“Oh!” she gasped, jumping just a little but enough to cause her breasts to jiggle obscenely. She covered her heart with her hands and swallowed with embarrassment. So much for looking the part of the sophisticated mistress. “I apologize. I didn’t see you there,” she said, looking to Vince. “Should I come back later?”
Before Vince could answer, the other man rose with a dark smile on his full lips, saying, “No need to scuttle off on my account. My brother is right; you do look exquisite in that shade of blue. Let me guess...Versace?” When Penny could only stare, the information stunning her brain into silence, he chuckled and shot Vince a knowing look. “Nolan’s go-to designer for his pets. Now...who might you be aside from achingly lovely to look at?”
“P-penny,” she stammered, looking to Vince for guidance. Did he say brother? How had she not known that Vince and Nolan had another brother? Embarrassment and confusion colored her voice as she said, “I’m sorry...I didn’t know there was another Buchanan.”
Vince exhaled a short sigh of aggravation at the forced introduction. “Penny meet my older brother Dillon.” He gestured swiftly. “Penny, meet Dillon. Dillon meet Penny.”
“The pleasure is all mine, I assure you,” Dillon said, grasping Penny’s hand and pressing a kiss to the soft skin. The pressure of his lips did something strange to her insides, shaming her with her sudden arousal. What kind of person was she that she immediately felt an attraction to Vince and Nolan’s older brother?
“If you wouldn’t mind keeping your lips off my secretary...” Vince warned Dillon with a distinct growl. Penny withdrew her hand, her eyes wide at the odd undercurrent passing between the two men.
“Secretary?” His mouth quirked at the lie. “The temp agencies have really stepped up their game if Miss Penny is any indication of the hiring pool these days.”
A flush stole up Penny’s neck but she lifted her chin and directed her stare back to Vince, saying, “Is there anything you need from me this morning?”
“I can think of a few things I might want,” Dillon remarked with a decidedly wry grin, almost taunting Vince. Vince’s mouth hardened, unamused by his brother’s innuendo and Dillon shrugged, unaffected by Vince’s censure. “A water would be great,” he added, without glancing back at Penny. A silent war of wills raged between the two men that thickened the air with a palpable sense of tension. Penny suppressed a delicate shiver and let herself out, eager to escape. This was definitely not a happy reunion; that much she knew for sure.
***
“What are you doing here?” Vince cut straight to the chase as soon as Penny was free from the room. He didn’t want his brother anywhere near him and Nolan’s girl. Dillon had a way of sucking all the air from a room when women were concerned. Their older brother was something of a black sheep and women gravitated to him like moths to a fucking flame. Vince was not about to lose Penny to Dillon.
“No hello, nice to see you? Tsk, tsk brother. Where are your manners? Mother would be so disappointed.” Dillon helped himself to the bar, pouring a generous snifter of brandy. He gestured to the door where Penny had left. “So let’s talk about Penny...”
“Let’s not.” Vince held his brother’s stare, steel to steel. “Get to the point. You didn’t show up to talk about my secretary.”
“Ah, but that’s the thing, I don’t think she’s just your secretary. How many secretaries can afford Versace?” Dillon challenged, raising his glass to his lips, watching Vince. When Vince remained stubbornly silent, he chuckled and took a measured sip, savoring the flavor. He closed his eyes briefly with a small smile. “God, it’s been too long since I had good scotch.” He finished the snifter off and placed the glass on the marble bar before settling into the chair opposite Vince. “Let me tell you what I think the delectable Miss Penny is...”
“Knock it off, Dillon,” Vince warned. “Does Nolan know you’re back in town?”
Dillon smiled enigmatically. “I didn’t feel it was necessary to send out a text alert about my whereabouts. Besides, I’m part owner of this company, though I know that’s not common knowledge. I figured you might appreciate my taking an interest.”
“A little late for that, don’t you think?” Vince said under his breath. “You’re out of money, aren’t you?” he guessed. When Dillon laughed, Vince grabbed his checkbook, prepared to make Dillon go away in the same way he always did when he showed up to make trouble.
“Put your checkbook away, little brother,” Dillon said, surprising Vince with his hard tone. He looked up to find all semblance of Dillon’s casual flippant arrogance gone. Dillon leaned forward. “You can’t make me go away any more. Let’s just say, I’m ready to take an interest in my inheritance.”
Vince didn’t believe him for a second. There was something else driving Dillon and he had a feeling it had nothing to do with wanting to become a responsible member of society. Vince sneered with open derision. “Yeah? Since when?”
“Since now.”
“Convenient.”
“Isn’t it though? I was thinking the same thing. Actually, I was thinking, how fortuitous. Particularly when Granddad is on his last leg and somehow, you and Nolan managed to convince him to cut me out in the last will.”
Vince swore under his breath. “You’ve never had an interest in Buchanan Enterprises. We were just securing what we’d already built.”
“Bullshit. But no worries, little brother. I’ve found a way to rectify your misstep.” At that, Dillon rose and started for the door. “Oh, and before you ask...I know about the people you paid off to get the will changed. Sloppy work, I must say. I expected a finer layer of manipulation.”
“What are you going to do?” Vince demanded, standing as well.
Dillon stopped and turned, pinning Vince with the hottest of glares before his glacial smile left no room for misunderstanding. “Well, for starters...I’m going to fuck your delectable, sweet secretary. After that, maybe I’ll let her suck my cock clean.”
“Stay away from Penny,” Vince growled, his fists clenching. “If you so much as touch a hair on her head...”
“You’ll what?” Dillon taunted, daring Vince to throw down the gauntlet. When Vince simply glared in impotent anger, Dillon chuckled, “That’s what I thought” and let himself out.
***
Penny was a bundle of nerves as she watched the clock. Time passed at a snail’s pace as she awaited their arrival. Vince and Nolan had both seemed on edge when they’d tersely told her to go home and lock the penthouse door.
“And don’t open that damn door for anyone but me or Nolan,” Vince had added with a dark scowl.
Penny had nodded in understanding but in truth, she didn’t know what the hell was going on. Who was Dillon? Where did this brother come from? By chance she’d found an Internet article about the Buchanans and had found a reference to Dillon but the article had primarily focused on Nolan and Vince. She didn’t know who to ask without making things worse. She’d never seen Vince so shaken. What kind of man was their brother that he had both Vince and Nolan so rattled? Was he a bad man? Was he dangerous? She had to admit there was certainly something alluring about the man. He was the bad boy personified, the kind of man who rode a Harley and left a trail of women in his wake. She shuddered and shamefully squeezed her thighs together, berating herself for the tiny little kick in her heart rate at the thought of being at his mercy. She adored Vince and Nolan; she certainly didn’t need another Buchanan brother in her life, particularly one that was so...difficult.
The door burst open and Vince and Nolan strode in, their voices hard and raised.
“Why now? Someone had to have tipped him off about Granddad,” Nolan said, stopping briefly to pull Penny into his arms and kiss her soundly, almost hungrily. He released Penny and she was immediately taken into Vince’s tight embrace for a deep, almost desperate kiss. Penny’s knees weakened and Vince squeezed her bottom. He released her and they both walked away, picking up their conversation seamlessly. “Damn it. We
were so close. Now, he’s never going to let it go. He’s going to want to become full share partner again.”
“Dillon’s going to ruin everything we’ve built,” Vince said, raking his hand through his hair. “There has to be something we can offer him that will appease his sense of justice. You and I both know he doesn’t care two shits about Buchanan Enterprises. We need to find out what his end game is and beat him to it.”
“Guys...what’s going on?” Penny asked, hearing too late the tremor in her voice and noticing the shake in her fingers. Her new little world was going topsy-turvy just when she was getting accustomed to the rhythm. She tucked her hands behind her back and followed the men into the kitchen where Vince was pouring glasses of red wine. “I’m a little freaked out right now. Is your brother a bad man?”
Nolan cast Vince a short look before accepting his glass. “He’s not bad as in, he’s a criminal or anything like that...”
“That’s a matter of opinion,” Vince muttered before lifting his wine glass to inhale the sharp aroma of the vintage. “He’s a cold, selfish son-of-a-bitch who’s only ever cared about himself. He’s been a blight on this family since the day he turned eighteen and came into the majority of his inheritance. He’s been off doing whatever he does while we’ve been building Buchanan Enterprises to the level it is now.”
“So why is he coming around?”
“Because our Granddad recently cut him out of the will,” Nolan admitted, shooting Vince a dark look. “I knew he was going to find out. We should’ve went about this a different way.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered. Dillon only ever wants what he can’t have.”
Penny sipped her wine to calm her nerves. She’d never seen Vince or Nolan so agitated, not even when brokering multi-billion dollar deals for the corporation. In fact, they seemed to thrive on difficult situations in business, so it was disconcerting to see them act this way when their older brother showed up on the scene. “Maybe he’s changed?” she ventured but she was shot down with a derisive look.
“Dillon doesn’t change. Trust me on this.” Nolan dumped his wine down the sink and headed for the bar. “I need something stronger than cabernet tonight. Do we still have that Irish whiskey?”
Vince nodded and watched as Nolan stalked to the bar and started rummaging past bottles until he found the one he was searching for. Vince exhaled and brought his glass to his lips, noting Penny’s apprehension and confusion. He tried a small smile for her benefit with, “It’s going to be fine” but the words seemed disingenuous given their reactions. Penny knew there was something they weren’t telling her. Vince paused and pulled Penny to him. His mouth traveled a warm line down the column of her neck and she shivered in spite of the turmoil in her mind. She relaxed a little as his touch did nice things to her insides. “How are you feeling today?” he murmured against her skin, distracting her easily. “Nolan said you were a little sore from our session the other night.”
She blushed and nodded. Drat that Nolan for knowing when she was lying. “But I don’t mind,” she added quickly. Her breath hitched as she admitted softly, “I like the soreness. It reminds me of what we did together.”
He chuckled and pulled her tighter against him. “That’s my naughty girl.” He slanted his mouth over hers and she tasted the wine on his tongue. Her knees wobbled but he held her firmly as he plundered her mouth in the same way he penetrated her body with unrelenting determination and she loved it. But all too soon, he was releasing her and joining Nolan. It seemed her presence wasn’t required tonight. Sharply disappointed but understanding of the situation, she excused herself, claiming a headache.
They both showered her with appropriate good night kisses and then patting her behind, sent her off to bed.
It chaffed a little that she’d been effectively dismissed but that was the terms of their arrangement. Nothing had ever been said about the arrangement being emotional in nature. She stripped and slid into bed, forgoing her nightie to slide between the silky smooth sheets, sighing as the material whispered across her skin in a decadent kiss. She’d never slept on linens so fine in her life. Before Vince and Nolan, her idea of splurging had been to purchase new at Target instead of thrift store linens. Now, she’d become delightfully accustomed to the finer things, even if none of the fine things belonged to her. As she plumped the pillow beneath her head, she wondered if she would sleep alone tonight. As her eyelids fluttered shut, an image of Dillon popped uninvited into her mental theater. A troubled sigh escaped as she purposefully pushed all thought of the other Buchanan far from her thoughts. Dillon was trouble — and trouble was the last thing she needed. She was living the dream...wasn’t she? Yes, of course she was. Silly question. So why did she have the persistent nagging worry that she was about to lose it all?
***
Penny awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking and she smiled sleepily, not quite awake. She stretched and yawned as she came fully aware, then she frowned and sat up with a start so quick her head swam. Nolan and Vince hadn’t stayed over. She’d been disappointed to find her bed empty aside from herself so who was in her kitchen? Had one returned to make her breakfast? Perhaps. Don’t be such a worry-wart, she chastised herself as she slipped on a robe over her nude body and padded into the kitchen. Her smile faded when she saw Dillon standing there sliding scrambled eggs and bacon onto two plates.
“W-what are you doing in my apartment?” Penny demanded to know, hating that her voice shook and her stomach growled at the delicious smell of freshly cooked food. Damn her love of good food.
“Technically, the apartment belongs to my family, which means it also belongs to me — a small fact my little brothers are fond of forgetting — so the question should be, what are you doing in my apartment? Before you answer that, come, sit and enjoy breakfast. I suspect we have a lot to talk about.”
Penny thought to turn on her heel and storm out of there — well, at least storm to the bedroom to get dressed — but she had an awful lot of questions and Dillon, more so than Vince and Nolan, seemed willing to answer them. What harm could there be? He didn’t seem all that dangerous today, but then it’s hard to look menacing when you’re holding a plate of food with an engaging smile on your face. Penny tugged at her bottom lip, not quite sure what to do. “Just talk and eat breakfast?” she confirmed with a suspicious look shot his way.
“Scout’s honor.”
“Something tells me you were never a scout,” she muttered but took a seat and accepted the plate. She made sure her robe was securely tied around her, then took an exploratory bite of the eggs. Of course, they were fantastic, she wanted to groan. She’d half hoped they were disgusting so she could excuse herself with good reason. No such luck. “Where’d you learn how to cook like this?” she asked.
“Here, there...” he answered, tucking into his own plate without hesitation. “When you’ve been kicked off the family teat, you learn how to fend for yourself pretty quick and since I enjoy a good meal, my only choice was to learn how to make things myself.”
Kicked off the family teat? “What do you mean? Were you disowned or something?”
He cast her a wry glance. “Something like that.”
She shouldn’t ask. It wasn’t her business. What would Nolan and Vince think if they knew she was prying into their private family affairs? But the temptation was too strong. At her worst, she was a terribly nosey thing. Perhaps she should’ve went into journalism instead of accounting, then she would’ve had a valid reason for prying into people’s lives. But before she could ask another question, Dillon had one of his own. “Are you sleeping with Vince or Nolan?” When Penny blushed and looked away, he chuckled and surmised with a surprised grin, “Both? Damn, my brothers have upped their game in the time since I’ve been home.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, frowning.
“It means exactly what you think it means,” Dillon said, his mouth twisting. “Let me guess, you’re in a contract for your services...”
“Of course they are,” he said, not surprised. “You’re their pet. Masters are always good to a pet they’ve just purchased. It’s all about the novelty. Eventually, they’ll tire of their newest acquisition, probably right about the time your contract is up.”
Suddenly, her eggs tasted sour in her mouth. Penny dropped her fork and moved to leave but Dillon stopped her with an apology that sounded really close to sincere. “Listen, let’s start over, okay? We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot. I’m Dillon Buchanan and you are...?”
Penny regarded him with open uncertainty. Don’t trust him, her instincts screamed but there was something about him that drew her, something she ought to ignore but she didn’t want to. “Penny McDaniels,” she answered softly. “Why did you say that about your brothers? Is it true? Have they done this before with someone else?”
At that Dillon’s gaze shuttered but his mouth widened in a bright smile. “No more talk of serious stuff over breakfast. What does your day look like?”
“I-I have the day off but I don’t think Vince or Nolan would appreciate me spending time with you given your difficult relationship.”
Crazy About Curves: 10 Luscious Reads Page 57
