by BETH KERY
“Fine,” Lin said smoothly. “I was wondering, though, if maybe we should rethink the idea of my being Kam’s guide through all of this?”
Ian sat forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the desk. “What’s wrong? Did something happen the other night? Kam’s been very closemouthed about it all, but then he is about a lot of things,” Ian added wryly.
Palpable relief swept through her. Kam didn’t say anything.
“It’s just . . .” She stared out the windows at the pristine skyline of the city. Having never been substantial from the start, her carefully constructed lie completely evaporated beneath Ian’s incisive stare. “I think you’d be the more ideal person, as his brother, to accompany him for these meetings. Don’t you?”
“Not really, no. Kam needs someone to guide him, not take the spotlight off him. Besides, he’ll be the first to tell me I’m being too heavy handed in dealing with matters that concern him. I can’t tell you how many times he’s told me since I’ve met him that it’s his life, not mine—usually in much blunter terms. Your subtlety, your charm and manners are precisely what’s called for. Next to you, he’ll come off like royalty.”
“You think far too much of my abilities,” she muttered under her breath.
“I sincerely doubt that,” Ian said, glancing at his watch. “At any rate, we can ask Kam what he thinks about the whole thing. He’s due here any minute to get a tour of Noble. It’s his first visit to the offices. Coraline went down to the lobby to get him.”
Lin didn’t have much time to get panicked. A knock sounded at the door.
“Ah, here he is,” Ian said, standing.
• • •
A middle-aged, attractive brunette had been waiting for him in the lobby when he entered Noble Tower. She identified herself as Coraline Major and explained as they got on the elevator that she was one of Ian’s administrative assistants.
“I thought Lin Soong was his assistant,” Kam said as the elevator doors closed silently.
“Ms. Soong? Mr. Noble’s secretary?” Coraline said, thin, plucked eyebrows arching high at the idea. Coraline waited discreetly while two young men in suits got off on the tenth floor. The door closed, leaving the two of them alone in the elevator. “Myself and three others are both Mr. Noble’s and Ms. Soong’s assistants. Ms. Soong is a Noble executive. She sits on Mr. Noble’s advisory board and is considered by many his chief advisor. No one knows the company better, save Mr. Noble himself. She’s worked here since she was just a teenager off and on. Even when she was still in high school, she used to come to the office sometimes and her grandmother would put her to work on the books and such. Ms. Soong has her grandmother’s head for numbers. She’s certainly every bit as elegant and graceful as Mrs. Lee was,” Coraline recalled fondly.
“She was born and bred Noble, it sounds like.”
“Precisely. Mr. Noble consults her on almost everything. Ian calls her his right hand. They work together exceptionally well.”
A sudden, fierce wish went through Kam to return home to Aurore Manor, that familiar, brooding haunt of a home where he was free to do what he chose without overthinking everything, where he existed without the concern of offending. Not that the place was gloomy anymore. It’d been transformed under his hard physical labor, the massive cleaning Elise and Francesca had orchestrated with a platoon of maids, and the items that had arrived to refurnish the place. The shadows were being slowly vanquished, the darkness of Trevor Gaines evaporated by kind visitors, new hopes, organization, hard work, and streaming sunlight. It was becoming a home instead of a shell of a house. But more importantly, there was no one at Aurore to offend but his dog, Angus, and Angus was too good-natured of a beast to stay mad for long.
Phoebe Cane was caring for Angus in his absence, but he was suddenly quite certain his dog was as uncomfortable in Phoebe’s house as Kam was in his luxury hotel room here in Chicago. After all, Kam himself had never been content in the confines of Phoebe’s house for longer than it took to exchange pleasure. His dog would have one less reason for wanting to be there.
Coraline seemed to notice his scowl and thought it wise to change the subject.
“I can’t get over how much you and Mr. Noble resemble one another,” she said.
“If one more person tells me that, I’m going to grow back my beard as soon as nature allows it.”
He was so preoccupied with a longing for home and considering what Coraline had said about Lin and Ian working so well together that he didn’t notice he’d silenced Ian’s assistant completely. Was this idealistic working relationship the reason Lin thought Ian would disapprove of her and Kam sleeping together? Perhaps Ian had to approve of everything in Lin’s life since her life so closely intersected with his? And Lin had certainly pointed out that Ian would not give Kam the thumbs-up, brother status or no.
Kam couldn’t say he’d be surprised in either case. He wasn’t exactly in Lin’s league. Still, the truth grated. It was best all around just to put Lin Soong out of his mind. He’d never really invited her in to begin with except in the peripheral sense.
He stalked off the elevator when the door opened at the top floor, temporarily forgetting his guide.
Lin was the first thing his gaze landed on in the large, sun-filled office when Coraline knocked and opened the door for him to enter. She sat on a chair before an enormous, elaborately carved desk, her chin over her shoulder, watching him warily with those large, dark eyes. She was a palette of black and sun-infused ivory skin, wearing an ebony dress with long sheer sleeves. Her long legs were crossed. He recalled explicitly how she’d looked Monday night with her skirt shucked up to her waist exposing lithesome, silky thighs and the sweetest pussy God had ever created—
He grimaced. So much for sweeping her out of his head.
He paused for a split second just inside the door, trying to interpret her expression, and failing. He hadn’t overplayed the luster—or the appeal—of her eyes in his memories during the past few days. They drew a man in like a moth to dark flame. He yanked his stare off her and automatically took Ian’s hand when he extended it.
“Welcome,” Ian greeted warmly. “I hope you found us all right.”
“It’s kind of hard to miss,” Kam said dryly. Noble Tower was one of the most impressive of the high-rises along the river. He understood that his brother’s new headquarters had already become an iconic symbol of the city.
“Can we get you anything? Coffee? Breakfast?” Ian asked.
“No. I had breakfast at Lucien and Elise’s.” Coraline took this as her signal to go and exited silently. Ian waved him over to the pair of chairs where Lin sat.
“I wish you’d reconsider staying with us at the penthouse. Francesca was on me about it after you left last night,” Ian said. “I understand from Lucien that Elise is giving him just as hard of a time because you’re not staying with them, either.”
“I’m used to being alone,” Kam replied shortly, even though the last thing he felt was alone in his hotel room. More like a cooped-up lab rat.
“Lin and I were just discussing the meeting with the Gersbachs tonight,” Ian said as he went behind his desk. Kam lowered to the chair next to Lin. He gave a sideways glance and caught her staring. Her gaze immediately jumped off him like a skipped rock. Her dress was loose and shapeless, like an oversized man’s shirt, but made of draping, soft silk. Unfortunately for him and his overactive libido, it was also cut just above her knees, leaving a few inches of thigh and her lower legs exposed. To add to his misfortune, she also wore a pair of spiked heels with inch-thick straps that buckled around her ankles. The vision of the black leather against her slender, elegant ankles sent an electrical jolt through him. Fuck if it didn’t make him think of tightening leather restraints around those sexy ankles—straps that had nothing to do with luxury footwear—of Lin bound and helpless, writhing and moaning in pleasure beneath his mou
th and hands—
Ian interrupted Kam’s uncontrollable pornographic thoughts. “Lin seems to be of the opinion that you might be more comfortable with me there instead of her tonight.”
“Is she?” Kam asked, giving Lin a glance. He wasn’t shocked, precisely, but he was irritated. As he stared at her, however, a different feeling crept into his awareness: curiosity. Her throat looked exceptionally white and flawless next to her dark, upswept hair and the dress. It tightened as she swallowed.
“I just think a family member might ease things for you more than I can,” she said, her low, honey-smooth voice at odds with the delicate, quick flutter of the pulse at her throat.
“So you’re not up to it,” Kam said. “Funny, you seemed up for the challenge the other night.”
Her gaze flashed to meet his, and this time he clearly sensed her anger flowing toward him like a cold, clear stream. “I didn’t say I wasn’t up for it,” she said.
“Then why are you trying to pawn me off onto Ian?”
“It’s not a matter of . . .” She faded off when she looked at Ian and noticed his curious stare, as if Ian, too, had wondered the same question. So . . . Lin definitely hadn’t revealed to her boss any of the dirty details of Monday night. He’d wondered. Was that because she was worried about her job or because she was personally embarrassed about having had sex with him? He noticed the delicate stain of pink on her cheeks and decided on the latter. Her lush, rosebud mouth flattened.
“It was just a suggestion on my part, that’s all. Ian is on more familiar terms with the Gersbachs,” she said evenly.
Kam slouched back in the chair. “If you aren’t up for doing it, that’s fine by me. The whole thing is a joke, so it hardly matters to me who’s in on the laugh.”
Her head swung around at that. “Who is going to be laughing? And at what?”
“Presumably the Gersbachs at my rustic ways, isn’t that what you and Ian are worried about?” he replied without pause. “But don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll get a good laugh out of the whole thing as well.”
“Do you often think people are laughing at you?” she asked with quiet sarcasm. “That’s called paranoia, Kam. No one is laughing at you, or is going to be laughing at you. You think far too much of yourself if you think you affect other people so much.”
She started back slightly when he laughed. Kam’s burst of amusement faded and was replaced by guilt when he saw how stunned Lin looked by his impulsive reaction. He knew it’d been rude, but her depiction of him had given him a sudden bird’s-eye view of himself—a bitter, paranoid loner who was more comfortable with his dog than with most people. The vision had struck him as apt, sad, and strangely comical as well.
“I get it,” Lin said, recovering from his harsh bark of laughter and turning away from him dismissively. “It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and jeer.”
Irritation spiked through him. A movement broke his focus on Lin, briefly fracturing his attention. Ian sat behind his desk, a very untypical expression of rapt bemusement on his face as he watched the two of them.
“If you don’t think I’m going to be a source of amusement in all these meetings you have planned, why are you backing out of them?” Kam demanded of Lin.
“I don’t appreciate your disdain for the proceedings,” she said, picking at an invisible piece of lint on her dress and sweeping it away. “You’re determined to ruin the whole thing without even really trying. It’s an insult to all the preparation I’ve done.”
“At least I was willing to show up tonight. More than you can say.”
“So you actually want me there?” she demanded, giving him a sideways glare.
“I figure you’re the best bet I have.”
Her nostrils flared slightly as they faced off in the silence.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Ian said. Both Lin and he turned to look at him.
“Yeah. I’m still here,” Ian said drolly under his breath.
“Fine,” Lin said abruptly, as if Ian had never interrupted. Kam blinked when she practically hurled herself out of the chair, her actions rapid yet graceful, controlled but somehow aggressive as well. Ian seemed as cowed into silence as Kam was as they both watched her grab a pad of paper and pen off Ian’s desk and lean over to write in a slashing scrawl. Kam saw that the sexy shirtdress was slightly longer in the back than the front, but still gave him a tantalizing view of slender calves. In her bent-over position, he could see the outline of her shapely, taut ass through draping fabric. It twitched ever so slightly as she wrote.
She ripped the piece of paper off the pad with a vicious swipe.
“Meet me at this address at noon. Bring your credit card,” she said, handing Kam the slip of paper. She turned to Ian and flipped her hand open in a succinct demand. “If you’re finished with the Tyake numbers, I need them back.”
Ian handed her the file wordlessly. They both watched Lin sweep out of the office.
“I’ve never seen her this way,” Ian said a moment after his office door shut briskly behind Lin. He stared at Kam looking a little sideswiped. “What in the world did you say to her when you two met?”
“Nothing,” Kam said laconically as he stood. He noticed Ian’s skeptical glance. “I just told her I thought she took her job way too seriously.”
“You told Lin Soong that?”
“Yeah,” Kam muttered under his breath as he walked over to study the view. “I didn’t realize at the time it was a dead-on poke at the hornet’s nest.”
Chapter Four
She circled the tailor’s podium like a sleek cat on the prowl, examining every detail of the tailor and his assistant’s work, occasionally calling out adjustments she wanted.
“No, the sleeve is too short,” Lin said.
Kam glowered at her display of cool efficiency in the mirror, but she was impervious. He felt very much like an elephant in the center ring as the tailors poked and prodded at him. He’d purposefully goaded Lin into guiding him through the next few weeks. He’d realized too late she’d issued a return challenge when he saw that the address she’d given him was a high-end men’s haberdasher. Knowing what a big deal he’d made in Ian’s office, it was too late to back down. Now that he stood here with one man kneeling before him and another poking at his arm and back, however, he wished he’d turned tail and run while he had the chance.
The assistant’s hand brushed against his balls as he measured his inseam.
“Merde,” Kam muttered heatedly. The young tailor’s assistant’s hand jerked back guiltily. “Watch where you put that tape measure!”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
The boy looked too anxious to continue. Kam glanced up in the mirror and noticed the amusement in Lin’s expression.
“You’d better get on with it,” she said from behind them. “We have three more suits to go plus a tuxedo.”
“Can’t they just go by the measurements from this one?” Kam demanded.
“Each suit is slightly different in the cut.”
“Why so many?”
“We have more than just the meeting with the Gersbachs. I told you that Monday night. There are other parties interested in your product. I have other meetings lined up for you,” Lin said, her focus returning to watching Mr. Marnier’s actions. “And I want you to be perfect for each one. Besides, it’s not as if you won’t need the suits for future business.”
He snorted in derision. Still, he couldn’t pull his gaze off her face. Or her legs. Or her anything, really. A man could make a meal out of looking at her. He couldn’t deny his appreciation at being granted access to look his fill. She glanced up and met his stare in the mirror. He went rigid in awareness and was suddenly glad Junior had stopped poking around his privates.
“You are bound to be disappointed,” he told her point-blank. His gaze sunk over her lithe body. “I
’m not the perfect one in this scenario.”
Her nostrils flared slightly as their gazes clung. “It’s a relative term,” she replied softly. “I meant to perfect what you already are.”
“You make me sound like I’m a doll you’re trying to make pretty for tea. It’ll never work.”
Her chin tilted up in a subtle dare. “We’ll see.”
• • •
Her heart leapt an hour later when he caught her elbow on the way out of the store. She honestly couldn’t say if it did so in panic or in acute anticipation.
“Where are you running off to so fast?” Kam asked when Lin glanced over her shoulder as she finished buttoning her coat.
“I have a thing called a job.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I think we established that the other night.”
He grabbed her elbow again, when she turned irritably and started out the door.
“Why are you so prickly about my job?” she hissed over her shoulder. Immediately, she felt guilty. She was the one who was so prickly about her job today . . . about what Ian had told her about relocating to London . . . about Kam’s insinuations about her doing anything for her work . . . about everything.
“Because I don’t like being one of your job duties,” he replied in a hushed tone, glancing around the luxurious store. A man holding up two ties looked their way, obviously hearing their tense hisses. Kam nodded to the sunny street and sidewalk and followed Lin out the revolving door.
“I told you. Monday night was not a job duty. Not the end of it, anyway,” she said succinctly when they faced off on the sidewalk. “Monday night was a mistake. And everything we do together from here on out? Definitely work, and tedious work at that,” she added with a hard glare. She started to walk away.
He cursed in French under his breath. “I’m sorry,” he called out baldly.
She halted abruptly and glanced back at him, her mouth falling open in surprise.
“I’m sorry for suggesting that you were acting on Ian’s orders to have sex with me to soften me up,” he said in a muted tone, glancing from side to side to make sure no one was in hearing distance. “I wasn’t thinking straight at the time.”