Their Forever - Chloe Kent Page 0,1

the surprise of finding a stranger in their house as it was the immediate effect his presence had on her. At once, a hundred reactions drifted through her mind, but she couldn't pick just one.

The only other time she had ever been so awestruck, so defenseless, she stood emotionally exposed down to her bare skin was when she had seen Liam for the first time.

Maybe it was the stranger's dark-deep-green eyes that stunned her when her gaze collided with his. The length of his eyelashes: thick, full, and glossy even in Liam's softly lit study, threw a shadow against his cheekbones. The shape of his jaw, the hard square structure, which seemed at once imprinted into her mind, flexed as she openly stared at him. The deep five-o’clock shadow shading the contours of his face, his lips. His body, tall and clearly muscular, even visible from the nondescript suit he wore with such nonchalant care, took her breath away.

What must surely have only been mere seconds of indecision seemed to play out much longer in her mind as she perused him again. But when his attention wandered down her body with all the arrogance in the world, his hands slipping into the pockets of his suit trousers, his legs spread wide apart as he seemed to analyze her, she immediately came to her senses and pulled out of the haze her delayed reaction to him had produced.

She tried to cover her breasts which were clearly in his view—the lace offered little concealment—by folding her arms across them, her thin coat still draped in one of her hands.

She felt ruthlessly self-conscious in the gown she was wearing. Liam only allowed her to dress this way when they were going to a few select events, where it was private and the men he associated with knew better than to not respect her personal space. All submissives and pets were held in a remarkable level of esteem in Liam’s inner circle. Cherished and protected by their owners who only had their best interests at heart.

In the beginning, her shyness had caused her so much embarrassment, but her husband had nurtured her and turned her into a powerfully confident young woman, one who could wear nothing at all, as long as she was at Liam's side. He was her safeguard. He had made her believe that wholeheartedly. She belonged to him, and no man in his right mind would ever dare touch her. No one would dare cross Liam Stone. No one.

But this man, this stranger, with his midnight-dark hair brushed back with his fingers, even though she was clothed, looked at her as if she were indecently exposed. Her panties dampened. Her nipples hardened. Her skin flushed. She had reacted to him the same way she had reacted to Liam.

She hurled her gaze off him at once. The hot blood in her cheeks heating up even more. What was wrong with her?

She shook her head as if to clear it of all that nonsense. There was a strange man in her husband's study, and she was having a little uncharacteristic physical and emotional meltdown. What she should be doing was screaming. He could be an intruder. Liam could be in danger and…

“Who are you?” She raised her voice to conceal her fear, her brows drawing together as she tightened her arms over her breasts. “Where's Liam?”

“I'm right here, sweetheart,” Liam said from the doorway. As always, when he spoke with that tone, he rendered her calm and safe immediately. His presence balanced her out at once, and she allowed herself to get lost in his gorgeous, good looks.

Where the stranger looked more like a soldier or a marine, her Liam was in a class of distinction of his own. A dash of silver threaded his light brown hair and specked his beard too. The edges of his soft-brown eyes crinkled when he smiled, but his jaw, when clenched, had the power to make grown men cry without saying a word and melt the panties of every woman with a pulse. He was sophistication in a six-foot-two frame, always dressed impeccably, and at thirty-eight, his body had been sculpted to perfection. All muscles, all hardness. All danger when crossed.

How long had he been standing there?

She immediately went to him, and when he slipped his arm around her waist she moved as close to him as she could without climbing on top of him. She had no idea what had gotten into her. But she