“I’m willing to risk it,” he said, dipping his head to plant his mouth at the pulse point at the base of her throat.
Dina tipped her head back to give him access and felt the deliciously slow build of excitement stirring in her again. “You’re not playing fair.”
He smiled against her skin and whispered, “I’m a King, honey. We always get what we want.”
Her heart turned over. He wanted her. But for how long?
From across the room, the baby monitor erupted with a half cry that splintered the haze of passion as surely as hitting a light switch chased away darkness.
Sighing, Connor pulled back and looked at her. Smoothing her hair from her face with his fingertips, he said, “Duty calls.”
Duty. Why had he chosen that word in particular? Were the triplets merely duty, in spite of the way he treated them? The way he acted when he was with them? Was she a duty? Or was she simply handy?
“Yeah,” she said, shifting to move off of him as her thoughts darkened and doubts spilled through her veins like tar. “I should go take care of that before whoever it is wakes up the other two.”
“No,” he said, catching her hand as she moved to grab her clothes. “I’ll take care of it. You don’t have to do it all anymore, Dina. You’ve got me.”
He pushed off the edge of the bed, pulled on his jeans but didn’t bother buttoning the fly. He cupped her chin in his palm, tipped her face up and gave her a quick kiss followed by that half smile that always tugged at her heart. “I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.”
She didn’t. Dina sat on the edge of the rumpled bed and thought back to what he’d said before. She had him. Did she really?
* * *
A week later, they were back in Dana Point and Ireland was nothing but a great memory.
Connor grinned to himself as he walked up to the front door of his house. He’d never enjoyed a business trip more. Sure, he’d secured a new adventure for his and Colt’s business, but it was more than that. It was spending time with his family—the triplets, Maura and Jefferson and their brood—and it was discovering just how good he and Dina were together.
He hadn’t expected it, but maybe he should have. She was nothing like any other woman he’d ever known, so why would sex with her be ordinary? Instantly, his body went tight and hard and he wasn’t even surprised. Simply the thought of Dina stirred the hunger that was always close at hand.
Connor opened the front door of his house and was hit by a wave of delicious scents pouring down the hall from the kitchen. Mexican food. And since his housekeeper, Louise, had never once cooked Mexican for him, he knew exactly who was at the stove. Smiling to himself, he followed the amazing aromas and pushed the kitchen door open. He stopped in the doorway, fixed his gaze on her and just enjoyed the show.
Dina’s long black hair was pulled into a high ponytail at the back of her head. She was barefoot and wore a dark red T-shirt with faded, skintight cutoff denim shorts. Music drifted from the speakers overhead and she moved to the rhythm, dancing across the white and gray marble floor tiles. His gaze fixed on the sway of her hips and his mouth went dry.
They’d been back from Ireland for two days and she hadn’t been in his bed since they left the castle. The hell of it was, he missed her. He couldn’t remember a time when a woman had made such an impact on him that he actively missed being with her. Until Dina, women had been fleeting distractions.
She was different. He wanted her here. Now. Teeth clenched, he got a grip on his needs and took a single step into the room. “Smells great in here.”
Dina shrieked, spun around and slapped one hand to the base of her throat. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” He shrugged. “You didn’t hear me come in.” Glancing around the kitchen, his gaze swept across the familiar pale gray walls, red and white marble countertops and white cabinets. The room was big and he’d probably only seen it a handful of times since he’d moved into the house four years ago. This was Louise’s territory and he didn’t intrude on it.
“So where are the kids?”
“Louise is watching them upstairs,” Dina said. “I had to make the appetizers for a cocktail party and she volunteered to babysit so I could work faster.”
“So we don’t get to eat any of this stuff?” His gaze slid across the trays stacked on the end of the counter and the big round table set against a bay window. Late-afternoon sun streamed through that window in golden shafts that cut through the room and sparkled off the stainless steel fridge.
“We get to eat this.” She turned back to the stove and lifted the lid off a tall soup pot to allow a cloud of steam to lift from the surface.
Connor took a deep breath and sighed. “That smells amazing. What is it?”
“Chicken tortilla soup,” she said and let him peek into the pot before she slapped the lid back down on it. Her gaze met his and just for a second, he saw the same kind of desire he was feeling. And, as if she sensed what he was thinking, she cleared her throat, stepped back from him and busied herself with the trays of goodies she had prepared.
He walked over and stopped beside her, close enough that their arms brushed together. Connor heard her quick intake of breath and smiled to himself.
“So, what else do you have here?”
As she snapped the clear plastic lids on the trays, she said, “Mini chicken chimichangas, red-pepper-and-spinach quesadillas, shredded beef taquitos, cheese-stuffed jalapenos, and pulled pork miniburritos.”
He snagged one of those before she put on the lid and he’d taken a bite before she had time to whirl on him and say, “Hey! That’s for my client.”
Connor groaned as flavors exploded in his mouth. Everything had looked great on the trays, but one taste told him that she was a damn artist with a stove. He could understand now why she wanted to open a restaurant. The woman was a chef.
Chewing slowly, he shook his head and looked at the half a burrito he still held. “That,” he said with reverence in his tone, “is incredible.”
She smiled, pleased at the compliment. “Thank you.” Sighing, she said, “I’ve been cooking since early this morning and now that everything’s done I’ve got to shower and change so I can deliver the food to my client.”
Connor ate the last of his burrito and tried not to send a greedy glance at the covered trays. “Where’s the cocktail party?”
“Long Beach,” she said, turning away to stack the trays neatly. “So I’ve got to run. Now that you’re back, you can take over for Louise. I’m sure she’s more than ready for a break by now.”
“Long Beach is, like, an hour from here,” he said, not liking the thought of her having to drive alone all the way back after the party. It would probably be after midnight and if she drove down Pacific Coast Highway, there were plenty of dark stretches she’d have to pass through.
Frowning, he realized he was worried about her.
“Do you have someone working the party with you?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “This is a small affair. I can handle it on my own.”
“Maybe I should go with you,” he blurted out, almost as surprised by the offer as she appeared to be.
Dina looked at him. “Why?”
Shrugging, he said, “I can help you carry those trays, for one. Help set up, drive you to and from...”
“What’s going on with you?” Her dark brown eyes were fixed on his, gleaming with curiosity.
Good question, he thought.