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“Who is Isabel?” she asked in a small voice, bringing his thoughts to a screeching halt.
Isabel. He mentally winced, cursing Dillon all over again for bringing up the past that was long gone. He forced a smile. “Someone from the past. Definitely not a part of the future. That’s all that matters.”
Penny nodded and settled again against his chest but he could feel her questions, her banked curiosity as if it were a physical thing sitting beside them. Beautiful Isabel. Vince closed his eyes and pushed away the mental image of Isabel, the blood seeping from her cracked skull, staining her white-blonde hair with red.
#
The brisk breeze lifted the tendrils that’d escaped from her ponytail as Penny dug her toes into the cold sand beneath her feet. Gray clouds scuttled across the horizon, threatening rain but Penny wasn’t ready to go inside just yet. Vince and Nolan had brought her to their Hamptons estate to get away from all the stress of the city — but urgent business had taken them both back on the red-eye after one day spent at their getaway. Of course, she’d offered to return with them, but they’d both insisted that she stay and enjoy the view from their multi-million dollar vacation home while they took care of business.
“Besides, we should have everything taken care of within a few days and we’ll expect you to be fully rested when we return,” Nolan had said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Penny had warmed, knowing full well what Nolan was implying, and it alternately made her squirm at the naughtiness and wet for the anticipation.
So, she’d spent the night sleeping in luxuriant down bedding in an exclusive location — completely alone.
“Well, there are worse places to be lonely, I suppose,” she murmured to herself with a sigh, gazing out at the beautiful, yet moody landscape.
“It’s not really the appropriate season for a stay in the Hamptons,” an amused voice said at her back. Dillon. She turned slowly and met his gaze squarely. His white linen pants rippled with the breeze and he wore a sweater that would’ve looked geeky on anyone else but on him looked positively GQ. “They really don’t have a flair for the romantic, do they? If I were going to whisk a woman away, I certainly wouldn’t take her someplace cold and wet. I’d opt for some place tropical to create the opportunity to wear as little clothing as possible.”
She fought the inappropriate smile that threatened as a sense of recklessness followed. He oozed sex and charm, masculine grace and powerful strength — a heady combination that was definitely hard to resist. And at the moment, she couldn’t quite remember why she was supposed to be resisting at all. This was bad. She ought to tell him to leave. She ought to do or say something that would give him the message she wasn’t interested. But all she could do was watch him advance, her heart rate increasing with every step as he drew nearer. She wet her lips with a subtle dart of her tongue, feeling as if she were standing on the precipice of something monumentally dangerous…or exhilarating.
“How did you know I’d be here and Vince and Nolan would not?”
“Easy. I manufactured the sudden emergency, which sent them running back to home base. I figure we have a few days to ourselves before they come huffing and puffing back to get you. But by that time…it’ll be too late.”
“Too late for what?” she asked.
“I want you, Penny,” he said simply, leaving no room for misinterpretation. “And I think you want me, too.”
“You think very highly of yourself,” she said, allowing a tiny twist of her lips. “What makes you think I want to be with you? I have Vince and Nolan. I’m not sure I could fit another Buchanan into my schedule.”
He chuckled. “What you have right now are the cheap imitations of a Buchanan. Once you taste the real thing, you won’t have any desire for the generic brand.”
It was her turn to laugh. “If this is your ‘A’ game, I’d hate to see your ‘B’ game. Does that line actually work on anyone?”
“I’ll let you know over breakfast.”
“Over breakfast? That’s presumptuous of you.”
He disagreed. “Just confident. I know what I want and I see no point in beating around the bush. I think you and I could be great together. Aren’t you the least bit curious to see if I’m right?”
“No. I don’t sleep with people simply to satisfy a whim or curiosity.”
“So why do you sleep with my brothers? What compelled you to sign away your life for a year?”
She stilled. How did Dillon know the terms of her contract? She regarded him coolly. “I wasn’t aware my business was common knowledge.”
“It’s not. Don’t worry your sordid little secret is safe with me.”
“Really? Because when I’m around you I don’t feel particularly safe,” she replied with complete honesty. Dillon was dangerous to her peace of mind, her sanity, but most importantly, her loyalty. When she was around him…her mind went to places best left untraveled.
“I would never hurt you,” Dillon said. “I cannot say the same for my brothers.”
“That’s what they say about you.” She looked to him, wondering if Dillon would answer her questions truthfully or if he would be evasive like the twins. “Why is there such bad blood between you and your brothers?”=
“Do you really want to know?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I felt otherwise.”
“Some truths are hard to accept; they screw with your perception of a person’s character.”
“I’d prefer honesty to lies.”
He chuckled as if he didn’t believe her, which only served to irritate her. She turned on her heel to trudge back to the house when he stopped her with a firm hand on her arm. “Wait.” She stopped and stared, waiting. His smile faded and he rubbed the pad of his thumb against the fabric of her blouse. Although the cloth buffered his touch, it was as if they were, in fact, skin-to-skin. She hitched a sharp breath but left her arm in his grasp. “I propose a deal,” he said, his voice sliding along her nerve endings like a caress. “For every honest answer I give you, I get a kiss.”
“I can’t agree to that deal,” she said. “My loyalty is not for sale.”
“Everything is for sale at the right price.”
Hadn’t Vince and Nolan expressed the very same sentiment when they’d proposed purchasing her for their pleasure? Her cheeks pinked just slightly as she raised her chin a notch. She would not be a hypocrite. “One kiss,” she countered.
His mouth twisted in a sardonic smile. “One kiss?”
“One,” she affirmed firmly. “And no tongue.”
“No tongue? That’s not a kiss,” he scoffed. “No. If I’m going to share dirty family secrets, my compensation should be equal to the value of the information.”
She considered his statement. She supposed one kiss — even one with tongue — wasn’t too much to ask. “All right,” she agreed warily. “But the information better be solid. I’m risking a lot.”
“Ah yes, the morality clause. Ironic, don’t you think, given the nature of the agreement?”
“Not at all,” she disagreed, trying not to focus on his touch. “I found it a reasonable request.”
“They’ve asked you to be faithful during the term of the agreement and yet…did you wrangle the same agreement from either of them?”
“Of course.”
“Did you get it in writing?”
She faltered. “Well, no. Are you saying that your brothers aren’t good to their word?”
His gaze narrowed and he released her arm. “I am not the right person to ask that question. My opinion might be somewhat biased.”
“Fair enough,” she said.
“Back to the question at hand.”
“Which question was that?” She feigned confusion when she knew exactly where their conversation had left off.
“The kiss.”
“I thought we’d agreed: one real kiss in exchange for answers.”
“Oh little dove,” he said, chuckling. “The negotiations have only just begun. For
