âConnor.â
Maggie jabbed her finger in his chest for emphasis. âJust so weâre clear. Iâm not going to have sex with you.â
He looked down at her finger, then up to meet her gaze. âStill negotiating, huh?â
She whipped her hand away and immediately missed the sizzle of heat sheâd gotten from touching his chest.
âIâm serious, Connor,â she said, hating that her voice sounded so breathless. âIâll share your room with you, but thatâs it.â
âItâs a suite,â he corrected, and slowly leaned over and kissed her neck.
Dear lord, what was he doing? She knew she should slap him, push him away, but instead she shivered at the exquisite feel of his lips on her skin.
âSay it with me,â he murmured. âSuite.â
âSuite,â she murmured, arching into him when he gently nipped her earlobe. This had to stop. Any minute now.
âSweet,â he whispered, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
* * *
Second-Chance Seduction is part of the MacLarenâs Pride trilogy:
From Scotland to California, three brothers are ready to claim their legacyâand love!
One
âYou need a woman.â
Connor MacLaren stopped reading the business agreement he was working on and glanced up. His older brother Ian stood blocking his office doorway.
âWhatâd you say?â Connor asked. He couldnât have heard him correctly.
âA woman,â Ian repeated slowly. âYou need one.â
âWell, sure,â Connor said agreeably. âWho doesnât? Butââ
âAnd youâre going to have to buy a new suit, maybe two,â his brother Jake said as he strolled into his office.
Ian followed Jake across the wide space and they took the two visitorsâ chairs facing Connor.
Connorâs gaze shifted from one brother to the other. âWhat are you two? The social police?â
Ian shook his head in disgust. âWe just got off the phone with Jonas Wellstoneâs son, Paul. We set up a meeting with us and the old man during the festival.â
Connor frowned at the two of them. âAnd for this you expect me to buy a new suit? Youâve got to be kidding.â
âWeâre not kidding,â Ian said, then stood as if that was the end of the discussion.
âWait a minute,â Connor insisted. âLetâs get serious. The festival is all about beer. Drinking beer, making beer, beer-battered everything. This is not a ballet recital weâre going to.â
âThatâs not the point,â Ian began.
âYouâre right,â Connor persisted. âThe point is that Iâve never worn a suit and tie to a beer festival and Iâm not about to start now. Hell, nobody would even recognize me in a suit.â
That much was true. Connor was far more identifiable in his signature look of faded jeans, ancient fishermanâs sweater and rugged hiking boots than in one of those five-thousand-dollar power suits his two brothers were inclined to wear on a daily basis.
Frankly, this was why he preferred to work at MacLaren Brewery, located in the rugged back hills of Marin County, thirty miles north and a million virtual light years away from MacLaren Corporation in the heart of San Franciscoâs financial district. The brothers had grown up running wild through those hills. Thatâs where they had built their first home brewery, in the barn behind their momâs house.
Over the past ten years, the company had grown into a multinational corporation with offices in ten countries. But the heart and soul of MacLaren Brewery still thrived in those hills, and Connor was in charge of it all: not just the brewery, but also the surrounding farmland, the dairy, the fishery, the vineyards and the brew pub in town.
And he wasnât about to wear a freaking business suit while he did it.
Meanwhile his older brothers, Jake, the CEO, and Ian, the marketing guru, took care of wheeling and dealing at their corporate headquarters in San Francisco. They both lived in the city and loved the fast pace. Connor, on the other hand, avoided the frantic pace of the city whenever possible. He only ventured into headquarters on days like this one because his brothers demanded his presence at the companyâs board meetings once a month. Even then, he wore his standard outfit of jeans, work shirt and boots. Heâd be damned if heâd put on a monkey suit just to discuss stock options and expansion deals with his brothers.