The Maverick’s Virgin Mistress / Lone Star Seduction: The Maverick’s Virgin Mistress

Right now, steam thickened in the air between him and Alicia. It hovered over the white, cotton tablecloth and wound around the wooden chairs. Wisps licked around their fingers as they both reached for the crystal pitcher of water in the center of the table, and their fingers—almost—touched.

His palms prickled with the urge to run over the silky curves of her body. To strip off her soft white dress and watch her skin bead with perspiration as he drove her to new heights of bliss.

This steam was a delicious torment, and he had no desire to blow it off at all.

“Can you believe this storefront was originally built as a tea shop?”

“I can. Our ancestors were mad about tea. I hear they started a war over it once.”

Alicia smiled. “The Boston Tea Party happened at least a hundred years before this area was developed. Still, it’s reassuring to think that some things have stayed the same. We think we’re so advanced with our laptops and cell phones, but deep down, we enjoy the same things our ancestors did.”

He’d finished pouring water for both of them and she picked up her glass and took a sip. “Has your family always lived in the Houston area?”

An edge to her voice told him she was becoming increasingly curious about him. As well she might.

“Actually they’re not from the Houston area at all. They settled outside New Orleans at the end of the Pleistocene Era and they’re still there today. Well, my mom is. My dad died three years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Sorrow filled her big brown eyes.

“It was a merciful release. He’d been sick for a long time. That’s when I took over running the family business.”

“What kind of business is it?” She leaned forward.

“Transportation. Did you see they have crumpets on the menu?”

“Rick! You’re so mysterious. I’m beginning to be quite suspicious of you. What type of transportation?”

“Ferrying goods from place to place. Container shipping. Very unglamorous, I’m afraid.”

He glanced at the printed menu, hoping she’d drop the subject.

Duprees and shipping went together like tea and crumpets. Yes, she had to find out who he was eventually, but he’d prefer to have it happen someplace private, as he expected her reaction might be…dramatic.

“I think it sounds intriguing. So, you import and export goods from all over the world? That’s what Alex does.”

“Other people import and export them—people like Alex—and they pay money to bring their goods on our ships. We just get the goods from A to B. We used to run everything out of New Orleans, but back in the fifties we moved most of our operations to Houston, which is why I work here.”

He tapped his menu. “Hey, they’ve got quails’ eggs. I haven’t eaten those in years. I’m definitely having that. How about you?”

Alicia’s eyes narrowed. Apparently, she was hip to his desire to change the subject. “I’ll have the egg salad. They make it English style with a dash of curry powder.”

“A flash of heat just where you least expect it.”

“Exactly.” Her plump lips slid into an enticing smile. “I know I’m feeling flashes of heat in all kinds of places I never expected.”

Justin leaned forward. “And we’ve only begun to explore your erogenous zones.”

He’d much rather think about Alicia’s erogenous zones than the illustrious Dupree clan.

Her eyes widened and she glanced anxiously around the café.

“Don’t worry. No one can hear us.” He should know. He was used to keeping his affairs private. He’d learned the hard way.

They gave their orders to the friendly waitress, then Alicia leaned in close. “Is your mother lonely now that she’s a widow?” Concern filled her beautiful eyes.

Justin startled at the deeply personal question. “Oh, no. She’s not the lonely type. Always busy with charitable activities, friends, that kind of thing.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I always think it must be so hard to lose your spouse once your children have grown up and left home. Suddenly, you’re all on your own.”

He stared at Alicia for a moment. His mother probably had never been all on her own in her whole life.

There was a staff of five just inside the house, and at least another ten on the estate. Not to mention that his mother was a blur of motion. When he was little, he used to resent that she never invited him to sit on her lap for a story, the way mothers did in books. She was far too busy for that.

Over time, he got used to it. Maybe that’s why he didn’t get all misty-eyed over the idea of family life. He’d never really had any. His father was at work all the time, or off participating in manly sporting pursuits.

Quite possibly having affairs as well.

His parents’ relationship was anything but romantic. He couldn’t imagine how they’d managed to conceive him. Perhaps some aristocratic breeding process involving frozen semen.

“She must wish you lived closer.” Alicia tilted her head with sympathy.

“Oh, I’m not so sure. I’d been away at school almost since I’d learned to read. If she was desperate to clutch me to her bosom, she’d have done it a long time ago.”

“You didn’t grow up at home?”

“Sure, I was there until I turned eight, or so. Then they decided it was time to get serious about my education. I did come home for vacations, though.”

“That’s horrible! I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“It’s a family tradition. I went to the same school my father attended. The family estate is out in the country so there wasn’t really a school for me to go to there.”

Not unless he’d attended the local public school—over his mother’s dead body. He suppressed a snort. The idea of a Dupree having a normal childhood was quite laughable.

“Would you do that to your child?” Her face was tight with alarm.

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.”

“Never? Do you not want children?” She’d pulled back from the table, almost seeming to put distance between them.

“Sure I do. I think.” He frowned. He truly had never thought about it. “I mean, everyone does, sooner or later.”

Alicia stared at him like he’d grown alien antennae. “You’re thirty years old and you haven’t given a moment’s thought to starting a family?”

“I’m busy with work.” Was that so odd? His crowd didn’t talk much about settling down.

Well, not until lately. Suddenly, it was all the rage.

Alicia must think he was some depraved party animal who never looked beyond that evening’s festivities. He frowned. “You’re right. It is strange. I guess I never met someone who made me think about it.”