DOTTY (The Naughty Ones Book 3) Read online

  “Just glad that you’re here with me and trying to find the right words to tell you is all, little baby doll.”

  “You just did and it was said perfectly. I’m glad too, Paul. This has been the best three days of my life and it’s only just begun. You’re really cool, you know that? And nothing like I thought you would be,” she whispers, leaning in to kiss me before pulling away.

  The moment is easy and perfect as I tread water with her in my arms and enjoy the coolness in the shade of the tree overhanging the water.

  “How did you think I would be?”

  “Honestly? Arrogant and bossy. Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t understand how you walk around and function with that swelled head on your shoulders.” She laughs.

  “Ha-ha-ha. Funny, baby, real funny.”

  “But it’s like, I looked at you that first time and despite thinking you’re like the hottest thing on legs, I was seriously intimidated because you were this tycoon with scores of females falling at your feet and you just…shit, I was wrong to think that you were just a cold businessman out for the bottom line.”

  I’m not sure I like her thinking about me in those terms, but I stay silent and wait as she struggles with her words before looking up and meeting my gaze.

  “This you is a lot better. I like that you want to be a rancher and shovel crap because it makes you feel good.”

  “Ahem, I don’t like it, it just needs doing, baby,” I mutter.

  “No, I mean you’re so much more than a pampered elitist with a chip on his shoulder and a love of money. I see how much you love the guys even when you’re barking at them, and you seem so much happier all the time than you were back in the city.”

  The fact that she isn’t calling it home anymore makes my heart swell and I have the need to just blurt out what I want but check it when I think about her freaking out on me. Don’t rush it, you still have lots of time.

  “I am happier here, and having you here makes it even better.”

  “Convenient sex?” she teases, spluttering when I dunk her and drag her back up with a grin.

  “You wanna impugn me again, baby doll? I can keep dunking your scrawny ass all day long till you say sorry.”

  “Sorry! I was kidding, you big lump.” She giggles, clinging to me like a vine.

  The move has her lined up perfectly with my dick and I can’t resist rubbing the head of my beast against her slit, groaning when the slippery heat between her legs tells me that she’s just as aware of me as I am of her.

  She sighs when I grab her ass and squeeze, lowering her down onto me till not an inch of space separates us.

  “I like having you here because I’m not lonely with you around. You make me laugh and I like knowing that I don’t have to be anyone else but me with you.”

  That little confession gets me some of the wildest sex of my life as Dot lets her hair hang down and rides me like a bronco.

  When we come together I almost cry like a pussy at the strong sweep of emotion that grips me by the balls.

  She has to want this, I know she has to. I just need to make her see that a life here with me is worth the risk of giving her heart to me.

  ***

  Dot

  I think I may have done a stupid thing and gone and fallen in love with Paul freaking Summers. It’s so silly I feel like a ball of nerves whenever he looks at me because I am terrified that he’ll see it in my eyes and run screaming from the place.

  Or boot me back home.

  It’s been a glorious two weeks since I made that life-altering decision to just jump feet-first into a whirlwind affair and enjoy the freedom he offered me.

  Now instead of worrying myself grey about what my parents are thinking or will think when I refuse their “kind” offer to sell me off into marriage for whatever freaking reason, I am terrified to show this man how much I feel.

  “Hey, babe? Have you seen my truck keys?”

  “Kitchen hook.”

  “Come on then,” he says, coming back into the sitting room and grabbing me up to toss over his shoulder.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Dinner and ice cream in town.”

  “Wait! I’m not dressed,” I yell against his shirt, my arms giving out when I try to push myself up and off.

  “You’re perfect.”

  The man told me I looked hot yesterday while I sported an avocado mask and mayonnaise hair. I wouldn’t trust him if my life depended on it.

  But what the hell? It’s not like I’m going out to get male attention. He’s all I need looking at me, and if he thinks funky washed-out shorts and my large T-shirt are hot…

  Power to him and bless his simple heart.

  He does the whole buckling thing and kisses me soundly before running around the hood and hopping in beside me.

  “Soooo.”

  “So?” he asks as we bump up to the main road and he takes a right turn.

  “Why dinner and ice cream?”

  Paul shrugs once and seems kind of nervous, fiddling with the radio as we speed towards town, passing acres of his land on the way.

  “No reason, baby doll, just wanted to take you out and get you out of the house for the night. The boys have the dinner you cooked and froze and last night’s leftovers, so I’d say it’s time I treated you and you took a load off. It’s not your job to cook for all of us, and I feel guilty. You work more here than you did in the city.”

  “Oh my tycoon cowboy, you are too adorable. I like cooking and keeping house. I like doing it here more than in the city because you all seem so appreciative as opposed to the assholes I usually cater to.”

  That seems to relax him and I grin and snuggle closer when he finally smiles and takes a deep breath.

  “You don’t miss it? You don’t miss your friends?”

  “Well them, yeah, but I talk to them all the time and Indie even video calls me so it’s not like I’m hidden away in the freaking boonies, you know. Plus, I haven’t had one spell since I got here. I think this place is good for me.”

  It’s the best actually, and I think one of the reasons that I haven’t had a meltdown is sitting right next to me. Paul just seems to know when I’m getting tense and fixes my problem before I go nuts.

  We make it into the small town of Beauford and I sigh my relief when he comes around to get me and leads me into a little diner that is casual and has no dress code.

  “Whatcha getting, babe?”

  “The meatloaf and gravy with a side of potatoes and green beans, please.”

  The waitress takes our orders and I smile when he takes my hand and kissed my palm reverently.

  “You know these have been the best two weeks of my life, right?”

  Straight to the freaking heart. I’d look around for Cupid just in case but I feel the same in this short space of time, so I just smile and reciprocate, my heart so full I want to break out in song.

  “Mine too. It’s been everything I could ever have wished for and so much more.”

  My words make his eyes shine and I feel his hands tremble beneath mine before he lets me go and reaches into his pocket to withdraw a small box.

  Oh. Hello.

  “I promised myself that I’d give you the full three weeks and take it easy on the pressure since you’re here to unwind and not eat shit from anyone, but I just, I can’t seem to help myself anymore. I got this in the city.”

  His throat clears and he sort of chuckles nervously before opening the box to reveal a perfect white gold band adorned with tiny stones all around the surface. It’s elegant and not at all ostentatious and I feel my heart stop when I manage to lift my eyes to his and see his brown eyes dull with fear.

  “You bought this before…?”

  “Yeah. I was going to propose to you that night in your apartment and tell you that it would save you from making a horrible mistake, but you sort of shot me down before I could even ask.”

  “Why? Why were you…?”

  Here he seems to pause
and take longer to consider his words and I feel myself shrink a little in anticipation of something bad.

  “I wanted you and I also wanted to save you. I told myself it would just be you and me in a farce of a marriage that we could annul quickly once your parents took the hint. But I wanted you and then you said you’d come here and it gave me a chance to get to know you and for you to get to know me, and it just, it’s been the best weeks ever for me, Dotty. You’re so sexy and smart and so perfect for this life I want to make for us that…that I just can’t help but love you.”

  His words hit me right in the kisser and I’m battling the terrible urge to run before I say yes like I’m dying to. Paul is a good person and while we’re not exactly the usual couple, I can’t deny that he’s so right for me it’s scary.

  I could marry him and be a housewife and mother while he goes off and does his manly job and comes home to me at night, needing care and comfort.

  I want the housewife image and little dark-haired rug rats biting at my ankles.

  Dammit.

  “You’d better not be shitting me, Summers,” I manage to choke out after long minutes where he seemed ready to have a meltdown, Dot style.

  He seems to re-inflate when I smile softly and stroke his cheek, and I squeal when he lunges and drags me across the table and onto his lap, his lips all over mine as he laughs and kisses me breathless.

  “That a yes, baby doll?”

  “Definitely a yes, Summers. Like I would say no. I totally love you.”

  “I love you too, Dorothea Harper. Thank you.”

  The diner seems to get the gist of what’s just happened and I laugh into his mouth when they start clapping and hooting like we just invented Post-its or something.

  Chapter Eleven

  Bleeding Eardrums

  Dot

  “You’re what?!”

  I pull the phone away and grin at Paul where he’s entranced by the sports channel while rubbing my feet. My eardrums feel like they should be bleeding by now but I still giggle and go back for more as Percy and Indie start yelling and screaming things I can’t even begin to make out.

  “Oh, Dotty. Is this…are you sure?” I hear Luci ask hesitantly.

  This is why I chose not to video call them, because the look on my face right now? Evil. This is the single most exciting, happy moment of my life and they’ll ruin it if they start asking me shit I can’t answer.

  Am I sure this is what I want? Yes, without a doubt in my mind I know that this man is my one. Funny, since just weeks ago all I wanted from him was some hot sex and no commitment. I must have been suffering a concussion to not see him as my one and only. That’s all that matters to me right now.

  “Dotty? You still there?”

  “Still here, just wiping the blood from my ears is all,” I huff teasingly as they finally settle down.

  “So? You sure?” Luci pushes, making me roll my eyes at Paul.

  “Luci, the man has this wicked tiger tattoo from neck to pec on the left side, an ass I could bounce a freaking tractor off of, and the rest of him is just plain yummy. Not to mention he’s sweet and smart and lets me use my fabric softener on his clothes even if he smells like a florist shop all day. It’s pretty safe to say I’m all in.”

  The screaming starts again and I let out a moan that brings on dead silence when Paul, appreciative of my compliments, pulls me down and comes over me, burying his face in my good spot.

  “What’s going on? Are you guys getting nasty? Details!” Percy yells, making me laugh through a moan when he rips my pants in half and gets down to business with gusto.

  “Gotta…go…talk later.”

  They’re all yelling nasty shit at me before I can end the call and toss the phone to grab on to his thick hair.

  “Hmm, you think I’m yummy, woman?”

  “Oh, right there, so good, soooo good,” I mewl, shoving down on his head as he tortures me.

  “Dotty, baby.”

  “Yes, yummy. You’re so yummy all over I just want to lick you and suck on you everywhere.”

  I’m panting by the time he stops teasing and comes up over me with a cocky grin.

  “You can do anything you want with me, Miss Harper, this body is all yours,” he purrs down at me, licking his lips and wetting mine he’s so close.

  “Anything?”

  “Anything.”

  I’m on him so fast he starts laughing and I smile to myself when that laugh turns to a groan and he purrs his pleasure.

  “I told you, Summers. Yummy.”

  ***

  My three weeks ended yesterday and while I’m not too bummed about it now that I’m engaged and in love with this fine specimen, I am so sad that we’re leaving today because Paul still needs to wrap up his business before we can call Wyoming home.

  “Good-bye, stove. I’ll miss you. Good-bye, dishwasher. Don’t cry, I’ll be back soon enough and you can wash all the dishes you want to.”

  So what if I’m talking to the appliances while Paul laughs his fool ass off. I am going to miss my home every second that I’m not here to love it and make it into the nest I want it to be.

  This place is my dream and now that I’ve had a taste of that dream I am not happy about leaving it, even if only for a few months.

  I actually thought about staying and telling Paul to screw off and go do his business stuff and come back, but then I realized I’ve turned into a sex fiend and I’ll die without him.

  Of course I will be living in his apartment and giving up my shares in Delights, but I am so okay with all of that. It’s weird but I don’t feel any angst at all to be losing that part of my life.

  One thing I am totally ecstatic about is seeing the girls and the rest of the family again because I miss all those crazy freaks. A little. Okay a lot! So what? They’re an acquired taste and my taste buds only seem to like bitter and tainted now.

  “Babe, we need to go if we’re going to stick to the flight schedule.” He laughs when I kiss the refrigerator and turn to him with a scowl.

  “You hush. You’re making me leave our home to go back to that stinking pit of exhaust fumes and you think I won’t cry a little. Meanie!”

  The kiss I get is equal parts amusement and his own dose of regret. I should really be more supportive right now because I know that even he is not relishing leaving our new peaceful life on hold after we just started living again.

  Darn it. Be a better mate, Dot.

  “I’m sorry, babe. If I could ignore it all and just stay put I would, but the board is getting antsy and Alex is making a mess of all my plans. I have to go back now before I lose ground.”

  Paul explained to me that he’s been systematically and very quietly whittling the company down for the last few years so as not to start any rebellions or upset the board of directors. The company as a whole will go to one person along with the existing board of directors, but the smaller offshoots he’s been dropping on the sly to lighten the load.

  It’s so diabolical and smart I jumped him and had to resume the conversation only after two orgasms and a lot of appreciative petting.

  In short, Paul has planned his escape from his grandfather’s legacy down to the last pen the company owns so that he can live here full time. With me, of course.

  “I know. It just sucks that I have to go back there with all those idiots waiting on me. Percy said Father’s been calling her, and that says a lot because he despises poor Percy ever since she put pudding in his gas tank. They seem to be getting worse and I just…I’m a coward. I wanna stay here and hide so I don’t have to talk to them about this. I was hoping maybe a year down the line they’d finally get a clue and realize their plan is not happening.”

  Paul chuckles and busses my lips while pulling me out of the house to say good-bye to the boys.

  “We’re together and you won’t be alone when you tell them, so you can breathe deep again and stop panicking, little lady.”

  Jules and the guys seem subdued and not at al
l happy to be saying good-bye, and I hug them all, despite Paul’s snarls, and promise to be back as soon as possible.

  “You take care in that devil’s den, Miss Dotty. Don’t be letting any of them city-slicking assholes upset ya and you be sure to come on home soon, ya hear. We’ve got a wedding to plan and that strawberry patch thing to look into so you can make us that ice-cream shit you promised.”

  “I sure will, Raff, just as soon as Paul gets things done.”

  I don’t cry when Paul lifts me into his truck and buckles me in, and I manage to make it all the way to the airfield before the poor man has to carry my sobbing ass onto his jet and rock me as we take off.

  “It’s not all that bad, baby. We’re still together, huh? We can make this work for a little while as long as we’ve got each other.”

  “I know. I just realized I never had sex with you in the bathtub that’s near the creek is all.”

  I’m more adventurous now and that tub was cute. I wanted to do him in it with the moon shining down on us because it seemed so magical when I thought of it.

  “We’ve got all our lives together to fuck in weird places. By the way, I have a sex swing in my apartment.”

  That earns him a slap and a giggle. He leans down and kisses me again.

  “Let’s not tell Percy though, okay? She’s a straight-up freak.”

  Chapter Twelve

  This Is My Life

  Dot

  Mother is a mess as I steadily and firmly tell her for the absolute last time that I’m not going through with their idea of a shotgun wedding, since I am indeed already in love and engaged to the man of my dreams.

  I’m steaming mad when she starts trying to use her illness to guilt me, but when I go to rage at her Paul just squeezes my hand and shakes his head subtly.

  We’ve talked about how to handle this for the three days we managed to hide out at his place without being shanghaied, and we agreed that I would stay calm and not go Dot on anyone.

  According to him, and believe me I do not find his mirth at my expense funny, for a woman who previously described herself as a wallflower, I have a temper that is violently scary.