Blaire was looking around with awe. “I didn’t know they made showers this big or this complicated. You have water coming from everywhere—and is that steam?”

Grinning, I pulled her over toward the large bench. “Hold on to my shoulders,” I told her, before reaching down, taking her leg, and lifting it until her foot was on the bench. Her pussy was completely open to me, and I didn’t say anything more. I filled my hands with body wash and worked it into a lather before moving to wash the insides of her thighs.

“Rush!” She gasped, squeezing my shoulders and leaning into me more.

I continued washing my come off her thighs, where it had leaked out of her, making them sticky. Lifting my head, I watched her face as I touched her tender folds. I didn’t want to burn or sting her, I just wanted to clean her.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she moaned and rocked against my hand. I’d wanted to wash her first, before I sank back into her again, but if she kept this up, I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself.

“Feel good?” I asked her. She only nodded. Her eyes closed, and her head tilted slightly back. The water had soaked her hair, and it was slicked back off her face. I trailed kisses across her forehead and down her cheeks as I continued to wash her. “Is it sore?” I asked against her ear.

She shivered. “Yes. But I like being sore. Knowing that you made me sore from . . .” She paused. “Fucking me,” she finished in a whisper.

“Blaire, baby, I’m gonna have to fuck you now. You shouldn’t have said that dirty word. I can’t keep being good and making you feel better.” The edge in my voice gave away how close I was to grabbing her and bending her over.

She opened her eyes, and the heat in her gaze burned me. “Will you fuck me against the wall?” she asked, her breathing heavy.

“Any way you want, sweet Blaire.”

I cupped my hands and filled them with water, which I used to clean the soap between her legs. When I had it all off, I grabbed her and shoved her against the wall. But I caught myself. I was doing it sweet and easy now. She might say she liked it, but tomorrow she would be tender, and I had to remember to be gentle.

“I’m not using a condom. I can’t. I need to feel you. But I swear I’ll pull out before I come,” I told her.

“OK. Just please, Rush, put it in,” she begged.

My control snapped.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Opening my eyes against the bright sunlight, I squinted, realizing I had forgotten to close the blinds last night. Then Blaire’s scent hit me, and I rolled over to an empty bed. Shit. She was gone.

I had slept through her leaving for work. Dammit. I had wanted to kiss her good morning. Did she remember to eat breakfast? Frustrated, I threw the covers off and sat up. Blaire had a job. I had to accept that. She wouldn’t let me not accept it. Even if it sucked. I didn’t like her working so much, especially after I had kept her busy most of the night. There had been very little sleep.

She was going to be so tired today. When she got off work, I would feed her and then give her a massage and bathe her. Tonight I would make up for the fact that I had fucked her like a madman all night. We would go to bed early. She would get her rest. I could keep from fucking her for one night. But I would probably eat her pussy. I only had so much selfrestraint.

I decided to skip a shower. I could smell Blaire on my skin, and I wasn’t willing to wash that off just yet. I wanted to be reminded for the rest of the day of how fucking lucky I was.

By the time I had made my way downstairs to get something to eat, it was almost noon. The doorbell chimed, and urgent knocking followed. “Rush! Open the door! My hands are full!” Nan yelled from the other side.

Crap.

I opened the door, and my sister stood there with her hair up in large rollers, several shopping bags, and a garment bag that said “Marc Jacobs.” What the hell?

“Nan, why are you at my door with shopping bags? And last time I checked, there wasn’t a Marc Jacobs or”—I glanced at the bags in her hands—“Burberry or Chanel or Saks in Rosemary Beach. Where did this shit come from?”

Nan dropped her bags and looked at me like I was the one who had lost my mind. “Manhattan. I bought them when I was there last month. I have two dresses from Marc Jacobs that I’m just not sure about. And then the shoes . . . that’s another story. I can’t even begin to decide. I need to know what you plan on wearing, and I need to use the bathroom in Mom’s room for my stylist to fix my hair and makeup. There’s more room here than at my place. Besides, this way, we can ride together,” she said, as if any of what she was saying made sense.

I had no idea what the hell she thought I was doing, but if a naked Blaire wasn’t involved, neither was I. “What are you talking about?” I asked, wishing I had gotten at least one cup of coffee before Nan had arrived with her crazy ranting.

She froze halfway up the stairs and turned to look at me. Her face said drama was about to ensue. Shit. “Tonight, Rush. Did you forget? Really?” Nan’s voice went an octave higher, and I knew she was about to get hysterical.

Fuck, I needed some coffee.

“Oh, my God! You did forget. You’re so wrapped up in her that you can’t remember something this important to me.” Nan was now yelling.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, hoping I wouldn’t end up with a headache from this. I just wanted to drink coffee and plan my evening with Blaire. Not this mess. “Nan, I just woke up. Please stop yelling at me,” I said.

“Stop yelling? You’re really going to tell me to stop yelling when my own brother forgot that tonight is the debutante ball? I’ve been planning my debutante ball since I was five. You know that. You know how important tonight is. But you forgot!”

Motherfucker. I did not want to escort my sister to a ball where a bunch of spoiled females dressed up and tried to outdo one another for hours. Blaire did not factor into this equation, and I wanted to be with Blaire.

“You don’t want to go,” Nan said with a loud wail. She sounded like a child.

“I forgot. I’m sorry. But you haven’t mentioned it in months, and you know this isn’t my thing.”

Nan threw down the bag in her hand.

Great. We were going to have a temper tantrum with articles of clothing that cost me a fucking fortune. Blaire was working her ass off daily, and my sister was buying shoes with my money that cost more than Blaire could make in two weeks. Fucking unfair. I hated this. I hated not being able to give Blaire everything she wanted.

“Are you saying you won’t take me, Rush? I have no father here to take me. You’re the only brother I have. My escort has to be a family member who’s also a member of the club. I have no one else. Just you.” She wasn’t yelling anymore. She sounded hurt. The lost little girl who needed her big brother to save the day.

“Of course, I’m going to take you, Nan. I just forgot. And you started yelling at me before I had any fucking coffee,” I said, not wanting to see the sadness in her eyes.

She sniffed and nodded stiffly. “OK. Thank you,” she said, then bent to pick up the bag she had thrown down. “After you have coffee and are less mean, could you please bring my other bags up?” she asked as she continued up the steps.

She didn’t need me to answer. She knew I would do it. I went to the kitchen. I had to get my anger under control. Going to this thing tonight mad wasn’t fair to Nan. It was just one night. I would explain it to Blaire. She would understand, because she was . . . Blaire. She didn’t expect me to do anything. She didn’t require anything from me. She was the first person in my life to just want me for me. Not for favors.

My chest tightened. She would probably be asleep by the time I got home. I wanted her in my bed. I didn’t want her going to sleep in the other bedroom. I wasn’t sleeping without her.

I poured my coffee and downed it, then poured another cup, before heading back to the foyer to pick up all the shit Nan had brought in. She was coming down the stairs when I started up.

“Do you have the combination to Mom’s jewelry box? I want to wear her sapphire necklace that she bought at Tiffany’s that Christmas.”

“I’ll unlock it for you.” I wasn’t going to tell her to call Mom. There was a good chance Mom would say no, and then Nan would break down, and I would have to clean that mess up, too.

Nan grinned. “Thank you! I’m going to wear one of the Marc Jacobs dresses, and that necklace will go perfectly. I think she bought those earrings that go so well with them, too. Or she borrowed them.” Nan waved a hand as if it didn’t matter. “No biggie. The necklace will go with the diamond teardrops.”

I left her prattling about jewelry, took the bags to Mom’s room, and dropped them on the bed. I had several tuxes here; I would just pick one. What I was wearing wasn’t an issue. But I needed to talk to Blaire first. Let her know where I would be tonight.

* * *

It turned out she’d be working. My calls had gone straight to her voice mail, which meant her phone had been off or dead, which wasn’t surprising, knowing Blaire and the importance she put on having a cell phone. When I had called the club, I had gotten Woods on the phone. He’d informed me that Blaire was busy. They were slammed getting ready for tonight. Then he’d told me Blaire would be working and warned me that if Nan said one thing to Blaire, he would have her escorted out. Then he’d hung up on me.

Fucker.

I was arriving at the club in a tux and with my sister on my arm, dressed like a princess. Dealing with the fact that Blaire would be serving tonight while I stood there dressed like this, highlighting our differences, was screwing with my head. I fucking hated this. I wanted Blaire in a dress that I’d paid a ridiculous amount of money for and smiling with excitement. I wanted the world to see that she was mine. That she was with me. But tonight was about my sister. If I could just get through it, then I would never be in this position again. Blaire would never serve at another event that I was attending. She’d be on my fucking arm, where she belonged.