Page 47 of Mysterious

“Then this teddy was money well spent. I told Ainsley you’d love it.”

Liam rolls his eyes and jokes, “And she said then burn it?”

I give him a love tap on his chest and step around him to walk over to the bed. “Don’t pick on poor Ainsley. She sees the error of her ways now and thinks you’re great for me.”

Behind me, he says, “The life coach finally comes around. The world can return to spinning on its axis once again.”

Suddenly, a wonderful idea comes to me, and I spin around to face him. “Oh, my God! I just had the best thought! Your cousin who looks like the other one who’s with Hailey? He would be perfect for Ainsley, don’t you think?”

Liam stops and shakes his head, as if he needs to immediately remove that thought from his brain and shaking his head fast is the only way to do that. “Alex? No. Trust me. In fact, I can’t imagine anyone who could be more wrong for him than Ainsley. Sweet Jesus, no.”

His answer to my fantastic suggestion makes me scrunch up my face. “First of all, some woman who smells like onions all the time and has warts all over her face from being cursed by an evil warlock would be more wrong for Alex, and second of all, he’d like her. She’s beautiful, and he’s got a real mellow thing going with him that she’d love. They’d be perfect together.”

Horror fills Liam’s expression with every word I mention about Ainsley being the woman for his cousin. “No, they wouldn’t. Alex is mellow in a way that has nothing to do with Ainsley and her Zen business. He’s more like the kind of cool that comes from having everything he could possibly want in the world, and that includes women, money, and anything else. That would not work for your friend. Trust me.”

Baffled by his discounting my truly wonderful idea, I ask, “Why? Ainsley is very sweet, and she’s proven herself to be a great friend.”

He takes a step toward me and wraps his arm around my waist to pull me to him. Shaking his head again, he answers, “She’s clingy as all hell, Mia. She didn’t like me because I was intruding on her turf. I know you know that.”

Disappointed, I nod. “I guess. She is beautiful, though. He’d like her. I just know he would. I want her to be happy like I am.”

Liam gently pushes my hair off my face and kisses me sweetly. “I know, and that’s why you’re a great friend, but Alex isn’t the man for her. My cousin enjoys his life with whatever women he chooses to date. She’d never want to be part of that harem. She could barely deal with not having you all to herself. Imagine how she’d be with a man.”

Pouting, I sigh and accept he’s right. “Okay. No more matchmaking for me, I guess.”

He dips his head to nuzzle my neck just under my ear and whispers, “Now let’s get back to this surprise you got for me. Any chance you’re not going to be upset when I take it off?”

Sometimes he can be so cute.

I look up at him and smile. “That’s the point of it, honey. Women wear these things expecting they won’t stay on for long.”

As he slides his hands up under the teddy to cup my ass, he smiles wickedly. “Good because I’m thinking it’ll be off you in about five seconds.”

My gaze rolls over his body still covered by clothes. As I begin to fiddle with the first button on his gray dress shirt, I say, “You know, that’s some big talk from a man who’s still fully dressed.”

Opening up his arms out to his sides, he chuckles. “I’m all yours. Do what you want to me.”

My fingers get stuck on the third button down. Grimacing, I look up at him and say, “What I want is to get this shirt off, but it’s like these buttons are entirely against us making love tonight.”

In a flash, he pulls the shirt up over his head and throws it onto the floor behind him. Grinning, he says, “Next problem?”

I slide my palms over his broad chest and down his chiseled abs until my hands come to rest on the top of his pants. “I do love a man who knows how to take care of business.”

“Then I’m the man you want.”

Tilting my head back as my fingers easily open the button on his pants, I take in the beauty of him. God, he’s even more gorgeous than he looked the first time I saw him without a shirt.

“Is it possible you get more stunning every time I look at you?” I ask and then slowly pull down his zipper.

“Probably not,” he says as he cradles my face in his strong hands. Liam presses a soft kiss to my lips and whispers, “I think that’s what they call the haze of love.”

I stare up into his gorgeous blue eyes that make me feel like I could get lost in them. “Maybe. Whatever it is, I love it almost as much as I love you.”

“Even though I’m stubborn and as by the book as they come?” he asks with a sly grin as he slides his hands down to the bottom of my new lingerie.

Before I can answer that question, he slides my teddy up my body and says, “Arms up. It’s time for this to retire for the night. It’s done its job.”

While I shimmy against the lacy fabric as he lifts it up over my head, I joke, “If I could use my arms, I’d check. As it is, I’ll have to take your word on that, Mr. Jackson.”

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