"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 heartrate 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.