Surrender to Temptation (Agent Lovers Series Book 1)

by Harper Steen

  Freshly dressed in new clothes, Gray reappeared and surveyed the damage.

  “Did you have an accident?”

  “I’ll clean it up, don’t worry.” Chris smiled, feeling confident of his success. Furball used the opportunity to jump up on the counter and forage for food. Greedily he lapped up the milk and the rest of the egg.

  When the phone suddenly rang, the startled cat abruptly flung himself from the countertop, causing plates to rattle, flour to fly, and two more eggs to splatter on the floor. Gray lifted his hands in resignation and disgust. More work. It figured that this week and next were the weeks his housecleaner Anna was on vacation.

  Chapter 10

  After a brief phone conversation, Gray came back into the kitchen with his brow furrowed and his lips pressed together in irritation.

  “Come on, Chris! It looks like a tornado ripped through here.”

  “Calm down! What’s the big deal? Breakfast is just about ready, and then I’ll clean up the place, I promise!” Chris looked at Gray quizzically. “Bad news?”

  “You could call it that.” Gray took a deep breath and exhaled noisily as he wiped up the slobber left by the cat. “Jeff’s on his way here. At any other time, I wouldn’t have minded a visit. But this timing doesn’t work for me at all.”

  “I hear you. Things were just getting good! Why didn’t you just put him off?”

  “I couldn’t. You don’t know my brother very well. I’m surprised he even called first. Once he’s set his mind on something, he won’t be stopped.”

  “And that surprises you?” Chris laughed softly. “You two are a lot alike. Not identical dispositions, but awfully close. How far apart are you? Two years?”

  “He’s four years younger.”

  “He doesn’t look it. Anyone would think you were twins.” Chris tilted his head at his ill-tempered friend. “Maybe that’s why you’re constantly at each other’s throats.” Meticulously, he laid out strips of bacon in a square frying pan. “What’s bothering you so much about this visit?”

  “The problem isn’t him, it’s Liz and maybe even Jennifer.” Gray crossed his arms over his broad chest, leaned sideways against the countertop and scratched his upper lip with his thumbnail.

  Chris lifted his head, looking alarmed. Strips of bacon dangled from the tips of his fork and then fell unnoticed into the pan. “Why ‘Liz and maybe even Jennifer’? What are you saying?”

  “If there were a world record for stealing other men’s women, Jeff would have broken it long ago.” Gray tried to keep an uninterested expression on his face, as if the fact of his brother’s notorious womanizing didn’t matter to him in the least. But the truth was just the opposite. Gray was very worried about what would happen when Jeff met Liz.

  Chris looked at him in disbelief. “I would never have thought he was the kind of guy to do that.”

  Gray sighed and ran his hand through his short, dark hair. “We’ve always been fiercely competitive, ever since grade school. Sooner or later, one of us always picked a fight—it didn’t matter what it was about. At first it was toys we both wanted and later it was gym shoes and jeans. Even the first car I bought and my brother wanted.” Gray stopped and remembered the day Jeff had crashed his black Mustang into a tree.

  Jeff hadn’t had his driver’s license for even three hours when he decided to “borrow” Gray’s car and take it for a joyride. He had driven just four streets when a beech tree abruptly stopped the Mustang. It was the only tree on that stretch of the road.

  A young girl had unexpectedly darted out between two parked trucks and into the middle of the street. Instead of breaking, Jeff jerked the steering wheel. The Mustang banged against the curb and plowed through the adjacent strip of grass before the sturdy beech finally stopped it. Fortunately, neither the young girl nor Jeff was hurt, but the car had to be scrapped.

  “Stuff like that happens all the time between siblings,” said Chris, drawing Gray back into the present. “So what’s the real problem?”

  “The problem is that this envy and competition, which was normal when we were teenagers, still exists. I noticed years ago that this constant power struggle between us was pointless, but Jeff has done everything he can to keep it alive. I could swear that’s the reason he joined the Army. It’s why I keep contact with him to only what’s necessary, hoping that he’ll finally come to his senses and all this squabbling will die down on its own.” Gray looked directly at Chris and grinned. “I really do love my brother; he’s the only family I have left. But if he doesn’t quit provoking me, I’m going to have to give him a thrashing one of these days.”

  Chris laughed and took a taste of the cooked bacon he’d stacked on the plate. “This could be an interesting visit then. You two are built the same, you have the same training behind you and you seem equally strong.” He set the bacon to the side, lay the fork on the plate’s edge and turned to his friend with a mischievous smile, “I really don’t know on which of you two to bet on.”

  “And you call yourself my friend.” Gray shook his head and laughed as he reached for the plate of bacon.

  The two men went out to set the table on the patio, each of them lost in his own thoughts. Without talking about it, each came to the same conclusion: if Jeff should try his luck with Liz or Jennifer, he’d be kicked out, no ifs, ands or buts about it.

  ***

  Jennifer watched Chris for a while from the corner of her eye and then Gray, who sat diagonally across from her. Was there tension in the atmosphere? Both men seemed pensive. No trace of the morning’s cheerfulness remained. She glanced at Liz and tried to read her expression, but she couldn’t tell what Liz was thinking. She cleaned her plate with the appetite of a coal miner without looking up once.

  “You boys aren’t very talkative today,” Jennifer said. Chris looked at her questioningly, but just pushed his chin forward and chewed. Gray didn’t react at all.

  “Guy stuff then…” Jennifer took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. There’s no reason for a woman to assume that a guy’s moods are about her or are caused by her. Anyway, maybe I’m just imagining something’s wrong. She took a bite of the scrambled eggs on her plate.

  ***

  Liz had gone into the kitchen to fill the bread basket with toast when the doorbell rang. Gray’s head jerked around. There was only one person it could only be. He jumped up and ran into the house in an attempt to reach the door before Liz, but he was too late. Liz had already opened the door and now stood opposite his four-years-younger double.

  Just as Gray had feared, blatant interest appeared on Jeff’s face at the sight of Liz. He gave her an attentive once-over before flashing her the wide movie-star smile that never failed to have its desired effect on women.

  This has got to stop, right now! Gray thought as he stood behind Liz. He put both hands possessively on her shoulders and pulled her against his body. “Hello, Jeff! Nice of you to stop by.”

  “How are you, brother?” Predictably, he ignored the obvious warning in Gray’s eyes. His smile took on a wolfish feature and Gray suspected it wouldn’t be long before Jeff made his first move.

  “Who’s this enchanting angel you’re holding on to for dear life?” Jeff managed to flatter Liz and take a potshot at his brother at the same time.

  Gray took a deep calming breath, even though he was seething inwardly. “Liz, may I introduce you? My baby brother, Jeffrey.”

  “Nice to meet you.” She smiled sincerely at Jeff and tipped her head toward Gray. “This is your brother?” she said with a chuckle. “You two look a little bit alike.”

  “That’s where the similarity ends,” said Jeff, drawing Liz’s attention back to him. She raised her brows at him. “Gray’s rather a stiff.” One by one, Jeff ticked off his brother’s characteristics on his fingers, as if they were crimes. “He’s arrogant, opinionated, unnecessarily proper, inflexible—at least I’ve never known him not to be—and a control freak who drives people crazy with his smug composure.” H
e dropped his hand, tilted his head and knit his brows, appearing to ponder whether he had forgotten any other important faults.

  Jeff’s gaze ran briefly over Liz, then he grinned in surprise. “I see he’s given the lady of his heart an extremely delicate piece of jewelry. This is really very charming. May I have a look?” He took her hand and raised it up to his eyes… and then to his lips. “Very interesting and unusual! Only a few select women are allowed to wear such a delightful accessory. Be careful that you don’t get hurt by accepting such a gift!”

  “Thanks for the warning.” Liz laughed. She appeared to find Jeff’s casual, playful attitude adorable and gave every sign of liking him right off the bat. She wondered if it was because Jeff reminded her of her own brother.

  Liz eyes grew wide when she saw what was parked behind Jeff in the driveway. Quickly she scrambled past him and ran to the motorcycle. She walked around it once, and then circled it again, gazing at it in amazement from all sides, a wistful expression on her face. “Can I take it for a spin later?”

  “You sure you can handle it?”

  “She can handle it,” said Gray.

  “Just be careful, love. That’s my shrine.” Jeff murmured these last words as sweetly as only he could and clasped his hands together.

  Like a little kid, Liz hopped up and down in delight before charging past the brothers and into the house to put on appropriate clothing for her ride. Gray watched as she ran up two steps at a time, turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

  “That chick’s wearing a monitoring bracelet?” asked Jeff. “What’s going on here, bro? What kind of a game are you playing? Is she into that?” Gray just ignored him. Why is that woman wearing one of those small, nasty things Gray tested on me a few weeks ago? Jeff wondered.

  At the time, he had figured the monitoring bracelet would simply make a warning sound if he exceeded the maximum distance allowed. Then the first, extremely effective jolt had run through his body. That was Gray’s payback for the teasing Jeff had given during a visit three weeks earlier. Among other things, Jeff called his brother “a washed up former agent.” That day, Gray had stayed as cool as a block of ice, and he showed no sign that the comment had fazed him. Gray never let himself be provoked.

  Jeff worried about the fact that his brother was so withdrawn. For years their relationship had been a chilly one. They spoke about mundane things, rarely touching upon anything personal, or rather, never about anything personal. Tension had been building in Gray for some time; Jeff could feel it. If he hit him at just the right time, Gray would explode like a firecracker.

  “That’s a sweet chick you’ve got there. Nice ass. Where’d you meet her? I’ll have to check the place out.” Jeff’s exaggerated friendliness was obviously insincere. Abruptly the tension inside Gray ratcheted up a few notches. His body felt like a rubber band stretched to the breaking point. When he turned to Jeff, he was careful to keep the expression on his face from betraying that tension. Only the dark look in his eyes hinted that he might not be as calm as he appeared.

  “I’m warning you: keep your hands off her!” He opened the door a little wider, stepping aside to allow Jeff entry into the house.

  “Oh, come on!” A taunting smile turned up the corners of Jeff’s mouth. “What kind of guy do you think I am? I would never take away your toy.” Jeff slipped off the straps of his backpack and dropped the bag on the floor next to the closet. He looked straight into the eyes that were so similar to his own. “Anyway that was pathetic. ‘I’m warning you’? Is that the best you can do?”

  “One warning is all you’re going to get.”

  “If you think—”

  “And if you ignore it, I’ll give you what you have coming to you.” Keeping completely composed, Gray turned his back on Jeff and walked into the kitchen. He didn’t see the challenging expression in his brother’s eyes turn wistful. And he didn’t hear him murmur softly, “That’s what I’m hoping.”

  Gray sullenly watched his brother through the kitchen window. After Jeff greeted Chris and Jennifer, he joined them at the table and began chatting with them like they were old friends. He didn’t appear to have any interest in Jennifer, since he did nothing more than speak politely to her.

  The mere thought of Jeff’s attention toward Liz sent a surge of jealousy through Gray and caused his stomach to tense up. He felt the urge to give Jeff a swift kick in the rear and send him packing. Gray’s brother wasn’t going to get the opportunity to get to know her better; he’d see to that. Liz belonged to him!

  As Gray watched, Furball walked over to check out the newcomer. A moment later, he struck at Jeff with his paw. Apparently Chris wasn’t Gray’s only ally.

  “Aren’t you a nasty fellow? Pretty bossy, aren’t you?” Jeff snatched back the hand he’d been reaching out toward the animal.

  “That’s Liz’s cat,” explained Gray as he walked up. Silently, he thanked the ball of fur for his reaction, as he handed Jeff a coffee cup. After he’d sat down, Furball jumped into his lap, as if to demonstrate where his loyalties lay. Purring, he snuggled up to Gray.

  “He sure sheds a lot, doesn’t he?” Jeff turned to Gray. “Not that your clothes will look any worse for it.” Gray didn’t miss the malicious undertone in Jeff’s voice. He ran a hand over his shirt and pants.

  I’ll have to look around later for a lint brush. If Gray couldn’t guarantee that he was master of the situation, at least he could be master of the cat hair.

  Liz appeared in the doorway, her leather jacket in her hand, and looked at Gray with raised brows. “Can I go for a ride now?” His nod was met with a jubilant smile. “Are you coming, Jenny?”

  “Where?”

  “Just a little ride on Jeff’s bike.”

  “Of course!” The prospect of a brief foray into freedom sent Jennifer out of her chair and running for the door. Then suddenly she stopped and turned toward Chris. “Are you okay with that?” His gentle smile served as approval. Jennifer didn’t notice his subsequent nod because she’d already disappeared into the house.

  Jeff turned to Chris. “What are you, her father? Why’d she have to ask you?”

  He pulled the ignition key out of his pants pocket. Beaming, Liz walked up to him and took it out of his hand and thanked him. She turned around and was about to disappear into the house when Gray called her back. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Meaningfully he nodded toward her wrist. She walked over to him and held out her arm so he could take off the monitoring bracelet. Gray deactivated the connection on his device and then removed the second one from her arm. “If you’re not back in an hour, I’ll have the police out looking for you. Got it?”

  “Make it three.”

  “One!”

  “Two and we’ll bring back lunch.”

  After considering this briefly, he nodded. At least they’d be out of Jeff’s reach. When Jennifer came back out of the house, Chris walked over to her and took off her bracelet. Quickly the women left before Gray and Chris could change their minds.

  With a mix of curiosity and amazement, Jeff followed the exchanges between the women and the men. He threw his brother with a thoughtful glance.

  If they couldn’t have a normal, brotherly relationship that was based on affection, then Jeff wanted at least to discover whether his brother was capable of deep feelings. He looked toward the patio door through which the women had just disappeared.

  “Hopefully they won’t ride in another race again,” Gray said sighing softly. He looked at his brother through half-lowered eyelids. Jeff jumped up like a scalded cat and ran after Liz and Jennifer. By the time he got to the front door, they were already speeding down the driveway, leaving a thick cloud of dust behind them.

  Swearing loudly, he headed back to the backyard and sank into his chair. He gave a reproachful look to Chris and Gray, who were grinning mischievously. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? I would never have surrendered my Harley!”

  “You’ll learn from your mista
kes, Jeff. I had to learn that the hard way.”

  “Is that why they’re wearing the monitoring bracelets?”

  “That’s exactly why. Last night they took my SUV and totaled it in a race.”

  “The Mercedes? Oh my God!”

  Gray found Jeff’s expression to be priceless. Panic filled his eyes as he concluded that his motorcycle was about to take a beating.

  “I don’t think those races run during daylight hours, Gray,” Chris said.

  “You’re probably right. But if those two get the urge, I wouldn’t put it past them to organize one themselves.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “How can you be so calm? Obviously they’re out of their minds!” Jeff looked convinced that he wouldn’t see his beloved Harley again—at least not in one piece.

  “We’re just yanking your chain.”

  “Then they weren’t really in a race?”

  “Sure they were. And my car really is in the shop as a result.” Gray smiled, enjoying how it felt to destroy the tiny sliver of hope his brother had desperately latched on to. Then finally he relented. “But don’t worry. Nothing will happen to your motorcycle.”

  “Are you sure?” Doubt was written all over Jeff’s face.

  “Absolutely. Want some coffee?” Gray deliberately switched the topic and enjoyed the next two hours completely. The whole time they talked, his brother looked like he was sitting on hot coals, and he looked at his watch every couple of minutes as he listened intently for sounds of a motorcycle approaching the house.

  ***

  They had barely parked the motorcycle in the driveway when Jeff ran out to meet them. He raced past them and walked around his machine, looking for dents and scratches. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief. Not even the tiniest mark blemished his beautiful ride.

  Only after Jeff was convinced that no harm had been done to his Harley did it occur to him that Gray and Chris had done a great job of pulling his leg. He had to give them credit for that.