Okay. He was willing to be bat-shit crazy if it made her love him more.
Giving him an adoring look, she added, "But one gift next time, okay? Or a card."
Oh, hell no. He wasn't getting roped into that promise. "We'll see." His answer was noncommittal.
"Wait. I have something for you." She pulled away from him and scampered to her room.
She returned with a small gift bag, decorated with hearts and little devils. "The bag was definitely screaming your name." Shooting him a mischievous smile, she handed him the bag. "I don't really have my own money to spend, so I had to improvise."
"You need more money? Why didn't you tell me?" He glowered at her, pissed that she hadn't told him that she needed cash.
"I don't need you to give me anything more. I want you to take some of it back. I have almost a hundred grand in my bank account. I don't need it, Simon." She met his eyes with a stubborn tilt of her chin.
"You haven't spent hardly any of it. How in the hell are you living, taking care of your needs?"
She snorted. "You take care of my needs. What in the hell do I need money for? I don't have one single need or want. I'm living like a spoiled brat right now. All I have to do is mention something and it magically appears. I don't need to buy one single thing."
"Women love to shop. Buy things. Even when they don't need them." Hell, he knew that much from his mom. Her favorite activity was shopping.
"Not me. I'd rather be reading. Or playing Myth World II if I have time. I have every comfort, every need met." She reached a hand to his face, tracing his lips lightly, running the back of her hand softly over his five o'clock shadow. "The only recurring need I have is you."
She was trying to distract him, and damn him, it was working. "The money was a gift. You're keeping it." he snarled, determined that she wouldn't get her way by getting his cock hard...which it was. Extremely hard. Totally ready.
"I'm not keeping it." She placed a soft kiss at the side of mouth his mouth. "Open the bag."
He had all he could do not to strip that fuck-me robe from her body and devour her whole. His whole body was tense as he opened the gift bag, trying not to think about his pulsating cock and his nearly impossible-to-ignore compulsion to be driving into her body right at the moment.
His head jerked up before he could finish the task, suddenly remembering that he needed to tell Kara that the other asshole that had tried to abduct her was in jail. "They caught the other guy today. He's in jail. You probably have a message from Harris."
"Oh, thank God. You can call off the security. I think they intimidate some of my fellow students. They don't exactly keep a low profile anymore." Her voice was light, but her body visibly relaxed.
He saw the relief on her face. No matter how much she denied that the man had been a threat, he knew it had bothered her, knew that she was still frightened. She'd have to be a fool not to be. She had come too damn close to losing her life on the day they had injured her. "Not happening. The security stays."
"I don't need them anymore-"
"No! I can't take the risk of something happening to you. There are too many crazy people out there and I've made enemies over the years." Granted, he hadn't pissed as many people off as his brother Sam had, but you couldn't become a billionaire without having a few people out there who hated your guts. "The security stays."
He pulled on the red tissue paper in the bag, sending pieces of heart-shaped paper fluttering to the carpet. He caught one in his hand, clutching it tightly, before it hit the floor. She dipped a hand into the bag and pulled out the material that lay at the bottom.
She held up the black silk boxer shorts by the elastic. Generally a boxer-briefs type of guy, he stared for a moment before his lips curved upward. The black silk was dotted with little devils and hearts.
"They're so...you, Simon." She wiggled her eyebrows and the underwear at the same time. "You'll look hot. Not that you don't already, but all I could think about was how sexy they'd look on you." She pulled the material to her face, nuzzling the soft silk.
He stared at her with horny fascination, imagining his cock inside those boxer shorts, her lips on the material. Holy fuck! Those particular underwear had just become his very favorite. He didn't give a shit if he didn't usually wear traditional boxers.
"I already took the tags off. Try them on so I can take them off later." She held them out to him with a seductive smile.
He had his robe open in seconds and the shorts over his hips a moment later. He shuddered as he felt the soft brush of her delicate hands on his shoulders as she slipped his robe completely off, leaving him standing before her in his new pair of favorite underwear.
"Hot. Definitely very hot," she whispered.
The needy, breathy sound of her voice nearly made him come undone. Actually, he liked the feel of silk next to his skin, caressing his engorged member. And he positively loved the look of hunger in his woman's eyes as they roamed over his body, narrowing on the bulge at his crotch.
She didn't bother to hide her desire for him and it made him insane. "What's this?" He opened his fist, exposing the tiny cardboard heart. Flipping it over, he saw the handwritten words.
Good For One Wish!
He looked up at her, perplexed. She was worrying her bottom lip, looking anxious.
"It's a heart-wish. I didn't really have my own money-" She held her hand up as he drew in an audible breath to argue. "Don't start that again. Anyway, I made these up. You can cash them in any time. They're good for one wish or favor that you want from me. Anything that you can think of that's in my power to grant you."
"Anything?" His heart pounded as his mind filled with images.
She raised a brow. "Anything I'm capable of doing."
"I wish you would keep the money I put in your bank account and not argue about the security." Feeling a little guilty that he was using his gift against her, he frowned.
She gave him a look that his mother used to give him as a child. It was the dreaded "I'm-so-disappointed-in-you" look. Fuck! That hurt.
She folded her arms in front of her. "That wish interferes with my morals and values. Plus, that's two wishes. Not fair."
"Compromise?" he breathed softly, not liking the disgruntled look on her face.
Her face softened. "I'm open."
"Keep the money in your account. Use it if you need to. I'm not saying you have to keep it forever. Just keep it for now. Until you graduate and get a job. We can renegotiate later." Of course, he'd refuse to take it back later. But this was now, and he wanted her to be safe if anything ever happened to him.
"Wish granted." She let her arms slide down her body and planted them on her hips. "Security?"
"Let me leave the security in place, but I'll make them back off. You'll barely know that they're there. But let me keep security on you." Holding his breath, he watched her expression. "For my peace of mind, Kara. For me."
"I'll do it for you provided they back off and quit scaring my classmates. Wish granted." She snatched the paper heart from his hand and tore it up.
He dropped to the floor, searching frantically for the other heart-wishes. "How many were there?" He'd found two. Seeing another one lying under the table, he crawled forward, totally oblivious to the carpet burns on his knees. He wanted every one of those bad-boys in his hot little hand. They were definitely made of solid gold.
"Five," she choked out with a laugh.
He heaved a sigh of relief as he snagged the last one from the carpet. As he stood, she had her hand out and an expectant look on her face. "What?" No way was she getting another one to tear up.
"You made two wishes. You owe me one of those."
"I compromised." he said heatedly. Compromise should count for something. It wasn't like he did it every day, or for just anybody.
"Gimme." she answered, wriggling her fingers.
Oh, hell. He had gotten his way. Mostly. Pulling one of the small hearts from his palm reluctantly, he handed it over with a grunt. "Can I have these every holiday?"
"We'll see," she muttered vaguely, a secret smile on her lips, as she tore up the paper.
"What did you mean when you said you'd never gotten flowers? You had a long-term boyfriend."
She sighed heavily. "He didn't do gifts. Thought they were a waste of money. Especially flowers, because they eventually die."
"No offense, sweetheart, but why in the hell did you stay with him for so long?" His jaw clenched, wishing he could beat the hell out of her ex.