Stripped Bare Read Online Free PDF Page A

looks at the driver. “We’re ready, Gus.”
    Gus gives him a nod and heads down the road.
    “You look lovely, Tesla.”
    “Thank you.”
    We share a smile. This feels awkward, like we’re sixteen years old and don’t know what to do with our hands. Or our eyes. So we just stare at each other.
    “You really are pretty,” he says softly. “And I want you to know I understand now. About the difference between being beautiful and sexy.”
    “You do?”
    “My therapist explained it to me.” He smiles, and I feel like I’m missing some private joke.
    “You see a therapist?”
    “Sometimes. When forced.”
    “I just can’t picture the powerful billionaire Jax Monroe talking to a shrink.”
    “Yeah, well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have some issues.”
    I had noticed, but decide it’d be impolite to say so.
    “It’s a good thing,” he continues. “Talking to her, I mean. She can be quite outspoken and opinionated at times.”
    “Your therapist is a woman?”
    “And my sister.”
    I laugh. “That’s not a conflict of interest at all.”
    He laughs, too. “Oh, it’s completely unethical, but she’s harder on me than any regular therapist could ever be. I wouldn’t put up with anyone else telling me what I should do. Tara’s honest. She tells me what I need to hear.”
    I have no idea where we’re headed, and I’m too fascinated with the man by my side to ask. I haven’t even glanced out the window. Not once.
    “I don’t even know what it is you do for a living,” I admit.
    “I’m CEO ofMonroe Investment Group. And that’s as boring as it sounds.”
    “If it’s boring, why do you do it?”
    “Because it was my father’s company. And his father’s. Family tradition is important to me. Besides, making money isn’t boring. Helping struggling businesses isn’t boring. It’s just our name that makes me cringe. But . . .”
    “It’s tradition.”
    He nods.
    My heart thaws a little more. “That’s kind of adorable.”
    “I have my moments.”
    The car comes to a stop, and I finally manage to look away from the beautiful man. Gus seems to have taken us to a park.
    “Tesla,” he says hesitantly, “I don’t know how you feel about gazebos and picnics, but . . .”
    “I love gazebos, actually.”
    His entire body relaxes, and he grins. “Good. Wait here?”
    “Okay.”
    Jax gets out of the car, and seconds later, he opens my door. I don’t know where it appeared from—maybe the trunk?—but he’s now holding a picnic basket in his left hand. With his right, he slips his fingers along mine and leads us down a cobblestone path. Nestled at the end is a lighted gazebo. It’s white, with ivy twisted along the columns.
    “Tara suggested this place. I hope it’s okay.”
    “It’s beautiful, Jax.”
    There’s a table in the middle, and I wonder if it’s always there or if he pulled some strings. Either way, it’s nice, and he places the picnic basket in the middle of it before offering me a seat.
    He frowns. “There’s sandwiches and chips. And wine. Casual, as suggested.”
    “Why are you making that face? You don’t like casual?”
    “I don’t care what we eat, Tesla. I just . . . I don’t know. It’s our first date, and you deserve . . . better.”
    He’s so nervous, and I understand why. Two weeks ago, I was grinding on his lap with my boobs in his face. Today, we’re sharing sandwiches in a lighted gazebo in the park.
    Could we be more dysfunctional?
    He’s trying so hard, and I don’t want him to be nervous. I reach over, gently brushing his hand with mine. I hear his sharp intake of air, and our fingers entwine.
    “I love the gazebo, and I love the sandwiches.”
    “You do?”
    “Yes.”
    “It’s so simple, though.”
    “When everything up to this point has been complicated, isn’t simple a good thing?”
    Jax laughs softly and squeezes my hand. “As long as you’re happy.”
    “I am.”
    We talk about everything while we eat our