Chapter 4

4

ZANE

“ I ’d love to slide down that pole.”

Ella’s eyes were wide as she said those words toward the end of our lasagna lunch. Maybe it was her mention of sliding down a pole, or maybe it was just the way her eyes lit up, but the whole thing went straight to my dick.

I shrugged. “Let’s go.”

I tried to act nonchalant, but there was nothing the slightest bit casual about what I was feeling as I led her to the upper floor, which was mostly storage. The chief’s office was up here, but he never used the pole either. The whole thing was mostly for show.

“I’ll go first,” I said. “Then I can catch you at the bottom if I need to.”

She stood behind me, eyeing the hole in the floor. She was a little nervous about it. My goal was to show her it was no big deal while also making sure she stayed safe.

I grabbed onto the pole, wrapped my legs around it, and held her stare as I dropped through the floor. Feeling the pole between my legs reminded me that she’d be doing this next.

In my fantasy, she was wearing next to nothing as she slid down that pole. And she’d be doing it just for me, knowing how much it turned me on.

Shit. I’d gone way too long without sex. I’d definitely rub one out later with that fantasy in mind, though.

Once I was at the bottom, I stood back, hands on my hips, looking at the pole. “Just grab onto it and wrap your legs around it as I showed you. Keep your grip a little loose so you don’t hurt your palms on the way down.”

Was she hearing any of this? All I got was silence in response. But suddenly, I heard rustling, and then those black dress flats appeared, followed by the cuffs of her pants. She was coming down, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Only as she landed with a jolt did I remember I was supposed to be standing by to help if she needed it. I wouldn’t be much help at all standing way back here.

But as she stepped away from the pole, it was clear she’d done just fine without me. In fact, she had a glow about her, and her eyes were practically sparkling.

“It’s like pole dancing,” she said, looking at the pole and brushing her hands together.

She then wiped her hands on her pants. Luckily, Tyler kept the station pretty clean or that would’ve left residue for sure.

“Did you say pole dancing?” I asked as I finally registered the words that had come out of her mouth.

Maybe I’d imagined it. Oh God, I hope I hadn’t imagined it. She’d think I was a total perv.

“For a story in college, some friends and I took a pole dancing class,” she said. “Of course, we didn’t strip or anything.”

Good Lord. Her words were only worsening my erection. Maybe I should change the subject.

“Show me.”

Those words popped out of my mouth before I could stop them. It was exactly what I wanted her to do. But I needed to change the subject if I had any hope of getting this hard-on under control.

“Let me see if I remember,” she said.

She was eyeing the pole. She stepped toward it again and put both hands on it, then wrapped one leg around it, leaned back, and spun her body around. Even though she was fully clothed, it was the sexiest damn sight I’d ever seen.

“Did you wear workout clothes in class?” I asked.

She glanced over at me, seemingly thrown by the question at first, but then she shook her head. “Shorts and a T-shirt. Some of the women took their tops off and wore only their sports bras. I guess it made them feel sexier. I was too shy.”

I smiled. “You don’t strike me as the shy type.”

She stepped back, and I kicked myself. Had I just ruined my chance to see more pole dancing?

Ella shook her head. “I guess ‘modest’ is a better word for it.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I said. “You have to do what makes you feel comfortable.”

“I never got it until now,” she said.

She was looking at me suddenly, and her expression sent a fresh surge of warmth rushing through my body. I didn’t dare speak or even move. Whatever was about to happen, I’d kick myself for the rest of my life if I fucked it up by opening my big mouth.

“When you finally meet the right guy, you want to bare everything to him, physically and emotionally,” she said.

My eyes widened. Normally a woman talking like this after I’d just met her would have me running for the hills. But instead, my spirits were soaring.

It was exactly what she was talking about. When you finally met the right person, none of the old rules applied. And from the second I’d seen her sitting in that Mexican restaurant and looking up at me with those soulful, warm brown eyes, I was done for. My goose was cooked. May as well stick a fork in me and call me done.

This was the woman I was going to be with for the rest of my life.

“So if you’d had that person in your pole-dancing class, just the two of you, you might have worn fewer clothes?” I asked.

I was pushing it. Suddenly, I wasn’t afraid of scaring her off. But my fear of scaring her off was outweighed by my need to make her feel comfortable.

“Just the two of us?” she asked.

She was making this personal. That much was clear from the way her eyes hadn’t left mine as she spoke. If I’d been the only one with her in that room, she would’ve felt comfortable disrobing.

“We’re the only ones here right now,” I pointed out. Once again, words that could scare her off. I held my breath for her response.

“We are?” she asked, looking in the general direction of the parking lot. “Couldn’t they come back?”

We were way at the back of the building. “If they do, we’ll know it. Nobody can sneak into this place. The front door sets off a chime on the alarm system.”

We were in a small town, but the guy who’d run this place before Tyler took over had it locked down like Fort Knox. That meant if we were unclothed, we’d have plenty of time to get dressed again.

My erection notched up a little at the thought of getting naked with this woman. I may as well give up all hope of taming this bulge in my pants. It was here to stay until I found release.

“It would be easier to demonstrate my moves without all these clothes on,” she said, biting her lip.

She shifted her gaze back to me. She looked nervous, like I might say no. Did she think I was crazy? No man in his right mind would turn down this opportunity.

I nodded. “I’d love to see your moves.”

Those words, cheesy as they sounded, seemed to do the trick. She reached for the top button of her blouse and began unbuttoning them one by one.

“It’s great exercise, but it wasn’t something I could keep doing,” she said as she unbuttoned. “I looked into buying a pole for my apartment after I took the class. But I was in college at the time, and having a stripper pole in my living room seemed like it might give guys the wrong idea.”

“Probably,” I said. “But that would be their problem.”

“It would become my problem if they wanted me to sleep with them,” she said. “It’s not comfortable telling a guy you’re a virgin.”

At those words, my gaze darted straight back to her face. I was aware there was an age difference. I’d asked my buddy who was dating her roommate, and he’d said Ella was twenty-three or twenty-four—he wasn’t sure which. I was thirty-five and had left my virginity behind me a good couple of decades ago. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d met a virgin, let alone slept with one.

“Does that bother you?” she asked, shrugging off her shirt.

She wore a simple black bra. It looked like cotton. It was clear she hadn’t planned for her day to take this kind of turn. Lord knew I hadn’t.

“You being a virgin?” I asked.

Why would it bother me? Unless she was thinking the same thing I was—that this was going to turn romantic. Maybe not today, but soon. I’d wait as long as she wanted.

“Guys tend to get freaked out,” she said. “They think sleeping with a virgin means committing to marry her or something. I’m not saving myself for marriage. I just…” Sighing, she looked down, her hands at her sides. “My sister got pregnant when she was fourteen. I was in fifth grade at the time. My parents put the baby up for adoption, but it just screwed up everything. There was no path she could have taken that wouldn’t have a lasting impact on her.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

I lost my virginity at fifteen. I’d been so immature, even though I thought I knew everything. I couldn’t imagine fathering a child at that age.

“I went on birth control when I was fifteen,” she said. “My mom insisted, just in case. I’ve been on it since. I just want to make sure when I do have kids, it’s by choice, not accident.”

“I couldn’t agree more. There’s never a perfect time, but it helps to be established in a relationship where you’ve both decided you want to start a family.”

The problem was, I could clearly see starting a family with this woman. In fact, suddenly, there was nothing I wanted more. Well, maybe one thing.

“I never thought I’d feel this comfortable around a guy,” she said. With a laugh, she looked down at herself. “I’m standing here topless, and I don’t even feel shy about it.”

“Well, not completely topless,” I said, letting my mouth tilt up in a hint of a smile. “In fact, you’re wearing way too many clothes, if you ask me.”

I could hear the sheer lust in my own voice. I wanted to see this woman naked more than I wanted to take my next breath.

“I could say the same about you.” She tilted her head slightly. “Maybe you should take off your clothes too.”

It didn’t make much sense for me to get naked to watch her swing around on a pole. But if it made her feel more comfortable, I’d do it. I reached for my suspenders, jerked them off my shoulders, then had the T-shirt on the floor next to where I stood a few seconds later.

I stopped there, though. If she was a virgin, it was too soon for her to see what she was doing to me.

Her hands hadn’t moved as she stared, eyes wide. “Oh, my God, you’re perfect.”

I didn’t know about that, but I’d take the compliment. “Thank you,” I said. “And you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

At that, her eyes lifted to my face and she sucked in a deep breath. “That’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“There’s plenty more where that came from.”

Suddenly, she closed her eyes and reached for the fastening of her pants. She kept those eyes closed as she unbuttoned and unzipped, letting them fall to the floor. I stood frozen, unable to stop staring at the sight in front of me.

Yes, this was a woman who could make every day better. And I would make it my mission to do the same for her.