by Mari Carr
“Lochlan!” Padraig called out after spotting him first. “Welcome home.”
Lochlan claimed the stool next to Colm, nodding his thanks as Padraig slid him a pint of his usual Guinness.
“Thanks. I have to admit you guys are a sight for sore eyes. It was a long trip.”
His cousin Colm had a mind like a steel trap, never forgetting anything, something that served him well as a lawyer. He took a swig of beer and asked, “How was Sally’s last day?”
“I forgot it was her last day,” Colm’s twin brother, Padraig, said. “That couldn’t have been easy for you. Unless, that is, you waved yet another big raise under her nose and convinced her to stay.”
“She retired.”
“I like that woman,” Pop Pop said. “She was good for you. And the company. But I understand her desire to move on. Life’s too short to spend every year of it working.”
Colm chuckled. “Says the spry ninety-two-year-old still here at the pub. How’s the replacement?”
“May Flowers,” Lochlan said, trying to figure out what else to add.
“Come from April showers?” Finn asked, obviously searching for a reason behind his odd comment.
Lochlan chuckled. “Her name is May Flowers.”
“No way,” Padraig said with a laugh. “That’s kind of cool.”
“Is she older like Sally?” Finn asked.
Lochlan shook his head. “Young. Very young.” It was on the tip of his tongue to say “too young,” but that wasn’t really true. May was much more mature than his younger cousins who were close to the same age, but that was probably an unfair comparison. Fiona and Sunnie seemed younger than May, more carefree and a little bit sillier, but that didn’t mean they were incapable of working hard and doing well in their professions. He just never saw them in that environment. Fiona had already found quite a lot of success as a sitcom writer in Hollywood, and Sunnie was about to graduate from college with a nursing degree.
“Are you not okay with Sally’s choice, son?” Pop Pop asked.
“No…I mean, yes. I’m concerned about her age, but if first impressions count, I have to say she seems capable of doing the job. She ran the office just like Sally, very efficiently.”
Pop Pop frowned. “Then I’m not sure I understand why you look down in the dumps right now.”
Colm snickered. “I might have an idea. How hot is May?”
Lochlan released a long breath—one he thought he might have been holding all damn day. “She’s fucking gorgeous.”
“Language,” Pop Pop murmured without anger.
“Sorry, Pop Pop.”
“Hey, guys.” Aunt Riley walked up to them. “Oh, Lochlan, you’re back. How was London?”
“True to the cliché. Rainy and cold.”
“That sucks. Listen. I’m sorry to break things up, but I’ve got a banging headache.”
Finn turned toward his mom with concern. “Did you take some Advil?”
She nodded. “Yeah. It’s kicking in, but I still think crawling into bed sounds pretty good.”
“This headache wouldn’t have anything to do with those margaritas you and Bubbles fell into last night to celebrate Sunnie’s upcoming graduation, would they?” Pop Pop asked.
Finn rolled his eyes and laughed. “Jeez, Mom. You’re hungover?”
“Blame Bubbles. She’s a bad influence on me.”
Every single man snorted in unison, none of them fooled by that line of bullshit. Riley and Bubbles, a former Vegas prostitute turned nurse, had been best friends for close to thirty years. If there’d been a third woman at last night’s impromptu margarita party, maybe she could have claimed she was led astray, but Bubbles and Riley were nearly always the ringleaders, guiding people down wicked paths hand in hand.
Riley rolled her eyes, the action prompting a pained wince. “You’re all hilarious. Do you mind if we take off early tonight, Pop? It’s a bye night for the Stanley Cup, so you won’t miss anything fun around here.”
“What are we? Chopped liver?” Padraig joked.
“I think we’re fun,” Finn said.
Pop Pop had moved out of the apartment above the pub well over a decade earlier and now lived with Aunt Riley. He’d given up his driver’s license a few years earlier, simply because he never used it. Riley did all the cooking at the pub, and this was where Pop Pop wanted to be, so he just hopped in the car with her every day she was working.
“Och. No problem, Riley. Might try to catch a repeat or two of Wild Winters on TV.”
Riley groaned. “Suuuure, Pop. You’re going to watch repeats,” she said sarcastically. “Or you’ll just watch yourself in the finale…again. For the seven-hundredth time.”
Pop Pop chuckled as he rose from his stool, and Lochlan tried not to notice that he did it a bit slower each time he saw him.
Fiona was a writer for the sitcom Wild Winters, and a month earlier, they’d filmed an episode of the show in the pub. Pop Pop even had a line. Lochlan had flown out to London the next day, pushing the trip back until after the filming so he wouldn’t miss it.
Pop Pop placed a hand on Lochlan’s shoulder. “Sally’s a good woman, a savvy one, who knows you well. I can promise you, she didn’t hire May because she was pretty. Open your eyes and try to find the reason she did. Figure that out and all will be well.”
“Thanks. I will.”
“Catch you tomorrow night, Pop Pop,” Padraig said as their grandfather and Riley headed out.
“Alright,” Colm said, leaning back in the high stool. “Let’s have the unabridged version, now that Pop Pop is gone.”
“I can’t figure out what the hell Sally was thinking in hiring May.”
“Is it really the fact that she’s young and pretty that’s bothering you?” Finn asked. Lochlan appreciated the disbelief in his cousin’s tone. He was grateful that Finn thought him above such pettiness.
Padraig flipped a towel over his shoulder, obviously sharing Finn’s same sense of confidence in Lochlan’s character. “She was probably thinking you’re a responsible, respectful man who can be around a woman without thinking with his dick.”
“Yeah,” Lochlan muttered.
“That doesn’t sound very reassuring.” Colm was frowning.
“I walked into that office after four hours of sleep, jet-lagged, and grumpy about Sally retiring. I probably wasn’t in the best frame of mind to meet her.”
“What did you do?”
“Acted like a bear, questioned Sally’s choice…in front of May. Then spent the rest of the day staring at her like a goddamn fool, trying to figure her out.”
“Figure her out?” Finn asked.
“There was something about her, something I couldn’t put my finger on.”
“Like what? Like you recognized her or something?” Given Finn’s confusion, it was obvious Lochlan was doing a shitty job explaining.
“No. There were these feelings—”
Finn crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
“Not sexual,” Lochlan quickly corrected. At least…not at first. Not until she’d said goodbye, and he’d realized what it was that he kept seeing.
Lochlan and his cousins were close—like best-friends close. They may be blood, but they were also his confidantes, the guys he turned to when he needed advice or just to brag about some hot conquest.
“I’m pretty sure she’s submissive.”
Padraig blew out a low whistle. Finn shot him a sympathetic look.
Colm, however, went straight for the solution. “You’ve been gone a month. Give Adrienne a call.”
“Yeah. That’s probably not a bad idea.”
Adrienne Walcott was Lochlan’s booty call, and he was hers. Neither of them had the time for or interest in a relationship. More than that, they weren’t well suited, sharing very few interests in common. However, they had one very important similarity. While they were oil and water outside the bedroom, they were a matched set inside, Adrienne the perfect submissive to his Dom. They
’d met in a club a few years earlier, and since then, they’d taken their bedroom play away from the more public setting, meeting in hotels once every few weeks or so.
“Or better yet, go out on a real date,” Padraig suggested.
Lochlan shook his head. “No thanks. I’m good with the no-strings-attached deal.”
Colm snickered. “You’re talking to the last of the confirmed bachelors now that Clooney’s off the market, Paddy. Lochlan’s a dying breed.”
Lochlan drained the rest of his beer. “You’re one to talk, cuz. I don’t see you sliding a ring on any woman’s finger.”
“Just haven’t found the right one. At least I’m trying. I’m not averse to dates. And not just first ones either. I’ve been out with Allison four times now. She’s pretty cool. Unlike you, there’s not a doubt in my mind I want to get married and have kids someday.”
Lochlan winced. “I thought we had a rule. No one says the K word in front of me.”
“I don’t get it,” Finn said. “You’re good with kids. When Landon showed up at the family picnic last summer with his niece and nephew, you batted that beach ball around with them for the better part of an hour. They loved you.”
“That was an hour of my life, Finn. The other twenty-three hours in that day were all mine, peaceful and relaxing.”
“If you consider working nonstop peaceful and relaxing.” Finn drained his beer and slid the empty glass to Padraig for a refill.
Colm put a hand on Lochlan’s shoulder. “You do realize the Collins curse is coming for you, right?”
“That’s not funny.”
Colm and Lochlan started a joke at Christmas this past year that there was a curse on their family, causing them to fall head over ass in love forever. Caitlyn, Ailis and Padraig tried to convince them it was a blessing, not a curse, but they persisted, claiming it had taken all their parents down, and now it was coming for them. Fiona had been the latest to go down hard, falling for her best friend, Asher, just last month.
“In fact,” Colm said, “I’ve got twenty bucks that says you might be the next one to fall. Gentlemen? Any takers?”
“I’ll take that bet,” Finn said, reaching out to shake Colm’s hand. “Lochlan is too stubborn and set in his ways. I think the curse is going to wait until he’s convinced he’s dodged it, and then snag him in his late forties. He’ll be one of those guys everyone mistakes for a grandfather at his own kid’s graduation.”
“K word,” Lochlan warned. “And it’s never going to happen.”
“You want a piece of the action, Padraig?” Colm asked.
Padraig tilted his head, studying Lochlan’s face. “No. I’m pretty sure you’re right, Colm.”
“Et tu, Brute?” Lochlan shook his head when Padraig picked up his empty pint glass, pointing at it to see if he wanted another.
“Tell me this, Lochlan. Is May a good assistant?” Padraig asked.
“It’s only been a day, but yeah, she’s seems very capable, very…” He sighed. “Sally-like. We didn’t talk much, but she’s smart and confident, and she’s got a great smile, an easy laugh.” He was digging himself into a hole, discussing things that didn’t matter from an employer’s perspective. Especially considering he’d just revealed his suspicions about May being submissive.
Padraig grinned, amused by his description. “Then it sounds to me like you got lucky. Sally hired the right person for the job.”
“Just curious,” Colm said, “how young is young?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Fucking gorgeous, great laugh, and submissive, huh? Is she single?” Colm asked.
Lochlan nodded. “Why?”
“Because I’m not her boss.”
“Neither am I,” Finn added, hopping in on the joke.
This was why he’d come here. Lochlan needed his cousins to let him say the words aloud, then show him that this wasn’t the end of the world. Hell, it wasn’t even a bump in the road. He was perfectly capable of being around a woman without thinking with his dick, and he was definitely strong enough to resist the temptation of a workplace affair, no matter how beautiful, smart or submissive May was.
Padraig chuckled and shook his head. “You guys have issues.”
“What about Allison?” Lochlan asked.
“Yeah,” Finn added. “You’re already dating someone, Colm. Besides, May is closer to my age than any of you clowns. I might drop by your office later in the week.”
Lochlan knew they were joking, but the idea of Colm or Finn dating May bothered him for some reason.
“Forget it.” Lochlan’s response came out too much like a growl. “If May is able to do the job, I’d like to keep her in my employment until I retire, so I don’t have to do this again. And if not, I’m still committed to six months.”
“Six months?” Colm asked.
“Sally made me promise not to fire her until I gave her a real shot at the job.”
“Damn,” Finn muttered. “You must’ve really acted like an ass. I might need to stop by just to prove to her not all Collins men are jerks.”
“You’re not dating her,” Lochlan repeated. “None of you are.”
“Hmmm.” Padraig scratched his chin and studied his face without saying anything.
Lochlan held his stare for a few seconds before saying, “What?”
Padraig picked up a dishcloth and started wiping the counter, glancing at the glasses of the patrons sitting near them. “Maybe you should hold off on calling Adrienne.”
Lochlan frowned. “Why?”
Padraig tossed the cloth in the sink and straightened. “Just…don’t call her yet. I’m not a hundred percent sure you’re seeing things clearly.”
As far as answers went, that one sucked, but Padraig was already refilling glasses for a couple seated at the end of the bar.
“What the fuck did that mean?” Lochlan asked Finn and Colm.
Colm shrugged. “No idea. That brother of mine is getting more like Pop Pop every damn day. Regardless, he’s got a point. It’s only been one day, Lochlan. Get some sleep, and I guarantee within a day or two, the initial shock of losing Sally and meeting May will be gone, and life will be back to normal again. Then you can call Adrienne.”
Lochlan nodded. He’d been right to come here. His family always knew what to say to give him perspective, to make an insurmountable problem seem small.
He grabbed some takeout and headed home feeling stronger, more like himself.
That feeling remained until he crawled into bed later that night. The second he closed his eyes, he saw her.
May.
Bent over his desk, her skirt tucked around her waist. She was looking at him over her shoulder, her blue eyes dark with desire, heavy-lidded, hungry.
He sat straight up and tried to shake the image away, but it stuck.
This wasn’t going to end well.
3
May rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on the computer screen. She’d been Administrative Assistant to the CEO of AdLoch for two months, two days, seven hours, and—she glanced at the clock on the wall—seventeen minutes. During that time, she’d worked overtime nineteen days and pulled a midnighter twice.
The job was challenging, interesting and the answer to a prayer. She needed this job. Like lives-depended-on-it needed. Today was likely going to be another midnighter—a day when she and Lochlan called in for dinner and worked until neither of them could keep their eyes open.
Not that the long nights were horrible. The last time they’d stayed late, they’d wound up getting into a huge debate over the Lucas Star Wars films versus the newer ones made since Disney took ownership. Lochlan claimed the originals were the best and the franchise had been destroyed by Disney. She disagreed. They’d actually lost an hour of work time arguing about it, looking up certain scenes online, trying to convince each other to their perspective.
It had been fun, but in the end, she’d felt guilty for remaining at work when she was needed at home.
; May prayed all would be well tonight. This job kept her away from home too much, and it was putting a lot of stress on her already fragile mother. The string was stretched taut, and May knew it was just a matter of time before it broke completely. Unfortunately, May didn’t have a choice. They needed the money this job was bringing in—desperately.
The fact she loved working at AdLoch helped, but then…it didn’t help. She enjoyed being here, which made her feel guilty because she was needed at home just as much. May was torn in two, trying to fill the large shoes left by Sally, while at the same time not letting her family down.
She was burning the candle at both ends, which actually wasn’t as hard as it should be.
Because of him.
She was completely impressed with and in awe of her new boss, Lochlan Wallace. He was brilliant, handsome as sin, confident and rich, yet at the same time, he was approachable and real. He’d tried to warn her away at the beginning, claiming he couldn’t sugarcoat his requests. In truth, she’d loved that honesty and had been relieved by it.
Her last boss had equated youth to inability. He hadn’t exactly treated her like she was stupid, but there’d been a lack of trust in her intelligence, so he’d over-explained her tasks and limited what she was assigned. Every hour there had felt like five years.
AdLoch was the opposite. She was busy from open to close. Lochlan had handed her all of Sally’s roles and trusted that she could follow through. She was exhausted yet exhilarated, and the challenge fulfilled her like nothing she’d ever done.
The only downside to her new job was something that wasn’t Lochlan’s fault, something he would probably be mortified to hear, so she was careful to hide it.
Lochlan had a way of looking at her that had her imagining things that never occurred to her before…sexually explicit, kinky-as-hell things.
Even though she typically dropped onto the couch each night, tired beyond belief, the second she closed her eyes, he was there, tying her up, spanking her, pulling her hair, taking her over and over, hard and fast and glorious.
