“I bet you were lovely,” he whispered into her ear.
“I knew how to put on makeup and do my hair and thought that was good enough.”
“Selena, you’re beautiful! Inside, you’re a gorgeous person. On the outside, you’re healthy and vibrant, but inside, you’re sweet, caring, and kind.”
She smiled, lifting his hand to kiss it. “Thank you for that. But I was insecure and painfully shy.”
“I can see that. You’re still shy.”
She laughed and the sound felt like a sultry caress.
“I thought I hid it well.”
He chuckled. “I can see through the bravado.”
“Yes, well, this guy played on my shy nature. He manipulated me. I was…” she choked on her next words but Reid waited patiently, ready to listen but bracing himself for whatever she might tell him. “I was his fraternity challenge. He needed to have sex with a big girl in order to meet his initiation goals.”
Reid muttered several curses under his breath. When she wiggled slightly, he realized that his arms had tightened around her. He relaxed his grip, but kept her close. “What was his name?” he asked, a threat to his voice.
“Jeremy Kingsley. He was tall and handsome, but prematurely laughing at his conquest of me. I came to the frat party that night, looking for him and all dressed up. I’d curled my hair, my makeup looked perfect and I was wearing my prettiest dress.”
He closed his eyes, picturing her in his head. “I’m sure you looked hot!”
She sighed. “I thought so. I’d just grabbed a beer when I heard him talking. He was bragging about winning the frat house contest and having sex with me before any of the other pledges. He’d bragged about how he’d flirted with me in the library and how little effort it had taken him to convince me to come that night.”
“Please tell me you kicked his ass.”
He felt the drop of wetness fall on his hands and hugged her closer.
“I walked out. I walked back to my dorm room and…didn’t eat for three days.”
“Selena,” he groaned, closing his eyes as her pain washed over him.
“For a long time, I survived on water and about two hundred calories a day. On the days I ate more, I’d beat myself up and the next day, I wouldn’t eat anything. Eating was the enemy. Food was bad. My mind twisted everything around. I lost about fifty pounds in two months. Everyone in my dorm told me how much better I looked, which only reinforced the warped thoughts in my mind. It got worse and worse until…”
“What happened?” he prompted.
“I fainted in class. The paramedics were called. Even after they revived me, I couldn’t figure out where I was, couldn’t give them my name. I hadn’t eaten in more than thirty-six hours, so my body wasn’t functioning properly. And I’d lost so much body fat, my body had no reserves.”
“That’s when you realized you had a problem?”
She laughed harshly. “Nope. My parents were called to the hospital. I stayed there for three days while they assessed the damage to my heart and other organs. Thankfully, because my starving was recent, I hadn’t done any permanent damage, but I still needed months of therapy. I dropped out of school that semester in order to heal. I fought it for a long time, furious that my parents didn’t understand. Finally, the therapist my parents forced me to see showed me pictures of my body taken at the hospital and I saw how thin I’d gotten. It was bad,” she whispered. My ribs and hip bones protruded. I was literally skin and bones. Normal body fat percentages are about twenty-five percent for women. I was down to about ten percent which is about as low as a person can go before real damage to the organs starts to happen.”
“How long did it take you to recover?”
Selena sighed. “It’s ongoing. It is a bit like being an alcoholic. They can’t cure the disease. Just as I will always have to be mindful of eating and the messages I tell myself. It’s ongoing. Some days I’m strong and other days, I struggle. I know my triggers and I avoid them.” She glanced behind her, giving him a small smile. “Bacon is the biggest trigger for me, but I have others.”
“We’ll never have bacon in the house. Promise.”
She smiled, grateful for the immediate support. “I’m pretty good most of the time.”
“We all struggle with something in our lives,” he told her.
She turned and looked up at him. “What do you struggle with?” she asked, not believing him for a moment.
“I have the most annoying siblings you will ever meet!” he teased. When she laughed, he turned serious. “I have a bad temper. I’ll never hurt you, but it is easily sparked by triggers. I’m not as conscious of them, so my temper flares unexpectedly.” He pulled her higher. “So how about if we make a deal? I’ll help you with your eating and you help me with my temper.”
She laughed, knowing that it wasn’t the same, but she felt a tenderness inside of her for the offer. “Deal,” she told him.
He leaned forward to kiss her and Selena lifted her face, meeting him halfway.
“I love you, Selena. And I promise, I will never treat you with anything other than respect. Even when I’m furious with you.”
Another laugh and the last of that tension eased from her shoulders. “I love you too, Reid. I really do! And I promise to fight my inner demons harder.”
He nuzzled her neck. “How about if I become an outside demon for you?” and he nibbled on her earlobe, causing her to yelp and laugh at the same time.
Chapter 18
“Are you ever going to explain why we are here?” Brant asked, following his oldest brother into the bar. They’d flown down to Austin, Texas with only one day’s warning. Reid had called him and Mack and said he needed help. They’d both dropped whatever they were doing and got on the flight with their oldest brother.
“I told you, I need to find someone.”
Mack chuckled and slapped Brant on his shoulder. “I think I understand,” he said, looking around at the patrons at the bar. “You’re here for backup,” Mack explained to Brant.
Brant shrugged. “I always have his back. And yours. But…”
“And I’m here to make sure he doesn’t break the law.” At Brant’s confusion, Mack shrugged. “Or if he does break the law, I’m here to get him out of jail.”
Brant looked from Mack to Reid, sure that his oldest brother would deny the statement. But when Reid just continued searching, Brant nodded his head. “Got it.” If Reid was ready to do physical harm to someone, this was serious and he turned serious. Not that he was ever not serious, although, he would argue that he relaxed sometimes. Even if one annoyingly bouncy Italian woman seemed to think he never relaxed. He relaxed. Just not when one of his brothers needed backup. Or when he was working. The woman didn’t understand that business was a serious time. Besides, he enjoyed his work. Brant found the challenge of figuring out numbers to be invigorating. And he was damn good at it, so she could just stop telling him to relax! Damn it! She was fifteen hundred miles away and Gianna was still driving him nuts!
“You Jeremey Kingsley?” Reid yelled.
“Here we go,” Mack muttered under his breath.
“Yep,” Brant agreed, then turned, ready for whatever might happen. He shifted into a fighting stance, quickly assessing the others nearest to the man who turned around, belligerently nodding his head in confirmation that he was the man Reid was looking for.
“Yeah. Who wants to know?”
Reid glared at the shorter man with sandy brown hair and perfectly ironed khaki slacks. Brant glanced at the man’s slacks, thinking that at least he didn’t iron clothes he was going to wear to a bar.
“You’re not going home with this asshole, are you?” Reid asked of the lady. “Trust me, he’s definitely not worth your time. He’ll use and disrespect you.”
The woman didn’t seem to be overly impressed with Kingsley, so she shrugged and turned to the man on her other side. The second man glanced behind the pretty blond, realized what was about to happen an
d whispered in the woman’s ear. Immediately, the man put a hand to the small of her back and they moved out of the way.
Kingsley noticed the whole scene and his temper flared. “What the hell! Who do you think you are?”
Reid was ready. He appeared relaxed. But that was all an illusion.
“I’m a friend of someone who endured your pathetic pickup lines. Women don’t deserve to be disrespected, Jeremy,” Reid announced loudly enough that people started turning to watch the scene. “Women are lovely and strong, too strong for pathetic weakling like you.”
The man scoffed and leaned back against the bar. “Right. Women are…”
“Watch it,” a woman to his left warned.
Jeremy glanced at the woman disdainfully. “Right. Like I’d hit on someone like you anyway.”
The woman’s boyfriend stood up. The bearded goliath towered over Jeremy by at least a foot. “What did you just say?” the man growled, meaty hands curling into fists. The guy was about six feet, seven inches and had about a hundred pounds on Jeremy.
“Ah hell!” Mack muttered.
Jeremy was too drunk to realize he should just back down. The moron scoffed and shook his head. “Relax, Quasimodo. Your bitch can take the truth.”
And that was the end of Jeremy Kingsley. The big guy growled and lashed out. The idiot man went down on the first punch, his head bouncing against the side of the bar and then to the brick floor.
A round of applause erupted a split second later and even the bartender clapped as he reached for the phone to call the paramedics.
Reid looked around, furious that he hadn’t gotten to hit the guy himself. “Damn it! That didn’t go the way I wanted it to go.”
Mack patted his brother’s back, shaking his head as he laughed. “Relax, brother mine. As I’ve had to explain to my town repeatedly over the years, there are better ways to get back at someone than violence.” He pulled his badge out of his wallet and hung it on his belt as he lifted his cell phone to contact the local authorities. In a swift conversation, he explained what had happened while searching the guy’s pockets for identification.
Mack glanced up at Reid, then over to the big guy who was sitting back down at the bar. A silent message was sent and received. Reid walked over to the big guy and patted him on the back. “Hey, my brother’s a sheriff and is taking charge of the scene until the locals swoop in. But you know, there’s a bit of confusion right now, so…”
“I’m outta here,” the big guy agreed, patting Reid on his shoulder before taking out his wallet to pay for the drinks.
“On me,” Reid said.
The other guy stared for a moment, then grinned. “You’re welcome.” A moment later, the guy and his companion were out the door, but stopped to wave to the bartender before disappearing into the night.
Mack read the information off of the passed-out guy’s wallet. “Jeremy Kingsely, who works at Mitrotech, according to this business card.”
Brant typed something into his cell phone. In the distance, sirens sounded, indicating that either the paramedics or the police were about to arrive on the scene.
Over the next thirty minutes, Mack took control and explained what he’d seen to the police while the paramedics lifted Jeremy Kingsley up onto a gurney and rolled him out of the bar. Even after speaking to some of the other patrons, the local authorities couldn’t get any additional information. Apparently, none of the other bar patrons had seen much on the scene and the case was closed after the police ascertained that an unknown person punched out the victim.
“Let’s go,” Mack announced, herding both of his brothers out of the bar.
An hour later, the three brothers were on Rembrandt Cosmetics private jet, heading back to Denver.
“Care to explain what this little fieldtrip was about?” Brant asked when the jet was cruising through the air.
“Kingsley hurt Selena back in college.”
The other brothers took that at face value.
“Okay, so how about if we do things my way?” Mack suggested, a slow, evil grin forming on his handsome features. “It’s so much more satisfying.”
Reid and Brant both laughed. “You’re a scary man,” Reid said, but he leaned forward, ready to listen.
Epilogue
“I do!” Selena whispered forcefully, fighting the tears because she didn’t want to mess up her makeup.
The minister turned to Reid. “I do,” he said almost before the minister finished the vows.
The small group chuckled.
“By the power vested in me by the state of Colorado, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister announced.
Applause erupted as Reid pulled Selena in for a kiss that seemed to go on and on.
When he finally lifted his head, Selena leaned into him, needing his strength for a moment in order to recover. “How long until we can be alone?” she whispered.
Reid laughed as he led her back down the aisle. “Not soon enough!”
His baby sister was there and Reid paused to glare at her husband. Not because he disliked Prince Jaffri. He actually liked the guy a lot. But…well, hell, it was just habit now! Jaffri simply laughed and pulled Giselle closer, kissing her neck.
Reid ignored him and accepted his sister’s congratulatory hug. Mack and Brant were next and he waited semi-patiently as everyone felt the need to hug his wife. Selena gloried in the attention and he thought she was the most beautiful bride he’d ever seen.
“Patience, big brother,” Giselle laughingly warned him. “I’ve created a wonderful celebration for you!”
Reid refrained from groaning, but just barely. “You didn’t have to,” he told her.
She only grinned. “I know, but you deserve it. I really like Selena by the way.”
He turned and found Selena talking with Gianna. And Brant was glaring. Interesting.
“I like her too,” Reid replied. Turning to look down at his sister, he asked, “Are you happy? Is he treating you well?”
Giselle turned to find her husband, locating him over at the bar where he was sipping a glass with golden liquid in it. He must have sensed her look because his glass froze midway to his lips and he looked in her direction.
“Incredibly happy,” she sighed.
Reid rolled his eyes when Jaffri winked at his wife.
“Stop it,” she laughed. “I know that you like him. And he likes you too. So just behave.” Turning, she looked over at Selena who was surrounded again. “So…tell me what’s going on with Brant and that pretty woman he keeps glaring at over there.”
Reid turned and, sure enough, Brant and Mack were talking with Jaffri at the bar, but Brant was barely paying attention. All of his focus was on Gianna.
“I wish I knew,” he finally replied.
That’s when Selena looked up and all of his attention focused on her. He lifted his hand and she took it so that he could pull her away from the crowd and back into his arms. “Have I mentioned that I love you?”
She smiled up at him, leaning against his chest. “A few times today. But I never tire of hearing the words.”
“I love you,” he said again. “And you look incredible today.”
She leaned up on her toes, kissing him lightly. “I love you too, Reid!”
“Your firsts wedding present,” he handed her an envelope. “Jeremy Kingsley was recently released from his job. Layoffs,” he explained, shaking his head in mock sadness.
Selena blinked, not understanding. But she opened the envelope. There was a picture of Jeremy Kingsley carrying a box out of a building, escorted by a security guard. He looked furious and his face was red with embarrassment as his co-workers gawked on the sidelines.
Selena looked up, shocked at the image. Smiling, she moved closer to Reid. “You didn’t have to do that,” she told him. But deep down, she loved him even more. “You’re amazing,” she whispered.
“I love you too.”
Excerpt to “The Billionaire’s Mysterious Temptress”
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Coming January 2019
Author’s Note: I received several e-mails from readers after the cover reveal on this series. Many of you hated the original titles. So at the printing of Reid’s story, I was still in flux on the titles to each of the brothers’ stories. I apologize for the slow change over in this – but wanted you ladies to have input into the names.
Anyway – here is the excerpt. Enjoy!
The soft ping of the elevator’s arrival was her only warning.
Even the sounds of footsteps were muted by the thick carpeting on the executive hallway but…she knew. Gianna knew exactly who had just stepped off of that elevator. Not because she could feel him, hear him or even because the scent of his spicy aftershave preceded his presence.
Nope. The only reason she knew who was coming down the hallway was because it was seven fourteen in the morning. At ten minutes past seven every morning, Brant Jones drove his sleek Mercedes into the parking lot. At eleven minutes past seven, he stepped through the doors of the corporate headquarters for Rembrandt Cosmetics. The elevator ride up to the executive floor absorbed the next three minutes.
Gianna knew that she could set her watch to his arrival. Every morning, no deviation from the routine.
Twisting the rubber band around with her fingers, she idly wondered what he would do if she snapped the band across the hallway and…!
NO! No, no, no, no, no! With horror, she stared at the rubber band that was now laying innocently on the thick carpet. Right next to a very expensive pair of loafers.
Darn it!
“Bored again, Gianna?”
That deep, gravelly voice did crazy things inside of her. A part of her wanted to figure out how to make the man smile. Another part of her just wanted to piss him off. Unfortunately, those opposing impulses seemed to wage a constant battle inside of her head. And equally unfortunate was the lack of a filter inside her head, which meant that she tended to act on those unwise impulses.
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