Page 6 of Mistletoe Mistake
Pushing myself away from the wall, I hurried after him, arriving just as he opened the door to his room. He went in first, holding it open for me to follow, and I looked around curiously as I walked into the sitting room of a large suite, much fancier than the room Holly and I had, though still equally lacking in personality. A deep, plush sofa and two matching armchairs surrounded a solid coffee table. A large-screen TV hung on one wall, with a small kitchen area to one side and a desk and working space on the other. Separate doors led to the bathroom and bedroom beyond.
Cole walked further into the room, still looking completely in control as he removed his suit jacket and draped it over the sofa, his eyes never leaving me. “I assume you’ll want to discuss business first.”
“Business?” I repeated curiously, dropping my clutch on the table by the door. The only kind of business that concerned me at the moment involved getting him out of the rest of that suit as quickly as possible.
“Do you call it something else here?” he asked, loosening his tie. “I just meant that we should set out the terms.”
I didn't have a clue what he meant and I was losing the ability to focus, watching his muscles tense beneath his dress shirt as he pulled his tie off.
Concentrate, Gemma, I admonished myself. What had he said? Something about 'terms'? His words beneath the mistletoe came back to me, how he said he wanted me to do whatever he told me to. Maybe the ‘terms’ had something to do with that. Did he want to know how far I would be willing to go?
“Can we just see how things go?” I suggested tentatively. I didn't really have any idea what he had in mind, and I didn't want to sound foolish by expecting too much or too little.
His brow furrowed, looking unsatisfied with that response. “I'd prefer to get it settled up front.”
Desperate to get the talking over with, I decided to put the ball back in his court. “Well, what would you suggest?”
His eyebrows raised but I couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. He appeared to be thinking things over as he removed his cufflinks, staying silent until he made up his mind.
“If you're staying the whole night, how about £2000?”
The mention of money threw me completely off and I stared at him blankly for a long moment, trying to make sense of it. Why were we talking about money?
Suddenly, it hit me, reality sinking in as I put the pieces together.Oh, my God.He thought I was a hooker.
~Cole~
Although I never liked making the first offer in any kind of business arrangement, this whole evening had already been unorthodox, nothing following my usual plan. So, when Gemma asked for my input, I decided to throw a figure out, eager to move this along. Two thousand pounds felt more than generous, especially when she didn't seem to have any other plans for the evening, considering that she dropped everything to come with me before agreeing on a price. I'd just made her whole night a lot more profitable, and I didn’t expect any resistance.
To my surprise, however, Gemma's body language completely changed once the words were out of my mouth.
She took a step back, her eyes wide, as if I had genuinely taken her by surprise, and a moment later, she started to laugh.
My fingers paused over the shirt buttons I had just started to undo, and the corners of my lips pulled down into a frown. What did she find so funny? My offer had been perfectly reasonable. Maybe this was some kind of negotiating tactic?
“I'm willing to hear a counter-offer,” I told her, trying to move this along. I had been rock hard ever since the hallway, ever since I felt just how wet she was. No matter how much of a professional she might be, she couldn't fake being that turned on, and it excited me in turn to know that she wanted me so badly. I couldn’t wait to get my pants off and get my dick into something considerably more appealing.
Gemma shook her head, her expression a mixture of amusement and annoyance. “I’m sorry, Cole. I think there's been a mix-up.”
Turning back to the door, she picked up her purse from the table where she'd dropped it, and my lips tightened at this new ploy. I should have guessed: she must be pretending to leave to try to drive the price up. I couldn’t be less in the mood for this, and it perfectly illustrated why I preferred to always have things settled in advance. “Name your price, Gemma. I don't want to play games.”
Her shoulders tensed before she turned back to me with a new look on her face, but this one, I couldn’t decipher at all. “Neither do I. Merry Christmas, Cole.”
Before I could say anything else, she let herself out, the door swinging shut behind her.
What the fuck?
A minute ago, she had practically been begging for it, and now she wouldn't even make me an offer? This must be some new trick I hadn’t encountered before. She would probably give it a minute or two and then come back, claiming to have forgotten something, and check if my offer had gone up. Annoyed but still interested, I poured myself a drink and sat down to wait.
Five minutes went by, and then ten. Eventually, my erection softened and I had to admit that it didn't look like she was coming back. Apparently, I wouldn’t be getting laid after all.Fuck.I had actually been really excited about the thought of being with her, and I had no idea what had gone wrong. Sure, I hadn’t done my research on current rates in London before I arrived, mainly because I never expected to have to throw out a figure, but I couldn’t have beenthatfar off.
Nearly three years had passed since I'd slept with any woman who hadn’t been paid in advance, but usually, the details were all handled through a third party. Negotiating directly with the woman had never been my style, and I only made an exception in this case because Gemma had been so exceptional in the first place.
Muttering to myself in frustration, I stripped off the rest of my clothes and climbed into bed alone. No matter how much I tried to turn off my brain, however, my memory kept drifting back to the sight of Gemma in her dress, the feel of her lips on mine and the way her tight, wet pussy felt wrapped around my finger. Just the thought of it had me growing harder until, with an unhappy sigh, I hauled myself back out of bed and went into the bathroom.
When the water had warmed up, I stepped inside the large walk-in shower and let the water run over me, stroking myself slowly with my hand as I brought the picture of Gemma back to the front of my mind. When I pictured her plump red lips wrapped around my dick, it made me so dizzy with pleasure that I had to put my other hand on the shower wall to keep my balance. Pumping faster, I imagined her red hair splayed out on the pillow of my bed, her eyes closed in bliss as she orgasmed beneath me, and those images alone were enough to get me off, panting in the steamy shower while the water washed all the evidence of my arousal down the drain.
With my mind a bit clearer, I returned to bed with a new sense of conviction. I still wanted her, and what I wanted, I always got. There had to be some way to find her. Apparently, I insulted her with my offer, but if I found out who she worked for, I could ascertain her usual price and find out how to get in touch with her. Despite the setback, I could still find a way to have her and make those visions in my head a reality.
