Strung Out by Kaitlin Maitland Read Free Book Online Page A

garden-club ladies tittered about at their get-togethers, Erik wasn’t the kind of man to keep a wife at one end of town and a mistress at the other. In fact, he’d never had a desire to settle down at all. He preferred to keep his relationships simple. As in a few weeks long without spending a full night in anyone’s bed but his own. He didn’t date multiple women at once. He didn’t have a little black book. The idea of trying to keep two women happy at the same time was exhausting. He had better, more lucrative ways to spend his time.
    And yet here he was, already on the brink of a full-blown affair before he’d even managed to propose marriage. What the hell was his problem?
    Courteney tapped his shoulder to regain his attention. “There are my grandparents, Erik. They’re dying to meet you!”
    “How exciting. Time to meet the relatives.” Joshua lifted an eyebrow.
    “Of course, Erik. Please go and chat up the grandparents,” Seth agreed. “I think Josh and I will go take turns making passes at the talented musician.”
    “Who?” Courteney’s attention was briefly diverted.
    Joshua grinned. “The woman sitting at the piano.”
    “Why would you want to talk to her?”
    “She’s quite…talented,” Seth said, choosing his words carefully.
    Courteney wrinkled her nose. “If you like the trashy sort, I guess. Her dress is horrible. It’s like four seasons ago. And don’t even get me started on the shoes.”
    Joshua didn’t share Seth’s tact. “Who the hell cares about her clothes? They’re the first thing I’m going to take off anyway.”
    Courteney’s eyes grew speculative before she turned back to Talia and gave her another critical once-over.
    Erik wanted to reach out and smack some sense into Joshua. The last thing he wanted was someone bringing Talia to Courteney’s attention.
    “You think she’s pretty?” Courteney asked dubiously.
    “Hell yeah.” Joshua grunted. “She’s hot!”
    “I’m a legs man, Courteney,” Seth admitted. “And hers are spectacular.”
    As he’d known she would, Courteney turned her suspicious gaze in his direction. “And what about you, Erik?”
    She’s the most incredible creature to walk the earth. I want nothing more than to sweep her off her feet, kiss her senseless, and then fuck her until the world ends.
    Erik kept his voice carefully modulated. “She’s very attractive.”
    Courteney stiffened beside him. “Attractive will get you nowhere in a world where money and power mean everything.”
    Had she always been like this? Or had he simply never cared before? Erik fought back the urge to end their farce of a relationship that had become more trouble than it was worth. The truth was no amount of money or power would put Courteney on par with Talia.
    * * *
    The sound of a knife pinging against the fine crystal of a champagne flute brought Talia back to the moment. She’d been studiously ignoring Erik for longer than she’d thought humanly possible. He’d been watching her. She could feel it. He and two other men standing across the room had been joined by a woman Talia couldn’t see. She was almost completely hidden behind the athletic musculature of the men. Talia wondered if Erik’s sister Desiree was back there. She was no doubt passing judgment on Talia.
    A tall, austere gentleman with iron gray hair and impeccable evening clothes cleared his throat. Talia obediently wound down her selection and placed her hands in her lap.
    “I would like to offer a toast to all of my friends and colleagues who have so graciously made this a wonderful night.”
    His voice was pitched to carry throughout the room, though he didn’t have to raise it one bit. A man used to being obeyed.
    Kind of like Erik.
    Her gaze slid over to where he stood only a dozen feet or more from the speaker. How it was possible for one man to look so good, she couldn’t say. The cut of his suit framed every last inch of his tall frame perfectly. His big hands hung loose and