I pressed the intercom button again, my other hand clenched at my side, my entire body tight. “No. Send her in.” I stood, staring at my office door, waiting for her to come in. Then the door opened and Poppy walked in.
Everything in me stilled as I stared at her. Fuck, it had been too long, and she looked even more gorgeous than ever. How in the fuck was I going to control myself when it came to what I felt for her?
2
Poppy
He’d agreed to see me; now, all I had to do was walk through that door. I was shocked. Part of me had expected him to tell me to leave. Stepping into his office, I wasn’t prepared for the sudden hit of arousal as I stared at my stepfather. He wasn’t my stepfather. Mom had long moved on to another man.
“I’ll take it from here,” he said, moving around the desk.
I’d completely forgotten how damn big he was. Seriously, he made me look tiny, and I wasn’t a small girl. Years of not being mom’s perfect little girl had sent me into binge eating. But I wasn’t going to delve into that kind of shit. I wasn’t here to think about the past, but about the future.
The door closed behind me, and I glanced back to see that we were alone.
“Poppy, it has been so long,” he said. He pushed his hands into his pants pocket, and I couldn’t help but watch and notice his crotch. Quickly, I averted my gaze. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me. Alexei would never be interested in me.
“I know. Erm—” Damn, this was a lot harder than I thought it would be.
“What’s the matter? I take it this is not a social call.”
“It is, and it isn’t. I mean, it’s not. No, it’s not a social call.” I could feel my cheeks going a deeper shade of red as he continued to stare.
“Well, what do I owe the pleasure of seeing my stepdaughter?”
I couldn’t help but wince. Did we have to put an actual title on what we were to each other? He was no relation to me; why did he constantly feel that he had to do so?
Ugh!
“I was wondering if I could borrow some money.”
I watched his eyes go wide. “Borrow?”
“Yes, like a loan, only I hope without too much interest?”
He pulled his hands out of his pockets and folded his arms, looking rather amused by my question. “I have to say, I’m rather shocked.”
“Good shocked?” I hoped it was a good shock. I didn’t want it to be a bad shock, did I? Even when he was married to my mother, I never asked him for anything. When we went out, he always offered, and I never asked, not once. This was so embarrassing.
“I don’t know. Why do you need the money, Poppy?”
Biting my lip, I tried not to wince even more than I already had. I didn’t want to tell him why.
“I went on a shopping spree.”
He snorted. “Try again.”
Looked like I still couldn’t lie to Alexei.
Alexei
I had to say I was a little startled by the change in Poppy. It had been too damn long since I last saw her, and in that time she’d changed so much. It might have been over four years since I divorced her mother, but I’ve kept an eye on Poppy. She no longer looked like a young girl; she was all woman. I preferred women with a bit of meat on their bones. Her mother had been okay until she lost so much weight, and I just didn’t find her attractive anymore. The woman I married was not the woman she became.
But that’s not why we divorced, not in the least.
With Poppy, however, I was having no trouble in getting hard. It was taking all my concentration to look at her face and not travel down her body. Her tits were nice and big, I’d clocked them the moment she entered. I just wish I could make her turn around so I could see the rest of her body. Fuck, I’d pay her a million fucking dollars just to have her do it naked.
Gritting my teeth, I tried to remind myself that I shouldn’t be thinking this kind of shit about my stepdaughter. It didn’t matter what I said though. I wanted what I wanted, and she was at the top of the fucking menu.
“I could have spent all my money on a shopping spree.”
“You forget I know you, Poppy. You don’t give a shit about shopping sprees. You were always moaning when I took your mom out. Now, why do you need the money?”
“I’m broke, okay, broke, and I can’t get a loan from the bank. I just… I thought you might be able to help me.”