Taming Lucinda by Normandie Alleman

Chapter 7

Cole

As much as I would have loved to spend the entire day sipping mimosas and sitting with Lucinda while she wore nothing but a silk dressing robe, eventually, I had to do some work. The grounds weren't going to tend themselves.

And we both knew that her daughter would be coming home any time. She might have been okay with Esther knowing—she paid Esther's salary, so she had some semblance of leverage—but her daughter was another matter entirely. That was a level of openness about our relationship that I didn't think she was ready for yet.

But I was okay with it. Before last night it had bothered me, but after her explanation, after the way she gave herself to me last night, and after her confession this morning, it was hard to think that Lucinda saw me as some disposable boytoy. However long it took her to be comfortable with claiming me in public, I could wait. As long as she was all mine in private, I didn't really mind. There was something exciting about the secret.

Before I got to work in the garden, I went home to tend to Max.

He was not amused with my absence. He'd had plenty of water, and was in no danger of starving overnight, but that was not what he'd have you believe. According to him, he was on the verge of wasting away the moment I walked in the door. If I'd been any later, he'd have been a goner.

Never mind that he'd been happily lazing in the front windowsill when I walked by.

"I know, I know," I answered his angry yowls. "You'll forgive me, though, won't you?" By the time I started scratching under his chin, he'd pretty much forgotten why he was angry. "I know you're mad, but it was worth it."

Spending time with Lucinda was always worth it, but last night was really something special.

This morning too. Though I was still trying to wrap my head around all that. It was a lot to take in, but I'd learned so much about Lucinda.

I’d learned that we were not all that different in terms of where we’d come from. My father was never a fixture in our lives, and Mom worked three jobs just to take care of us. Things were never easy for us, and we always had to fight to survive.

And that was what Lucinda had been doing too. Especially since her husband and Ray were killed in that plane crash. Losing them must have felt like the whole world coming out from under her. I could tell she didn't want to go too deep into that time of her life, but the pain was evident. Had she ever given herself the chance to grieve? She'd been left with four young children and a legacy to protect.

It was crazy to me that her children couldn't see how much she'd fought and sacrificed for them. How could Leo turn his back on his mother without hearing the whole story?

I’d spent a long time thinking about it all while I fed Max and gave him all the scratches and belly rubs he’d demanded. There were times I was convinced Max was more dog than cat; most cats would have mauled you if you’d pet their belly, but not Max. He'd flop over in front of me any time I walked into the kitchen, demanding attention.

Being a cat dad might not have been my original plan in life, but I was pretty happy with it. Max was far better than a baby. Or the ungrateful adults they grew into.

"Some people, Max," I muttered, sighing to myself. Lucinda worked herself to the bone to give her kids a better life than she’d ever had, trying to make up for the loss of their father, and for what? To be called 'The Puppet Master' by her children? To be left alone with no one to celebrate her achievements?

It wasn't fair.

Though I never would have chosen Lucinda's path of fame and fortune, I admired all the work she'd put into cultivating the careers of her children, leveraging their talent and success to raise them all to greater heights. They couldn't see how much they owed her.

In the shower, I brainstormed ways to remedy that—or, at least, to make Lucinda feel as appreciated as she’d deserved.

By the time I got back to her Beverly Hills mansion, Dynassy had returned, and she and Lucinda were both laying by the pool, in my view no matter where I worked. Dynassy was an international supermodel, and her beauty was undeniable. There was nothing she couldn't make look good.

I hardly noticed her. Lucinda was wearing a black one-piece suit with large cutouts on the sides, showing off her amazing body. The wide-brimmed sun hat and oversized sunglasses added to the effect of wealth and sophistication that she’d always carried with her. She looked like she should be on the deck of a private yacht or on an exclusive beach in the south of France, and I was struck again by how lucky I was to call this woman mine. Even if it was only behind closed doors.

It was impossible to know with those huge sunglasses, but I thought she was watching me as I worked on the areas around the pool.

I was certainly looking at her every chance I got, flashes of last night racing through my mind. The feel of her body under mine, the intoxicating scent of her arousal, the sounds she’d made when I held her on the edge—that whimper when she realized I was going to make her beg for it...

Her hunger was possibly the hottest thing about her. Nothing was halfway with Lucinda. She’d put all of herself into everything she did. In a weird way, even hearing about her relationship with Ziggy and Ray had turned me on. She was such a vibrant woman. She had so much to give. I'd never want to share her myself, but it told me how deeply passionate she was. That was hotter than she could possibly imagine.

It was fun to think about her as a younger woman with two lovers, her life a whirlwind of rock shows and a different city every night. It sounded glamourous and exciting. I was glad for the version of Lucinda I had, though. As exciting as that one sounded, the one I had now was stronger for all that she'd been through, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Of course she was beautiful, of course she had a perfect body—far more perfect than she had any right to be—but it was that strength that drew me to her. She was so much more than the shallow celeb the world saw.

Knowing a secret part of her that most people never got to see... That was maybe the biggest turn on of all.

"How are things in the garden going?" Lucinda called, lowering her sunglasses to shoot a look at me. A smile. An invitation.

"Everything's right on schedule. I should have the whole transition to Fall finished by the end of the week," I answered, setting my tools down to brush the dirt off my hands. My jeans were clean when I left my apartment, but they were filthy already. Hazard of the job.

"It really looks incredible, Cole," she said, a warmth in her voice that made my heart stutter—and it made her daughter send a look her way.

Lucinda was unfazed. "Are you thirsty? It's such a sunny day. You must be," she said, gesturing toward their pitcher of mint-cucumber water.

There was no way to miss the invitation now. No way for me to misread it or doubt. I didn't know what she was up to. Silently, I tried to tell her that she didn't need to do this for me. Having her was enough. She didn't have to tell everyone if she didn't want.

Whether she got the message or not, I couldn't tell. She poured a glass and held it out to me. Dynassy watched the whole thing with rapt fascination. Was it some sort of test? Or a game these rich women played?

Immediately, I felt guilty for thinking that about Lucinda. That was just my insecurity. I still wasn't sure what I had to offer her. Maybe accepting her was enough. No one else seemed to.

I wiped my hands on my jeans again, but I was pretty sure that just made them dirtier. The glass was already sweating when I took it from her, and the condensation turned the soil between my fingers into mud.

"Thank you."

"Sit," she said, swinging her legs to the side of her lounge chair so I could sit on the end. "You deserve a break. I'm exhausted just watching how hard you've been working."

So she had been watching.

"Should I go?" Dynassy asked, looking both amused and surprised. I didn't sense any judgment, though. That was refreshing.

"No," I said. I spoke up before Lucinda had a chance to. "I need to get back to work. I can't let those poppies sit out of their pots too long. I need to get them into the ground, or they'll shrivel up."

Lucinda pouted for just a second, then accepted my answer without any protest.

"It's admirable how dedicated you are," she said as I finished the lightly flavored water.

"Likewise," I answered, still not sure how precarious this whole exchange was. Lucinda was always three steps ahead. Sometimes I felt like I couldn't keep up, but I loved that about her.

The list of things I liked about her seemed to be never-ending.

Suddenly my chest felt tight, and I shot up to my feet, returning my dirt-streaked glass to the tray with the others.

"I appreciate the drink, but I really have to—"

"Of course," Lucinda said, getting to her feet. The cherry red polish on her toes was fresh.

While I was admiring her toes—then her ankles, her calves, those thighs—Lucinda moved in for a quick kiss.

It was so surprising that I didn't have a chance to react before she was pulling away. I'd frozen in the moment, but as soon as realization sank in, I was soaring. She was willing to overlook her need to keep things quiet for the sake of her privacy, for me.

How could a guy not be over the moon about that?

"We'll talk later," Lucinda said, patting my arm, her hand lingering on my bicep.

"Do you hear something?" Dynassy asked, cutting through the moment. In an instant, all the tension building between me and Lucinda dropped away, like fog in the morning sun.

I strained. It was faint and hard to hear over the garden's water features, but I heard it too—a faint whirring. A small motor. Maybe a model plane or—

"Son of a bitch," Lucinda hissed, lunging for her phone. A second later she was on the phone with her security team, asking how the hell they'd let someone get a drone past them, demanding they do something about it.

It was all too little too late. The drone was already zooming off. Whoever was piloting it was probably already uploading their hot gossip.

So much for being over the moon.

"It's out," Dynassy said grimly, looking down at her phone.

Lucinda cursed under her breath, and then she was making more calls, using every connection, calling in every favor trying to do damage control.

Just like that, I was invisible again. Left to my flowers and dirt. I couldn't imagine being a part of that world. I liked my simple life, and watching the whole machine in motion really showed me how far apart we were.

Maybe she'd been right to keep us a secret. Maybe we never should have tried to change things.

With the cat out of the bag, surely Lucinda wouldn't get cold feet now, right?

As sound as that logic was, it didn't stop the nervousness knotting in my gut.