South

Women want me for my money. My name. I’m South Wainright and winning my heart means the keys to Billionaire Ranch.

Getting in my bed’s one thing, but my heart’s off limits.

Until I see her. The maid. She’s new to town. A beautiful mystery.

Sweet, shy and… not interested.

For some reason, she doesn’t want a man with a fortune, which means we’re perfect for each other.

I fall and fall hard. Except Maisey’s living a lie.

She is a lie.

Because after a lifetime of deception, I need the truth.

SOUTH

It was her ass I saw first. Perfect. Lush like a peach. Wiggling as it stuck out of the fridge. I paused and stared because… I wasn’t dead. I leaned against the mudroom doorway, crossed my arms and enjoyed the view. After a morning fighting with a piece of metal that wouldn’t bend the way I wanted, this was a treat.

She was a treat. I hadn’t seen the rest of her besides the way her jeans were molded, but so far, so good.

Hell, so far, incredible.

I’d hated this house for years, just now finally getting comfortable inside these walls that had seen too much when I was a kid. The view of a perfect ass was better. So much better.

One twitch of that perfection and I’m rock-hard. Like one stroke and I’d come kind of hard. A teenager who couldn’t control his dick kind of hard.

She tugged out a glass shelf and set it in the sink filled with soapy water. Food items like mustard and milk were on the counter. Then she saw me. Gasped. She yanked the earbuds free and let them dangle by the cord.

Fuck, the rest of her… my dick swelled and spurted pre-cum. Just like that.

“God, you scared me,” she panted, then offered me a shaky smile. One that said I’m not sure if I’m safe with you.

That voice. Soft, deep. Breathy. I imagined what it would sound like saying my name. South. Yes, South! More.

“Shit, you’re beautiful,” I told her, shifting in the hope my zipper wouldn’t leave a permanent mark on my dick.

She really was beautiful. Maybe it was the artist in me that noticed, because she sure as hell was trying to hide it. Dark hair pulled back in a sloppy bun that hid its length. I could tell it would fall to at least the center of her back by the thickness. Slide over pink nipples. Glasses hid her wide eyes, but I couldn’t miss the chocolate color. No, aged whiskey. Deep and rich. She wore no makeup, but she didn’t need it, especially the way a deep blush colored her cheeks.

I wanted to tug on that hair tie and let those thick locks cascade over her shoulders. Kiss those full lips. Yank off that loose t-shirt and see every inch she hid beneath. Not all that well because those hips were wide, that rack full and more than a handful. I’d surprised her and I was an ass for not apologizing—and for thinking so long with my dick.

“Beautiful?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m up to my arms in soap suds and smell like furniture polish. You get kicked by a horse or something?”

It seemed like it, looking at her. I’d never felt like this before. Never had a reaction so strongly. Oh, I’d had my fair share of women, but they’d fulfilled a need. Nothing more.

This? This was way fucking more than need. It was like something in me shifted. That I’d been waiting for this moment. For her.

She was young. Legal, definitely, but I had to wonder if she could buy herself a drink. No wonder I didn’t know her. A small town meant knowing everyone and their business, but she’d probably been in elementary school when I went off to college. That meant I’d been waiting for her to be old enough to be mine. That was if she’d even grown up here.

Who was she?

I was going to find out. I was at the big house to see Jed. He would know. Since he got together with North, he knew everything that went on around here.

As I took a step closer, she held up her hand. “Stop right there.”

I froze, then couldn’t help but smile at this pint-sized woman bossing me around. In my sister’s house. Hell, Jed could wait.

“What?” I asked. “I won’t hurt you.”

I needed her to know I might be a foot taller and probably a hundred pounds heavier, but I’d never do anything to harm her.

“Don’t bring all that dirt in here,” she said, looking me over. “You might be a hot cowboy, but you’re going to make a mess.”

I grinned. “Hot cowboy, huh?”