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corset, and her apron barely covered her pubic hair at the front. Her nipples spilled out of her bodice, and she looked like an invitation.
    She smiled at Zach when she noted his interest. “The dining room is down the stairs and to your left, my lady,” she said, then curtseyed.
    “Thank you, Hunt,” Caitlyn said, then stepped toward Zach. It had to be an accident that she blocked his view, because he knew she wasn’t interested in him. “Shall we go down, then?”
    Zach nodded, then called after the departing maid, who was scurrying toward the other end of the hall. “Excuse me, Hunt, but should the lantern be left burning?” he asked, and the maid glanced back.
    “I’ll see to it, sir.” She curtseyed low, giving him a view down her cleavage. She smiled impishly when she glanced up and Zach wondered if he would be using her later that evening for a pleasurable release.
    “Thank you,” Zach said to the maid, offered his elbow to Caitlyn and she rested her fingers on his arm as he guided her toward the stairs. “You look lovely this evening,” he said and she smiled up at him.
    “I know! Who would have imagined?”
    “I would have.”
    She rapped her fan on his arm, dismissing his comment yet again. “Seriously, Zach, this is amazing.” She winced. “Although Hunt laced the corset very tightly.”
    There was something Zach hadn’t needed to know. A corset and stockings. Maybe the pants didn’t have enough pleats after all. “You look great,” he managed to say.
    “I feel hot ,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “Those laced boots when we arrived were one thing but the corset goes a step further. I feel like I’m tied up all the time, and can’t wait until tomorrow when I wear the boots and the corset at once.”
    Maybe she could wear only those items. Zach swallowed. God, how he loved laces. Almost as much as rope. Blindfolds. Tape.
    Caitlyn dropped her voice to a confidential whisper. “And it’s started to rain, too. God, I’m so wet.” She squeezed his arm a little in her enthusiasm, sending a jolt through him.
    Zach didn’t know quite what to say to that, but his body sure responded in a hurry. Being friends with the woman who drove him crazy was seriously a double-edged sword.
    Caitlyn was looking into the dining room, clearly oblivious to the effect of her confessions. “It looks fantastic,” she murmured. “And you look great, too. I’m so glad you came with me.” She stretched up and kissed his cheek sweetly, her light perfume enveloping him and her breast pressing against his arm for a heavenly moment.
    Zach closed his eyes, thought of her undergarments, and had to pull his mind out of the gutter.
    Caitlyn said the one thing that could trash his mood. “When they bring Luke back from the dead, he won’t even recognize us.”
    “You don’t really think they’ll manage it, do you?” Zach asked with care.
    “They can do everything else, evidently.”
    “But I don’t want you to be disappointed,” Zach began, only to have Caitlyn spin to face him.
    “Thank you for coming with me, Zach, and thank you for looking out for me,” she said and squeezed his hand. She smiled at him. “I feel so lucky that Luke had such a good friend.” Then she was gone in a whirl of burgundy, practically floating into the dining room.
    Friend.
    What Zach wouldn’t give to let her see the truth. But he’d already betrayed his best friend once, and Luke had died as a result. Seducing Caitlyn was just about the only way Zach could make matters worse.
    Keeping his distance was the right thing to do.
    Even if it was going to fucking kill him.
    There were other guests. There were maids. There had to be a way for him to find some relief at Windswept.
    * * *
    Open mouth—insert foot. Why did she keep giving Zach such hints, when he really wasn’t interested? Caitlyn just couldn’t seem to stop herself from issuing invitations, even though he barely seemed to notice any of them.
    Let alone show any