Business kept me busy for the next few days, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. She invaded my dreams when I tried to sleep and consumed my thoughts when I was awake. I’d never experienced this kind of obsession before. I wanted to press my mouth to her body until she cried out my name again, but I also wanted to hold her and ask her more questions about her life.

It put me in the worst mood, and having my cousin around didn’t make things better.

“I think you made the right choice by not investing with Calloway’s new business,” he announced at breakfast. “It’s already falling apart. Word around the water cooler is that his lovely new wife found out that he’s been enjoying multiple women on the side, and she’s gearing up to take half of everything he owns.”

“That’s what he gets for getting married,” I grunted as I reached for my coffee. “And you don’t have a water cooler.”

“I know.” He sighed. “It makes me think that we missed out on something great. Maybe we should get a water cooler. Do you think the staff will gossip around it?”

“They’ll gossip about you.” I had a terrible headache, and I was in no mood to listen to his banter. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I finalized the paperwork for the condos yesterday, but I’ve missed you, Graham. I thought I might stick around and see how you were. I’m concerned about your health. You’re not sleeping. You’re not eating. You’re not fucking that lovely woman that you seem so obsessed about.”

“Do you want me to hit you again?” I hissed as I glared at him. The bruise was just now starting to fade, and I had no problems giving him another one. “I already told you that Julie is not an obsession.”

“Maybe if you say it with more conviction, I’ll believe you,” he grinned. “Did you know that she’s staying in the Sunny Side Up Motel? Why haven’t you asked her to live here? She is part of your staff.”

“I can’t sleep with her if she lives here,” I pointed out.

“Yes, but she could get murdered there or catch some disease. You’re telling me that your libido is more important than her well-being? Besides, we both know that her living here won’t stop you. It’ll just make you feel like you’re in a relationship. That’s not a bad thing.”

“I don’t do relationships,” I said pointedly. “And neither does she. In that, I think we can both agree that we’re compatible.”

Miles snorted. “I’ve known you for more than three decades, and this is the first time that I’ve ever thought that you were a fool.”

I paused mid-sip and stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“If all you wanted was her body, you’d be over her by now. You’re not, and that should tell you something.”

He wasn’t wrong. It told me that I needed to stay as far away from Julie Dennings as possible.

As if on cue, her sneakers squeaked across the floor as she made her way to the kitchen. I had no idea what she was doing with the money that I was paying her, but it clearly wasn’t to buy new shoes. “Coffee,” she moaned as she entered the kitchen. “Oh, thank God.”

“Not God, although some women have said that I’m like a god,” Miles teased. “In bed, of course.”

Julie jumped in shock and grabbed her chest as she stared at us. “Oh. Hello. I didn’t know you guys were in here.”

“We’re getting a late start to the morning,” I muttered as I stood. “Here. Let me.”

She smiled beautifully as I reached for the coffee pot, and my heart lurched. “Late night?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“I had a date,” Miles announced. “Graham is an insomniac. I wonder what could be keeping him up these past few nights.”

“Ignore him,” I advised her as I poured the coffee. “He’s an idiot. I have a favor to ask you.”

Her eyes glazed over with pleasure as she took the first sip, and I watched in fascination. She was so pleased by the little things in life. Had I become so jaded that I couldn’t even enjoy a cup of coffee anymore? When she swallowed, she moaned a little. “You can have anything you want,” she said dreamily.

Anything? I raised an eyebrow, and she must have realized how seductive her words sounded. She ducked behind the cup. “I know that you don’t work on Saturdays, but I have a fundraiser that I need to attend. I RSVPed plus one, but my date has fallen through. Would you attend with me?”

I waited for Miles to make a sarcastic remark, but he remained strangely silent. Holding my breath, I waited to see how Julie would react. I’d already told myself that if she said no, I wouldn’t push the issue.

“I need to speak with Crystal to see if she’ll watch him,” she said slowly. “But if that’s not a problem, I’d love to attend.”

Relief swept through me. “He’s welcome to stay here.”

“No.” She shook her head. “No offense, but this place has a lot to offer a kid, and I don’t want him getting too comfortable here. I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be.”

“What do you mean?” My heart slammed against my chest. “Are you quitting?”

“Oh, it’s nothing that’s going to happen right around the corner. Tyler turns five at the end of the month, and I need to start doing research on schools. I want to be in a good district during the fall so he can attend some place that’s suited to his needs. I think he’s going to do really well in the right setting.”

“I’d be happy to pay for private school.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop and think, and I felt the invisible wall slam between us. Her eyes cooled considerable.

“I appreciate the offer, but I can pay for my own son’s education.”

I’d hit a sensitive spot, and I needed to tread lightly. “Of course. Let me know if I can be of any assistance. I did grow up here, and I’ll be happy to arrange some private interviews with the school staff if that helps you put your mind at ease. When you finish your coffee, will you meet me in my office? I have a few things that I’d like to go over.”

She seemed visibly relieved when I didn’t push the issue. “I’ll go ahead and text Crystal in case you need to find another date.”

I looked pointedly at Miles, but he just gave me a lazy grin. “Go ahead, cousin. I’ll keep Julie company while she finishes her cup of coffee. I have to admit that I’m a little turned on just watching her drink it. If she moans anymore, you could probably film it and turn it into a porno.”

“Idiot,” I hissed through my teeth. “I apologize for him. If he didn’t look like me, I’d swear he was adopted.”

Julie just laughed. “I don’t mind him at all. He makes me laugh.”

And I don’t. Feeling a little left out, I nodded my head and climbed the stairs. I knew that I didn’t need to worry about Miles seducing Julie, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel jealous. She barely knew Miles, and she was already comfortable around him. I’d enter the room, and she’d  want to run.

When she knocked on my door twenty minutes later, I was on edge. I had no idea how to act around her, and I didn’t like feeling so frustrated. “Come in,” I growled.

“Is this a bad time?” she asked quietly as she opened the door.

I stood. “Close it and lock it.”

She obeyed without questioning why. For a moment, I thought she might flee, but there was a strange glint in her eyes as she walked to the desk. “I spoke to Crystal. She has no problems watching Tyler for the night. Is it okay if I wear the same dress from last week?”

“I’ll get you a new dress.”

“Would you deduct it from my paycheck? I can’t keep letting you buy me dresses,” she laughed.

I didn’t bother telling her that the dress I had in mind for her would cost her a whole month’s pay. I walked around the desk and leaned against it. “You like Miles.” It wasn’t a question.

“I do,” she admitted. “He’s charming and funny. It’s hard not to like him.”

“Is that all?”

Cocking her head, she studied me. “He cares for you a good deal. I like that as well. If you’re asking me if I’m attracted to him, the answer is no. When I look at him, I see you. He has your eyes, although they don’t carry as much weight as yours do. His hair is the same color, but I don’t want to run my hands through it.” She walked towards me and put a hand on my chest. “You have the same build, but I don’t think of him pressed up against me.”

“Christ, Julie.”

“That’s what you wanted to know, right? You think that I want you, but you’re not sure. There’s a part of you that maybe wonders if I want someone like Miles instead. After all, you two are night and day. He’s easy to be with, and you’re complicated. He makes me laugh and you make me spitting angry.”

I reached down and lightly cuffed her wrists. “So why aren’t you touching him?”

“I don’t want him, Graham. I want you.”

That was all I needed to hear. I lowered my lips to hers and reveled in her breathy moan as she parted her lips. I’d spent too much time away from her, and I was ravenous. In one swift move, I’d lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around me as I carried her to the desk. All the while, I never once broke the kiss.

I was rock hard and desperate to be inside her, but first I needed to taste her. Lowering her to the surface of the desk, ignoring everything that spilled off it, I slid a hand up her shorts and caressed the mound beneath her panties.

God help me, she was soaking wet.

“Graham,” she gasped and lifted her hips. “Please.”

“Please what?” I whispered. “Tell me what you want?”

“Everything. I want you to do everything.” Her voice was breathless, and I could hear the unspoken words between us.

While we still have time.

The very thought of her leaving me ripped a primal growl from my chest as I attacked the buttons of her shorts. She lifted her hips, and I ripped them down her legs, dragging her pink panties with them. The moment they hit the floor, I’d parted her legs and slid my tongue over her.

As Julie fell back hard against the desk, I licked her until her whimpers turned to guttural moans. She was so sweet, so responsive. I wanted to spend all afternoon right here, bringing her to orgasm over and over again.

“Graham,” she pleaded. “Oh God, I’m going to come. Please.” Her hips bucked against me, but I anchored her down and stroked her with my tongue through her shudders and screams. Only then did I stand and unbutton my pants.

“You’re mine,” I hissed as I spanned her hips with my hands. “Do you understand that? Mine.”

Pulling her to the edge of the desk, I entered her in one thrust. She was as tight and hot as I remembered.

She felt like home.

There was no finesse. I surged into her like a wild animal. With no regards for the future, I marked her with my teeth. I didn’t give a damn who saw it. Hell, maybe I wanted people to see it. I wanted people to know that she belonged to me, and I wasn’t about to let her go.

I barely held on until her muscles clamped around me as another orgasm took over, and it wasn’t until I found my own release and slumped over that I realized I was naked inside her.