The noise triggered Hailey into jumping back like a startled cat, while James cavalierly turned to the intruder. Spying the security man on the door, he glowered at him, watching with pleasure as the idiot flushed and ducked his head. “Sorry, sir, but the Japanese investors are about to come down. I didn’t think…”
Reckless.
Hailey was right.
Jesus, how could he have forgotten that meeting?
The only reason he’d been test driving the car around the compound today was because Aidan had wanted him out of the way while he handled that meeting.
They were both the public faces of the company, but they had their own tasks and specific duties. Aidan spoke Japanese; James, Russian and Mandarin. They dealt with certain investors alone.
But, reputation and respectability were everything to the people here today and he’d almost wrecked all of Aidan’s hard work with one stupid kiss. The Japanese were already wary around him. Unfortunately, the gutter press had taken a liking to James a while back, and they tended to be there, filming all his exploits for prosperity.
Doing business with a man who regularly skydived, thought nothing of taking part in illegal street races, and was generally the antithesis of a CEO, never put the Japanese at ease. He couldn’t really blame them. He doubted he’d do business with himself, either.
“Thanks, Eric,” James said on a sigh, stunning both the security guard and Hailey by the looks of it with his gratitude. The last thing he needed was a scolding from Aidan, but neither seemed to realize the importance of his saving face, and as Eric stumbled away, he glowered at the woman who was intent on driving him around the bend.
“I know his name,” he told her waspishly. “Why does that come as such a surprise to both of you?”
“How is that possible?” she whispered, pressing a hand to her mouth. He watched as she explored the tender pouting morsels with her fingers.
Good God, she was hot.
But Hailey was also taken. And worse than that, she was his brother’s sister!
Okay, so that sounded far weirder than it had to be, but Aidan was like blood to him.
He had to remember that.
Now his dick just needed the memo. Hell, more than that. His heart did.
Hiding a groan and wishing he could adjust himself, he instead stepped toward her, scowling when she jerked back a step.
“I’m not going to attack you,” he growled.
“No? What was that kiss then if not an assault?” she snapped back.
Her umbrage dissolved his irritation. It probably shouldn’t have but totally did. He laughed. Watched as she tucked a stray strand of her wispy angel-blond hair behind an ear he wished like hell he could suck. She was beautiful.
Maybe not model beautiful, with those freckles on her nose, and the glasses hiding her glass-bottle green eyes. But to him, she was better than any Secrets’ Angel. Her sandy blond hair hung about her shoulders, framing plump rosy-red cheeks. She was wholesome. Looked like she’d just come in off the farm, and he’d have loved, at that moment, to have seen her come in off the farm with a maid’s costume on. All rosy and pink, tits swelling over the hem of her ruffled blouse. Ugh. His cock jerked to attention at that image, an image that could have strayed true to form if it wasn’t for the delicious pant suit she wore instead. The tailored linen conformed to her tiny waist and the curve of her ass. Even better, the silky blouse she wore underneath her jacket clung to her tits, and made him wish like hell he could grab a hold of them. No, it wasn’t a milk maid’s costume, but she still looked insanely fuckable.
Hard pressed to withhold the shudder his nervous system was demanding, he managed to grit out, “Princess, you wanted that kiss as much as I did.”
It was imperative he lay that down before them. Let her know he wasn’t willing to accept any of her bullshit.
Before she could say a word, a fact that pleased him no end, the Japanese appeared.
She flushed harder as the group of twelve smiling businessmen appeared in the front entrance of the building. When they spied the Orion, their speech increased in pace and they excitedly explored the vehicle from the outside. Words flew like bullets as they ummed and aahed over the car, stroking it like he wanted to stroke Hailey.
When Aidan appeared, he cocked a brow at both James and Hailey’s presence.
The smile he shot his sister was warm with tenderness—they had a close relationship, and James knew Aidan hated the fact that when Hailey had moved to Florida for college, she’d stayed there to work on her career after graduation—before he turned to the investors and gave them his full attention.
Aidan joined in the garbled, chaotic conversation but managed to corral the men in sharp suits into leaving. With a polite bow, to which all twelve mirrored, he bid them sayonara. As soon as he did, James and Hailey followed suit, and there were more bows
until they all laughingly parted, the investors watching as their limos swerved in to collect them, a few of them lingering to pat the Orion before they left. Once the cars disappeared down the driveway that led onto the main road, their tight trio headed for the reception area.
The minute the doors were closed behind them, Aidan did as James longed to… he curled his arm about Hailey’s shoulder and tucked her close. When he pressed a kiss to her temple, jealousy unfurled through James, further stunning him.