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

“I didn’t needit at that point. I wantedit. But you had to ruin that!” He was shouting now. “You were too uninhibited, too unrestrained. Of course Daniel bolted.”


I shook my head. “Daniel is straight. We never would have been lovers.”


“Immaterial. Your looks are enough like your mother’s. Straight or not, Daniel would have been tempted by you, and when his grandfather learned of it, learned it was a case of like father, like son…” He picked up his glass, seeming to study the amber contents, and smirked, and I swallowed bile. Then his gaze fell on me, and his expression darkened. “If you just hadn’t been so goddamned out of control.”


Sir would have used me to blackmail his way into Daniel’s grandfather’s business?


“Right now I’m stretched a little thin, but with Wyndham’s backing, things will turn around in no time.” If it was possible, Sir’s eyes would have shot sparks. “You won’t ruin thisfor me.”


“How long have you two been planning this?”


Chapter 17