Focus on the battle ahead, man.
Because shit. There is going to be a fucking battle. Sweet, innocent Hailey is an international counterfeiter. Her replications have sold for millions of dollars to unsuspecting collectors—and once the Bureau finds out, they’re going to want one of two things. To put her behind bars. Or to turn her into a witness against her father, in exchange for immunity.
I don’t want to force either of those things on her. Yeah, sure. I’m not objective at all here. I’ve found the girl I’m planning to treat like a queen for the rest of my life. So I don’t want that life to begin by giving her an ultimatum. I sure as hell don’t want her to look at me and see a bad guy. As far as she’s concerned, Mick is the one who makes her dreams come true—that’s how I plan to keep it from now on.
If there’s a chance it could compromise my job, so be it.
“Where did you paint, baby?” I watch a drop of water roll down her spine and swallow, desperate to lick it off. “The lights were off in your room last night, but it looked pretty damn small for an operation like that.”
“There’s a hidden door in my bathroom, behind a tapestry. It leads to another room that’s even smaller, but it’s empty, except for my paints and easel.” She looks up at me over her shoulder. “That room has the window I could see you from.”
“You’ll see me all the time now,” I say, gruffly.
She smiles, then a thought seems to occur to her. “Where do you live when you’re not undercover?”
“Montana.” I give in to temptation and drop a kiss on the curve of her shoulder, my fingertips trailing up her sides, before detouring around to her tits. “Growing up in Boston, all I wanted was space. So when I had the money, I went and got it. You like horses, Hailey?”
“I’ve never met one.”
Her breath catches as I knead her little tits. “You’re going to have your own one now. Better start thinking of names.”
“Really?”
“Damn right.” I squeeze her nipples between my knuckles, chuckling when her body jolts in the water, her knees coming up through the bubbles. “Going to give you whatever the fuck you want.”
“I want you, Mick,” she whispers.
“You’ve got me. You’ve got your freedom, too.” My right hand slides up to close lightly around her throat. “You’ll be free to do anything but associate with other men, are we clear on that? There’s no compromise. You make your girlfriends, paint your pictures and do what you damn well please. But there’s only one man who touches you. If anyone looks below your neck, I want to know about it. Straight from your pretty mouth.”
Several beats pass in silence, her gold eyes serious. “For years, I’ve watched men come and go from my window. Without hearing a word out of their mouth, I loathed them. But without hearing a word from yours, I wanted to be near you.” She leans sideways and kisses my forearm. “My heart knew you. Now it’s yours.” Her tongue skates out and traces my vein. “My body is yours, too. Always.”
My hand leaves her throat in favor of prying open her mouth…and I don’t so much kiss her as I devour her. Thank God she encouraged me because I’ve hit my limit in the control department. Need to make her come. Need to fuck her. I’m not sure I’ll ever be satisfied with my claim on Hailey—I need to make it happen again and again until she can’t breathe a word without other men knowing she’s locked down. I want my name to be wrapped around everything she says.
“Climb out.” I smack the side of the bathtub. “Sit on the edge and open your legs. I’m going to tongue that sore pussy down. Get it ready for cock again.”
Just like the night we met, Hailey looks more interested in kissing me than anything, her wide eyes trained on my mouth. “B-but, Mick…”
“I know you like kisses, baby.” Still on my knees, I lift her out of the tub with one arm, settling her wet ass on the nice, wide slab of marble in front of me. “There’s more than one way I can kiss you, though. Something tells me you’re going to have a hard time picking your favorite real soon.”
I’m definitely going to hell, because her genuine confusion makes my dick throb like a motherfucker. In so many ways, she’s still a virgin, and I plan on enjoying every second of her new education. With a grunt, I reach down and free my cock, the heavy weight of it thunking against the side of the tub.
“Remember that little spot that feels so nice when Mick rubs on it?”