Master in Shining Armor (Masters Unleashed 4)

“There’s a nanny.”

“Maybe being a rich mom would be easier than being a poor mom, but that doesn’t change the fact that you don’t want to be a mom, ever. It’s not like he has an annoying laugh or bad taste in shoes. He has a kid. If you’re not willing to be a mom, then you need to get the fuck out of Dodge.”

Annoyed, she saluted him and walked away.

By the end of the day she was still out of sorts. She’d snapped at people so many times that her twenty-year-old sister, Emma, finally asked her what her problem was. After that, she’d done her best to stay away from people. As the day ended, the club slowly emptied, leaving her alone to brood.

“I had a feeling you’d still be here,” Will said, his tone teasing. “Couldn’t go home until we’d tested out that bar, huh?”

She whirled on him probably more angry at him than anyone else she’d been around all day. He was the one who kept tempting her and seducing her. And now that they were together, and word was out, she kept having to deal with everyone telling her how wrong they were together and how things would never work.

“Everyone keeps telling me we’re doomed. I’m getting really sick of listening to it.”

He snorted, which surprised her.

“Everyone keeps telling me the same thing. It doesn’t mean they’re right. The only thing that matters is what we think.” He approached her slowly and she backed away, intimidated by the way his muscles moved as he prowled toward her, hunting her. He made her want to run . . . if only so he’d chase her.

“This is serious, Will. People keep bringing it up even though I’m not asking them for their opinion. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to handle that.” She frowned up at him as he backed her against the bar. His big body was menacing as he loomed over her, and her heart fluttered wildly, urging her to escape.

“So what’s their biggest objection to me?”

“Aside from the fact that you’re a client and we never should have gotten involved in the first place, it’s the ready-made-family thing that’s really freaking people out. Ryan has been pushing for me to go to Paris ever since I decided I wanted to go. They know that suddenly becoming a mom would change everything.”

“We’re not there yet—they’re rushing things. Besides, it wouldn’t have to change your plans. You could go to Paris alone or with friends. Or Beau and I could go with you and we could bring Tabitha. You’re only as stuck as you choose to be.”

His voice was quiet, rumbling, more appropriate for bedroom talk than for a serious conversation. When he spoke to her this way, that made it hard for her to concentrate.

He propped a hand on either side of her, pressing her against the bar with his body. “I appreciate the fact that they have your best interest at heart, but I’d hate for you to give up on us and what we could have together because of the opinions of other people.”

True. And people kept urging her to think about the future when she didn’t have to worry about that just yet. She was young. And besides, lots of people got into relationships and even had kids together and broke up later. It wasn’t like she had to stay forever if it wasn’t working. And it wasn’t as if he was asking her to give up on her career and her dreams to become a housewife.

“So there’s no rush, right?”

“Well, there is for me. But not in the way you mean.” He smiled the most smoldering crooked smile she’d ever witnessed and thrust his hips, pressing his erection against her belly. “Ever since I caught you fantasizing about my new bar, I haven’t been able to think of anything else all day. It’s very unprofessional of you to be so distracting, Ms. Callahan.”

“The worst part is I’m not even sorry.” She smiled back at him evilly and was thrilled by the low growl that was his response.

He hunted through her hair for the bobby pins holding it in place, yanking them out with a vicious intensity. As soon as her hair fell down around her shoulders, he found the zipper at the back of her dress and jerked it down, then stripped her out of it as though her clothing were a personal insult. Her shoes, her bra, her panties—all came off moments later. He dug his fingers into the delicate fabric of her nylons, ripping through them and tearing them off. By the time she was naked, she was making sounds of impatient lust, desperate to get him inside her.

She dropped a hand to the zipper of his jeans, and he slapped her ass so hard the entire club rang with report like a gun had gone off.

“I appreciate the acoustics in here. Too bad it won’t sound like this once all of the furniture and decorations are in.” He chuckled. “You in a hurry, sunshine?”

She nodded, pouting up at him as if the pouting would change his mind. She knew better. He was always such a hard-ass when he got into this frame of mind.

“To get what you want you’re going to have to be a very good girl for me. Do you think you can do that?”

She grumbled under her breath, “I don’t know about being a good girl—could I interest you in a very impatient girl?”

He spun her around and pushed her belly down on the bar, blistering her ass with a few hard and fast smacks. She was so surprised that at first the cold of the concrete didn’t even register.

“Get up on the fucking bar, Juliet. No more bratting or you’re going to be a very, very sorry girl.”

Fuuuuck. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to be good or wanted him to show her how sorry he could make her.

He grabbed her by the waist and practically tossed her up. She scrambled, landing on her hands and knees, but before she could push herself upright, his hands were holding her by the waist and his mouth was on her pussy, and all she could do was whi

mper and let it happen.