Pax was laughing heartily on the other end of the line. "Darlin', you pretty much told me you were in the tub when your sister-in-law barged in. I can put two and two together. I may be country, but I ain't stupid, sweetheart."
Cordie was mortified, but she didn't want him to think that she thought him stupid. She knew that was a negative stereotype of people who hailed from the American south, and she also knew it to be patently false, her father being a superb example. "Pax, I never thought you were stupid," she rushed to assure him.
"Darlin', I was just kiddin'," Pax sounded amused, but he was no longer laughing, so that was a plus. "Datin' you is gonna be pretty damn hard if you can't relax when you're talking to me, baby."
"Well, you kind of caught me by surprise with your…observations," she defended herself, but she couldn't bring herself to repeat what he had said. "How did you know about the…" Again, the words wouldn't leave her mouth.
"The virgin thing?" The amusement was gone from Pax's tone. It had gone from playful and light to gentle and serious.
"Yeah," Cordie mumbled as she used her foot to turn on the hot water tap. He already knew she was in the bath, so why bother sitting in tepid water that was slowly turning cold?
"Cordelia, darlin', please don't take this wrong but, you're too damn shy to have ever been with a man," Pax sounded a little hesitant. He was clearly worried about pissing her off, and Cordie took that as a good sign.
"I don't know what to say," Cordie admitted. How did anyone respond to that, let alone a romantically challenged princess?
"Does it bother you that I know you're a virgin, baby doll?" Pax asked gently.
Cordie couldn't help it; she laughed…albeit just a tad hysterically…which she hoped the country heartthrob hadn't picked up on. "Does it bother you that I am a virgin?" She also wasn't stupid. She knew that virgins her age were almost as rare as white tigers.
"Sweetheart, it's a point in your favor," Pax replied without missing a beat. "Doin' what I do, I see a lot of women with no standards. I know it ain't PC to say it, but I don't like feelin' like I've my girl with a dozen other men. Plus, I got three nieces I'm tryin' to sha[e into good women. I need a good woman ridin' as my queen to help me, and you fit the bill, baby."
"Riding as your queen?" Cordie had spent a good deal of time in the American south, but she had never heard that phrase before.
Pax's chuckle was husky…and it made Cordie rub her thighs together uncomfortably. "I'm the president of the Port Gibson Saints…it's an MC –"
"MC?" Again Cordie was clueless.
"Motorcycle club," Pax clarified. "The president's ol' lady is called the club's queen."
Cordie's heart felt like it was beating all the way up in her ears. "You think I could be your queen?" That was one title that she had never planned on having, and she held quite a few.
"No, baby doll. I know you're gonna be my queen." Pax sounded utterly sure of himself.