God, how to handle myself? I was no bloody good at this sort of thing. Jealousy sucked and I would be in for a shit-load with Brynne. Part of the package with her when she was so beautiful and on display so prominently. I needed more reassurance from her and I was pretty sure she wasn’t ready for giving me any more just yet.

The passenger door opened and in she came, plopping on the seat, flushed from a dash through the light drizzle that’d started in the time since I had parked. She grinned and leaned toward me for a kiss.

“Well there you are,” I said and pulled her against me. Her skin was a little cold but her lips were warm and soft for me.

Fuck yes, for me!

I plundered that mouth of hers and held her face to mine, claiming her with my tongue deeply so she could feel how much I wanted her. She allowed the invasion at first and I didn’t let up until she squeaked, telling me I needed to back off. I released her and leaned to the side in my seat to look at her.

“Sorry, that was a little beastly of me.” I gave her my best chastised look.

Her face changed and her eyes got that searching look in them. Christ, she was beautiful. No wonder cocksuckers named Alex wanted her naked. I wanted her naked. Like right f**king now! Her hair was down today and she had on a dark green jacket and a scarf. The color was lovely on her, picking up the green and hazel in her eyes, and she had a few drops of rain sprinkled in her hair.

“What’s wrong, Ethan?”

“Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“Just a really good hunch,” she smirked, “and the tongue lashing confirmed it.”

I shook my head. “I just missed you is all. How was your luncheon with those colleagues you wanted to impress?”

“It was awesome. I got to share about Lady Percival’s restoration and it really gave them a hook to remember me by. I hope something comes of it. Maybe it will.” She smiled. “And I owe it all to you.” She kissed me once on the lips and took my chin in her hand.

I tried to smile back. I thought I did, but apparently I suck at faking my feelings just as much as I suck at dealing with my jealousy. Oh something will come of it, baby. Alex Craven will get a hard-on and the hook will be remembering your naked pictures, not the soulful Lady Percival holding her rare and precious book! Mallerton’s paintings can go to rot, it’s Brynne Bennett on his c**k that he wants!

She sighed at me. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong? You just growled and I’m pretty sure growling is not a universal signal for happiness and harmony.” She looked very annoyed with me.

“This came through a bit ago.” I set her mobile on her lap with the text on screen.

She picked it up and read it, swallowed once and then looked to the side at me. “You got jealous when you saw this.” Not a question.

I nodded at her. Might as well let it all hang out while we were at it. “He wants to f**k you.”

All men do when they see your nude photographs. I wasn’t moronic enough to say that to her, but man I could sure think it if I wanted. It was the bare naked truth!

“I highly doubt that, Ethan.”

“Is he g*y then?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think Alex is g*y but I don’t really know.”

“Then he definitely wants to f**k you.” I said grimly out the window now coated with drizzle and setting a mood in perfect harmony with how I felt.

“Ethan, look at me.”

The tone of her command shocked the hell out of me. And got me hard.

I looked over at my girl who had come to mean so much to me in such a short time and wondered what she wanted to say. I didn’t know how to share her, or how to not be jealous, or how to be the graceful partner of a nude art model that other men only wanted to drool over or fantasize about f**king. I just didn’t know how to be that man.

“Alex Craven is not a he.”

Brynne rolled her lips together to keep from laughing outright. It didn’t matter. I was relieved enough to take her teasing and then some.

“Oh,” I managed, feeling very, very foolish, “well then, you should go to dinner with Alex Craven and I’ll wish you a ton of luck, baby. She sounds like she really wants to hire you.” I nodded.

She laughed at me and said, “You worry far too much, baby.”

I leaned toward her lips but didn’t touch them. “I can’t help worrying, and I love it when you call me baby.” I kissed her again, this time not like a Neanderthal, but how I should have kissed her in the first place. I threaded my fingers around her head and tried to show her what she meant to me. I pulled back slowly with a few nibbles to her bottom lip, bringing my hand down the side of her face and down her neck. “I want to take you home now. My place. I need that…badly.”

I hope she knew this was my version of a request. I’d asked her to bring enough clothes for a few days but couldn’t be sure she’d actually done it. I just wanted her with me all the time. I couldn’t explain it any different than a very deep wanting…a requirement of having her right there for me to talk to and touch. And f**k. It made me such a needy bastard but I just didn’t care anymore, and holding back from pushing her was annoyingly difficult.

“All right, your place tonight.” She brought her hand up to my hair and fingered it, searching me again with her intelligent eyes. I swear she could read me like an open book and I wondered why she even put up with me. I hoped it was because she was beginning to love me back, but hated to ponder much because I always returned to… what if she doesn’t?

“Thank you.” I took her hand from where she held it and brought it to my lips to kiss. I lifted my eyes to see her reaction and was pretty damn happy to see that smile of hers. I smiled back and put the car in drive. Time to get my girl home alone where I could act on all those things I really wanted to do with her.

The chicken parmigiana in my mouth was perfectly prepared with succulent meat, savory sauce, and spices, but the company sitting across from me at my table was even better.

I’d watched her make it earlier while I worked from my laptop. Sort of. I’d come out and set up on the kitchen bar and got to look over and smile at her sometimes. I enjoyed the sounds of her working in the kitchen very much. It was a nice feeling along with the delicious smells coming from a room I rarely spent much time in. Smells of our dinner that Brynne was making with her lovely hands.

Pretty f**king sexy stuff if you ask me.

It was different than what Annabelle did for me—an employee who cleaned and cooked things and labeled them in the freezer. This was something real. A thing people do because they care, not because they are being paid.