Mark gives me a tiny, mean smile, and pours another shot of brandy. He’s barely finished before I slam it. I feel loose already. Loose and warm. Not a bad thing, considering that I started the night tense and turned on.“Another,” I order. “I don’t want to stand here any longer than necessary.”We t
She reddens and shakes her head.“You’ve been sleeping on the couch?”“Well, we were at each other’s throats when we arrived, and I just—” She shrugs. “It seemed silly to bring it up.”Fuck you, Michael. I shut my eyes and groan softly. When I open them, she’s looking at me uncertainly.“You’re slee
LillyI wake with a blanket of man draped over me. Michael’s heavy arm is over my stomach, and his chest is a warm wall against my back. Crisp hairs and hard muscle and smooth skin. Gosh, his heat feels delicious. I want to wriggle back and burrow into him.He shifts, and his hard length presses aga
“We should take off our clothes, but—” Pleasure is heating me up from my core, through my belly, and I can’t think.“Keep going,” he says through clenched teeth.My breaths sound like sobs now. “I need you—”“Keep fucking going.”I rock over him, hitting my clit exactly the way I need. Oh, yes. From
“Give me the phone,” Michaelhisses.“No,” I mouth. “She hates you.”“Give me the fucking phone, Lilly.” He holds his hand out. “Let me fix this.”I sigh. “Mallory. Michaelwants to talk to you. He thinks he can fix this.”“Okay,” she says, her voice small and tired. She must really be upset, or she’d
MichaelI can’t resist her. I know I should. I shouldn’t have touched her this morning. Or yesterday. But kissing Lilly is like staring at the sun or checking how sharp the tip of a knife is. You want to do it. You know it’s bad for you. But you’re inexorably drawn to it.She tastes like anger and s
LillyMichael Bonell has no idea what’s coming for him. I slick on my lipstick with a newfound sense of purpose. He wants me. And I can make him lose control. I just need to find the right buttons.As I’m pinning my short hair back, Mal calls. The camera is shaky and she’s looking away, so I get a v
“He won’t sleep with me. He has some code of honor. I don’t know. It’s stupid. Probably something to do with my brother.”“Lord, spare us from men who think they know better than we do.” She rolls her eyes and takes a healthy gulp of wine.“Exactly what I said.” I tilt my head to check that I’ve app
“Rodrigo and Jade are perfect for one another.” Jule smiled. Tony chuckled. “I think everything we did for them worked out, starting from that text you sent me telling me to encourage the dinner plan. After Rodrigo mentioned where he was going for dinner, I ensured we went to the same restaurant he
“Why?” “It was named ‘Playing by Her Rules’.” He smiled, understanding her hint. “And just like that lioness in that painting, I will always protect you.” Now it was his turn to laugh out loud. And she loved it. She loved seeing him like this, carefree and so much at ease. “You are magnificent,
The horse pushed further into her hand as if in agreement again. She smiled. Xerxes reinforced her belief that he understood what she was saying, always. “I love how you communicate with my horse.” She looked sideways and found Rodrigo leaning against a pillar, watching her, arms crossed. “He’sou
He turned to Kabier and Sameer. “Thank you for your support that day. You guys stood by me when you didn’t need to. You were ready to battle your wives for me, and I appreciate that.” Kabier shrugged. “We all needed closure on your silly and childish squabble with our women.” Sameer nodded. “Besid
Soon after Jade had proposed to him, Rodrigo had whisked her off to Delhi and to his home. He’d finally slept properly again with her in his arms. His insomnia was a thing of the past now. Jade had even returned to work at FF. His woman was brilliant. One day, he was certain, she’d head the FF team
Three months later Delhi The late afternoon sun rays washed over his stud farm, casting a golden light over everything they touched. Summer hadn’t set in yet, and a light cool breeze was blowing, adding to the surreal ambience. The weather was perfect, just as his wedding had been. A few hours ago
Aisha and Jade laughed. Rodrigo felt like his chest would split open with all the happiness he was feeling. Jule and Anthony approached them. “I’m so proud of you, Jade,” Jule said. “You are brave and strong. You battled hard to win him, and now you have.” Anthony patted Rodrigo’s back and hugged
He swallowed through the lump in his throat. “I’m glad you pushed me away. Seeing you with Ayden opened my eyes. I hated it when he touched you. My heart burned when he touched your hair. Seeing you with him made me realize what a colossal fool I’d been. I figured that to get you back, I had to try
“Yes.” “Uh, okay…” He couldn’t for the life of him understand what was going on. She tilted her head to study him. “Once upon a time, there was a girl who fell in love with a prince, and they were happy for a while. But then he rejected her. Again and again.” His muscles tightened. He understood