Kipp Llewellyn, the proverbial poor little rich boy, can have whatever he wants, except the one thing he wants most: his father’s love. When the opportunity arises to obtain it, Kipp jumps at the chance, even though it means breaking a date with “Ham,” the man he’s sure he’s falling in love with. However, the opportunity turns out to be an arranged marriage with his father’s biggest competitor. Even worse, Kipp discovers his proposed groom is Hyde Wyndham, the man of his dreams. Having lived in a gilded cage his entire twenty-one years, Kipp refuses to settle for anything less than love and walks away from both his father and his future husband. Hyde didn’t achieve his position in the financial world by taking no for an answer, however, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make Kipp realize he’s wanted for himself, including wooing the young man he intends to marry, prenuptial agreements be damned. He’s certain he’s succeeded, until Kipp learns something that puts an insurmountable barrier between them. Will Hyde be able to overcome Kipp’s doubts, and will Kipp realize that some things are worth the sacrifice?

Two Lips, Indifferent Red

When I got back to the dorm after work, it was to find my roommate out, probably trying to get into the pants of the newest girl he was dating. I just hoped she knew the kind of guy she was dealing with.


I logged Ham’s number into my phone and dialed it.


“Hi, Ham.” I could barely catch my breath. I loved that he knew it was me, that he had a pet name for me. “I just put your number in my phone and I wanted to be sure I had it right. I…I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”


“No. I’m here, all alone. I wish you were with me.”


“Oh!” Oh God! His voice was smooth as honey this time. I’d never heard anything like it, and the way it coiled around my dick…I nearly came in my pants.


“Next week can’t come soon enough for me.” Was this what he sounded like in bed?


“Me neither.” I would have danced across the room, only that would have left me breathless—more breathless—so I hugged myself instead. “Where…uh…where will we go for dinner?”


Chapter 9