shaughnessy. Let"s make it six."