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to the
house, she saw a car gradually come into view. She gave Connor a
questioning look.
    “You’re about to meet my mother.”
     

Chapter 9
     
     
    Nothing caused an erection to deflate faster
than when your mother came around. Connor instinctively knew why
she was there, too, and he dreaded the upcoming conversation. She’d
always favored Clive, had always given him anything he wanted, and
now she was going to beg for him. Only this was one time Connor was
going to remain firm in his decision, even if it meant alienating
her.
    He glanced at Serena as she quickly buttoned
her blouse, her complexion a rosy glow and a spark in her eyes that
he’d put there. Damn. It was a good thing he’d heard the car coming
because he’d been within seconds of taking Serena’s jeans off and
bending her over the railing.
    Serena glanced his way when she was done. “I
still have questions.”
    “Somehow I knew that. We’ll finish our talk
later.”
    “Is that all we’ll finish?” she teased with a
promise in her eyes.
    “You want to play some more?” Connor asked,
with raised brows. The flame of awareness in her pretty eyes was
all the answer he needed. Interesting, his little innocent was
turning into a sex fiend, which was just fine with him.
    He heard his mother shut the door to her
Lexus and got to his feet to greet her. “Mother.” Connor kissed her
cheek when she reached the top of the steps. “I was expecting
you.”
    She looked uncomfortable. “You were?” she
asked, giving Serena a smile. “You must be Serena. As you heard,
I’m Connor’s mother, but please call me Anne. Welcome to the
family. I think we’re going to be good friends.”
    Connor frowned, because his mother couldn’t
possibly know how much he’d told Serena. Welcoming her to the
family could have been premature and complicated things.
    “Nice to meet you, Anne,” Serena smiled.
    “Mother, why don’t you get to the reason that
you’re here?” Connor didn’t mean to sound harsh, but knowing that
she was there to plead Clive’s case irked him. Why couldn’t she let
him grow up and be a man?
    “I thought you knew why I came for a visit,”
Anne said, sitting in one of the vacant chairs. At sixty-four she
was a slender, attractive woman of medium height. Giving birth to
four boys hadn’t filled her figure out. She kept her short hair
colored a light natural brown that complimented the darker brown of
her eyes.
    Connor shrugged. “Humor me, maybe I’m
wrong.”
    She released a heavy sigh. “I doubt it.” She
cast a glance at Serena.
    “Would you like me to leave?” Serena asked,
looking back and forth between Anne and Connor.
    “Stay,” was all Connor said, his tone
firm.
    Anne glanced at her son and then back at
Serena. “He’s right, dear. You might as well hear what I have to
say. After all, you’re family now, and–”
    “Mother,” Connor drew her attention away from
Serena.
    “Why are you so brash today?”
    Connor could hear the trembling of her voice
but didn’t let it sway him. “Maybe because I know you’re here on
Clive’s behalf, as usual. I’m getting damned tired of being in the
middle. He’s a grown man, and you should let him stand on his own
two feet. It’s time he faced the consequences of his actions, or
he’ll never learn from them.”
    “But banishing him from Savage Hills?” Her
bottom lip quivered and Connor could see that she was trying to
keep it together. “He’s the youngest,” Anne continued with a look
in her eyes that pleaded for his understanding. “And your brother.
I didn’t challenge you at the meeting today, but you have to know
how I feel.”
    “And you know how I feel. Do you think I made
that decision lightly?” Connor asked, his brows drawn together in a
frown. “How many times have the elders and I given Clive another
chance? His attacking Serena proves to me that he’s unstable,
Mother, and you know I will do anything to protect what’s
mine.”
    His mother’s