He watched her cock her head and study him. It made him feel a little like a piece of meat.
“You need more button-up shirts that are tailored to fit you. Your jeans fit fine, but you should go with a darker wash with some whiskering effect on the front. If it were winter I’d tell you to wear scarves and layer them into your wardrobe. But we are going into spring, which will quickly turn into summer, so you could wear more shirts with patterns versus solid colors. And if you do go with a solid, you need to do softer colors. Not bright-colored Tshirts.”
She crossed her arms and smiled, waiting for his rebuttal.
“Button-up shirts are too dressy and scarves are for girls. I don’t wear patterned shirts because they remind me of Granny’s muumuus,” he snarled.
“Okay.” Haley shrugged, took a sip of coffee and went back to studying.
He fidgeted in his seat until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you trying to insinuate that I don’t look good in my clothes?” He’d never had a woman complain before. Hell, they were always trying to take his clothes off, not put clothes on him.
Haley set her coffee down. “Jayden, would you dress a lingerie model in granny panties and an oversized bra?” She shook her head. “No, you’d dress her in the hottest lingerie that would best show off her body.”
He didn’t know if he should be offended or complimented. He cocked his head, trying to figure her out.
He leaned forward, his elbows on the table. Her breath hitched ever so slightly in her slender throat and he could see the pulse jumping at the base of her neck. Her pupils dilated. Pleasure streaked through his body hard and fast at her obvious arousal.
He let his lips curve into a slow grin. “Okay, Haley. I’m willing to be your little experiment. I’ll let you strip me down and dress me however you want.”
Her eyelids drifted over her eyes as her lips parted. He loved seeing that reaction.
“How about we make a deal?”
“What kind of deal?” Her raspy voice made his dick throb.
“I’ll let you take me shopping for clothes and let you change my wardrobe however you like.” He shrugged. “I’ll even pay for everything.”
“What do you want in return?”
“In return, you’ve got to do something for me.” He let his gaze dip down to that pulse in her neck that seemed to pick up speed at his proposal.
“What do you want me to do?”
That was a loaded question. There was a lot he wanted her to do and it all involved her being naked.
“I want you to let me give you the college experience that you’ve been missing. Everything that you’ve missed out on, everything that you’ve been warned not to do. I want you to agree to do whatever I say.”
Haley stared at him for a few beats, as if considering his proposal.
Any other woman would have been putty in his hands.
But not Haley.
She was different. She had a mind of her own.
Haley eased back in her seat and met his gaze. “Okay, on one condition. You can’t refuse what I pick out for you. You have to buy it and wear it.”
“Okay.” He shrugged and gave her an easy grin.
She stuck out her hand and smiled. He took her hand in his and shook, holding on to her hand a second too long.
He leaned closer.
“Remember, Haley, a deal’s a deal. There’s no going back now.”
#
Jayden walked Haley to each one of her classes and stood watch just outside the door. He managed to pass the time researching stalkers on his cell phone. He discovered that all stalkers were not the same. There were actually different types. Haley’s stalker resembled what they called a rejected suitor. One person fit that description.
The ex-boyfriend.
He lifted his head as the doors to the classroom swung opened and students poured out into the hallway like ants. He ignored the flirty looks the girls were shooting him and instead kept his gaze on Haley as she headed toward him, her head high and a smile on her lips. A girl walking beside her touched her arm and Haley turned. She said something and they both laughed.
His heart tugged in his chest and he couldn’t tear his eyes off her.
Neither could the other males in the hallway.
Jayden frowned, watching a guy slide up beside her and ask her a question. His gut burned. Jayden started moving closer to her.
Haley replied to whatever the dude has said to her and shook her head before looking back at Jayden and smiling.
He wasted no time wading through the throng of people to get to her.
“How was class?” he asked, sticking his hands in his jeans pockets. He realized he was standing close, but he couldn’t seem to make himself step back.
“It was good.” Haley smiled and slung her backpack across her shoulders.