Double Dealing(38)

The man in the cowboy hat looked at me with surprise, then nodded. "Okay, gitano. You want a job, my boss will be in contact. Where should he contact you?"

"He has a private e-mail he can contact me on already. If he forgot it, then I guess he isn't worth working with anyway. See you, amigo."

I left the library and headed back toward the hotel. I pondered my plans as I went. Was I really thinking about doing this? I knew what my mother wanted, and yes, it was unfair that due to a total of thirty-two minutes spread over two generations, I was forever denied my birthright. But was that really worth the action I was thinking of? And what about Jordan?

I got back to the hotel and stopped outside the door, hearing the sounds of Felix and Jordan making love. It was different than when she and I had sex in the forest, different even from the way we'd had the amazingly kinky and erotic sex the night before. I could hear it in Felix's moans, and the whispered sighs as he pleasured her. He was truly focused on Jordan and her happiness at that moment.

And in that moment, as Jordan cried out her orgasm softly, I knew another thing.

I hated my brother.





Chapter 15





Jordan - Book 2




I could barely contain my excitement as I heard the ding over the plane's intercom system. "Mesdames et messieurs , nous faisons notre approche finale de l'aéroport Charles De Gaulle. Merci pour voler avec AirFrance aujourd'hui, et nous espérons que votre profiter de votre journée. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now making our final approach to Charles De Gaulle airport. For all of the crew, I'd like to thank you for flying Air France today, and wish you a good journey."

I looked to my right, where the green French countryside rolled by, the English Channel barely visible in the distance. After hours of seeing nothing but black sea and clouds beneath me, I was grateful for any change. "I thought I'd see more of the city,” I said, "but it’s still beautiful. When will we be able to see Paris?"

"Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time to explore the city," the man to my left said. I turned to look at Felix Hardy, who’d gracefully switched seats with me. While flying Business Class certainly was better than flying in economy, my original seat didn't have a good view out of the window. The miniature cocoon did allow me to sleep on the flight, however, which was enjoyable. "The plane approaches from the wrong side for you to see from your seat. Just think of it as a chance to be surprised. Where would you like to go first? The Champ Elysees, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, or maybe a river cruise along the Seine?"

"Perhaps our lady would like to see the Louvre?" said the man in front of me. Sticking his head over the top, Francois Hardy smiled down at me. "I know I would."

I rolled my eyes. "You just want to show off," I said with a small smile. In the past month, I'd come to find myself smiling more and more. It was easy with the two brothers, who had, at first, kidnapped me before I ended up volunteering to go with them. I was infatuated with them, and I loved it. It was a new and exciting experience.

Even the fact that it was both brothers who'd stolen my heart wasn't all that hard for me to accept. It was like they each filled a specific niche in my heart, and I filled a certain place in theirs. With Felix, I was the comforter, the one who allowed him to let down his guard a bit and show me the sensitive side underneath the cool, seemingly arrogant exterior. Meanwhile, with Francois, I felt like I was in a whirlwind of romance, buffeted around and loving every minute of it. If I had to draw comparisons to my main love of music, Felix was like playing Leonard Cohen while Francois was like playing Jim Steinman. Cohen isn't everyone's cup of tea, but there’s depth and meaning there that touches your soul. And it's not a proper Steinman song unless things get 'turned up to eleven' at least once, but there’s no lack of depth either. You can't say one is better than the other, it comes down to personal preference. The analogy fits the brothers perfectly. Thankfully, I happen to like both Cohen and Steinman.

Francois gave me a knowing smile and turned around. With the two brothers being some of the best thieves in the world, he earned the right to occasionally brag just a little bit. According to some of the seemingly tall tales that I'd gotten, walking into the Louvre would be more like walking into the world's greatest depository of replicas and knock-offs, the Hardy family holding a good portion of the originals.

Felix leaned over from his seat. “But seriously, after a night or two in Paris, I thought you might like to visit our family seat in the Rhone valley," he said with a smile. "And maybe enjoy some of the best wine in the world.”