The Beauty Series Bundle (9 page)

T
he shower is
huge and there’s plenty of room for two people. Somewhere not too far in the back of my mind I hope Lachlan joins me, but I don’t expect him to. He’ll be working out for a while. No one has a body like that without spending a lot of time in the gym.

The hot water feels glorious—I’m a little sore today. Because of my usual workout regimen, it’s hard to put me in many positions that will stress my muscles, so props to Lachlan for achieving that.

When I finish in the shower, I linger a little longer. Just in case. When he doesn’t come into the shower with me, I’m a little disappointed, but I don’t dwell on it. We have until he leaves for his parents’ house tomorrow.

I get ready and dress casually since I think we’re staying at the vineyard today. I guess I should’ve asked, but I didn’t, so I choose faded denim shorts and a solid ivory tank. Maybe it’s a little over the top, but I finish the ensemble off with my brown cowgirl boots.

I’m braiding my hair when he comes into the bathroom and we both smile when our eyes meet in the mirror. He’s shirtless and glistening with sweat. Damn, if I hadn’t just showered. “Someone had a productive workout.”

He stands with his hands on his hips, a towel thrown over one shoulder. “I did, thanks to you. I couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday and last night, so time got away from me.”

“You don’t look very happy about it.”

“That’s because I wanted to catch you still in the shower.”

“I stayed in a long time because I was hoping you would, but you didn’t, so I gave up on you.”

He walks toward me and I hold up a hand to stop him. “Nope. Too late now, caveman.”

“Okay. Later then.” He smiles and drops his sweaty bottoms to the floor before he kicks them toward a hamper and gets into the shower. Steam immediately billows into the space. “I have some vines I need to check today. Do you want to go out with me to see how they’re doing?”

“I’d love to. There’s not a problem, is there?”

“I hope not, but that’s why I’m going out to check.”

It feels like a sauna in here and I have to get out. How can he stand the water so hot after a workout? “Okay. I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

I’m watching some kind of Australian Christmas special when he plops on the couch beside me. He’s wearing khaki cargo pants and a fitted navy V-neck T-shirt. I can see a few sparse hairs peeking over the V’s point, but I know there’s more underneath and think about how I ran my hands over them last night.

Oh, my. He’s a fine specimen of a man. Very fine indeed.

He puts his hand on my leg and massages it. “Ready?”

“Whenever you are.”

He stops by the refrigerator as we pass through and grabs a couple of bottled waters. “It’s going to be a hot one and we could be gone for a while. It’s probably not a bad idea to take a cold drink.”

He grabs his Indiana Jones hat from the hook as we’re on our way out the door. I shake my head because I can’t believe the good-looking suit can also be rugged sexiness on a stick. No man should be this desirable.

I follow him to the ATV garage and he gases up before we drive out to what must be the edge of the property. He parks and walks over to a vine, lifting it for inspection. He puts his hand up and motions for me. “Come here, Paige. I want to show you this.”

I walk over and he points to a section on the vine. “I came to this vineyard for a very specific reason. The acidity of the soil and this particular type of grape are no longer compatible. The quality of the grapes is deteriorating. That means the quality of the wine is as well, so I’m grafting a different variety onto the existing rootstock. If it doesn’t reject the change, there will be a more compatible grape growing on these vines within two years.”

The process sounds similar to skin grafting. “Is it working?”

“It’s still too early to tell, but it’s doing well so far.”

He releases the vine and we walk back to the ATV. “I’ve never really thought about all that goes into making wine. It seems like it’s a very complicated and demanding business.”

“It can be.”

“I see why your boss pays you well. You’re very good at what you do. Did you learn all of this at the university where Ben attends?”

“No. I learned from growing up around it and then I went to another university to learn what I needed to know about the business part of the industry, but that’s been many moons ago.”

“You sound like you think you’re so much older than I am.”

He studies me like he’s searching my eyes for something. “I’m eight years older.”

I roll my eyes at him. “It’s seven, but whatever. I don’t mind. I have daddy issues, remember?”

He leans over and kisses my mouth. “Yes. How can I forget that, my sweet young thing?”

We make several stops throughout the vineyard so Lachlan can inspect more grafts. He seems pleased with everything he sees, so I know he’ll be able to leave the vineyard for the holidays without worry.

“What time will you be leaving tomorrow?”

“My mum wants me at the house by five, so I guess I’ll drive you back before lunch. What are your plans?”

“Addison has invited me to Zac’s house with her and Ben, but I’m not going.”

“Your friends are going to leave you by yourself on Christmas? That’s shitty.”

He has no idea how much I agree. “I’ll be okay. I rather be alone than with a house full of strangers.”

I don’t like the pity in his eyes. It’s something I spent my whole childhood seeing and it makes me more uncomfortable as an adult, so I change the subject and hope he doesn’t bring it up again.

We return to the house for lunch and then go back out onto the vineyard. I don’t think Lachlan had the intention of working all day, but he sees how content I am to be outdoors, so we ramble on the ATV until late evening.

When the sun begins to drop from the sky, we go in for an early dinner. We’re both pretty quiet while we eat, but we share a lot of smiles and knowing grins because we’re anxious for what tonight will bring.

We’re cleaning the kitchen together when Lachlan makes his signature move and comes up behind me. Why does he love doing that so much?

He grabs my hips and drags my bottom against him. He grinds against me and I can feel how hard he is. “Go get ready. I’ll finish up the kitchen and meet you in the bedroom in five minutes.”

He kisses my neck and lets me go. I have to hurry because he isn’t giving me long, so I scramble to the bathroom with my bag.

I’m excited for this—for him—as I quickly freshen up before slipping into my naughty little Santa-themed lingerie. I think it’s been a little longer than five minutes when I hear him call out from the bedroom. “Time’s up, Miss Beckett. I’m waiting.”

I call out from inside the bathroom. “Sit on the bed and close your eyes. No peeking. I’ll know if you do.”

I open the door and see him sitting on the bed, eyes closed. “And just how will you know if I peek?”

“Because I always know when you’ve been naughty.”

I walk out into the room in the red lingerie with white fur trim and candy cane-striped thigh-highs. With hands on my hips, I say, “You can open your eyes now.”

He does as I tell him and when he sees me, he breaks into a smile. It’s all for me and no one else. “I have a gift for you if you’ve been a good little boy.”

“And what if I’ve been naughty?”

I stroll toward him. “You’ll still get a present.”

We reach for each other at the same time and he brings his mouth down hard on mine. It’s almost painful, but I rejoice inside because it’s the way I want it tonight. Rough and raw.

He quickly spins us around and shoves me backwards onto the bed. He strips his shirt over his head and I enjoy the show from where I’m lying on the bed. “Get on your stomach.”

I flip over and hear the sound of his zipper, then that of the opening drawer. Boo. I’m missing that part again.

I feel the bed dip and he crawls over me from behind. Hot skin is all I feel against my back. He’s naked. And wanting, obvious from the hardness pressed against my thigh.

I’ve come to expect him to push my hair from my shoulders, and he does. He puts his lips on the skin of my neck and then slowly moves to my shoulder. He grazes his teeth over it while his hands are all over me at once. I’m squirming beneath him, chills erupting over my entire body. He continues to travel downward until his mouth reaches the band of my panties. He hooks his fingers inside and tugs. I lift my hips up from the bed a little so he can get them down.

When my panties are off and tossed aside, he unfastens my bra. He puts his palm flat against the small of my back and strokes it before his hand drops to my cheeks. I’m afraid because I don’t know what he’s going to do. I’ve never done that before, and I don’t think I want to.

I’m face down, but I feel his hand creep around to my stomach and then down between my legs until he’s stroking me in that delightful place. I temporarily forget my fear because all I feel is longing for more of what he’s doing. I must have it. I’ll explode with it or without it, but for two completely different reasons.

I feel him prodding me from behind, searching blindly for his way inside me, and I’m back to thinking of his intent. I decide it doesn’t matter. He can do anything to me as long as his fingers don’t stop what they’re doing right now.

He pushes my knees apart with his and then glides into the familiar place. I admit I’m relieved, but I don’t have time to think about it for long before he’s directing me. “Sit up and lean back against me.”

I push myself up and then shift backwards until I’m sitting on him with my knees spread apart. He grips my hips and begins to guide me up and down. This is a new position for me. Shit, I’ve never felt so full.

He returns his fingers to my pleasureland as he fills me from behind. It’s absurd how good he makes me feel.

When he sees he no longer has to guide my movement, he uses his free hand to palm one of my breasts. It’s too many sensations to withstand at once. I’m on the ledge, about to fall. Or jump. I’m not sure which, and then I hear his possessive words through gritted teeth and it sends me over the edge. “No one else touches you. Only me. Do you understand?”

The quaking starts in my core and I don’t answer him because I can’t find my voice. I’m too entangled in the flood of ecstasy to speak. I ride him harder as the waves of pleasure begin because I’ll die if I don’t. He squeezes my nipple hard and the sensation radiates down between my legs to finish me off. “Tell me you understand.”

My hands grip the top of his thighs and I squeeze hard. My answer comes out as a scream. “Yes! I understand!”

I fall forward onto my stomach with exhaustion and he collapses with me on top of my back. His weight pushes me into the mattress and he’s breathing heavily against my ear. “I won’t share you with anyone.”

His words remind me of my initial thoughts about him. Lachlan Henry’s world is a dark place I know nothing about. I think it frightens me, but it’s too late now. I’m a part of it, no matter what it is.

I
feel
it in the way she’s trembling and it has nothing to do with her orgasm. I’ve been too aggressive with her. Now I need to show her I can be gentle.

I lift myself from Paige’s body and kneel between her legs from behind. I kiss the dip in her lower back and taste the salty moisture created during our sexual frenzy. It’s another way I love to taste this sweet girl.

I glide my hands from her waist to her shoulders and begin massaging her tense muscles. It takes a few minutes, but I feel her eventually relax under my touch and I contemplate how to justify my possessive outburst.

I could say that I don’t know where my irrational demand came from, but that would be a lie. There should’ve been no room for anything in my head other than how good it felt to be inside her, but something else slipped into my thoughts. Someone else—Ben Donavon. I can’t believe I let that little bastard get into my head. He wants what’s mine and I’m forced to deliver her to him tomorrow. She might as well be served on a silver platter.

For two days, I’ll be in Sydney and she’ll be with him in his apartment. They might find themselves alone. That’s when shit happens.

I might have gone about it poorly, but I want to be clear with Paige; she is mine while she’s in Australia. I won’t share her with Ben Donavon or any other dick.

I lean forward to kiss her shoulder and then skim my nose across the nape of her neck. She smells so good—all fruit, sweat, and pheromones. Lots of pheromones. If I keep sniffing her, I could get sidetracked from what I need to do.

I place the side of my face against the center of her back and leave it there while I try to regain some of the footing I may have lost over my less-than-gentle treatment. “I’m sorry if I was too aggressive.”

“You were pretty intense.” She peers at me over her shoulder. “But I never said I was opposed to intense.” I feel her words rumble against my ear pressed to her body. “However, I’m a little confused about what you said.”

I roll off her and lie on my side. She does the same and props her head in her hand. She pokes her lips out at me as she mocks me in a husky tone. “You look so serious.”

I am. Dead serious. “We may only be together for a few months, but you’re mine while you’re here. I won’t share you with Ben Donavon or any other man.”

I see the confusion on her face. “What brought this on?”

Oh, hell. I’m going to sound like such a chick. “You live with him.”

She’s giving me that duh, really? look that my little sister gives me. Women must be born with that special talent. “And you knew that when we met. You didn’t just figure that out.”

“I know, but I have to take you back to him tomorrow.”

The realization clicks in her head and she understands. “You’re not relinquishing custody of me to Ben. You’re taking me to the place where I stay with my best friend.”

“Which happens to belong to a man who wants you in his bed.” I didn’t see it before, but it’s become clear to me. Now that I’ve had Paige in my bed, her residency at Ben Donavon’s is going to be a problem for me.

She shrugs, as if she couldn’t care less. “It doesn’t matter if he wants me or not. I don’t want him.” She gets up and straddles me. “But I do want you.”

She is going to use sex to distract me from this conversation. I’ll allow it—this time.

I
t’s Christmas Eve morning
. When I wake, I see Paige asleep on her stomach again. I’m learning things about her. She’s a stomach sleeper. She doesn’t want to cuddle when it’s time to sleep. And she likes her space in the bed. All these things are fine by me.

Instead of getting up to have coffee and read the paper, I stay in bed. I want to be next to her when she wakes because I’m going to have her again before I take her back. I want to be freshly on her skin and inside her when she returns to him.

My American girl isn’t a morning person. She likes to sleep in, so I get to lie next to her, studying her form for almost an hour before she wakes. I’m on the verge of going back to sleep when I feel her roll in my direction. My eyes spring open and she’s staring at me.

Hmm. The watcher becomes the watched.

She laces her fingers together across my chest and props her chin on top of her hands. “Good morning.”

I lift my head and kiss the top of her hair. “Good morning to you, sleepyhead.”

“I can’t be called the sleepyhead if I’m the one who catches you sleeping.”

“I’ve been waiting an hour for you to wake up, lazy bones.”

“And what kept you in bed instead of getting up to have your morning coffee?”

“You.”

I’m inside her twice before we leave the vineyard, once in the bed and again in the shower. As I drive her to the apartment, I chastise myself for not being more adventurous and having her throughout the house since all of the staff was gone. It would’ve been the perfect time. It will be difficult to pull that off once they are back.

I pull up in front of the apartment but keep the Sunset’s engine running. I have to get on the road if I’m going to be on time. Mum hates it when anyone is late, and I’m already going to have hell to pay for not bringing my “girlfriend” with me.

I get out of the car and walk her to the apartment entrance. I reach for her hands and give them a gentle squeeze. “I’ll call you later tonight. When you hear Bret sing, you’ll know it’s me.”

“That reminds me. You need a personalized ringtone—so you know it’s me.”

I can’t believe she doesn’t know she has one. “You have one. You just don’t know what it is.”

She reaches for her phone to call me, but I stop her. “Oh, no you don’t.”

“But I want to know what mine is.”

“Later.” I frame her face with my hands and kiss her hard so she’ll be “love drunk” with me on her mind while I’m away.

“Drive carefully.”

“I will.”

Just like the first time he interrupted us, Ben Donavon appears out of thin air. He clears his throat, interrupting our parting kiss.

He smiles as a look exchanges between us, one that says, “Hey. I’m gonna have this girl.”

I give him a smug smile in return that responds, “Hey, guess what. I’ve already had this girl. And she is incredible.”

The little bastard picks up Paige’s duffle and stands waiting with it thrown over his shoulder. He knows he’s interrupting our last moments together. And he’s loving it.

Fuck it. If he thinks he’s just ruined this for me, he’s wrong. I’m going to kiss the hell out of her regardless. “Excuse us. We were in the middle of something.”

I grasp her face and brush my lips across hers, but then I coax her mouth open and she allows me to kiss her like I did when we were alone, as if she has forgotten Ben is there with us.

I trail my mouth over to her ear and my eyes meet Ben’s as I whisper, “Remember. I won’t share you.”

She whispers back, “How could I forget?”

We say a final goodbye and Ben is waiting to take her from me. When she enters the apartment, he turns back to give me a shit-eating grin as he places his hand on her lower back.

Dammit! Not her lower back. That’s my spot to touch.

My only choice is to watch. I feel helpless, like a shepherd seeing his favorite lamb disappear into the forest with a dangerous wolf. She thinks he’s harmless, but he’s not. I know better.

It’s juvenile, but I text her before I drive away in an effort to steal her attention away from him.

*Miss me while I’m gone*

A heartbeat later, I hear the sound of her return text.

*Can’t miss U til UR gone ;)*

I pull away from the curb and wait until I’m out of sight to hit send on the next message.

*Gone. Now U can miss me.*

*I will but no TWD!*

She’s concerned for my safety. This makes me smile.

*K*

I use the drive to think about a lot of things, but my thoughts mostly revolve around the beautiful new brunette in my life who doesn’t seem to care about the things I can do for her. Knowing how little she cares about the money I could spend, makes me want to buy her the world.

M
y mom greets
me at the door, which she never does, and peeks toward my car. She’s searching for my “girlfriend.”

She sees I’m alone and is pissed off. “You didn’t bring her?”

Why does she do this to herself? “No, Mum. I told you I wasn’t.”

“I hoped you’d change your mind. I want to meet the woman who has caught my son’s eye. Is that too much to ask?”

“No, Mum, it’s not.” I shouldn’t, but I give her false hope because it would be the right thing to say if Paige were my real girlfriend. “Maybe I’ll bring her next time.”

Her eyes sparkle with my proposal. “We have your birthday dinner next month. You can bring her then.”

“I’ll discuss it with her and we’ll see,” I lie.

She’s satisfied with that answer and finally lets me in the house.

We’re sitting at the dining room table when she brings it up again. “I want to hear about your girlfriend.”

Everyone around the table stares while they wait on me to answer. I see I’m going to be forced into lying. I’ll try to be as vague as possible. “She’s American.”

I see my mum’s face fall. “She doesn’t live in Australia?”

“No. She’s here on an extended visit with a friend.”

“So she won’t be returning to the States soon?”

“Not for a while.”

That makes my mum smile again. “That’s good. What does she do?”

“She’s a musician—a very good one. That’s how we met … I heard her sing at a club in Wagga Wagga.”

I avoid telling them Paige’s name, but the illusion feels real for a moment, and I like it. I take pleasure in the happiness I see on their faces, but then the guilt sets in. Everything I tell them about her is the truth wrapped in a blanket of lies.