Staring at him, she decided she was seconds from spending the rest of her life in jail for murder. Not cold-blooded murder. Oh hell no, this was going to be burning rage-induced murder. To make it all worse, suddenly, so many things made sense to her. Now she understood how he knew her last name, which meant he’d sought her out last night, in her state, a thousand miles away. A Thousand. He’d come there looking for her and for what?
She couldn’t even fucking process this.
Bitterness quickly wrapped itself around the anger as she realized she now could answer the whole “why her.” God, she wanted to laugh, except she might just end up screaming in his face.
And he was still holding her hand, refusing to allow her to pull her arm free. In stunned anger, she watched him lift her hand to his mouth. He kissed the top and then he turned her hand over, kissing her palm as he held her gaze.
Fury coursed through her as she glared back at him, mingling with the heat blasting her cheeks as she easily recalled what it felt like to be pressed against him. She clearly remembered how the hand that was holding hers now had felt between her legs, how—
A flick of wet warmth traveled up the center of her palm, shooting a wave of rolling warmth straight through every vein in her body. Had he—? Did his tongue—?
He winked as he lifted his mouth from her palm, holding her gaze.
He had.
Oh my God, a dozen emotions hit her. Insulted. Disgusted. Enraged. And because there was seriously something twisted and broken inside her stupid body, she felt the kernel of arousal stirring deep in her belly. She was turned on even as her brain was screaming abort, abort at her, yelling that she get up right this instant, punch him in the throat, and get back to the airport, hightailing her round butt back to Pennsylvania.
But she was locked in to that blue-green gaze—that kind of eyes, the kind of stare—that didn’t simply promise that kind of pleasure you only heard about, but threatened the kind you were likely not to recover from.
The kind she had a taste of last night.
Julia was so going to kill him.
A new, slightly terrifying thought occurred to her. Was this even a real job? Was she hired for something else? Because none of this—
A throat cleared, jarring her. As if a trance was broken, she yanked her hand free as her entire body flushed red.
Another man had entered the grandiose room. He looked to be the polar opposite of Lucian, roughly the same height but broader, dressed as if he were at a place of business instead of at home. An aura of absolute authority surrounded him as Lucian moved to the side and then dropped onto the couch beside her.
It wasn’t a very big couch.
His knee pressed against hers.
“I’m Devlin de Vincent,” the darker, older one said. “I apologize for my brother. He has the manners of an untrained dog.”
Her narrowed gaze shot to where Lucian was arrogantly sprawled on the couch beside her, thighs spread and one arm tossed lazily over the wooden trim. His grin kicked up a notch as he met her gaze with a heavy hooded one.
“And I feel like I need to apologize for something I know nothing about,” Devlin continued, the one the tabloids called Devil. “It appears that you two have already met?”
How in the hell did she respond to that? Why, yes. Your brother showed up at the local bar in a totally different state last night and ended the evening with his fingers between my legs? Oh, and I had no idea that Taylor was the middle name that had de Vincent attached at the end. Yeah, she didn’t think so. She was so thrown off guard by this, by all of this, that she couldn’t formulate basic sentences.
“We met briefly last night,” Lucian answered, surprising her. “We actually chatted about her career and decisions to take this job.”
Her nostrils flared as her hands curled into fists. That was partly true.
“Is that so?” There wasn’t a single part of Devlin that sounded like he believed him. “So that is where you disappeared to?”
It occurred to her then that Devlin had no clue what Lucian had done.
Lucian finally, thank God, stopped staring at her and looked toward his brother. “Did you think I’d let you hire someone without me checking them out?”
His brother’s lips thinned as he murmured, “Foolish of me.”
Julia sucked in a sharp breath as the reality of what was going on slammed into her with the force of a freight train. Lucian had searched her out to check her out, and not in the fun, flirty way. He’d known who she was, that she’d been hired to care for someone, if that was why she was actually here, and he chased her down in a bar, and he . . .
God, her stomach roiled.
Julia would never spread her horny wings and let herself fly again.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
Was last night some kind of test? To vet her ethically and morally, because if that was the case, she’d failed stunningly. But what the hell did that say about Lucian, for him to do something like this? None of that really mattered. Julia felt overexposed and set up, like she’d walked into some kind of twisted trap.
No.
No way.
She was so done with this.
“Excuse me,” she gritted out, because that was all she trusted herself to say. Spine going rigid, she stood and snatched up her purse. Without waiting for either of them to say a word, she walked out of the room without one look back.
Chapter 7
Lucian rose swiftly, already halfway across the room by the time Dev stood and demanded, “Is this going to be another mess I’m going to have to clean up?”
That was the wrong thing to say.
Twisting around, Lucian faced off with his brother. “Exactly what messes have you had to clean up, Dev? Because if I think back, it wasn’t you cleaning up the biggest messes, now was it?”
“That’s not what we’re talking about.”
“Of course not. When you’re ready to take that walk down memory lane, let me know, but right now, I need to find Ms. Hughes before she walks off the property and stumbles into a swamp.”
“She won’t make it out of the house,” he replied dryly.
That was true, but not the point. Lucian fully understood why Julia was so upset. He hadn’t expected her to smile and go along with everything asking no questions, although that would’ve made life easier. She probably felt tricked, and he could admit to himself that he had.
“Did you fuck her?” Dev asked.
Lucian’s right hand curled into a fist as he stared at his brother. A rush of anger slammed into him. “That’s really none of your business, but no, I didn’t.”
Doubt filled his steely gaze. “That would be like an addict leaving a full syringe behind.”
His lip curled up. “Well, maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
“That is also unlikely,” Dev replied, glancing at his watch with a disgusted sigh.
“Do you know how hard it was to find someone who I believed wouldn’t be lured to sell their story to the tabloids? Now I’m going to have to start all over. Did you think about that? For someone who is so concerned about his sister, you sure as hell didn’t stop and think about what this meant for her.”
Lucian’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing has changed. Ms. Hughes is perfect for the job.”
“Maybe she was, Lucian, but clearly, not anymore.”
“She still is.”
Dev raised a brow. “Seems to me that she is probably trying to leave this house right now.”
“I just need to talk to her,” Lucian advised. “But she’s not leaving.”
His brother tilted his head to the side. “I hope you’re not planning to try to keep her against her will.”
“I would never do such a thing.”
The expression on Dev’s face turned bland.
“Look, what I said was true. I found out her name from paperwork you had on your desk and I checked her out. We talked about why she was a nurse and shit like that.” He skated ove
r how the evening ended, because that truly was none of his brother’s business. “She didn’t know who I was. That’s why she’s upset. I just need to . . . smooth things over and everything will be fine.”
Dev studied him for a moment. “Did you also do your own background check?”
“Figured she passed that if you hired her.”
Giving him a curt nod, Dev pulled his phone out of his pocket. “If she stays, I’m fine with it, but if she causes problems, I will deal with her.”
The last thing Dev would be doing was dealing with her, but he nodded so he could end this conversation. Turning, he headed out of the room. His brother had been right, though. Julia hadn’t made it out of the house. She hadn’t made it past the hallway.
“I know you’re trying to do your job, but I really need to step outside.” She was speaking fast, her voice pitching high. “I need to do—”
“Lucian,” Richard said, looking relieved as Lucian came around the corner. “I believe Ms. Hughes needs to speak to you.”
She spun around. Her cheeks were the prettiest pink he’d ever seen and those brown eyes were on fire. “Taylor is the last person I need to speak with.”
Richard’s brows rose quizzically.
“Could you give us a moment, Richard?”
Clutching the strap like she was about to use the bag as a weapon, she twisted toward Richard. “You do not need to give us a moment.”
Barely hiding his grin, Richard gave them a quick bow and then pivoted on his heel, rushing off with the speed of a much younger man.
“Ms. Hughes—”
“I don’t want to speak to you.” She spun back to him. “Actually, yes I do.”
Well, he figured that was a good start.
“You are a liar and a piece of—”
“When did I lie to you?” he cut in, clasping his hands behind his back. “Taylor is my middle name. I never said I wasn’t a de Vincent and everything we talked about was true.”
“Don’t you dare play semantics with me. You knew who I was and pretended that you had no idea.”
“I knew of you, but I didn’t know you.”
“Semantics,” she hissed, stepping into him and tipping her head back. “You came to the bar, talked to Anna so you could get introduced to me.”
“That is true. I wanted to talk to you.”
“For what reason?” she demanded and then rushed on before he could answer. “Were you trying to vet me for this job in the most creepy, inappropriate manner humanly possible? When you could’ve just introduced yourself like a normal human being and asked me all those questions. By the way, it now makes sense why you were so interested in my career choices.”
“I was interested in your answers—”
“Because your family hired me,” she pointed out.
“There is that, but I would’ve been interested nonetheless.”
“Oh yeah. I’m so sure about that. What you did was so incredibly wrong. Do you understand that?”
“Well, it doesn’t sound very appropriate when you phrase it the way you did,” he agreed, fighting a grin. As twisted as it was, he was enthralled by her anger and how she was going toe to toe with him. “But, yes, I was vetting you.”
She barked out a harsh laugh as she took a step back. “I guess I failed then, so why am I here? Just to make a fool out of me?”
“What?” Shock splashed through him like a dousing of icy water. “I need to make something real clear for you. If you failed, you wouldn’t be standing here. You wouldn’t have made it on the plane, and I’m not making a fool out of you.”
That beautiful chest rose sharply. “If you think either two of those things will make me feel better, they don’t. I don’t even know what to say at this point.”
At this point, Lucian decided honesty was the best route to go, but they were too close to his brother. He placed his hand on her lower back. “Let’s go—”
“Don’t touch me,” she snapped.
Tilting his chin to the side, he withdrew his hand as he said in a low voice, “That’s not what you told me last night.”
Her eyes widened. “You son of—”
“My mother was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a bitch. My father? He was a bastard, though.” Placing his hand on her shoulder, he ignored her protests and attempts to shrug off his grip as he steered farther down the hall. Reaching around her, he opened the door and guided her in.
“How many rooms does this house have?” she exclaimed, turning around in a slow circle as she took in the handcrafted chairs and couches. “Like who needs these many chairs and couches?” She ran a hand over an arm, which left Lucian feeling a little jealous of a chair. “Though this craftsmanship is amazing.”
A grin teased at his lips. “I’ve honestly lost count of how many rooms, but there are many.”
Julia dropped her purse on the couch and faced him, folding her arms. “I just need to get something off my chest.”
Hopefully it was her shirt.
He kept that to himself.
“If I had known who you were, I wouldn’t have let you into my apartment or done any of . . . any of that with you.” Her cheeks deepened in color, reminding him of the fact that last night wasn’t something she did often, and the knowledge still pleased him as deeply as it had before.
“So you’re saying you wouldn’t have let me rip your dress and fuck you with my fingers? Is that what you’re saying?”
She made a choking sound as she glanced around the empty room. “I cannot believe you just said that. I mean, I really cannot.”
“It’s what happened and I don’t regret it. At all.”
“Well, I regret it. Obviously,” she spat, throwing up her arms. “The one time I go home with a guy he turns out to kind of be my boss who was scouting me out for the job I was hired for.”
“You don’t regret it,” he said, stepping toward her.
She held her ground. “Just because you had your fingers in me doesn’t mean you know me.”
“That might be true, but I do know you want to save snakes and rats in your animal sanctuary.” He came closer, thrilled when she didn’t back up. He lowered his head so they were almost eye level. “And I also know how it feels when you come all over my fingers.”
Julia sucked in a sharp breath.
“And I also know exactly how your nipples fit between my fingers,” he went on, voice lower and lower. “And I know the hot as hell sound you make when you come. So, I know you don’t regret that.”
She looked away, exhaling heavily. Several seconds passed and then she said, “You left without even—you know what? It doesn’t matter.”
“No, it does.” When she started to look away, he caught her chin and gently guided her gaze back to his. “I wanted nothing more than to get inside you. Hell, it was all I could think about after I left, and no matter how many times I jerked off afterward changed that.”
Julia’s eyes widened once more.
“I didn’t seek you out last night to do that. That’s me being real. That wasn’t my intention,” he said, and hell, he was telling the truth. He hadn’t flown to Pennsylvania to hook up with their newly hired nurse and in honesty he had no idea why he hadn’t gone through with it when he had her right there, more than willing. He did know that maybe he’d gone about it the wrong way. “I probably should’ve told you who I was beforehand, but then I doubt you would’ve showed up here if you knew.”
She swallowed and then stepped back, out of his reach. “I think the best thing at this point is for you to pay for the flight I’m going to have to book to go back home.”
Lucian did not like the sound of that. “Go back to what? You’ve quit your job, correct? You don’t even have an apartment anymore,” he reminded her. “There’s nothing but your family to return to.”
Her brows lifted. “Not like I’ve forgotten that, but thanks for reiterating it for me.”
“I don’t think that you have, but I feel like I need to remind you th
at this well-paying job is yours and if you don’t take it, you don’t have a job.”
Shaking her head, she pressed her lips together. “This is unbelievable. Is there even someone that I was hired to care for?”
“Yes, of course. It’s someone I care very deeply for, which is why I wanted to check you out.” He paused, wanting—no, needing her to understand. “My brother isn’t really good at making decisions where there should be emotion involved. I had to make sure you were a good choice for the job.”
Her gaze flickered to him. Another long moment passed. “I don’t see how this is going to work. I’m . . . this is embarrassing,” she said, and he saw the truth of those words in the sudden glimmer in her eyes. “I don’t know how I could take this job after what has happened—after feeling like I’ve been set up.”
An acidic knot formed in his gut, a feeling vaguely familiar. Was it guilt? Perhaps, a little regret? A muscle flexed in his jaw. He needed to apologize. Not because he should, but because he needed to.
He took a breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t.” Shaking her head again, she turned to the side and started to reach for her purse.
Cursing under his breath, Lucian stepped forward. He caught her hand. “I am sorry. That isn’t a fake apology. I’m sorry that I’ve made you feel like you were set up. That wasn’t my intention.”
Her gaze flew to his as her fingers curled helplessly around air.
“But I don’t regret what we shared.” His eyes searched hers. “I’m not going to take that back. I have absolutely no desire to do so.”
Something else filled those beautiful eyes of hers. Something he’d seen in many, many women’s eyes before, but seemed so entirely different when he saw it in hers.
“We have two options. We can be mature adults who had a moment together and are able to move on from that or you can make a really bad decision because you’re uncomfortable.”
“Had a moment?” she whispered, and then yanked her arm free. She lifted her chin. “It was barely a moment.”
A surprised laugh almost escaped him as he stared down at her. Damn. He liked that. He liked her. He was smart enough to keep his expression blank, because at least she wasn’t trying to grab her purse and storm out.
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