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  Gliding my hands from her waist to her shoulders, I massage the tense muscles in her back. It takes several minutes, but I feel her eventually relax under my touch. “Feels good?”

  “Very.”

  I work her muscles and contemplate how to justify my possessive outburst. Hard as I try, I can’t figure out how to rationalize something that isn’t rational.

  I don’t know. Maybe I let my past betrayal get into my head? The truth is that I’m not exactly sure what happened to me just now. I only know that I want her with me, only me, and no one else. And while I haven’t earned her loyalty, I have paid for it.

  I migrate upward, kissing her shoulder again, and I skim my nose across the nape of her neck. She smells so good—a fab concoction of fruit, sweat, and pheromones.

  I rest my cheek against the center of her back, my own personal way of submitting to her even if she doesn’t realize what I’m doing. I stay that way while I try to regain some of the footing that I may have lost with her after my irrational commands. “I’m sorry if I was too demanding.”

  “It was intense.” She pauses for a moment. “But I’m not opposed to intense.”

  She isn’t angry or upset with me?

  Her upper body lifts off of the bed, and she looks back at me over her shoulder. “However, you’ve confused me.”

  I roll off of her and lie on my side facing her. She does the same and props her head in her hand with her elbow pressed into the bed. And her eyes… they’re so full of questions.

  It takes me a moment to gather my words. “We may only have an arrangement for a few months, but you’re all mine during that time. Only mine. I won’t share you with another man, Inamorata client or otherwise.”

  “There is no other man. But I have a question for you.” She reaches out and circles her fingertip around one of my nipples. “Will you do the same for me?”

  “Be yours?”

  She nods. “Yeah. Be mine and only mine until our arrangement ends?”

  I wasn’t planning on being with another woman. I thought that was established, given the circumstances that brought us together. “Aye. Just you and me until it ends.”

  “Yeah, just you and me.”

  When I open my eyes, I see that Lou is asleep on her stomach. She isn’t a morning person. Not even a wee bit.

  We’ve only spent a couple of nights together, but I’m already learning things about her: she’s a stomach sleeper, doesn’t want to cuddle when it’s time to go to sleep, and she likes her own space in the bed.

  It’s Sunday morning. My last day of this weekend with Lou. Sure, we have upcoming days together, but this could be the last one without the staff around. As much as I’d like to, I can’t send them away every time Lou comes over, and I need to take advantage of their absence today.

  Instead of getting up to have my usual cup of coffee, I stay in bed. I want to be next to her when she wakes. Because I’m ready to fuck her again.

  I can’t help myself. She enchants me. I can’t even look at her without getting hard.

  Lust has no mercy.

  I lie next to her and study her sleeping form. I lie beside her for so long that I’m on the verge of going back to sleep when I feel movement on the mattress.

  My eyes spring open and she’s staring at me. Hmm. The watcher becomes the watched.

  “Happy Sunday, Hutch.”

  “Happy Sunday to you, sleepyhead.”

  Her forehead wrinkles. “I can’t be called the sleepyhead if I’m the one who wakes up first.”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up for so long that I fell back asleep.”

  “Right, sure you did.”

  “I did.”

  “What kept you in bed instead of getting up to have your coveted hot black tar?”

  “You kept me in bed.” I reach out and grab the back of her thigh, pulling it toward me so it wraps around my waist. “And this.”

  I’m inside her twice before we leave the bed and then again in the shower. And for good measure, a fourth time before we leave my house to take her home. Well, not home exactly. I’m taking her back to Inamorata’s office. She isn’t ready to let me know where she lives. I understand—I’ve not proven myself to her yet. But I will in time.

  As I drive, I berate myself for not being more daring with Lou this weekend. I should have fucked her all throughout the house since the staff was gone. The kitchen. The living room. On top of the dining room table. It would’ve been the perfect time to christen those places. They’ll probably be impossibilities after the staff returns to the house.

  All in all, we had a wonderful weekend. I’m not ready to let her go. “I want you to come over tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up after I leave work.”

  “What time?”

  “Around six but I’ll text and give you an exact time.”

  “I’ll need a one-hour notice to account for travel from my flat to the train station and then the walk to Inamorata’s office.”

  That is ridiculous. “You should just let me pick you up at your flat.”

  “You’re very aware that I don’t allow clients to know where I live.”

  She says clients, plural, as though she has so many. I don’t like that. “I’m not an ordinary client.”

  “No, you definitely aren’t ordinary.”

  “I’m your first and only. And don’t forget that I gave you your first orgasm. Doesn’t that make me special?”

  “One of a kind.”

  I turn off the car and walk with her to the entrance of Inamorata. “I don’t like the idea of you walking to the train from here.”

  “It’s fine. I do it all the time.”

  “I could have taken you to Waverley instead.” It’s at least a half-mile walk to the station from here. And she’s wearing heels.

  “I needed to come here first and check in with Cora.”

  “So she can see that you’re alive and well after our first weekend together?”

  “Something like that.”

  “At least let me pick you up at Waverley station tomorrow night and save you the walk to Inamorata’s.”

  She nods. “All right, that I can do.”

  I reach for her hands and give them a gentle squeeze. “Can I call you later to say good night?”

  “You can call me anytime you like for any reason.”

  I lean in and frame her face with my hands, kissing her hard. I want her to still taste me on her lips after I’m gone. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

  She smiles and presses a quick kiss to my mouth. “Until then.”

  The bodyguard, or whatever Inamorata calls the titan guarding the entrance, opens the door for Lou. He takes her bag from me and lifts his chin, a gesture that I assume is intended for me. “Evening to you, sir.”

  “Good evening.”

  I stand at the doorway and watch Lou disappear into the building.

  “May I help you with something else, sir?” the mountain asks.

  “Just watching her for as long as possible. I wasn’t ready to let her go.” I chuckle beneath my breath because I actually just admitted that to Goliath.

  “I understand, sir.”

  Glad that you understand, Goliath, because I sure as fuck don’t.

  Brady taps his knuckles against my office door. “Want to go and grab a pint with me tonight?”

  I gesture for Brady to come into my office. “Got plans already. Lou’s coming over.”

  “Come on, mate. You can make time for one drink.”

  I look at my watch. “Can’t. I’m leaving in fifteen minutes to pick her up.”

  “Will you at least tell me about your weekend with her? Does Cora need to get a pink rosebud for the lass to wear on her left shoulder?”

  Brady’s question doesn’t sit well with me, not even a wee bit, but I have no intentions of letting him know that. He can be a dobber sometimes, and I don’t want to hear any shite out of him.

  “Lou doesn’t need a single rosebud. She needs a
whole fucking bouquet.”

  “Ah yeah? Tell me about it.”

  He’ll have to hear the short version. “I sent the staff away, and we spent the entire weekend at the house.”

  “Where was Ava Rose?”

  “She stayed with my parents.”

  “What did Lou have to say about her?”

  “I haven’t told her yet.”

  Brady chuckles. “I hate to break it to you, mate, but that isn’t a secret that’s going to keep for long.”

  My best mate knows all of my secrets, but he doesn’t understand the daily shite that I go through dealing with the aftermath that Mina left behind. “I’m going to tell her, but I wanted one normal weekend together before she hears the rest of the story.”

  “Have you not told her because you’re afraid of what she’ll say about it?”

  “I just told you why I haven’t told her.”

  “Lou is an inamorata. Technically, your employee… if you think about it. She’s with you to do a job. She doesn’t get to have an opinion about anything in your personal life. Don’t forget that.”

  “I’m telling her everything tonight.” And I hope that she understands. I need her to understand.

  Closing my laptop, I push away from my desk. “I hate to run but I really need to be on time.” I want to be there when Lou arrives. I can’t stand the thought of her waiting for me at Waverley. A lot of unsavory people frequent that station.

  “All right, mate. Have a nice evening with your inamorata. And let’s try to grab that pint together one night soon.”

  “Aye.”

  I’m standing by the car waiting for Lou when she comes out of the station. Her dress is casual and although she’s wearing heels, they aren’t the four-inch fuck-me pumps that she usually wears.

  I want to take her in my arms and kiss the fuck out of her, but I don’t dare take the chance of being seen.

  “You look ravishing. But then again, you always do.”

  “Not too casual?”

  “You’re dressed perfectly for an evening at home.”

  “I came out of the station and saw you wearing this designer suit, and I thought that our plans might have changed.”

  “I came straight from work. We’re still having a quiet night at the house.”

  “I happen to like our quiet nights at your house.”

  “Me too.”

  Lou seems content when it’s only the two of us. Unlike Mina, socializing with the most influential people in Edinburgh isn’t on her list of must-dos.

  Once we’re in the back seat, I reach for Lou’s hand and bring it to my mouth, kissing the top. “Three things on the agenda for tonight. First, Sonny is cooking dinner for us.”

  “Perfect. I’m starving.”

  “Second, I have someone for you to meet.”

  Lou does that furrow thing with her eyebrows when she’s confused or concentrating. “You told me that I wouldn’t meet anyone in your life.”

  “True, but this someone is different, and I think that you’ll understand the exception that I’m making after you meet her.”

  “Her,” Lou mutters beneath her breath. “Oh gosh. Now I’m a bundle of nerves.”

  “There’s really no reason for you to be nervous.”

  “But I am.” She smooths her hand over her dress. “I shouldn’t have worn this. It’s too casual. Do I need to change?”

  “No. You look perfect just as you are.”

  “Is she joining us for dinner?”

  “No. You’ll meet her afterward.”

  Lou is tense during the drive to the house and on edge while we eat dinner. She hardly says two words. Makes me wish that I hadn’t brought up the meeting at all. I want to enjoy my time with her this evening, not spend it reassuring her that she has no reason to be nervous.

  “You said that there were three things on the agenda, but you never told me what the third one was.”

  “How about I don’t tell you and I show you instead?” It’s been a whole day since I’ve had Lou beneath me. I want her.

  Now.

  Lou takes my offered hand and stands. “You’re making me even more nervous.”

  “Don’t be, mo maise.”

  That furrow on Lou’s brow is back. She mutters something under her breath, but I can’t make out what.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know what mo maise means. I meant to ask Rachel about it, but I forgot.”

  “It means my beauty.”

  She smiles. “My beauty. That’s sweet.”

  I hold Lou’s hand, leading her to my bedroom. She stops outside of the doorway and pulls her hand away. “Wait.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  Lou wraps her arms around her upper body. “Is this your way of trying to get me to do a threesome?”

  A threesome? Where in the hell did that idea come from?

  “No. God, no. Why would you think that?” I step closer and hold her face. “It’s just you and I, Lou. That’s what we said last night. Remember?”

  “You told me that I was going to meet someone after dinner, and now you’ve brought me to your bedroom.”

  Okay. I get it now.

  “I didn’t bring you here to meet anyone. We have a wee bit of time on our hands. I just wanted to make good use of it.” I brush my thumb over her cheek. “I missed you today.”

  She smiles and I know that all is well again. “I missed you too.”

  “Come with me?”

  She follows me into the bedroom, and I sit on the bed, pulling her to stand between my legs. “Get up here, lass.”

  She climbs up on the bed and places a knee on each side of my hips, straddling me. Her dress rides up to her waist, and I can see that she’s wearing black knickers.

  “I thought about you all day. I could hardly concentrate on work.”

  “I thought about you too.”

  Her eyes are on mine when she licks her lips and leans forward. It’s just the surface of lips on lips for the briefest moment and then our tongues find one another. Our kiss is soft and sweet, but it isn’t enough. I need more.

  Grabbing the back of her head, I pull her closer and deepen our kiss. My fingertips dig into the flesh of her bum, and I pull her body against mine. Hard. “I need to be inside of you.”

  She places her palms on each side of my face and presses her forehead to mine, nodding. “I need that too.”

  I push her dress up her body and pull it over her head. Unfastening the back of her bra, I free her perfect round tits and palm them. “So damn beautiful.”

  Her spine arches as her head drops back when I suck one of her rosy tips into my mouth. I lick her nipple and after it hardens, I hold it between my teeth and suck in air around it.

  “Tell me what you want me to do to you first.” Dirty talk from Lou’s mouth—that’s what I’m after tonight. “All you have to do is ask.”

  Her lips are parted, harsh breath moving in and out. “You know what I want.”

  Lou loves for me to go down on her. I know this. She doesn’t have to tell me, but tonight is about giving her a voice in the bedroom. “Say it.”

  Her cheeks are bright pink, and her eyes are downcast. “Look at me, mo maise.” She hesitates a moment and then does as I tell her. “Look into my eyes and tell me what you like.”

  She touches her fingertips to her chest. “I like it when you start here.”

  “Start here doing what?”

  “All of it.”

  I palm one of her breasts. “Rub? Kiss? Suck? What do you want me to do?”

  She swallows and her throat bobs. “I want you to rub them and suck my nipples.”

  Okay. Now we’re starting to get somewhere.

  I cup her breasts and simultaneously knead them, taking one into my mouth. I suck her nipple for a moment and then roll my tongue around its spiky tip before moving to the other.

  I stand and flip us over so that she’s lying on the bed beneath me. “What do you want me to
do to you next?”

  “Take off my panties.” My NOLA girl is warming up. She didn’t hesitate that time.

  Grinning at her, I tug downward on the waistband of her lacy black knickers. I drag them all the way down her shapely legs and toss them on the floor next to her dress and bra.

  “I await your next instruction, mo maise.”

  She tugs on my shirt. “Take off your clothes while I watch.”

  Her eyes roam my body as I unbutton my shirt and drop it into the growing pile of clothes on the floor. A button yanked open and a lowered zipper later, I’m in the buff same as Lou.

  I lift my brows. “Next?”

  She bites her bottom lip and it slowly slips out from beneath the clench of her upper teeth. “I want your mouth on me.”

  I hope that she doesn’t believe that she’s going to get off that easily. “Too vague. You’ll have to be more specific.”

  She touches the center of her abdomen below her belly button. “Start here and work your way down until your face is buried between my legs.”

  Ahhh fuuuck. That was hot.

  This is starting to become a lot of fun.

  I crawl over her and kiss the center of her abdomen, inching toward my final destination. Her legs part as I move lower and I bury my nose against her slit, inhaling deeply. Her incomparable aroma fills my nostrils and my mouth instantly waters. I already know how good her quim is going to taste.

  “Say it, Lou. Tell me to do it and I will.”

  She pushes her fingers into the top of my hair and tilts her hips upward. “Lick it and then tongue fuck me.”

  Kiss me down there—that’s what I expected to hear out of Lou. Not lick it and then tongue fuck me.

  She just took this game of dirty talk to a new level.

  I drag my tongue up her center and flick the tip back and forth over the stiff wee bean sitting at the top of her slit. And then I hear a sharp intake of breath when I push my tongue inside her.

  “Oh God… that feels so good.”

  Her words are breathless and barely audible. But I don’t need words, dirty or clean, right now. Her panting and moaning tell me everything that I need to know.