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“Aye, lassie,” Munroe said, slipping the kilt off and hanging it over a towel rail. My mouth fell open.
“Wait, were you really naked under there all night?”
“Aye, lassie,” Munroe said again, coming to cage me with his arms and walking me back to the shower, his voice a warm timbre at my neck.
“Oh my God. I think I’m glad that I didn’t know that. Or did I know that? At the very least I’m glad I didn’t think about it. I wouldn’t have been able to get anything done.” I shivered at Munroe’s mouth at my neck. Reaching over me, he slid the shower door open and flipped the handle to turn the water on. Turning me in his arms, he pushed me lightly forward until the warm water hit my breasts, and then joined me. It felt like being cocooned by a large bear. I shuddered as he pulled my back to his front, his hard length nudging me from the back, and reached up to angle the spray so it could soak us both.
“Do you want to wash your hair tonight?” Munroe asked, absentmindedly nibbling at my ear.
“No, I don’t feel like going to bed with wet hair, and I’m too tired to dry it.”
“Noted,” Munroe said. Without another word, he reached around me and picked up the bar of lavender-scented soap and trailed it lightly across my breasts. I arched back into him, moaning as he circled my nipples lightly with the bar, his other hand coming around to stroke me gently at the front. My hips bucked at his touch, and he slipped a hand between my folds to find me already ready for him.
“Munroe,” I gasped, reaching backward to hook an arm around the back of his neck. “That feels so good.Youfeel so good.”
“Open for me, Lia,” Munroe instructed, and I did so, gasping when his fingers found me. Gently, he circled me, his large palm bringing me to the brink of pleasure. “Go on, darling. Let go for me.”
His words undid me, and I let myself fall over the edge as desire rocketed through my body. Turning in his arms, I stood on my tiptoes and licked into his mouth. He tasted of whisky and raspberries, and I wanted to stay here, locked in this moment forever. Grabbing my waist, Munroe hitched me up until my legs wound around him and he entered me in one smooth thrust, my back to the shower wall, claiming me as his own. I collapsed, clinging to him as he rode me to another sharp crescendo of pleasure, his lips fevered on mine.
“I’m so proud of you, Lia. My woman. My beautiful magickal woman. You’re mine.”
Over and over, he repeated the words, like a mantra, until I could almost believe that I had a future with this man.
And maybe, just maybe, I did.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Lia
“I’ve got to crack on,” Munroe said, after we’d enjoyed a cup of coffee in bed together. “I have that meeting with the investors later this afternoon, but I’ll stop by on my way to check in.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said, nerves kicking up in my stomach about how much I actually did want him to do that. I had plenty to do today to make sure there wasn’t too much damage control needed after last night and to prepare for our actual grand opening in a few weeks. What I needed to do was focus and get this restaurant off the ground.
My restaurant.
I’d spoken at length with Sophie about how upsetting it had been to have my dream at Suzette’s ripped out from under me when the ownership changed hands. We were in the process of hammering out an agreement where I could buy my way into partial ownership of the restaurant here. It would need to be over time, as I only had so much of my savings I could contribute now, but at the very least, the idea that I could own actual stakes in the restaurant was deeply appealing to me. I wasn’t sure that I could handle losing another restaurant that I loved.
And I did.
I loved it here. I loved the eccentric people, the nosy neighbors, and even the cantankerous Sir Buster. I even loved…my eyes landed on Munroe, looking gorgeous and too good to be true at the end of the bed. He’d put his kilt back on, and it took everything in my power not to crawl across the bed and drag him back to the mattress with me. But I knew today was important to him, so I ordered my ladyparts to settle down. They’d already been well serviced both last night and this morning.
“I know you don’t have to, but you can wish me luck before I go to my meeting.”
“It’s a big deal, isn’t it?” I ran my finger across a wrinkle in the bed sheet, smoothing it repeatedly as I considered how significant Munroe’s business actually was. Here I was obsessing over my restaurant when he had multiple distilleries all over Scotland and international investors wooing him. When it was just us, like this, it was easy to forget our differences.
“It could be a big deal. Life-changing, actually. I do find it fascinating that they tracked me down to Loren Brae, which means they’re already showing their hand on how interested they are in the brand.”
“That’s great, Munroe. Really great. I’m proud of you.” I pasted a smile on my face and tilted my head when an odd look crossed his face.
“It is. I just…” Munroe laughed and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest as he turned to gaze out the window and over Loch Mirren. The Kelpies had woken us twice the night before, and each time, Lachlan had waved us back to bed from where we’d gone to the window. I wasn’t sure what they were doing to subdue the Kelpies, but it looked like they were working overtime. “I don’t know if I want it.”
“What? Of course you do,” I exclaimed. “You could take Common Gin global. That’s a huge deal.” I still didn’t think I could fully wrap my head around just how wealthy Munroe was, or could be, if he took this deal. It was astounding, really. It would set him up for life, I was sure of it. Why wouldn’t he take the deal?
“Aye. Of course, you’re right.” Munroe studied me with an odd look in his eyes, and I wished I understood the undercurrents here. His phone pinged with a message, and the moment broke. “That’s me off then. I’ll see you later.”
After a lingering kiss, Munroe strode from the room, and I was left with a disquieting feeling in my stomach. Perhaps it was just nerves over the incident at the restaurant yesterday, but either way, my thoughts were swirling around in my brain like a blender on high.
I did what I always did when I was feeling out of sorts—I went to my kitchen. There, I had control. There I could be me.
