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Make Me Yours
Katee Robert
One hot night with a stranger… Leads to something very unexpected! Three months ago, fitness instructor Becka Baudin gave me the most satisfying night of my life…and walked away. Now the wildest, sexiest woman I’ve ever met is pregnant with my child. Despite persuading her to move into my Manhattan penthouse, she wants nothing to do with my upscale CEO life. She may let me back into her bed, but getting into her guarded heart is a different ball game!
A one-night stand leads to something very unexpected in this sizzling-hot DARE story by USA TODAY and New York Times bestselling author Katee Robert!
I didn’t get to be CEO of a New York tech company by chasing whims...or women. But when wildly beautiful, fiercely independent fitness instructor Becka Baudin caught my eye across a crowded wedding reception, my body reacted with a will of its own.
She wanted a sexy distraction—one night of lust in a glamorous hotel. And I was happy to oblige. Then, after the most amazing night of my life, she walked away—leaving me wanting so much more. I haven’t been myself since that night. My work is suffering. My social life is nowhere. All I think about, all I dream about, is her.
Three months later, she told me. A baby. My baby... I insisted she move into my Manhattan penthouse. Now I see her every day. I crave her every second. I long for her touch, her kiss, her body moving under mine. I know if I try to cage her she’ll fly away. How can I convince a wild thing to stay in my life, in my heart, forever?
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author KATEE ROBERT learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title The Marriage Contract was a RITA® Award finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it ‘a compulsively readable book, with just the right amount of suspense and tension’. When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginative games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
Make Me Yours
Katee Robert
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08694-3
MAKE ME YOURS
© 2019 Katee Hird
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Lauren
Contents
Cover (#ua0db45c8-b221-50c4-b7f4-ddc396dec1b9)
Back Cover Text (#u70beb21a-8eb7-5823-bfcb-452d5e3527a0)
About the Author (#u4f607830-306c-56f7-bb96-1c58b5ceca2b)
Title Page (#udf19ade3-de95-539d-bc5f-23082bc4b2c3)
Copyright (#u5cd16901-7aea-5895-a613-cbbaee435f6b)
Dedication (#u6443796b-070f-5972-8d37-c7da49bc435a)
CHAPTER ONE (#ubdc87dde-8ffd-5516-a3ee-8bb0fb53d3fc)
CHAPTER TWO (#u2eadb5b3-ffe4-512d-988f-c770bb3d278b)
CHAPTER THREE (#ud481463f-1687-5406-a0c0-e593f692847d)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ub16decf9-f5cc-5f11-a8ac-5eaeb0896c7c)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u801ee42b-4df1-546b-b266-8b04eb18765e)
“HAVE I MENTIONED how much I loathe weddings?” Becka Baudin grabbed two champagne glasses and handed one to her best friend, Allie.
“Only about half a dozen times—in the last hour.”
She drained the glass and waited for her stomach to settle. Only then did she focus on her best friend’s amusement. “It’s not my fault. They give me hives. Even this one.” Especially this one.
“Here.” Allie passed over the second champagne glass, her expression sympathetic. “You know you’re not losing her, right?”
“Of course I know that. I’m not a child.” But she still glanced at her big sister gliding across the dance floor with her new husband. They looked like something out of a fairy tale, Lucy in a gorgeous white dress that hugged her lean form. It was overlaid with lace and gave a little sparkle with every move. Her dark hair was twisted in an intricate style that left her neck and shoulders bare except for the truly outstanding necklace Gideon had bought her.
And Gideon.
Lord, the man could wear a tux.
But it wasn’t the clothes that made them the most beautiful couple in the room. It was the way they looked at each other.
She sipped her second glass of champagne. “They seem happy.”
“Yes, well, that generally happens on someone’s wedding day.”
Becka rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m being an asshole. It’s not this wedding I object to—it’s the rest of them.” Weddings were nothing but false promises of happily-ever-after. They sold a dream most people never actually realized—more than half ended in divorce.
She gave herself a shake and eyed her glass. “I think it might be time to start with the vodka.” She’d already done her duties as maid of honor, from the pictures to the people herding to the speech. Now it was just a matter of keeping her head down until it was time to see Lucy and Gideon off to the limo. Yes, a drink is exactly what I deserve for keeping my happy mask in place. If she didn’t do something to break the tension soon, she was liable to snap at someone and make an ass of herself, and end up on some Maids of Honor Behaving Badly list. She couldn’t do that to Lucy. Today was like playing through one of her personal nightmares, but Becka could do better than to act out like a spoiled child as a result. She was better than that. She had to be.
Becka turned to the bar and froze.
Blue eyes captured hers, rooting her feet in place even as her body tried to sway forward. Toward him. Square jaw, straight strong nose, sensual lips that quirked up as he gave her his own perusal. She straightened, suddenly glad that her sister hadn’t followed the shitty tradition of clothing her bridesmaids in the ugliest dresses imaginable. Her purple dress set off the rich blue color she’d settled on for her hair, and it hugged what few curves she had. The stranger wore a tux even better than the groom, his broad shoulders tapering to a lean waist.
She’d never seen a more striking man in her life.
“That’s Aaron Livingston.” Allie’s shoulder brushed hers, effectively grounding her. “He’s friends with Roman and sometimes business associates with Gideon, I think. I didn’t realize he’d be here.”
Aaron. I like it. “I should go say hi, be hospitable...or something.”
Allie snorted. “Yeah, sure. That’s exactly what you’re going to do.” She grinned. “Have fun. I’m going to go dance with my man.”
“Yeah, yeah, rub it in that you’re deliriously domestically happy.” The words held no sting. She was happy her best friend had found the love of her life in Roman Bassani. Between Allie and Lucy, it was almost enough to convert Becka to a romantic way of thinking.
Almost.
Too bad I’m well acquainted with the downsides of romance. Hard to put on rose-tinted glasses when I’ve been up close and personal with everything that can go wrong.
God, she was a mess. She needed to do something—fast.
There was nothing quite as distracting as a man. The one currently staring at her as if memorizing every inch of her would fit the bill nicely.
It’s just a Band-Aid.
She shoved the knowledge aside and made her way to the bar, never taking her gaze off Aaron. He watched her but didn’t move from his spot. Letting her approach. Letting her set the tone. Smart man.
Becka sidled up to the spot next to him and broke eye contact to order a vodka seven. This close, she could smell his cologne—something expensive that made her think of hot and dirty sex in the best way possible. Down, girl. If this wedding was for anyone else, she wouldn’t hesitate to haul him to a convenient closet or bathroom stall to silence the ugliness inside her, but she wouldn’t do that to Lucy. Her sister deserved the best on her wedding day, and damn it, Becka would make sure she had it.
At least until Lucy got into the limo.
Then all bets were off.
“Maid of honor.”
God, even his voice was wonderful, low and even with just a hint of growl. She twisted to face him. “Wedding guest.” He just raised his eyebrows, and she smirked. “Sorry, I thought we were throwing out labels.” She held out her hand. “Becka Baudin.”
“Becka being short for Rebecka?”
“Something like that.” No one called her Rebecka—not even Lucy. She certainly wasn’t going to hand out that name to this guy, no matter how magnetic he was or how he seemed to be so close to what she needed in that moment, it was a wonder she hadn’t conjured him into existence.
But then, Becka didn’t believe in magic any more than she believed in romance.
“I’m Aaron.” He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. His five o’clock shadow scraped against her skin, completely at odds with the softness of his lips. It would feel good to have him sliding his mouth along other parts of her. Better than good. Decadent and sinful and absolutely perfect.
Not yet.
She licked her lips. “I know.”
“I see you’ve done your homework.”
“More like your reputation precedes you.”
“Can’t complain about that if it brings a woman like you my way.” He let their hands drop but didn’t release her. Aaron slid his thumb over the same path his lips had just taken, as if he had every right to seduce her with a single touch. His lips quirked into a smile and, damn it, it made him even more handsome. “Nice wedding.”
Come on, Becka, you can do better than this. Stop staring at him like a lust-struck idiot. She cleared her throat and reclaimed her hand just in time for the bartender to deliver her drink. She turned to face the bar fully, needing some distance, even if it was only in her head. No matter what her plans for this man were, she couldn’t afford to lose focus until later. Maybe this is a mistake. Maybe you should find someone less magnetic, less overwhelming, to lose yourself in. Even as she thought it, she knew she wasn’t going to. A few short minutes of conversation and Aaron Livingston had dropped a lure she couldn’t have resisted if she tried. Better to just let things unfurl on the path they were both obviously heading down.
It’s only one night. Tomorrow I’ll go back to my life and it will be nothing but a fond memory.
What had he asked her? Right. The wedding. Of course it was the wedding. That was all anyone had been talking about for months, and they were at the damn event right now.
She downed half her drink. “It’s a wedding. They’re all flavors of the same thing.” Damn it, that sounded bitter. She took a careful breath and pasted a happy smile on her face. “It’s what Lucy wanted, and she’s happy, so I’m happy.” That, at least, was the truth.
“I take it you don’t subscribe to the American dream that ends with a white picket fence?”
Becka shot him a look, trying to gauge where he was going with that comment. Even if he shared her views on marriage and weddings, this was hardly the event to start bitching about how cynical they were. “We live in New York. We don’t do white picket fences here as a general rule.”
“True enough.” Aaron’s blue eyes took her in, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that he saw too much. That if he looked deep enough, he’d be able to trace her aversion to the fictional happily-ever-after right back to her parents’ destroyed marriage and...
Enough.
Keeping ahold of her drink, she gave him her full attention. No reason to avoid pulling the trigger on this. If by some miracle she’d misread the situation, she still had plenty of time to bounce back from any rejection he dealt and move on to someone else. “You want to get out of here?” She waved a hand at her sister still on the dance floor. “I mean, after this dog and pony show has reached its natural conclusion.”
His grin widened, just a little. “I wouldn’t say no to another drink somewhere quieter, where we could have a conversation.”
A conversation? Hard pass. The conversation, the drinks, the quiet place... It was all just frills to fancy up the fact that they wanted to bang each other’s brains out. Whatever his reasons, he seemed just as onboard with this plan as she was. Except he wanted to talk. If he was anyone else, if the attraction was any more manageable... But he wasn’t, and it wasn’t. She knew her strengths, and while she didn’t believe in love at first sight, what she had with Aaron was definitely lust at first sight. Better for both of them to keep things simple and define clear boundaries from the start.
Becka reached up and traced the top button of his dark gray shirt. “Is a conversation really what you’re after?”
He opened his mouth and seemed to reconsider. “I’m after you.”
The honesty washed over her, a fresh breeze that made the choking environment of this fucking wedding a little more bearable. I am happy for Lucy. I am. I just can’t look at her without seeing our mother, and we both know how that turned out. It’s not the same and it won’t have the same outcome, but that doesn’t change anything. Not really.
