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  Lou goes to the fridge and reaches in for the orange juice. The bottom of her shirt rises, and I see her bum peek out below the hem.

  Fuck, I love having a woman in my life again. And in my bed. Especially when she’s as sexy as Lou is.

  “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

  “No. I was waiting so we could eat together.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  Lou pours two mimosas and prepares two breakfast plates. Frankly, it catches me a wee bit off guard. Mina would never have done anything like that for me. She would have expected me to get my own.

  I don’t know Lou well, but everything that I’ve seen from her so far is the opposite of Mina. And that’s not a bad thing.

  “What do you plan to do after graduation?”

  She chews a few times and covers her mouth with her hand. “I’m thinking about moving back to the US.”

  I wasn’t expecting to hear that. “You don’t like Scotland?”

  “I like Scotland very much, but I moved here to be raised by my father and his wife. That turned out to be a total shit show. There’s nothing keeping me here.”

  That is such a shame. Everyone should feel loved and wanted by their family.

  “Won’t you miss your roommate?”

  “Of course. She’s my best friend. And literally the only person on this earth who has never let me down. Everyone needs someone like Rachel in their life.”

  Her roommate and best friend’s name is Rachel. Is that a slipup? Or is Rachel her Inamorata name? Another detail to add to Lou’s fact sheet.

  “Do you have friends and family in the US?”

  “Nothing more than distant family that I don’t really know, but New Orleans still feels like home to me.”

  She’s been gone for six years. It may not feel as much like home as she thinks. “You should visit before moving back.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.”

  My mobile rings and I’m instantly annoyed when I see who it is. I’d love nothing more than to never talk to Mina’s sisters again, but I know Blair’s MO. She’s persistent. She’ll keep calling until she gets me.

  “I’m sorry. I have to take this.”

  “No worries. It’s fine.”

  “Hello?”

  “Good morning, Max. How are you?”

  “I’m well, thank you.”

  “How is Ava Rose?”

  “She’s good.”

  “She’s good? That’s all you’ve got for me?”

  No. I have something much different in mind for you, Blair.

  “Wonderful. Perfect. Take your pick.”

  “I’d like to see that for myself.”

  What she’d really like is to drop by unannounced and annoy the fuck out of me. It’s a habit that she needs to break.

  “You know that you can come by anytime.” The words nearly choke me, but I can’t make her feel as though she isn’t welcome.

  “I might come by tomorrow.”

  Oh fuck no.

  “Tomorrow’s no good. We won’t be here.”

  “Well, I don’t know if you remember or not, but I’m calling because it’s Mum’s birthday. We’re having a surprise party for her on Tuesday night.”

  Fuck, I don’t want to spend one of my evenings celebrating my mother-in-law’s birthday when I could be with Lou instead.

  Come up with an excuse, Max. Lie if you have to.

  “I’m meeting with a big client on Tuesday evening. I can’t skip it.”

  “Reschedule.”

  “I would but this is a very important client. Thomas wouldn’t want me to do that.” That’s no lie. My father-in-law is a real hard-arse when it comes to money and his company. Blair knows this.

  “It’s Mum’s first birthday since we lost Mina. She needs to see Ava Rose. Dad will understand why you had to reschedule.”

  Ava Rose is Lundy’s granddaughter. I can’t keep Mina’s daughter from Lundy on her birthday because I want to stay home and be with Lou. That’s a dick move. No two ways about it. “I’ll check my schedule and see if I can move some appointments around.”

  Lou holds up her empty glass and grins, silently mouthing “Another?”

  I cover the microphone of my mobile and whisper, “One more.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Damn, Blair has sonars for ears.

  “Ava Rose.”

  “Tell my sweet lassie that Auntie Blair loves her, and I’ll see her in a few days.”

  “Will do.”

  Fuck, I was so close to no longer being part of the Lochridge family. But instead, I’m forced to endure them and without Mina as a buffer. It’s brutal.

  I end my call with Blair and wait for the questions to begin. But they don’t. Lou doesn’t ask who I was talking to or demand to know who Ava Rose is. That would never happen in a normal relationship.

  “Sorry about that.”

  She shrugs and shakes her head. “Nothing to be sorry about.”

  “Mina’s family is still a big part of my life. A bigger part than I like.”

  “I gathered that.”

  “I’m going to be tied up with them on Tuesday evening. That means that you’ll have a free day, but I’d like to ask you to do something for me on your time off.”

  “What?”

  “Go shopping for more girl stuff. Buy more of what you wore last night. A lot more.”

  Lou looked so fucking hot last night. I want her to wear lingerie like that every time we’re together.

  “I can do that. Any special requests?”

  “I want to see you wear it all.”

  She smiles and clears her throat, poorly disguising a girlish giggle. “Even a pearl G-string?”

  A pearl G-string? Fuck me. “I would pay good money to see you wearing a pearl G-string.”

  “All right. It’s on my shopping list.”

  “One more request. Be here waiting for me when I come home Wednesday. Wear the pearl G-string and nothing else.”

  She smiles. “Yes, sir.”

  I’m not keen on her carrying an overnight bag every time she comes and goes. “Buy clothes, personal items, whatever you need so you don’t have to pack a bag anymore.”

  “How do you plan to explain that to the staff?”

  My friends and family already dictate too much of what happens in my life. I’ll be damned if my employees are going to as well. “My staff members aren’t my friends or family. I don’t explain any part of my life to them.”

  “They won’t talk?”

  “They won’t if they want to continue working for me. What happens in this house, stays in this house. They know that.”

  “If you say so.”

  She doesn’t sound so sure but I am. I’ve been very clear with all of them.

  “I do say so. And I also say be here Wednesday night wearing that pearl G-string.”

  “Done.”

  11

  Caitriona Louden

  I’m trying to figure out Hutch’s fancy-ass shower faucet when he comes into the bathroom. “I have to go out and tend to the horses. Do you want to go with me?”

  Hutch has traded his plaid pajama bottoms and white T-shirt for a pair of khaki cargos and a plaid button-down shirt. I can see a few sparse hairs peeking out at the top of his shirt, but I know that there’s more underneath—a lot more—and I recall the way that I ran my fingers through the coarse patches last night.

  Hutch is a fine specimen of a man. Very fine indeed.

  “I would love to visit the horses. Can you give me fifteen minutes to shower?”

  “No need to shower before we go to the barn. Do it after we get back.”

  “I smell like sex.” A lot of sex.

  Hutch chuckles. “The horses won’t care. I promise.”

  “I care.” I scrunch my nose. “I’m funky.”

  He leans against the doorway, his arms crossed. “Listen, lass. My face was between your legs three hours ago, and you smelled good enough to eat.” One of his brows lifts. �
��Literally.”

  Well, he has told me repeatedly how good I smell to him.

  “Fine. I’ll shower after we come back, but I need a minute to change. I can’t go in your shirt.”

  I had no idea that my new companion was a horse lover so thank God that I threw jeans, a T-shirt, and Chucks into my overnight bag at the last minute.

  Hutch doesn’t make a move when I begin unbuttoning the shirt that I’m wearing. “Are you going to stand there and watch me change?”

  “Planning to unless you ask me to leave.”

  I don’t want him to go. I like that he wants to watch me. “No, it’s fine. Stay.”

  After I’m dressed, he watches me braid my hair, and we both smile when our eyes meet in the mirror. “What is it?”

  He shakes his head. “Nothing.”

  “You’re smiling so it must be something.”

  He shrugs. “I like having you here.”

  “I like being here.”

  “Last night was everything that I hoped it would be.”

  “It was for me too.”

  “So far this relationship is proving to be the best idea that I’ve had in a long time.”

  “Well, I don’t know what kind of ideas that you’ve had in the past, but I think that this one is a pretty damn good one.”

  I reach into my bag and take out an elastic band, wrapping it around the end of my braid.

  “I’m already thinking about tonight.”

  I let go of my braid and let it fall down my back. “I am too.”

  “Well, Miss…” Hutch stops and chuckles. “I don’t know your last name, real or otherwise.”

  I don’t want to hear him call me by another fake name. But I also won’t tell him my real name. “Miss Hutcheson.”

  “Miss Hutcheson, aye?”

  “Yes. Lou Hutcheson.”

  “All right, Miss Hutcheson. If we don’t get out of here, I’m going to strip you out of those jeans and throw you across the bed. So come on, lass, before I forget about the horses and have my way with you again.”

  I’m surprised when Hutch grabs an old, worn leather hat from a hook on our way out the door and places it on his head. I didn’t think that he could get any hotter, but I see now that I was wrong.

  I sit beside him on the ATV and look at him in that rugged getup. So damn different from the custom designer suits that he usually wears. “What?”

  “You’re a very sexy man.”

  Hutch leans over and presses a kiss to my mouth. “You’re a very sexy woman.”

  “I’m mediocre. You’re something… very not mediocre.”

  “You’re wrong, Lou. Nothing about you is mediocre.”

  I help Hutch feed Sol, Prissy, and Nevan and tend to their stalls. I said that I wouldn’t pick up dog shit for anyone, but here I am shoveling horse manure.

  Damn.

  When we finish caring for the horses, Hutch drives me around the property, showing me how far his land extends before we return to the house. It’s a simple laid-back Saturday afternoon because we’re the only two people on his estate. But that won’t always be the case.

  I’m curious to see what happens when the staff returns. Will they hate me? See me as a woman who is trying to replace the late Mrs. Hutcheson? I wonder if they liked her.

  Hutch and I spent most of the day talking so we aren’t incredibly chatty during dinner, but we share a lot of smiles and what I like to call knowing grins. Because we both know what’s going to happen later tonight.

  I’m bent over loading the dinner plates into the dishwasher when Hutch moves behind me and grabs my hips, pulling my body against his. I stand upright and he leans around to kiss the side of my neck while he grinds his erection against my ass. “I want you to go into the bedroom and get ready for me. I’ll finish up here and meet you there in five minutes.”

  “Five minutes isn’t very much time to get ready.”

  “Five minutes is all that you’re getting. I’ve been thinking about this all day, and I don’t want to wait another minute to have you.”

  He kisses my neck again and releases me. “You’ll find a surprise on the bed. I want you to put it on.”

  “What is it?”

  “You’ll see.” His hand comes down and swats my ass. “Clock is ticking. Go.”

  The awkward newness is already gone. I’m excited for this. Impatient to feel him inside of me again. And eager to see what he has left for me on the bed.

  Black lace bra. Matching strappy G-string. Black lace garter belt and thigh-highs.

  Damn. That’s hot.

  But where did this stuff come from? And when did he buy it?

  I don’t have time to ponder the question for long because I have to be ready. He’ll be here soon.

  I snatch the lingerie from the bed, along with my black heels, and go into the bathroom. I unbraid my hair and work to tame it. It’s a little unruly, but I don’t think that Hutch will mind. Long, wild tresses will go great with this risqué getup.

  “Time’s up,” he calls out from the bedroom.

  “Okay, but sit on the bed and close your eyes.” I open the door and find him doing exactly as I’ve instructed. “No peeking.”

  “I wouldn’t dare.”

  I move across the room and stand before him, my hand placed on my hip. “Open your eyes.”

  The bluest of blue meets hazel and the corners of his mouth turn upward, forming deep indentions in his cheeks. “Fuck. You look even better than I imagined.”

  We reach for each other at the same time and Hutch’s mouth comes down hard against mine. My lips throb from the rough nature of his kiss, but I don’t mind. I can’t wait to see what this man has in store for me.

  He stands, strips his shirt over his head, and moves to stand behind me. “Lie on the bed, facedown.”

  I climb onto the bed on all fours and lower my body to the bed. And wait for whatever comes next.

  I hear the sound of a zipper, rustling of clothing, and then the sound of the opening drawer.

  The bed dips when Hutch crawls over me from behind. All that I feel is the hot skin of his chest grazing my back as he moves up my body. And then his weight presses me deep into the mattress.

  He pushes my hair out of the way and presses his lips against the side of my neck. He slowly moves his mouth to my shoulder and chills erupt over my body when his teeth nip at my skin.

  His hands are all over me at once as though he can’t touch me enough. And as though my body has a mind of its own, my back arches and his hard cock presses against my ass.

  Is that what he wants from me tonight?

  I hope not. I’ve never done that before, and it scares me.

  His hand creeps around to my stomach and then down between my legs. His fingers push the fabric of my G-string to the side and he spreads the top of my slit, exposing the sensitive nub normally hooded by flesh.

  “Ohhh, Hutch.”

  “Ah, there it is.”

  His fingertips circle my clit and I temporarily forget my fears regarding what Hutch may want to do to me. The only thing that I feel in the moment is pleasure.

  His erection prods me from behind. I’m still not sure what his plan is, but I decide that I’m not afraid. He can do anything that he wants to me as long as his fingers continue doing what they’re doing right now.

  He pushes my legs apart with his and positions his cock at that familiar place, gliding it inside of me slowly, stretching my channel until he is fully sheathed. I must admit that I’m relieved when he doesn’t attempt to explore uncharted territory, but I don’t have time to think about it for long because he grasps my hip and pounds into me from behind.

  Oh God. I’ve never done it like this before. It feels so deep and full. His cock feels so much bigger than it did last night.

  The synchronization between the thrust of his cock and his finger stroking my clit is perfection. He’s playing me as though he’s an accomplished musician and I his exquisite instrument.

 
I’m hurling toward the edge of orgasm quickly. Too quickly. I don’t want this to be over yet.

  I want to tell him to slow down to prolong this feeling yet pound me harder and faster to increase the intensity of the climax. But I don’t have time to ask for either because I tumble over the edge into an oblivion of pleasure. “Ohhh.”

  “Say my name when you come.”

  The quaking ecstasy begins to contract within my core. I become entangled in a flood of ecstasy, but I somehow manage to find my voice. “Hutch… Hutch… Huuutch.”

  “You’re mine, Lou. No other man touches you.” His voice—it sounds as though he’s speaking through clenched teeth.

  His final thrusts are slower but more powerful. And then everything stops and he remains inside of me.

  I collapse against the bed with exhaustion, covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and he crumples on top of my back. His weight pushes me into the mattress, and his panting is loud against my ear. “I won’t share you with another man. I’m the only one who touches you.”

  I think that Maxwell Hutcheson’s world is secretly a very dark place, and I know nothing about it. I also think that it frightens me, but it’s too late now. I’m already a part of it. I couldn’t walk away from this even if I wanted to.

  “Do you understand, Lou?”

  “Yes.”

  “Say it.”

  “I understand.”

  “No. Say that you’re mine and no other man will have you.”

  “I’m yours and no other man will have me.”

  “Good.” He pushes my damp hair away from my neck and places a kiss below my ear. “Tell me your name.”

  “My name is Lou.”

  He kisses my neck again. “All right. Another time then.”

  Caitriona Brooke Louden.

  I may tell him many things over the next three months, but I’ll never say those three words to him.

  12

  Maxwell Hutcheson

  Lou is trembling beneath me, and I’m afraid that it has nothing to do with her orgasm.

  Was I too aggressive with her? I think so. And now I must show her that I can also be gentle.

  I lift myself off of Lou’s back and kneel between her parted legs. Beginning at her shoulders, I kiss her skin gently. I slowly work my way down her back, tasting the salty moisture created during our sexual frenzy.