“I want everything on Michael Preston, down to the route he takes to work.”

“Ah, Ms. Beckett’s former husband. Why would that be?” Is it a taunt?

Chuckling at the fucker, I admit it. “I’m wondering if I will kill him or not. If I can do it myself, then I’m going to need to know how to do it without getting caught.”

Silence.

“He hurt her. Not physically. But she didn’t deserve what he put her through. I’m still deciding if he deserves to keep breathing.”

“Well then, congratulations are in order. I’ll see to it.”

“Thanks,” I mutter as I end the call, not liking the smug congratulations. A shiver slides down my spine at his implication. No. It’s not that.

I open my front door to find Miranda surrounded by the bags of clothing Colm retrieved for her. She’s lost the jacket to her suit. The plain white blouse she’s wearing is a silky material that clings to her. Fucking hell, my cock jumps at the sight. I knew she was hiding beneath the awful suit, and I wasn’t wrong.

Her curves shred the veneer of a civilized man I pride myself on being, turning me into pure primal instinct. I don’t want to throw her over my shoulder and carry her to bed—my cock couldn’t wait that long. All I want to do is drag her down to the floor where she stood and get lost in thosedeliciouscurves.

“You bought all this for me? Is that where you were, shopping?” Those green eyes are wide.

I take a bullet to the chest over the way she goes from beautiful to stunning. She’s in one of the bags. Joy is clear on her face as she opens a box and finds a long sundress in a mix of purple and pink. It flatters her simply holding it against her.

Dear Lydia. She’s a superb personal shopper who saved my ass a few years ago when a cousin of mine was visiting from Ireland, and the airline lost her bags. The woman was busy. When she shopped for my cousin, there were far fewer bags.

Lydia wasn’t pleased with the evening call or the rush, but she came through in spades. I have no doubt the numerous bags were a hit to my bank balance in response to telling her cost wasn’t an issue—Miranda’s comfort was. Then I tossed in not only double her fee but a matching donation to a charity close to her heart. Annoyed at my offering of the donation she felt she couldn’t refuse had her hanging up on me with a few choice words about my parentage. It was Lydia’s fault for giving me a weakness I could exploit.

“No, darlin’. I was dealing with business. This was organized with a phone call to a personal shopper. I told her you needed clothes. Since I wasn’t sure what you preferred when you weren’t dressing like a prison warden, I told her to ensure you had plenty to choose from.”

I manage to get all the bags in two hands. “I apologize Colm didn’t carry the bags upstairs for you. I’ll show you to your room while you’re here.”

I’m almost at the top of the stairs before she follows me. I open the door to the guest room across from mine. Aoife aired it out as asked. “The sheets were changed by Aoife, and the towels are fresh, too.”

I set the bags on the king-sized bed. There are four bedrooms on this floor. This room shares a bathroom with another smaller bedroom. My room has its own ensuite, stolen from the space of a bedroom when I took over the house.

She hesitates in the doorway before finally coming into the room with the dress still in her hands. Keeping a good distance between us, she tosses the dress on the bed before crossing to the windows. Smart girl, all I want to do is drag her round plump ass on the bed and get lost in her.

“No bars on the window, shocking.” She murmurs as she looks down on the backyard.

This woman. I can’t keep from laughing. “No bars. No restraints, but I can go get them if you want.”

I wink at her, and she stiffens. Little liar, a flush sweeps over her beautiful face. She crosses her arms over her breasts. “You have to tie women up to keep them from leaving often?”

She truly isn’t aware of the door she opens with that question. Jesus, even a virgin would know better.

“Only to keep them from disturbing me as I enjoy their body at my leisure.” Her blush goes up all the way to her ears. Damn, even her ears are sexy. I can’t keep away from her. Every step I take toward her sends her back until she goes into the wall.

I bring up my arms to trap her between me and the wall. Damn, she’s small compared to me. I’m going to have to remember to be careful with her when I take her.

“Then there are some women whowantto be tied up. They love the myth of not being responsible for all the dirty things I do to them. Of not being able to stop me doing dirty things.”

She gasps deep, and her breasts brush against my chest. The electric shock of it zings through every cell in my body.

Another gasp from her tells me that she felt it too. The same way it did when I pressed a finger to her lips, my whole body goes hard with savage need. Fighting for control of my body takes a long fucking minute. This isn’t going anywhere or abating—for either of us.

I lower my head to her ear. “I don’t want to tie you down, darlin’. But it’s what it’s going to come to, isn’t it? Your nipples are hard for me, and your pussy is wet–yet still, you want to lie with that sweet mouth of yours. Telling menowhen all you want is to sayyes.”

A little noise comes from her throat. If I weren’t right up against her, she’d be arguing with me—I have no doubt.

“I understand. Your bastard of an ex-husband never made you wet. He never made you moan from anything but frustration. You’ve gone unaware of all the different orgasms that exist. Yes, there’s the sleepy, nice one you give yourself under the covers with the lights off, done in less than five minutes. However, there are a wide array of others. Ones that have every bone in your body liquid. It’s called the Little Death for a reason. Some will have you certain the explosion broke apart every cell in your body only to put you back together again. Others will turn the world black only to leave you bathed in a glow of light so pure and sweet you’ll doanything to have it again. I will show you all of them.” I promise her.