by Violet Paige
He shoved his gloved hands into his pockets. “I’ll see you in my study in an hour.”
He walked inside, hoping like hell he had reached his friend. He didn’t think two more months here would do anything other than rob Lee of his humanity. With each day he was retreating more and more into the wilderness.
He had no idea who the woman was other than a picture he had seen of her, but he fucking hoped she would be the one to save them both.
Four
Lee
He didn’t want to admit the shower felt good. He refused to wear a suit, but he put on a clean pair of jeans and a fresh shirt to meet Tyler in his study.
“Tyler, this is even shitty for you.” Lee glared at his business partner.
“Why? Did you have a better idea to collect?” Tyler poured a glass of bourbon and dropped two ice cubes in the middle.
Lee exhaled. “Not really.”
“Then stop second-guessing me. We could use some help with StarCon even though we aren’t there right now. I think this is exactly what we need. The timing couldn’t have been better.”
“Niall McIntosh is a dick. The fact that you got into business with him in the first place makes me wonder what in the hell you’re doing these days.”
Tyler waved him off. “It wasn’t business. I don’t do business with men like him. It was a bet. There’s a huge difference. He’s the one who lost. Not me.” He threw back his drink.
“Give me one of those.” Lee walked toward the bar, waiting for a stiff drink. “I need a double after this fuckup of yours.”
Tyler laughed. “Niall texted a few hours ago, so I know payment will be here any minute.”
Lee shook his head. “Payment? That’s what you’re calling it?”
The mountains loomed behind them. The snow kept falling. Whoever was driving the girl here would have to navigate winding icy roads. The conditions weren’t ideal.
“Niall lost,” Tyler explained. “I don’t know why you’re so pissed at me.”
Lee’s blue eyes fired. “Because the payment is a girl. You bet an actual woman for us? And I don’t like that she’s coming here.”
Tyler grinned like a wolf. “I sure did. And she’s fucking gorgeous.”
“Like that makes this any better.”
“Want to see her picture again? Might help you commit to how real this is. How much you’re going to have her.”
Lee groaned, “I don’t need her picture. This is unorthodox. Even for you.”
“Relax.” Tyler patted the leather sofa. “She’s our guest.”
“An unwilling guest,” he reminded his friend. “I doubt she had a say in this entire thing.”
“Two months with us and I think that has the possibility to change.”
“We don’t even know her. What if she’s like Niall? Have you thought about that? She could be the scum of the Earth like him.”
“Stop being so damn pessimistic. I don’t like this Grizzly Adams side of you.”
“It’s called being realistic. You don’t know what the fallout from this is going to be. You think I’ve gone all wild man, but you’re reckless. Just because we’re out of the city doesn’t mean your actions don’t have consequences.”
Tyler shrugged. “Details.”
“While I’m trying to keep our empire going, you’re thinking with your cock as usual.” Lee swirled the bourbon in his glass and inhaled half of it. It burned going down. But he needed it to cope with what his best friend had done.
“Our empire needs an empress. Don’t you think?”
Lee pressed his elbows into his knees. It was hard to deny what Tyler said. The company didn’t run as smoothly when they were spinning in bachelor purgatory. They needed a woman. They thrived when they had one.
It had been too long since they had shared a bed.
But did that still apply out here? Would a woman complete the seclusion? Did he need a girl to fully immerse himself in his primal side? Was she the missing piece?
“We’ve never done it this way.” Lee looked up.
“Doesn’t mean, it’s not the right way.” Tyler was confident there was nothing wrong with his bet. Nothing to regret. Collecting his debt from Niall McIntosh was the only right thing to do as far as he was concerned.
“There was nothing else of Niall’s you wanted? Nothing at all?” Lee pressed him. The fact that a woman was getting ready to be delivered to the cabin wasn’t something he could picture.
Tyler scoffed. “Would you suggest I take one of his burned out warehouses or one of his taxi fleets? Maybe you’d suggest the taverns.” He shook his head. “He doesn’t have anything I want. Except this.” He waggled his eyebrows. “She’s flawless. You’ll see.”
“Then who let him in the game if he doesn’t have anything to gamble with? You should have known better than to let a loser like Niall McIntosh into a game with those kind of stakes. He didn’t have anything valuable from the start, Tyler.”
Tyler drank the rest of the bourbon in his glass. “He does. He has her. As far as I’m concerned she’s all the payment I need for sixty days.”
“This is fucking unbelievable. Sixty days with someone who is a stranger.”
Tyler laughed. He was always the risk-taker. Lee knew StarCon Global wouldn’t be where it was if his friend hadn’t been willing to try the adventurous deals. Make decisions no one else would touch. But it didn’t end with business decisions. Tyler let everything bleed over into his personal life. He seemed to like it best when his two worlds collided. That meant it melted into one, for Lee too.
Lee hated he had to the rational one. The one who kept his head down. The one who constantly brought his friend back on track.
But he knew when he had to back down. There was no talking him out of this one. “But nothing changes, man. It’s on her terms. Just because we’re up in the mountains, we’re not going caveman on her.”
Tyler smiled. “Of course. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I wouldn’t want her if she wasn’t the one asking for us.”
Lee knew that to be true. Tyler was stubborn and prideful. He’d never chased after a woman. His cockiness prevented him from ever throwing his heart into a relationship. It was the reason they lost Jessie.
All she wanted was to hear him say the words. She would have done anything for them. But Tyler couldn’t let his guard down long enough to be vulnerable.
Lee worried he never would.
The conversation was interrupted when the front intercom buzzed. Tyler pressed the speaker button.
“Yes?”
“It’s James. I have your payment from Niall McIntosh.”
Tyler’s eyes lit. He punched in the code that would allow James access open the front door. “We were wondering where you were.”
“It took a little longer than I thought. I’ll be right in.”
Lee looked at his friend. “You sure you don’t want to back out of this? Have James take her back?”
“No fucking way. I won her fair and square. You’re going to thank me. I swear.”
They stood, waiting for James to enter. Lee straightened his back, running his fingers across the edge of his beard. Tyler straightened his tailored jacket and tugged on the cuffs of his shirt. There was a nervous energy that ran between them.
The double doors opened and Johnson walked into the office, carrying a woman over his shoulder.
“Put me down,” she squealed. She kicked and thrashed in his hold. Her blond hair flew in all directions.
All he could see were limbs.
“That’s enough, James,” Lee instructed him. He didn’t like how this was going.
Tyler stood next to him as James unwrapped the girl from his grasp and placed her feet on the floor. His hands wrapped around her waist while she squirmed free and pushed forward away from him.
For a second, Lee thought the world fell away.
She brushed her long locks from her face. Her green eyes glowered with anger. Her cheeks were flush and her plump
lips with in a perfect heart shape. Fuck. His ribs felt as if they were caving in.
She was beyond beautiful. She was stunning.
He broke his gaze to look at Tyler. Lee had no idea what to say.
He realized for the first time, his best friend didn’t either.
Five
Brooke
Her chest heaved with giant breaths. She threw the man’s arms off her. “Stop touching me,” she spat. “You’re disgusting.” He wore too much cologne, but it was mixed with sweat, creating a pungent odor. It reminded her of the cramped coat closet. It felt as if his scent clung to her leather jacket and sweater.
“Delivered as requested,” he announced. He presented her as if she were some kind of prize cattle at a fair.
“Yes, we can see that.”
She shoved the hair from her face. Brooke’s eyes lifted to the men standing in front of her. She felt as if she were a wild cat. Feral enough to pounce on them and attack. Maybe fight her way to freedom. The only problem was she had to get through their hired brute first. She knew he was a wall of pure muscle and outmatched her in every way.
“That’s all we need, James.” One of the men dismissed her escort. “Your payment is in your account. I made sure it was processed immediately.”
“Thank you. Always a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Star.”
Brooke swallowed. Did he say Star? As in Tyler Star? Her heart hammered harder in her chest.
James chuckled. “Watch out for this one. She’s feisty. You’ll see what I mean.” He blew her a kiss. “Gotta long drive back.”
Brooke glared at her captor as he retraced his steps to the hallway. Within seconds the doors closed behind him and he was gone.
It took Brooke a minute to get her bearings. Riding in the back of a trunk had made her nauseated. She had been roughly pulled into the freezing cold and deposited in front of two men.
Every possible scenario had gone through her head during the car ride. It was possible Niall had actually wanted her dead. Instead of driving to a remote location, she could have been carted to a shallow grave. She wasn’t expecting this ending. She never thought she’d be standing in front of the Denver’s most eligible and famous bachelors. But where in the hell were they?
She could see outside that it was snowing. The mountains dotted the horizon. If she wasn’t so angry, she’d let herself enjoy how beautiful it was. It almost looked like a postcard from Switzerland.
“Now that he’s gone, maybe we could introduce ourselves properly. I’m Lee.” As he extended his palm toward her, Brooke’s eyes narrowed.
“I know exactly who you are, Lee Connors.”
He dropped his hand.
“Then I assume you know I’m Tyler Star.”
“I don’t really care who you are.” She pulled her shoulders back. “What do you want with me?” She wasn’t interested in stroking their egos with how much she had read about them.
Lee smiled. He had perfect straight teeth. Maybe the best smile she’d ever seen. “Perhaps we could start with a drink? We have a full bar. Anything you want. Are you a martini drinker?”
“I don’t want anything of yours. I want an explanation and I want you to let me go.”
Tyler rubbed his chin. “That’s going to be difficult, sweetheart. At least for the next sixty days.”
“I won’t do it.”
“Do what?” Lee asked.
She didn’t want to play games. She had been a member of the McIntosh family long enough to know how these arrangements worked. She had witnessed them, but never thought she would be part of one. These were the kinds of things that happened to other people—not her. She had done everything she could to stay out of the business since last year.
“I won’t sleep with you,” she hissed. “Neither of you. I’m not going to be your sex puppet.”
Tyler chuckled. It was enough to make her want to lunge at him. He had a sexy smile, that made him even more irritating. Did women find his cockiness attractive? Was that how he got his reputation.
“I’m only offering drinks,” Lee stated. “How about a glass of wine so we can talk? No sex right now. I promise.”
She didn’t want to move an inch in their direction. She didn’t like how they mocked her. Or how apparent their sex appeal was. They had to be close to 6’3” or 6’4”. Tyler was slightly taller than Lee. Along with the height came broad shoulders and chiseled jaws. If she didn’t know better, she could have mistaken them for brothers. One with light features. The other with dark.
“Come on, sweetheart.” Tyler opened a hand toward her. “We won’t bite. We want to talk. Let’s get to know each other a little.”
“I was sold into an arrangement without my consent by my cousin, stuffed in the trunk of a car, dragged in here against my will, and you think cocktail hour is a problem I need to consider? And I hate martinis.”
“That answers one question.” Lee corked the gin and poured a glass of deep red wine. “It sounds like if anyone needs a drink, it would be you. Here. Drink.”
She stormed over to the bar. “Fine.” She snatched the goblet from his hand.
“Good. I hope you enjoy it. Let’s sit.” He pointed to an open chair for her.
Brooke took a seat and assessed her new set of captors. Her heart still pounded, but after a sip of wine, she was calm enough to consider a conversation rather than arguing. The rage had settled to a low boil.
Tyler’s dark gaze was distracting. His eyes trailed all over her body. It made her feel strangely uncomfortable and attractive at the same time. Lee didn’t make things any better. His blue eyes were like something out of a movie. She had never seen blue that color before.
They were certainly an upgrade from James and his burly hands.
She took another gulp of wine. Maybe getting drunk was the answer.
“Brooke, Tyler and I want you to know you are our guest during this arrangement. That’s the most important thing”
“Guest?” she sputtered on the wine. “A guest who can never leave? A guest who didn’t accept an invitation?”
She saw the look that transpired between them.
“We don’t have that level of trust yet,” Lee explained. “The terms of the arrangement are that you are to remain in Tyler’s custody for sixty days. I don’t see why as time goes by you can’t start to have more freedom. That has to be earned of course.”
Her eyes darted to Tyler. “This is your debt Niall has to pay? You wanted a prisoner?”
He nodded. He didn’t bother to hide his smile. “The best game of poker I’ve ever won.”
“Poker? I’m here because of poker? A stupid game of poker,” she muttered under her breath.
Lee shook his head. “Jesus, Tyler. Do you have to be an ass from the get-go?” He traded seats so he could sit next to Brooke. Lee seemed to be the more level-headed one between the two.
“Tyler and I are business partners. Co-CEOs to be exact.”
“I know all about StarCon Global. I hate to admit it, but I used to study your graphic arts department.” She bit her tongue. She had studied more than their graphics, but that was a secret she had to keep.
“Really?”
Brooke nodded. “I said I used to.” That was in the past.
Lee bit the inside of his cheek and turned toward Tyler. “What’s your background Brooke?”
“Are you saying you didn’t get a bid sheet on me?” she mocked. “You don’t have every sordid detail about who I am and what I have to offer? Come on, you had to be more thorough than that.”
“I was hoping for something more personal. Something about you.”
“I’m Niall McIntosh’s cousin,” she answered reluctantly.
“No, not that. What are you interests? Skills? Did you go to college? Tell us something about yourself.”
The wine made her feel fiercer than she actually was. The adrenaline had started to fade and she was nervous. She didn’t know if she could handle these two tycoons.
“Yes I graduated the top of my class with a visual arts degree. Why? Are you trying to figure out if that deducts points because I might have operating brain cells? Does that intimidate you?”
Lee pressed his lips together. “No. I like a smart woman.” He rubbed his chin. “I thought you might be interested in a job while you are here.”
Tyler leaned forward. “Lee, we haven’t discussed this. What did you have in mind?”
The men turned toward each other. “We need an artist to design the logo and complete the interface for the Foundation,” Lee answered.
“But that’s a high-level campaign. I’ve been considering candidates for weeks. It’s the pinnacle of our comeback.”
Brooke leaned back in her chair while they discussed her. It was no different than Niall.
“She’s here. She has a degree. I think we could use a fresh take on the art,” Lee argued.
“This isn’t the type of project that can be completed in sixty days. It’s our cornerstone.”
Lee smiled. “Perhaps, she’s the type of artist who would like the challenge and would stay beyond the requirement.”
His sapphire eyes landed on hers and her heart stilled. As much as she had tried to be unaffected by them, it wasn’t working.
“I never agreed to any of this.”
Lee exhaled. “I’m trying to make this worth your while. Tyler is right. The art director for this campaign should be a seasoned expert. Someone with years of experience in the industry. Honestly, I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone without those credentials. Why not take the job for the next two months and see what you can do with it?”
“Are you serious?” She cocked her head sidewise. “You’re trying to sugarcoat this with a job offer?”
Tyler smirked. “I’d take it sweetheart. Lee is being more than generous.”
“Right. Of course.” She settled into the chair. “Just tell me. Along with the art, what do I have to do to get your trust so I can leave when I want? Daily blowjobs? Would that work?”
Tyler leaned forward. “You are our guest. You are our companion. And we will never order or ask you for anything sexual. Is that understood?”
