Cain: “It’s Sunday, lady spy. Come away with me. Anywhere you want to go.”

I read the text mid application of my mascara. The wand hovered inches from my eyeball as I skimmed his message and shook my head in amusement.

Me: “Sunday is usually when people don’t go anywhere, because tomorrow is Monday, which means work and school.”

I finished applying the rest of my makeup, which consisted mainly of eyeliner and mascara. I couldn’t afford much more than that.

I scrubbed my scalp with a quick brush, swept the heavy strands of hair up and pinned it in a ponytail at the back of my head.

Finished.

I was as glamorized as I would ever get for Sunday dinner.

My phone buzzed.

Cain: “Did I mention anywhere you want to go?”

I laughed as I left the bathroom.

Me: “You’re impossible. I told you I have dinner with my family Sundays.”

Cain: “But I am so much more fun.”

He wasn’t wrong. A root canal was more fun than being anywhere near that prison.

Me: “Don’t you have some hot babe to take?”

Cain: “What do you think I’ve been trying to do?”

I missed him.

I missed Kieran.

I hadn’t seen either since Tuesday, and not from lack of trying on both their parts. But school work was drowning me. Professor Vijayan was deliberately going out of his way to call on me at every chance, and scolding me for not knowing the proper answers. I’d never been so behind in my life.

Yet, despite studying until my brains leaked from my ears, I was still no closer to understanding a damn thing he was talking about. It was enough to make me want to drink. But what I wanted, what I really needed was a de-stresser, an outlet for the tension building up inside me and I couldn’t even get that with the eight hours of studying I’d been trying to squeeze in every night. By the time I staggered my way to bed, I was too exhausted to even pretend I knew where my clit was.

It didn’t help that I was torn between two amazing men. Being with one made me immediately feel guilty for not being with the other, for not being able to decide, for not wanting to let either go. It didn’t help that neither seemed overly perturbed by the other’s presence in my life. They were uncharacteristically calm about it, good natured even. It was unnerving, not to mention suspicious.

But I would have given anything to pack a bag and jet off to any part of the world I wanted just to spend time with Cain or Kieran.

Maybe both.

Together.

At the same time.

Jesus.

The images that thought provoked had my skin vibrating and my core clenching. I wasn’t into any kind of kink that I knew of, but the very idea of their hands and mouths working in sync across my body was a fantasy I was all too happy to get behind.

Or in the middle of, in this case.

I would let them take me, use me in any damn way they pleased.

I would relinquish all my rights.

I would wholly and truly submit it all to them.

God, I was so hot. The thin material of my dress had become a heavy, fur coat in the middle of July. I was sweltering.

My phone buzzed.

Cain: “Have I managed to convince you?”

He had no idea.

Me: “I need you. I’m so wet.”

I had no idea what possessed me to type such a thing, never mind actually send it. But it appeared on the screen along with all our other messages.

Cain: “I’m across town. Give me twenty.”

I peeked at the clock. Desperation made my fingers tremble.

Me: “I can’t wait. I need to leave in five.”

Cain: “Then you know what you need to do, kitten.”

I didn’t. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

Me: “You mean wait?”

Cain: “I mean play with her. Make her feel better.”

Play with her?

I felt like an absolute idiot for having no idea how to do that. Masturbation wasn’t a new word for me, but it was something I’d never done before. It had never interested me. What if I didn’t do it correctly?

Me: “How do I start?”

Cain: “You’ve never touched yourself?”

Heat that had nothing to do with my arousal blazed through me.

Me: “I was a virgin, remember?”

Cain: “Oh, I have a very clear memory of that, but how have you not played with her? I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off.”

Me: “Can you just tell me how to start, please?”

Cain: “It’s all about the visual. Where are you right now?”

I swallowed.

Me: “In my apartment. Living room.”

Cain: “Take off your dress and lie on the sofa. Then picture your hand as mine and run them over your body. Play with your nipples. Make them hard and sensitive before making your way down to your clit. Have you touched her yet?”

Hot, sticky desire rushed free of my body as his words caressed me with the same conviction as his hands. My already damp panties barely caught the flood from running down my thighs. There was so much of it I nearly panicked.

Me: “No.”

Cain: “Touch her. Put your hands inside your panties and feel how wet and ready she is.”

It was like the time my third grade teacher had brought a pet mouse to school. All the other children had been so thrilled and couldn’t stop petting the thing. But I’d stood in the back, eyeing it warily until I was asked if I wanted to touch.

I had.

But I hadn’t done it.

The thing had terrified me as much as fascinate.

This fell under the same concept.

Nevertheless, I bit down my trepidation and sat on the sofa. I pulled up my skirt and stretched my panties down around my ankles. I parted my knees and started to reach when my eye caught the clock.

I had a minute to leave the apartment.

Cursing, I hastily began pulling my clothes back together. But I paused with my panties straining between my knees. The dark patch in the center was enormous and nearly transparent with the last flickers of light streaming in through the window across from me. As an afterthought, I scooted down low, lifted my legs so the stain was aligned with the window and highlighted perfectly, and took a snapshot with my phone. And before I could second guess the decision, I sent it to Cain.

His response was immediate.

Cain: “I’m going to fuck the shit out of you when I see you.”

The promise sang through me with a perfect resonation that made my pussy pang and leak some more.

Me: “Promise?”

Cain: “Oh, I fucking promise.”

Putting my clothes back on properly, I grabbed my coat and purse, and bolted from the apartment at a run. My heels cracked thundering down the metal steps. I hit the bottom and sprinted across the parking lot to my car.

If I hadn’t had to park my car at the end of the drive, I could have spent those twenty minutes following Cain’s directions and I wouldn’t have been a soppy, wound up mess. But the time for pleasure would have to wait until later.

I had to first make it through the evening.

It wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been the previous Sunday night. The bare trees shielded me from most of the wind, but my blood was still sizzling hot and I barely felt it. Every step was a slippery reminder of Cain’s promise. The persistent thrum followed with each rub of my thighs working together.

I wasn’t sure I would make it to the house.

Kieran found me exactly as he had that first night. He came to a screeching halt just a few steps ahead of me on the path and threw open his door. I started to smile as he climbed out, but the smile died the moment I saw his face.

Ravenous.

It was all I had time to decipher before he was on me. His hands tore open my coat and twisted into my skirt. I barely had time to gasp and he already had me up against the bumper, legs wide around his hips. His mouth fused over mine, devouring my sanity while he fought with his pants.

I didn’t stop him. I knew I could. I knew one word, one whimper of protest and he’d release me, but my will had already succumbed to him. My wants and needs rose over my apprehension in a rolling storm of passion. They broke over my resolve, leaving nothing behind but a bone deep desperation to be had.

I was already ready when his fingers closed around my hips. I was panting and writhing, welcoming him into my body.

He drove into me without resistance or doubt. The intrusion tore through me with a violence that stole my breath. I screamed and he slammed harder, using his knees to drive himself into me again and again with an animalistic hunger that should have been excruciating. It rattled the whole car and bruised my skin, but it wasn’t enough.

“Harder!” I panted into the side of his neck. “Harder, Kieran. Please.”

He obliged with a snarling growl.

I came with a blinding explosion of words even I didn’t understand. My body seized around him, rushing and pulsing, and sucking him in deeper. My nails tore into the back of his coat, ripping fabric the way he was ripping into me.

“Christ, I love your pussy,” he hissed into my ear, his fingers cutting marks into my hips.

I felt him release, felt him gush up inside me. Thick, heavy cream washed my walls with heat. It trickled out, a mixture of him and me. But he remained firmly wedged in place, both his cock and the face he had mashed into the side of my neck.

Neither of us said a word as our bodies cooled and the ringing dulled. I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t in my wildest dreams ever imagined that would just happen like that. I hadn’t even known it was possible to get taken up against the back of a car. I sure as hell couldn’t fathom what had driven him to do it, or what I was supposed to do next.

“Did I hurt you?” he murmured against the side of my neck.

That I could answer with a definite shake of my head. Hurt wasn’t even a factor to consider. If anything, I felt amazing, like he’d uncorked a building tension in the pit of my stomach. All I wanted was a nap.

He drew back his head and peered down into my face, his eyes searching.

“I’m okay,” I assured him.

“Tell me if I need to apologize,” he said.

An apology was the last thing I ever wanted, especially for this, the thing I’d been secretly fantasizing about for six years. If he apologized, I might have cried.

“Do you want to?”

He gave a shake of his head. “No.”

Relief had me drawing in a breath.

“I don’t want one.” I licked my lips. “But we should...”

“I don’t want to do that either,” he murmured, his voice lowering to a husky purr. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to be in here, in you.”

He rocked his hips forward and I whimpered as his newly hard erection hit my base.

“I want to take you home, splay you across my sheets, and satisfy the last three years of wanting nothing else.”

He moved inside me in slow, shallow thrusts, the motion effortless in my already come soaked channel.

“Kieran.”

His smirk was dark. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say my name like that.”

My fingers tightened in his coat. “We need to stop. Someone will see...”

His head lowered. His nose brushed the side of my face.

“Not yet. I can feel how close you are. I can feel how much you want it.”

I was close. The friction of his cock rubbing inside me was too much to ignore.

“One more,” I panted, widening my legs around his hips. “Just ... one.”

He smirked into my skin. “For now.”

It was slower, paced.

I came with a sigh of his name. He followed almost immediately after, pumping more of himself inside me.

I’d be leaking for days.

I didn’t mind.

“Okay?”

I grinned into the bend of his shoulder. “Didn’t I sound okay?”

His hold tightened for a fraction of a second before relaxing. He drew back to peer down into my face and I felt the skin warm beneath his scrutiny.

“You sounded hot as fuck.”

I laughed. “You might want to check your car for dents,” I teased.

His grin was small, but edged with relief. “It’ll be fine.”

Gently, he lowered me to my feet. His arm remained around me, a comforting, steadying circle keeping me in place as he pulled free.

I shivered at his loss. He grinned as he reached under my skirt and adjusted my panties back into place over my mound. He gave me a little rub through the fabric.

“For good luck,” he said.

I snorted. “You already got lucky.”

“You think that was enough?” He lowered his head and nipped my bottom lip between his teeth. “That was just the appetizers.”

I said nothing as he led me to the car. We drove to the gates in silence. Kieran stopped in the same place as the last time without being asked and I climbed out with a murmured thanks.

“I’ll see you inside,” he said before I shut the door.

David was waiting in the foyer when Jameson let me in. His gaze met mine, a hungry, lingering gaze that made me want to close my coat.

“How was your walk?”

The question had my spine tingling. Paranoia slithered her icy fingers along the back of my neck. It curdled the happiness like sour milk in my stomach. All the places Kieran had touched prickled like fresh burns rising up on my skin, directing David to what I’d done. But he couldn’t possibly know. How could he? We’d been too far from the house. There was no way he’d seen us.

“Fine. Thank you.”

He seemed to be waiting for something, a confession, maybe. When it didn’t come, turned his gaze to Jameson.

The other man inclined his head without a word.

Something in my stomach twisted. My knuckles whitened around the strap of my purse. I took an involuntary step back just as the door swung open.

Kieran walked straight into my back. We both staggered forward. I was barely caught by the hook of his arm closing around my middle and yanking me back into his chest.

For a moment, I just wanted to stay there in the safety and warmth he offered. But the time for fun had passed. This was a matter of life or death.

I quickly stepped away from him, taking great care not to look directly at anyone when brushing at my skirts.

“Thank you.”

Kieran glanced from me to David. “Am I late?”

David shook his head. “Right on time. Come in. Everyone’s already in the parlor.”

He wasn’t joking. Everyone, including Marcella was already seated around the room. All eyes pivoted when we entered and that sensation in the pit of my gut intensified.

“We were just discussing next weekend,” David continued as Kieran and I claimed our seats. “It’s Marcella and my wedding anniversary.”

“Congratulations.” Kieran opened the buttons on his blazer and relaxed in his armchair. “What is it now?”

“Thirty-seven,” Marcella piped in, smiling dazzlingly.

David nodded as if confirming. “We’re doing our usual get together here at the house. You and your mom are, of course, welcome.”

Kieran inclined his head. “I’ll let her know. She’ll be thrilled. Thank you.”

“Invitations were sent out last week,” David went on. “But that was for everyone else. We consider you family, Kieran. The only thing left to do now is make it official, am I right?”

Kieran never faltered, not even a flutter of his eyelashes. “Absolutely. I’ve been giving that a lot of thought the last little while.”

The excitement those words created in the air were tangible. I could have eaten it with a spoon.

David hooted and slapped a hand on the armrest. “Now that you have business matters handled, it’s time to settle down, is it?”

Kieran offered him a tight-lipped smile. “You can say that.”

David beamed. “Excellent. Now, don’t be shy about using our party for any kind of announcement you might want to make. Marci and I, well, we’d like that very much.”

“Now, if we can just find Eric a nice girl...” Marcella chimed, casting Eric a teasing grin.

In the process of rattling ice cubes around in his glass, Eric’s head jerked up, bewilderment making his eyes appear enormous beneath the messy flop of hair. “I have an entire phonebook full of girls willing to do anything I want for an hour. Besides,” he shot his mom a sloppy wink that looked remarkably like he was having a seizure, “you know you’re the only girl I need in my life, Mom.”

“That’s not gross, or creepy,” Cordelia muttered just barely under her breath. Louder, she added, “Someone get the ass-licker a napkin. He’s got something on his chin.”

Eric, without missing a beat, flipped her off.

“There is nothing wrong with a boy loving his mama,” Marcella chirped. “Isn’t that right, Kieran? I know how close you are with your mother.”

Kieran bobbed his head slowly. “I am her favorite son. Won’t deny that.”

“You’re her only son.” Eric hiccupped.

Kieran twisted his lips into that lopsided grin I loved so much. “Exactly.”

“Oh, there are days I wish I were an only child.” Eric sighed, staring forlornly into his glass. “I suppose there’s still time.”

“Dream on,” Cordelia interjected. “As if you could ever survive in prison for manslaughter. You can barely handle a twenty-four hour lock up without calling Mommy to bail your drunk ass out.”

“Cordelia!” Marcella’s hiss went ignored by the siblings now casting daggers at each other.

“At least I’m not Daddy’s little whor—”

“Enough.” David barely raised his voice, but the room immediately fell into a blissful silence. “You should both be ashamed, behaving in such a disgraceful and childish manner in front of company.”

“Company?” Kieran blinked in feigned surprise. “I thought I was family, David.”

Realizing his mistake, David quickly backpaddled. “Of course, dear boy. I only meant, better manners are required, no matter who is present. Anyway.” He waved a meaty hand in the air as if that was all it would take to erase the stain forming over our heads, left behind by Cordelia and Eric’s bickering. “Enough about that. There are more important matters to discuss, like this decision you’ve been considering. If it is what I think it is...”

Kieran chuckled low in his throat. “I wouldn’t say it isn’t, but I won’t shadow your big night.”

“Nonsense!” David practically roared. “Marci and I would be delighted to share in the joy. Isn’t that right, dearest?”

Like a puppet on a string, Marcella’s head jerked rapidly up and down. “Oh yes, absolutely delighted.”

If I hadn’t been struggling not to make any unexpected movements, I would have rolled my eyes at the blatant prodding.

On the other end of the sofa, Cordelia was practically vibrating on the edge of her seat. Her eyes were brilliant, a kaleidoscope of triumph and elation swirling with electric blue. They kept flicking between Kieran and David like an excited little girl hearing about the carnival being in town.

But the moment Kieran spared her a glance, her features dissolved into the perfect poise of calm, control, and mild curiosity. There was quiet sophistication in the small smile she offered him. And I wondered if she would be as equally delighted if she knew Kieran didn’t mean her. Would she and David be bright with giddy euphoria if they knew Kieran’s billions wouldn’t be going into her pockets? They wouldn’t be going into mine either, because I didn’t want them, but that was David’s whole plan — the Kincaid fortune. With that much power and influence, he would be unstoppable, especially with Cordelia by his side. I would have been amused if I didn’t feel sick.

“Great. A wedding.” Eric downed the last of his brandy and eyed the glass as if trying to materialize more. “Bridesmaids and desperate women. I am all down for that.”

Marcella playfully swatted at him, but everyone else went on as if he hadn’t spoken.

Kieran faced David once more. “We’ll have a sit down before that.”

“Of course, of course!” David waved a hand dismissively. “My door is always open.”

I wanted to stare at Kieran and demand to know what the hell he was doing, because if he went to David and asked for the wrong daughter’s hand in marriage ... things would not end well for anyone.

But I dutifully remained focused on my knees and the creases in my dress where it had been bunched between my body and Kieran’s only moments earlier. The memory brought a flush to my cheeks and a warm shiver dancing down my spine. If it wasn’t for the subtle pang between my legs, I never would have believed it happened.

“I think it’s about dinner time.” Marcella rose with only a subtle support from the sofa armrest. She righted herself and dusted delicate hands down her dress. “Shall we head into the dining room?”

I waited until everyone had risen to their feet and turned their backs on me before getting to mine.

David maneuvered Kieran from the room with a hand between his shoulder blades, his head bent close to Kieran’s. Neither seemed to notice Cordelia trotting after them at a near jog, rushing to pull up next to Kieran’s other side and garner some of that attention from both men.

Marcella paused to beckon Eric to her with the wiggling fingers of someone addressing a small child to come along. Eric obeyed without question, even if he had a little bit more of a hard time circling the coffee table. He bumped into it once, muttered a curse under his breath before staggering his way around it with a limp. Marcella coo’d and patted his arm before snaking her slender one through.

“All right, darling?”

Lips twisted in annoyance, Eric shot the coffee table a grudging glower over his shoulder. “I think the furniture has it out for me.”

Marcella clicked her tongue and said something I couldn’t hear as the pair followed the others out.

Then it was just me in the silence of the room. I dug my phone from my purse, stole one peek at the door to make sure no one had returned, and found Cain’s number.

I hesitated texting him. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was I wanted to say to him, or how to say it. I didn’t want to just blurt out that I’d slept with Kieran, but I knew I should tell Cain.

Shouldn’t I?

I’d never been with two men before. I hadn’t even been with one before this. I had no idea what the protocol was, especially if both men knew about the other. Was I supposed to be honest with them about what I did with the other? It felt wrong to hide it. But then I hadn’t told Kieran that I’d slept with Cain the night before. Granted, I hadn’t been given the chance.

Maybe I wasn’t supposed to tell them anything so long as it was clear that I ... that I was what? Seeing them both? Sleeping with them both? Was that what I was doing, keeping them both around for sex? Why on earth did I need two? What kind of woman needed two?

A lucky one, said the voice in my head.

But I didn’t feel lucky.

I felt dirty and unfaithful. Despite my earlier fantasy, it wasn’t fair to either of them for me to play this game. It was clear that a decision needed to be made.

One of them needed to be let go.

Logic said Kieran.

He was the biggest threat.

But my heart said Cain.

He was a stranger with no face.

Losing him wouldn’t break me.

Reality said both.

I had eight months left in this life. I would be leaving both after that anyway. I couldn’t bring Kieran. I couldn’t bring Cain. Both would go on without me. So, why bother?

“There you are.”

Kieran materialized in the doorway, gorgeous in his dark suit and soft eyes. He offered me one of his lopsided grins that never failed to make my knees quiver.

“I was just...”

I showed him the phone in my hand with an indecisive little shrug.

“The man you’re seeing,” he deduced.

I nodded. “Well, I’m not seeing him. I haven’t seen him. It’s complicated.” I lowered my gaze, unable to meet his. “I was trying to decide how to tell him.”

“About earlier?”

I nodded again.

He was right next to me now, his presence a warm blanket draping around my shoulders. “Does he need to know?”

I peered up at him. “Would you want to know?”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” His gaze dropped to my mouth and I felt them tingle. “I’d kill any man who touched you.”

“I’m not like this,” I blurted, needing him to understand. “I don’t sleep around with random men. I’ve only ever been with one other person ... this person,” I held up my phone, indicating Cain. “I don’t know how to explain it without you hating me—”

“That isn’t possible.”

I wanted so badly to believe him. I wished I could just tell him about the auction and Cain. But no one would understand that. No one would ever accept that I wasn’t some whore.

“I slept with him that night, after you left,” I forced out, my chest a tight restriction around each word. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you, or not, but it wasn’t intentional. I was upset. I asked him over to—”

“Gabby.” His palms were tender cradling my face. “Stop. I’m not angry.”

“Why?” I demanded, frustrations getting the better of me. “You just said you’d kill any man who touched me and I’m telling you I slept with one—”

“Because it was yesterday,” he cut in. “We weren’t together yesterday. Yesterday we were different people. Today is another story. Today, you’re mine.”

Just like that.

I opened my mouth, my head full of questions.

But he silenced me with a gentle finger against my lips.

“I don’t care about what you did before this moment. As of this moment, your slate and my slate are completely clean.”

A clean slate.

A new beginning where I was absolved of all my past sins.

There were so many.

“I’ve done things,” I whispered. “You need to know—”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t. Not unless it’s something you really want to tell me.”

Did I want to tell him?

Did I want to mar his view of me by staining that clean sheet he was offering me?

I could take it to my grave.

Let it be my secret forever.

No one ever had to know.

“I’m scared,” I admitted.

“Don’t be.” He swiped at the arches of my cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

He kissed me, and his mouth, like everything else tasted so familiar, so perfect. I wanted to dissolve into it, into him and become one with his very soul.

But the kiss was brief. I knew I should have been grateful for that. We were still in the parlor where anyone could walk in, and we’d already been gone too long.

“Don’t tell David you want to marry me,” I murmured. “If you won’t marry Cordelia, then please don’t say anything at all.”

Kieran frowned. “Why not? You’re his daughter, too. What difference does it make which one of you I marry?”

“It makes a difference,” I whispered. “Please.”

The creases between his eyebrows deepened. “What’s going on? There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“It’s not important—”

He cut me off with a vicious shake of his head. “It is important, because I am going to marry you, Gabby. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but that’s where this is headed. I need you for the rest of my life.”

Every instinct in my body wanted to leap into his arms and never let him go. Caution kept me rooted to the carpet.

“It might not be that simple,” I whispered, tongue oddly catching on the roof of my mouth.

I couldn’t explain the contract even if I tried, not without having to tell him about the deposit that had come with it. I couldn’t tell him about my plans to leave. I couldn’t tell him about David or the auction. I couldn’t tell him anything, at least, nothing that wouldn’t make him want to forget he ever saw my face, but I had to tell him something.

“What are you talking about?”

His eyes were pits of warm concern swirling around a vortex of determination. He was prepared to fight for me, for us. He was ready to do whatever it took to fix the situation and keep me for himself. He just didn’t realize this was a fight no one had any hopes of winning.

“Do you remember my sixteenth birthday?”

My sidetracking question seemed to catch him off guard, because his head pulled back a notch and he blinked.

“I was sitting on the front steps crying, because it was my sweet sixteen and no one had remembered. You came over to see Eric and you pulled up in this shiny, gray convertible with the hood down. Your hair was a mess, but I always liked it that way. You had on dark jeans and a white t-shirt under a navy blazer, and these sunglasses that you pulled off when you started towards me.” I bit my lip as the memory formed with crystal clear clarity. “You reminded me of a movie star.”

Kieran grinned a little around the confusion that kept his eyebrows furrowed. “I remember.”

“It was a big moment for me,” I murmured, my cheeks growing hot. “You stood over me and asked if you needed to find the bastard who made me cry. I laughed and told you it was my birthday. That was when you reached into the passenger side seat of your car and pulled out a present, already wrapped in blue and silver paper. You grinned at me and said—”

“Bet you thought I forgot,” he finished.

I nodded. “It was a journal ... a present from your mom to you.”

“How did you...?” Kieran winced. “The inscription.”

“Your journey starts here. Love you always, Mother,” I recited.

Kieran groaned. “God, Gabs, I’m so sorry...”

“Don’t be. It didn’t bother me. The fact that you made an effort at all meant the world to me. You could have just as easily wished me a happy birthday and walked away, but you tried to cheer me up, and you did. I carried that thing around with me for months. I still have it. Never wrote in it.”

“Why?”

I drew in a breath. “Because it was the only present anyone has freely given me in my life. You asked for nothing, wanted nothing, except to make me feel better. No one’s ever done that either.”

“How is that possible—?”

“What is taking so long?”

The crack of Cordelia’s heels was the only warning I was given to tear out of Kieran’s arms and put nearly an entire room between us before she rounded the corner.

She skidded to a halt just on the threshold. Her gaze went from me to Kieran, then back. I fought not to waver, to not even blink as her scrutiny burned into me.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Kieran replied before I could. “We were just talking.”

“Yeah?” Daggers glinted in her smile. “What about?”

Kieran narrowed his eyes. “This and that.”

His vague response made my heart drop into my gut.

“Anything interesting?” Cordelia pressed, taking a step closer.

“Physics,” I blurted. “I’m not doing very well in my class and I was telling Kieran about finding a tutor.”

Not all lies. That was the key when faced with a woman who could smell a lie from twenty paces. There was just enough truth that, if verified, would pass.

“How fascinating.” She purred in a drawl that suggested it really wasn’t. But it reverted her attention away from me and my existence, and she focused on Kieran. “Come. Dinner’s on the table.”

Kieran hesitated, and I knew why.

“I’ll be right in,” I said to them both. “I just need to make a call.”

Cordelia stared at me with an expression that stated very clearly that she didn’t give a shit. But I hadn’t been talking to her.

“Come, Kieran.”

She held out a hand as if he were a dawdling child. Even I took offense to the tone and in the way she beckoned him to her with a crook of her finger.

Kieran didn’t move.

He stared from her neatly manicured hand to the woman herself with a set frown that spoke volumes of his displeasure.

“Did you just summon me?” The air hissed with the chill that swept through it. The brittle texture crystalized in the fine ridges of his anger. “Like a dog?”

Cordelia seemed to realize her mistake as her hand quickly dropped to her side.

“No, of course not. I wouldn’t—”

“Is that what you think I am, Ms. Thornton? A dog to be summoned with a command?”

It was fascinating watching the color bleed from Cordelia’s peaches and cream complexion. Even beneath the perfectly applied makeup, she appeared almost sickly standing before Kieran as he waited for his questions to be answered.

“I would never—” she began again.

“I will arrive when I arrive,” Kieran broke in viciously. “I do not need you to be my mother. I have one of those, and even she knows better than to think I will follow obediently like a sheep. Now,” his shoulders straightened, “if you don’t mind, Gabrielle and I were in the middle of a discussion.”

I had no words to convey the utter shock that rippled through me. It tangled with my awe as Cordelia simply stared with open mouthed horror. She didn’t even glance at me when she spun on her heels and hurried from the room. The rapid cracks of her heels echoed like short bursts of lightning along the corridor until it faded.

Only when it was gone did I move.

I tore across the room and threw my arms around Kieran’s shoulders. My fingers cupped the back of his head and I dragged his mouth down to mine.

I kissed him, hard, deep, with all the fire and passion radiating like an inferno inside me. I didn’t stop until I couldn’t breathe anymore.

“Jesus,” he breathed, panting against my mouth.

“That was stupid,” I rasped. “Talking to her like that, but...” I kissed him again. “I’ve never loved you so much in my life.”

His answer was the fisting of my hair in his hands. He pulled me in close.

“You’re coming home with me tonight,” he stated hotly. “I want you in my bed.”

My head was bobbing even before I brushed my quiet murmur against his mouth, “Yes.”

THE EVENING REFUSED to end fast enough. I’d always been anxious to leave, to escape, but my anticipation had nothing to do with freedom and everything to do with the man at the other end of the table.

I wanted him.

I had always wanted him. That wasn’t new.

But I wanted him.

I wanted him on me.

I wanted him in me.

I wanted him surrounding me, pinning me, driving into me.

I wanted him to consume, destroy, and devour me.

The throbbing insistence pulsated at my clit, a relentless thrumming that made it impossible to focus on a damn thing else. My breasts were heavy and pebbled peaks cupped by lace. They ached for him to palm them, to take them into his mouth and ease their pain.

God, I felt savage, insane.

At the one-hour mark, I slipped away from the table while the others waited for their dessert.

Jameson was already waiting in the foyer, my coat nipped between his fingers. I thanked him as I threw it on. It earned me an inclination of his head and nothing more.

Heart palpitating with maddening ferocity, I jogged down the steps into the night. My feet drummed across the gravel, a hurried scuffle disturbing the night.

Along the path, I paused every few seconds to check behind me for his pursuit, for the splinter of his headlights breaking through the trees.

But the path remained dark and quiet. Part of me wondered if Cordelia hadn’t convinced David to delay Kieran long enough to sort out the mess she’d created back in the parlor. David wouldn’t allow Kieran to leave upset, not when he was so close to his end game.

Resigned, I accepted that I would be going home alone and continued on my way. Partway between the house and the road, I realized I didn’t even have Kieran’s number. I never had a reason to have it in the past and the idea of asking him for it had always mortified me. It wasn’t as if we ever really talked. Having his number just felt unnecessary. But considering how things were going, I made a mental note to ask him for it when I saw him again. It made sense to have it if we were going to do whatever it was we were doing.

I rubbed at my forehead, forcibly trying to remove the furrow that had begun to form lines across my brow. The wind clawed at my bare skin, turning my calves numb. It blew up my skirt to freeze the rest of me, despite my coat. I made a mental note to start wearing leggings under the skirts. It would infuriate Marcella and amuse Cordelia, but they didn’t have to hike for forty minutes every Sunday. I also made a mental note to start bringing sneakers with me. Heels, even low, sensible heels, were a nightmare on unmade paths in the dark. It wouldn’t have surprised me if I shattered an ankle. But at least it wasn’t freezing like it had been the last time. More importantly, at least it wasn’t raining. All things to be thankful for, I thought.

I was nearly at the end of the road when I heard the car. I hastily shifted off to the side as the harsh beams of light wove around the wind in the path and came up just behind me.

It stopped and I stopped.

The driver’s side door opened and Kieran poked his head out.

“I’m sorry.” He started around the hood. “David wanted a quick drink to ... discuss things before I left. He insisted.”

I shook my head. “I thought as much.”

He motioned me over and took my elbow when I went to him. His grip was firm, but gentle as he guided me to the passenger’s side.

“I left as quickly as I could,” he assured me as I slipped into the seat.

“It’s fine.”

I rubbed at my legs as he made his way back to his seat. The skin beneath my fingers were cold, almost corpse-like.

“I’ll warm you up when we get home,” he promised.

I laughed. “Coffee?”

I caught the sliver of his grin in the light from the dashboard. “Maybe after.”

We turned onto the road and the light lanced off the bumper of my Honda. I started to get ready to climb out, but he never stopped.

“My car...?”

“I’ll have someone bring it to the house,” he said, never taking his eyes off the road.

“But if Cordelia or David see it still there and I’m nowhere to be found—”

“My guy’s already on his way,” he cut me off. “I called him from the house, and from the way those two were talking when I left, they’re going to be in that study for a while still.”

I still didn’t like the idea, but I felt a little better about it.

“I could have just followed you,” I said, seating back.

He shook his head. “I’m not stopping this car for anything.”

“Except traffic lights and stop signs, and cops, right?” I teased.

He shrugged. “I’ll think about it.”

We didn’t break any laws getting to his place. He didn’t run any red lights, or even go over the speed limit. He did, however, remove one hand off the wheel halfway there and reached over the console to take mine. Our fingers intertwined as seamlessly as if we’d done it a million times before.

Each finger aligned.

Palms kissed.

His gold against my ivory.

Both rested in my lap, comfortable.

Excruciatingly intimate.

“I don’t have your number,” I murmured into the soft darkness.

He was quiet for a moment. “I’ll text you.”

I blinked. “You have mine?”

He shot me a quick sidelong glance. “Would that upset you?”

“No, I just didn’t think ... how did you get it?”

His tongue rolled over his teeth. “David.”

“You asked David?” I practically spun right around in my seat to face him. “And he just ... handed it over?”

Kieran laughed. “I never said I asked him. I got it off the rolodex in his office while I was in there making a call.”

I shook my head, amazed. “Why didn’t you just ask me for it?”

One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “What kind of stalker would I be if I made it that easy?” He gave my fingers a teasing squeeze. “Plus, I didn’t think you’d give it to me.”

I didn’t have an answer. He was probably right. Had he asked me the day before, the answer probably would have been different from the one I would have given him sitting in that car. So much had changed in such a short time.

“I probably wouldn’t have,” I admitted. “This whole thing is ... it’s so complicated and messy. I feel like a criminal, like I’m doing something wrong.”

“The only thing you could possibly do wrong is to let a catch like me go.”

I burst out laughing. “You’re—”

“Irresistible?”

I laughed harder. “Impossible.”

He smirked. “Same thing.”

I’d never been to his house before, but from what I could make out in the dark, it was about eight times the size of David’s and breathtaking, like a modern-day castle with turrets and everything. From the brush of light as we rolled into the driveway, the stone appeared a light, faded gray, and there was a fountain in the heart of the cul-de-sac that had been shut off.

He parked the car at the base of the stairs and rolled out. But I was already pushing my own door open by the time he got to my side. I accepted the hand he offered and allowed him to pull me out.

“Welcome to Kincaid Manor,” he said, leading me up the steps to the massive, wooden doors.

No one answered them. He opened them himself with a key and let us in.

The foyer alone could have fit my apartment. Its grand expanse yawned in all directions, spanning whole football fields before branching off into lavishly set sitting areas and lounges. I even spotted a library in the far distance.

“Do I get a map?” I teased as he motioned for my coat.

I shrugged out of it and passed it over. It was hooked on a padded hanger and slipped into the closet just inside the doorway. His joined it.

“I’ll give you the personal tour.” He turned to me. “As often as you need one until you know the place by heart.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Think I’m going to be here that often, do you?”

His hand slid across my back and I was drawn into his chest. “I plan on keeping you here forever.”

I giggled, an odd sound coming from me, but I couldn’t help it.

“That coming from my self-proclaimed stalker, should I be scared?”

His teeth nibbled on my bottom lip. “Of me? Never. I’d never hurt you.”

All thoughts of further discussion evaporated with the nimble slip of my zipper drawing down my back. The exposed skin prickled with goose bumps beneath the slight chill in the room. My heart stuttered in my chest, an awkward trip before resuming at a neck breaking pace.

My own hands slid up the contours of his chest to tuck beneath the lapel of his blazer. He let me drag the material over his shoulders and down his arms.

It hit the floor.

My dress quickly followed it, slithering down my body and bunching in a heap around my ankles.

I wrinkled my nose. “That’s not fair.”

He pulled me closer. “What isn’t?”

My arms slipped around his shoulders, forcing me up on my toes, despite my heels. “I’m already practically naked and you’re still fully clothed.”

Without taking his eyes off mine, he reached between us and tore open his top. The buttons scattered, pinging off the marble beneath our feet. The shirt itself was torn off and chucked aside. Those same hands dropped to the buckle on his trousers and in the same fluid motion, had his pants at his ankles. Pants, socks, and shoes were stepped out of and left in a wadded heap.

Then he stood before me, gloriously nude and built like a Greek statue. Every rugged, perfectly defined contour and muscle gleamed under the soft lights. They ran pale fingers into dips and valleys I wanted to travel with my fingers. My tongue. I wanted to litter every taut inch of him in kisses and work my way down to the hard, thick appendage bobbing at his abdomen.

“Oh...”

The breathy sigh was met with the demanding crush of his mouth over mine. The violent attack drove me back into the closet door, slapping it shut with a bang. The cold surface seared into my back, but I barely noticed when he was kissing me as if his life depended on it.

His hands twisted into the thin strip of material running over my hips. It never stood a chance when he tore the panties off me, leaving marks on my skin.

I cried out only to have it swallowed by his tongue pushing into my mouth. His hands clamped over the backs of my thighs, pulling them apart, pulling them up, and settling them around his hips.

“I’m going to fuck you from here all the way to my bedroom,” he growled against my lips. “Over every step, up against every wall, on every flat surface, all the way to my bed.”

He emphasized his promise by impaling me on the hard length of his shaft.

The invasion had my head falling back. It struck the door with a dull thud and stayed there as he pushed himself in the whole way, stretching me in the process.

“Kieran.”

His lips grazed my exposed throat. “Yeah, baby?”

He pulled out and pushed back in slowly, rendering me completely brain dead as all the blood roared in the place of my thoughts. He bit the pulse at my neck and I moaned.

“I don’t know ... can’t remember, just don’t stop.”

His chuckle vibrated against my jawline. But he made no comment as he pulled us away from my propped position and started towards the stairs, his cock still buried deep inside me. His fingers held firm to the round curves of my ass as if I weighed nothing.

At the top, I nuzzled the side of his face, loving this new sense of freedom to be able to do so. My lips brushed the curve of his jaw and worked up to his ear.

“So you know,” I whispered. “This is extremely hot.”

His chuckle burned into the curve of my shoulder. I was quite impressed that he didn’t even sound winded; the stairs were a good hike up. I would have been sweating and panting without carrying another human being to the top.

“You have seen nothing yet,” he replied, stalking left down a long corridor.

He paused once outside a set of doors. I reached out and twisted the knob. It swung inward and he moved with it into spacious room painted in shadows. The only sliver of light came from a set of patio doors that radiated off white sheets draped over an ocean sized bed. The placement reminded me of a spotlight, which would have struck me as hilarious, except I was dropped down on it before I could laugh.

Kieran remained at the edge, his penis still nestled deep inside me, my legs hooked over the bends in his arms. He peered down at me, his face masked in darkness.

“Perfect,” he murmured, his voice a husky purr. “Right where you belong.”

A shiver coursed through me, an involuntary ripple of pleasure that tightened my core around him.

He groaned and rolled his hips forward. I gasped as his tip hit my base.

“You’re going to need a safe word for at least half the shit I’m going to do to you tonight and a priest for the rest.”

I shook my head, fingers reaching down my body to where we were joined and grazing the hard patches embedded into his stomach. “I don’t want either, just ... please, Kieran.”

His answer was a low growl and the capture of my hands. Our fingers were woven together and pulled over my head, arching my spine and pulling him over me until our faces were inches apart.

Unlike earlier, his movements were slow, even thrusts done at an angle that had my toes curling at his back. My hips rose to meet him, welcoming him back with every plunge.

His lips found mine, muffling my choked little whimper as I crumbled beneath him. His fingers tightened, restraining my hands against the mattress when he settled against the very base inside me, deep enough to have me flailing as I teetered between pain and pleasure.

“Fuck, yes!” Gratification laced his hiss of triumph. “Waited so ... fucking ... long!”

Each word was accented with a hard thrust, four before he snarled his release against my mouth. I felt the slick discharge and bit my lip. I didn’t know if I should laugh, or consume every last pill on my birth control wheel; with the sheer amount between now and earlier, I wouldn’t have blamed the contraception not to work properly. I prayed that wasn’t the case. As thrilling as the idea of having babies with Kieran was, I was in no position to have them.

“Hey.” He touched my cheek lightly, drawing my focus back to him. “Where’d you go?”

“Sorry. I was just thinking.”

He raised one eyebrow. “Should I be worried?”

I chuckled. “Not at all. You’re amazing, it’s just ... everything feels so ... familiar, so natural. I can’t explain it.”

“Like we’ve been here before with me deep inside you?” he summarized. “Kind of like how I had you earlier?”

His teasing had me rolling my eyes. “I mean overall. I just feel like...” I scrambled for the right word. “Like we’ve been here before, not here in your bedroom, just here ... together, like this.”

He kissed me, deep and hard. “You’re going to be the end of me, woman,” he growled into the melding of our mouths. “You drive me fucking crazy.”

“I’m sor—”

His kiss ended with a sharp nip of his teeth on my tongue. I yelped and tugged free, but he replaced the bite with a nibble of his lips sucking my bottom lip between his.

“What did I say about unnecessary apologies?” He released my lip and kissed it lightly. “I told you I’d help you stop.”

“By biting me?” I mumbled.

“If I have to.” He pulled back. “Now, dessert or a shower?”

“Can I have both?”

He raised one shoulder. “We have all night and I intended to make use of every second with you.”