Ruthless(14)

“Gonna tell me how you ended up here?” I rumbled, stretching my arms across the back of the divan.

“Gonna tell me how you ended up here? Other than the fact that you’ve been sleeping with my sister?” she spat in return, not meeting my eyes.

Okay, I had a fireball on my hands. But I kinda liked it. At least she was upfront and sassy, not some scheming devious bitch out to get my money.

“I didn’t know she was your sister,” I rumbled in return. “Maybe you should have told me,” I said nonchalantly.

That got the cat. Tina spun on her heels, those glorious brown curls flying out in disarray, eyes flashing. For a brief second, her eyes widened at my hulking male form nude on the couch before her, but she recovered admirably.

“For your information, I did try to find you after that night but you seemed to have disappeared,” she bit out, two spots of color high on her cheeks. I didn’t blame her. I was purposefully taunting her, and her sheer sassiness was making my blood pump a little faster, my body hardening at the sight of my little wildcat with her claws out.

“Oh yeah? What did you do to find me?” I asked casually, almost bored.

She paused for a moment. “I scanned Craigslist missed connections,” she said. “I figured you might look for me there.”

“We were just two guests at a random party,” I said, shrugging. “If Craigslist is the best you can do, then you definitely don’t have a career as a private eye before you.”

“I’m not a private eye, I’m a law student,” she snapped. “And why was I supposed to look for you? Like you said, we were just two guests at a party. Maybe I wanted an anonymous fling … you know, what everyone does these days.”

That got the goat. Our one night was more than an anonymous fuck, I’d spent weeks looking for her afterwards. Maybe I hadn’t pulled out all the stops but I should have, given my miserable situation now.#p#分页标题#e#

“Listen honey, things aren’t what they seem,” I growled. “I’m a public figure. Don’t you read the news? Maybe you’ve heard of Sterling Pharmaceuticals, we’ve been written up a lot lately.”

That got to her and I could see a flush descending over her breasts, those curves taking on the faintest tinge of pink. Hmm, insults to her intelligence really bothered her.

“For your information, I study day and night,” she said haughtily, “so excuse me if I’m not following up on every billionaire bad boy entrepreneur out there. I’ve got exams up the wazoo and a career I’m trying to get off the ground,” she bit off, her eyes tearing up a bit. “So lay off okay?”

I immediately felt bad. Okay, so she wasn’t out stalking every rich man in the Valley and I didn’t blame her for working hard. I’d worked hard to bring my company to viability, and I understood that careers have critical times – miss ‘em and you might be forever behind. I softened and took a more conciliatory tone.

“Well, what’s next then?” I queried, one eyebrow raised. “I’m engaged to your sister, and it looks like my brother Matt has the hots for you,” I rumbled, the thought of Matt on my little girl making my blood boil. Literally I could feel my blood pressure rising at the thought of her in his bed. Fuck, somehow this girl had gotten to me.

“You tell me,” she retorted. “I can’t do anything about your engagement and hey, if another Sterling brother is interested, maybe I should do some research into his net worth as you’ve made so abundantly clear,” she said, slipping into her shoes.

I was momentarily distracted by those long, shapely calves, shown off to their best advantage in black patent heels. Mmm, I’ve always loved sexy lingerie paired with stilettos, bring it on any day. But she turned her back to me and flounced towards the door.

“Jake honey,” she said, throwing one last glance my way, “you’d better get dressed,” Tina smirked, unlocking the door and letting herself out.

With a growl, I covered my nakedness just as female voices congregated outside.





CHAPTER NINE


Tina




I’d gotten home that night, exhausted from the convoluted turn of events. I was obsessed … with my sister’s fiancé. We were all going to be step-siblings. And Jake’s charmer of a brother, Matt, had been flirting with me all night.

Fortunately, there wasn’t really anything there. Matt is a good-looking guy, but not quite my type. But boy, does that man have some down-home country charm that sizzles.

“Sister, your plaid dress is just my thing,” he complimented. “I’m a farm boy, you know, from rural Wyoming. Perfect if you want to take a trip out there.”