“My house is well hidden. Exactly how I want it. And second”—he ticks off his finger—“I want you there as my date for the wedding. I want my family to meet you—”

“But—”

“Let me finish, Charly.” He presses his fingers to my lips, silencing me.

“Yes, I didn’t say anything in answer to what Natasha said because I hadn’t thought about it. I’m a guy. I’m slow, and I don’t consider these things. It’s not out of malice. And then my mom called about the wedding dress, and that took over. But I have thought about it…taking you home. I’ve thought a lot about it, and I do want to take you to meet my family. And I’ve wanted to ask you for a while now, but I’m a chickenshit. It seems like a big deal, asking you to come to my sister’s wedding with me and meet my whole family. I was worried that I might scare you away.”

He wants me there. He didn’t want to scare me away.

He wants me there.

My heart has fluttered out of my chest and straight into the palm of his hand. And I’m not sure if it’s ever coming back. Or if I want it back.

“You could never scare me away,” I whisper, toying with the hem of my top.

“What if I told you I wanted to spank you with a paddle?”

My eyes flick to his, and I see the playful look in them.

“Okay. So, maybe you can scare me away.” I grin.

He chuckles and then tugs me back down to the bed. This time, I go with him, and we’re back to lying face-to-face.

“So, will you be my date to the wedding?” He brushes my hair back off my cheek, tucking it behind my ear. “I really want you to be there.”

Then, it stupidly dawns on me that, after all the fuss I just made, I can’t go anyway.

“I want to go.” I grimace. “But I’m scheduled to work those three days.”

“But I won’t be here.” He frowns, like he expected I wouldn’t have to work if he wasn’t.

“I do dress other actors aside from you, superstar.”

“Yeah, well, I’m changing that,” he says, still wearing the frown. “I don’t want you accidentally pinning anyone else’s balls.”

“Asshole.” I slap his chest.

He catches my hand, kissing it. “Another of the many things you adore about me. And don’t worry about getting the time off work. I’ll sort it out.”

“You will? Well, okay,” I say, “if you really want me there—”

“I really want you there,” he says softly, his eyes caressing my face, making my insides gooey.

“Then, yes, I would love to go.”

“Good.” He smiles.

Then, he kisses me with that smile, and I let myself absorb that happiness, making it mine, too.

“Vaughn—”

“I was kidding about the paddle spanking.”

“Oh, good.”

“But let’s talk about the kinky and dirty that you’re not averse to,” he says, lifting my leg and hooking it over his hip.

“Cool. But, first, can we talk about what I’m going to wear to your sister’s wedding? Because I have two days and nothing to wear.”

“Oh God,” he groans, falling to his back, covering his face with his hands.

“What?” I say, laughing. I climb over him and straddle his hips.

He pulls his hands from his face. “I want to get it on, and my woman wants to talk clothes.”

“Hey, you knew what you were getting into when you got involved with me.” I smile, loving that he just called me his woman.

He sits up, putting us face-to-face. His big hands grab my hips, and he yanks me onto his cock, which is hard.

“Oh,” I say, my eyes widening.

“Yeah, oh. So, do you still want to talk about clothes? Or do you want me to make you come? Multiple times.”

I scrunch my nose up, like I’m thinking about it. “I guess…we can talk about clothes later.”

“That’s what I thought,” he growls. Then, he attacks my mouth with those gorgeous lips of his.

Vaughn

My dad is waiting for us in the parking lot at Klamath Falls Airport.

We flew by private jet, like I always do when I go home. Charly had never flown private before, so she was pretty excited. It was cute to see. She kept taking photos of the plane and the views.

We left Vegas at two thirty, and we landed at four thirty, so we made good time. And, now, I have three days off, which also means three days alone with Charly at my house. I can’t deny that I’m looking forward to being free about our relationship here.

“Hey, Dad.” I walk over to him.

He’s standing by my car. He puts out his cigar. He thinks my mom doesn’t know he smokes them.

I put my bag down and hug him. It’s been a while since I last saw him. A few months at least.

“Good to see you, son.” He hugs me, patting my back. “How was your flight?”

“Good.” I smile, stepping back. “Dad, this is Charly.”

She’s lingering back a little and steps forward when I introduce her.

“Nice to meet you, sir.” She waves.

God, she’s cute.

My dad smiles at her. “Call me Anthony. And it’s nice to meet you, too, Charly. You’ve stopped my daughter from canceling her wedding, which has cost me thousands of dollars, so you’re my new favorite person.”