Page 48 of Mistletoe Mistake
She nodded thoughtfully. “They are, but they tend to have more blue in them, which makes it harder for people to feel sleepy. Personally, I think they're fine for the common areas of a hotel, but I wouldn't use them in the bedrooms.”
I glanced over at Jackson to see if he'd come across this idea before, and he shrugged back at me. “The report does mention that some of the guests complained of unsatisfactory sleep, but there didn’t seem to be a common reason why.”
Gemma nodded again. “That makes sense. It's a subconscious thing. You wouldn't really know why you weren't tired, only that you weren't. It might be worth replacing the lights and seeing if that helps.”
Her intelligence impressed me nearly as much as her creativity, and I snapped the lid of the laptop closed to give her my full attention. “Where were you an hour ago when I started looking at this?”
Gemma laughed, her green eyes sparkling warmly. “Do I get a consulting fee if I'm right?”
The food arrived and the three of us ate together, talking about work and London and the day’s news. The conversation flowed easily with no tension or awkward silences. Very rarely did I find a woman who didn’t let sex filter into other aspects of a relationship, aside from the women I paid, and I could hardly believe my luck that Gemma seemed to have no problem with it. She acted like a friend or a business acquaintance, which was just what I wanted anytime that we weren't in the bedroom.
Just before seven, Jackson bade us goodnight, and Gemma turned to me. “I need to get changed for tonight, but it won't take me long. Did my suitcases arrive?”
I pointed her to the closet where everything had been unpacked and left her to get changed, since I had a feeling if I stayed to watch her, we wouldn't be ready to leave when she wanted to. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged in a pretty, understated black dress with an emerald necklace and earrings that brought out her eyes. In her hands, she held a deep green tie from my closet.
“I hope you don't mind, but I thought this would look great on you tonight.” She held it out to me almost hopefully.
I couldn’t remember the last time someone had picked out clothes for me to wear, but it didn’t bother me that she had. In fact, I kind of liked the idea of us matching. It would act as a visual stamp, a signal to the other men we might encounter to let them know she belonged to me, at least for the night. Without hesitation, I removed the tie I had on and put the green one on instead.
The walk from the hotel to the church didn’t take very long. Two photographers waited outside the hotel to take pictures of us again, but clearly, the interest had already started to wane after the stories in that day’s papers, just as I thought it would.
Candlelight filled the church interior along with the scent of spices or incense as we entered, and Gemma greeted many of the people inside as we made our way to a pew. Everyone seemed to know her and treat her with respect, I was glad to see. She introduced me by name without specifying any kind of relationship between us, but the smiles on many people’s faces told me that our appearance in the morning's papers hadn't gone unnoticed.
The charming and peaceful carol service lasted just over an hour, and though I didn’t dislike it, when Gemma turned to me at the end to ask if it had won me over for Christmas, I had to burst her bubble. “I'm going to need more persuading than a few pretty songs, I'm afraid.”
Gemma took the news with a shrug. “I would have been surprised, but I thought I'd ask. It's only the first night, anyway; I haven't really started trying yet.”
After a few more minutes of socializing on the way out of the church, we were finally on our way back to the hotel, and despite the cool night air, my body flooded with heat at the thought of what awaited us there. The night was still young and neither of us had anywhere else to go. I couldn't wait to get started.
“I think you gave me some false advertising about tonight, Gemma,” I told her once we reached the suite, both of us removing our coats and shoes at the door.
“Oh?” she asked innocently. “What do you mean?”
“You promised me I'd see you on your knees,” I reminded her, letting my voice turn a bit harder. “But there was no kneeling involved. You lied.”
I actually saw the shiver run through her, making it clear just how much she was looking forward to our evening, even if she didn't know exactly what I had planned.
“I didn’t intentionally lie, Mr Stamer. I thought we would have to kneel.”
I had to bite my lip to stop from groaning. People called me Mr Stamer all day long, but somehow, from her lips, it sounded like the sexiest thing I'd ever heard.
“Were you always this badly behaved, Gemma? Even when you were in school?”
The question took her by surprise, her lips parting in uncertainty, and I pressed ahead to let her know exactly what I had in mind.
“I bet you were. I bet you drove the boys crazy in your school uniform: the short skirt, the see-through white top, your hair in pigtails.” Fuck, just talking about it made me hard. “I want to see it for myself. There's a bag in the closet. I want you to go get dressed and show me just how naughty you can be.”
~Gemma~
My heart raced as I hurried to the bedroom to follow Cole's instructions. I hadn't noticed anything in the closet earlier, but I'd only been focused on getting my dress for this evening. When I looked for it now, I quickly found the bag laid out on top of my empty suitcases, and when I opened it up and pulled out the contents, my heart started beating even faster.
Cole's 'naughty schoolgirl' comments were obviously not a spur-of-the-moment thing. He'd been thinking about this, had put some effort into it, and I couldn't wait to see exactly what he had in mind once I looked the part.
As quickly as I could, I removed my elegant dress and jewellery and put on the clothing he'd provided for me instead. Inside the bag, I found a white cropped shirt that stopped just beneath my breasts, and a red and black tie to go with it. A red, white and black tartan skirt, ridiculously short, along with knee-high white socks and black Mary Jane shoes completed the ‘uniform’, and there were also two hair ties, which I used to pull my red hair into bunches as he'd suggested.
I didn't bother putting any underwear on. He hadn’t provided any, and there didn't seem any point.
When I had it all on, I took a moment to examine myself critically in the mirror. My hard nipples were clearly visible beneath the white shirt, and if I bent over even a little, my bare ass would be on display too. It looked so ridiculously over-the-top that I loved it, and I knew Cole would too. Just the thought of his reaction sent a flush of anticipation through me.
