would agree to put their remaining balance to the distillery.
Emerson mentally shook her head. That wouldn’t work. Olivia wouldn’t stand for the two of them putting more in than she was expected to…and she couldn’t do it without Olivia knowing because the split of the company would need updating, a document they’d all have to sign.
“Do you not like it, Em?” Concern etched Olivia’s features.
“No, I love it,” she managed to say. “If we are putting this place up for sale, we should start thinking about clearing it out and getting it staged.”
There was time to figure it out. None of them wanted to see the distillery go under…and neither she nor Jake would want to save the distillery at the risk of Olivia’s progress. It seemed like there could be enough money to do both.
But wouldn’t it be amazing if the insurance came through, the house sale came through, and there was an explanation for her father’s loan? She was expecting the details to come from the bank soon.
Emerson smiled, this time for real. Olivia and Jake had their heads in the laptop, and she had access to the funds they might need.
After dinner, filled to the brim with apple pie and ice cream, Emerson drove home and let herself into the house. She had the urge to ask Connor to come over, but it seemed pathetic that after less than forty-eight hours, she was craving his touch.
As she slipped into bed, her phone vibrated.
My bed feels pretty empty without you in it. Cx
Emerson smiled. She snapped a quick picture of the other side of her bed. Mine, too.
A minute later, he replied. I don’t know your limits yet, sweetheart. But want to get off with me? Virtually?
Yes, she replied, jumping out of bed. She had no idea what he had in mind, but she bet it didn’t include the Scandinavian-patterned pajamas she picked up in a sale. Whipping her top off over her head, she ran to her dresser. Black push-up bra, that would do. And the black silk slip edged in lace that she rarely wore because the lace itched her skin…she’d manage for thirty minutes.
She pulled her pajama bottoms off, put her bra and slip on, and caught sight of herself in the mirror. Tousled hair, flushed cheeks from the very idea of getting it on over the airwaves with Connor. Too bad she’d washed off her mascara already.
Hi. Connor had sent her a picture of himself sitting up in bed, his chest naked. One hand was in his hair, his muscles flexing. Damn, the man’s body was something else, but it was the smile that flipped her heart.
Emerson opened her camera. She couldn’t do the same pose. So, she lifted one knee and draped her arm off it, and as she did so, the strap of the lace slip fell off her shoulder, revealing her bra. Perfect. She sent it with the return greeting that matched Connor’s.
Fuck me, Em. Was totally not expecting that. Will store in my spank bank for future reference. You look good in black.
His response warmed her. She didn’t really have it in her to play the role of seductress. You look good naked.
Like this, or more? The message was accompanied by another photograph, this one taken a little farther out. He’d lowered the sheet so she could see both of those V-lines near his hips and a covered but clearly hard erection.
Her stomach clenched in anticipation, and she squeezed her knees together.
Emerson rolled onto her side, grateful that she’d shaved her legs that morning, and slid the hem of the slip up her leg until it just skimmed the top of her thigh. She bit her lip and took the picture, but before she sent it, she zoomed in as far as her phone would let her to make sure nothing truly private was showing. The lamp light cast a bronze glow over her skin and somehow made her look…sexier. At least sexier than she felt on a daily basis. Or sexier than she’d felt since before meeting Connor.
I’m stroking myself, imagining coming on that thigh of yours. And it’s hard to type with one thumb. He’d added a crying laughing emoji.
Emerson opened her drawer and pulled out her vibrator. She snapped a photograph of it. I’ve got a stand-in for you.
Rolling onto her back, she turned it on, and placed it on the spot she knew would get her off quickest.
Connor responded. Fuck, I wish I could see that