"Strip for me, Penny."
Penny squeezed her eyes shut at the recollection of Dillon's bold instruction but she could still see the burn in his gaze that heated her insides with one smoldering glance. Her thighs trembled in memory, her core melted and ran with sweet liquid, and she knew that if Dillon were to show up this very second, she'd shamefully allow him to fuck her again and again. God, when did she become so weak? She'd never known what she'd been missing back in the days when she'd been the forgotten, chubby accountant at Buchanan Enterprises because she could count the number of dates she'd been asked out on with her hand. Her papa had warned her to guard her treasure - well, she'd guarded it so well, men had stopped looking. Until the Buchanan brothers that is.
She sighed. Dillon wasn't coming back to her. Was it possible to go back to the way it was with the twins? They'd forgiven her but would there always be this terrible thing between them? Squatting like a fat, ugly toad making its presence known with a guttural croak each time they tried to forget and move on? Could they truly forgive her for allowing their hated older brother not only get inside her body, but her head?
And heart.
Penny groaned and pushed herself away from the table and those gorgeous roses that she didn't deserve. She didn't know what to think any more and she didn't want to feel either. She wanted to drift into a black sea of nothingness and remain there until Dillon Buchanan was a distant memory.
If only that were possible.
"Dillon? Did you hear what I just said?"
Dillon's attention snapped to the lawyer he'd hired to set his affairs back to rights after his brothers had tried to wipe him from his granddad's will and forced himself to get back to the business at hand. He'd been thinking of Penny again and how he wished he'd handled things a little differently, possibly less hurtful to her. The point had been to screw with his brothers, not necessarily hurt Penny. Once he'd fucked her, he'd accomplished his objective but he hadn't really considered the collateral damage.
He kept seeing her stricken expression replaying over and over in his mind. He'd give anything to blot out the image so he could get some damn sleep again.
"Yeah, sounds good," Dillon said with a mild nod, more interested in catching a glimpse of Penny than he was of the dry legalese his lawyer was spitting out. "Thanks."
The lawyer, a spindly man with a balding pate and a dour expression that rarely changed, looked with distaste at Dillon's obvious disinterest in whatever he had to say in spite of his diligent work and collected his paperwork. "The original will and trust will be reinstated as soon as the paperwork clears the state offices. Congratulations, Mr. Buchanan. You are once again a wealthy man." He closed his briefcase with a resounding click and followed with a brief smile.
Dillon cut him a short glance. "I was already a wealthy man. This was not about money; it was the principle."
"Of course." He sniffed. "My office will send the closing bill. Good day, Mr. Buchanan. Pleasure doing business with you."
Dillon watched him leave and returned his attention out the wide glass window, wondering where Penny was and what she was doing. He already knew she hadn't been at the office - those twin brothers of his probably had her holed up in the apartment while they fretted and fumed about the situation - and it occurred to him that he might pay her a visit if he wasn't sure she wouldn't lob a candlestick or some other heavy object straight at his head.
God, he'd sure as hell deserved far worse.
He stared for a long moment without seeing any of the glorious view of the city below and he wondered how things might've been different if he hadn't set the wheels of today's situation in motion all those years ago. He was a different man than the hot-headed young man he'd been but it seemed not by much if one were to judge by his current snit.
He was angry with the twins - no, angry was too gentle of a word, he'd been furious - but it wasn't only that they'd tried to underhandedly wrench the last tie he had to the Buchanan legacy, it was that they hadn't even considered picking up the damn phone and talking to him first. They'd taken the pussy way out and tried to muscle a senile old man into doing their dirty work for them. For that alone, they deserved a swift kick in the ass but their comeuppance was long overdue for what they'd done to Isabel.
Vince and Nolan deserved to have their names sullied, their financial future wiped out, and their status downgraded but if they deserved such punishment, he did, too.
Every single day he served penance for what he'd done to Isabel. How were the twins paying their due?
Dillon swiveled away from the window and dropped the file the lawyer had left behind in the drawer beside him and for the first time felt uncertain as to what his next move should be.
The next phase of his plan was ready. He had the power to destroy his brothers but whereas before he'd been single-mindedly focused on his goal, now he found himself hesitating. It was all Penny's fault. Before she came along, he would've had no trouble following through with his agenda.
Before Penny, nothing could've shaken his focus.
A long exhale escaped his chest as he gave into the memory of losing himself in her plump, soft body. Penny embodied feminine grace with her rounded curves and billowing breasts, though she didn't have an ounce of self-awareness, which only sweetened that vulnerable part about her that he seemed to have caught a vicious craving for. He could very well lose his mind replaying every touch of her fingertips or slide of her mouth; every sigh and moan that slipped from her parted lips as he pleasured her until she cried and quaked beneath him. He'd never been so consumed by one person and the feeling alternately frightened the shit out of him and drove him to do something reckless - such as try and see her.
Step away from the crazy juice, he warned himself. Seeing Penny was the worst thing he could do and he was clearly off his game for even allowing the thought to cross his mental threshold.
The world was filled with pretty, curvy women - hell, he could spend some time in Brazil and find a handful of women to bury himself in who were nothing but tits and ass - he didn't need to obsess on the one woman whom was the worst fit for him.
He scoffed at the idea of inserting Penny into his world. What a nightmare that would be. He wasn't the kind of man who believed in commitment and Penny, in spite of her cockamamie agreement with his brothers, wanted a man to love her and only her. Plus, he traveled in debauched circles that would likely curl her sweet hair into knots. The parties, the orgies … he couldn't even imagine exposing Penny to such a filthy lifestyle. She deserved better. That was the bottom line and it didn't matter how he danced around it or tried to turn it into something that it wasn't … the fact remain clear: Penny deserved more than being relegated to someone's fuck buddy.
She deserved far more than any of the Buchanan brothers could provide.
At least he knew that.
If only he could convince his brothers to turn her loose.
And if by some miracle they agreed … would she want to leave?
Penny tried not to fidget but her nerves had gotten the best of her. The twins had requested her presence at the main house - the last time she'd been there, her life had been irrevocably changed. Some might argue, not for the best - and the butterflies in her stomach were presently doing aerials and loop-de-loos, which made being still difficult.
Vince and Nolan appeared looking devastatingly handsome as always in their casual yet finely-tailored clothing and Penny was struck by how alike all three brothers were in looks yet vastly different in temperament. She had no idea what to expect but as both welcomed her with warm, adoring smiles, she swallowed and allowed a tremulous smile in return. "You wanted to see me?" she asked, twisting her fingers behind her back until Nolan gently pulled her toward them.
"Penny, the last few days have been a nightmare for everyone. We thought in order to start fresh we need to wipe the slate clean and how better to do that than where it all began?" Vince grinned and his gaze flicked to the ornate carpet of the library and her cheeks colored at the memory of what had happened there. Nolan drew her clasped hands to his lips and pressed a sweet kiss on the tops, smiling sensually. "One of our most treasured memories is when we accepted the gift of your body - and your virginity - to us right here in this room. Although some might try to convince you otherwise, what happened between us wasn't some tawdry exchange; it was beautiful. Our brother, Dillon, has made you believe that we're monsters who only use people for their own purpose but Penny, ask yourself this … have we ever made you feel less than anything but a treasure? We have gladly lavished you with the finest things and if there's anything you want, you have but to ask and we'd happily procure it for you. All we ask in return is your loyalty."