Player!: A Walker Brothers Novel (The Walker Brothers Book 2)

by J. S. Scott

  A startled laugh escaped my lips as I realized he was serious. “It’s just…shampoo. It smells like cherry blossoms.” I’d bought the wrong brand by accident right before I’d started working at Walker, and I liked the way it moisturized my hair, so I’d just used it rather than wasting it.

  I covered my mouth to hide my delighted smile, but another giggle escaped as I saw his affronted expression. “I promise you, it’s not intentional,” I told him jokingly. “It’s grocery store shampoo, and you’re the only man who has found me that attractive in a very long time.”

  “Because you’re hiding,” Sebastian answered. “For some reason, you don’t want to be noticed, you don’t want to be discovered, and you definitely don’t want to draw a guy’s attention.”

  I sobered at his insightful comment because it contained a grain of truth. “Maybe I don’t,” I replied evasively. “Can we go now and get this over with?”

  I was done talking about my issues.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Your payment.”

  I shook my head. “I told you I don’t want it. I meant it.”

  “Then it’s not business,” he answered huskily.

  I took the paper from his hand and tore it into small pieces before stepping into the kitchen to toss it in the trash. “It’s still business,” I warned him as I stopped in front of him.

  He grinned. “Nope. Now that makes you my real date.”

  He actually sounded happy about that fact, and it was confusing as hell. “No. But you do owe me a favor now,” I answered lightly.

  “Name it,” he shot back immediately.

  I’d been joking, but he was dead serious. “I was kidding. I’m doing this for Walker and for you. I know how much this project means to you.” Maybe I was also going to this party for myself, but I wasn’t ready to admit it. “Besides, I did promise my best friend I’d get out this weekend. But I’m not quite sure this is exactly what she wanted.”

  “What did she want you to do?” Sebastian asked curiously.

  “She mentioned the hot springs and the mountains. So at least I’m making it into the Rockies.”

  “It’s dark. You won’t see a damn thing. If I’d known you hadn’t seen anything, we could have left early.”

  I frowned. “In this dress? I’m not exactly dressed for exploring. Besides, she doesn’t have to know it was dark. It’s beautiful country, right?”

  “Amazing,” he agreed. “We’ll go during the day sometime,” he promised.

  “Thanks, but I doubt we’ll be out together again.” Somehow, that actually saddened me.

  He hesitated for an instant, looking like he wanted to say something, but then nodded toward the door. “Let’s go.”

  Desperate to change the subject and lighten the mood, I asked, “Why is this rich guy celebrating the ski season? We’re only into November.” It was chilly, but there wasn’t any snow on the ground in Denver.

  He answered as I locked the door. “There is plenty of snow at higher elevations, and they make additional snow if they need it.”

  I put the keys in my clutch. “Are we going to a high elevation area?”

  “Yes.”

  “I haven’t gotten much outside of Denver yet. Do they have a hot spring there?” I wondered if the place was a resort.

  Sebastian held out his arm politely, and I automatically curled my hand around it.

  “Not at this resort. But there are plenty of places to go where there are hot springs,” he mused. “My cousins own a resort where you can find one everywhere.” He hesitated for moment before adding, “Well, I guess they aren’t exactly my cousins, but cousins by marriage. My cousin Gabe married Chloe. But I’ve spent some time down in that area looking for property, so I’ve hung out with all of them. They feel like blood family. Chloe’s mom insists I call her my aunt, even though she technically isn’t. It’s actually kind of nice since we don’t have a lot of the Walker family left. It’s a big family, and they’ve pretty adopted me and Trace into the fold. Unfortunately, they’ve never met Dane.”

  “The Colters,” I murmured quietly.

  “You do your homework,” Sebastian answered with some levity.

  “Blake Colter is one of my senators now. Of course I know who they are and that they’re related to you by marriage. I researched Walker extensively when I knew I was going to work there, and I tried to get as much info as I could about living in Colorado.”

  “I think a person either likes the mountains or they don’t,” Sebastian observed.

  “Do you like it?” I asked curiously.

  “Actually, yeah. I do.” He paused before asking, “Do you?”

  I shrugged. “Pretty much all I do is work.”

  Sebastian settled me into his vehicle before he admitted, “Me, too. But I’ve been around in search of property, so at least I get around some. Your friend is right. You need to get out, Paige.”

  His deep voice was far from casual. It was almost as if he knew me, understood me better than I comprehended myself sometimes. I glanced up and our eyes locked. It was already dark, but Sebastian had parked directly under a streetlight.

  It was one more of those moments when I couldn’t speak, but a silent communication flowed between us that was almost frightening. It was a familiarity that seemed so strange between two people who hardly knew each other.

  He lifted a brow in challenge, and I knew he was talking about so much more than just going out and having fun.

  “I can’t,” I whispered longingly, caught briefly in a spell that I couldn’t escape.

  “You will,” he rasped. “When you’re ready.”

  The connection was lost as he finally closed the car door. I shook my head, trying to understand what had just happened. It wasn’t possible that Sebastian really understood me, right? It was just some kind of freaky thing that just…happened.

  I shook my head as he got into the vehicle and started it up, not-so-successfully trying to convince myself that none of the brief moments when I felt my strange pull toward Sebastian had ever really happened.

  He was hot.

  He was smart and a fun companion.

  So far, he’d been polite.

  But he absolutely did not fill some kind of perceived emptiness inside me.

  Essentially, we were strangers, and I reminded myself of that repeatedly throughout the long trip into the mountains.

  CHAPTER 6

  Paige

  I sipped my second glass of champagne carefully, watching Sebastian as he attempted to make his way toward the opposite end of the swanky country club where the party was in full swing.

  We had yet to see the man hosting this lavish event, but after Sebastian had heard his target was on the other side of the venue, I’d told him to go find him.

  He’d wanted me to accompany him, but I knew he needed to get this rich owner alone, and I’d been here long enough to lose most of my apprehension. Really, my fear of going to a party had been mostly in my head, a barrier I’d just needed to break through.

  I watched from a quiet corner of the elaborate ballroom, noticing that Sebastian hadn’t gotten very far.

  Even though he’d never left my side as we ate expensive appetizers and had a drink together, staying close to make it fairly obvious that we were together, women were all over him the moment he’d stepped away for a few minutes.

  God, it annoyed me that the women were so damn obvious, shoving their surgically enhanced boobs into Sebastian’s face like that would instantly make him take notice. Maybe that worked for some guys. But I could tell he was on a mission right now, and trying to be polite when he was actually annoyed.

  Funny that I could sense his mood. There was a fake, polite smile on his face, but I could feel his impatience, even though there were quite a few yards between us.

 
; I know because I’ve seen his genuine, mischievous grin. It was so much different than what I was seeing right now.

  “For God’s sake, leave him alone,” I mumbled aloud, getting a little bit irritated myself.

  For some reason, I didn’t like watching women drape themselves all over my date. Okay. Maybe it wasn’t really a date, but those women didn’t know that.

  Even if some of them had spent a fortune on plastic surgery, every one of the females surrounding him were beautiful socialites, dripping in gems, and wearing gowns that made what I was wearing look like a bargain basement special. The gowns that adorned their annoyingly perfect bodies were obviously custom, and probably cost more than I made in a year right now.

  I squinted, trying to figure out if the sparkly gems on their dresses were actually real. God, that would be a horrible waste of our natural resources.

  A small, secret smile formed on my lips right before I took another sip from my glass, remembering what Sebastian had said about my shampoo. Really, it had been pretty funny. It was an inexpensive brand, but he’d looked damned serious about the fact that it got him hard.

  Still, he was deluded if he thought I could compete in looks to any of those women who had the money and time to shop, go to the spa every week, and probably starved themselves or worked out all day to stay thin.

  I wasn’t jealous…well…except for the fact that they were all over my date. There was a certain satisfaction in working for everything I wanted, propelling myself upward to have a better life. I had brains, which I told myself was much better than having large breasts and a tiny waistline.

  I frowned as I let my mind wrestle with the problem of getting Sebastian to where he needed to be.

  “Right,” I said as I finally came to a decision. “I’ll take care of it.”

  I threw back the rest of the alcohol in my glass and set it on the crisp white linen on one of the numerous tables around the room.

  I plowed through the people between me and Sebastian as carefully as possible until we were face-to-face. I carefully peeled off every female hand adorning his body, boldly wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled his head down. “Kiss me,” I whispered into his ear.

  I’d already learned that Sebastian wasn’t a man to miss an opportunity. His arms came around my waist so quickly that I could hardly acknowledge the tight hold before his mouth swooped down on mine.

  I absently registered the fact that he certainly wasn’t shy about public displays of affection. I was too busy absorbing the hard feel of his body and the large, warm caress of his hand as he cradled the back of my bare neck, his mouth demanding everything he wanted, anything I was willing to give. A frantic desire I’d never experienced before bolted through my entire body, and I felt like every nerve ending I had was frenzied as I speared my fingers into his hair, relishing the feel of him almost literally devouring me.

  I moaned against his lips because I couldn’t stop myself, pushing my body against him, wishing I could crawl inside Sebastian and never leave.

  When he finally lifted his head, his eyes were dark and mesmerizing, leaving me without a single doubt that he’d been as affected by the embrace as I had been.

  “Be careful what you ask for, Paige,” he drawled quietly next to my ear before nipping the sensitive lobe. “You might get more than you bargained for.”

  I expected him to release me. A quick glance around told me the women had left. But he moved forward, forcing me to step back. My back hit the wall, and he shielded me from curious glances even as he pinned me into a small corner.

  “I was trying to create a diversion,” I answered, my voice little more than a squeak.

  “Oh, I’m definitely diverted,” he answered huskily as he kissed me again.

  I didn’t have time to tell him that I was trying to help him get rid of the female pests. My body was already responding, my core clenching with need as he thoroughly conquered my mouth before leaving a hot trail down my neck with his tongue.

  My hands fisted in his short, coarse locks, and I was using every ounce of control I had not to let out a throaty moan of desire.

  I was only partially successful.

  “Sebastian. Stop. The women are gone,” I said, feeling a low growl from his chest vibrate against my sensitive breasts.

  “I don’t want to let go,” he argued, nipping at my bottom lip before soothing it with his tongue.

  “You have to. We’re making a scene.” I didn’t want to lose this intimate connection with him, either, but I knew we either had to stop, or we’d end up banging each other against the wall. “I’m not into being watched,” I panted as I pushed weakly against his chest.

  “Shit!” He stepped back reluctantly, his eyes still smoldering with heat. “I’ve wanted to fuck you since the minute I saw you in the elevator for the first time. It’s hard. Literally.”

  As he gave me space, he still shielded me from prying eyes. “Do you think those women are convinced that you aren’t taking them home tonight?”

  “I never planned on taking them anywhere,” Sebastian replied irritably.

  “I know. I could tell.”

  “The only woman I want to take home with me is you.”

  My heart skittered as I realized he was telling the truth. “I can’t,” I whispered regretfully.

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  I smoothed down my dress nervously. “You’re in the clear. Go get your deal.”

  He lifted a questioning brow. “You’re never going to convince me that you only kissed me to complete this mission.”

  Honestly, that was how it had started out. But all of my good intentions had been blown to hell the moment he touched me. “It was my motive.”

  “Until it turned into something else,” he shot back. “I’ll probably have that sexy moan in my mind for a very long time.”

  I actually flushed. Because…yeah…I had been into him, so far gone that I hadn’t been able to stay in control. “Are you going to go find your target or not?” I didn’t want to talk about that kiss anymore. It left me feeling vulnerable, and I hated that.

  The fact was, I had lost sight of my original intentions because Sebastian made me crazy.

  Not.

  Good.

  I was generally focused, but he had made me lose sight of my objectives. I’d wanted him so badly I’d wanted to crawl up his muscular body and beg him to put me out of my aroused misery.

  “I think you should come with me,” Sebastian said as he reached out and pulled me to his side.

  His muscular arm curled around my waist, and he ran a teasing hand down my hip as he propelled me forward with him, toward the other side of the room.

  “Quit with the wandering hand,” I demanded in a furious whisper as I reluctantly let him keep me at his side.

  I’d never really wanted to get this close during our deception. My reasons were originally to help out Walker, and Sebastian.

  Act like his date.

  Then step aside as he charmed the stubborn property owner.

  Pretty simple, right? Why was everything suddenly becoming so complicated?

  His stroking hand stopped, his grip now firmly on my waist.

  “Damn shampoo,” he grumbled, leaning closer even as he complained.

  I couldn’t help but deliberately look down at his crotch, but his tuxedo jacket was closed, and very little was revealed. “You look fine,” I observed as we skirted the crowd by staying close to the wall.

  “You think so?” he rasped, then suddenly grasped my free hand and turned me into him, making sure my palm landed directly on his fly.

  I copped a feel, just because I was surprised by how hard and erect he felt. And so damn good. The jacket might be hiding his aroused state, but my fingers could feel the truth.

  And Jesus, he was big.

  He jerke
d my hand back so it was no longer between us and asked gruffly, “Convinced?”

  We moved on, but my body was tingling from the feel of Sebastian’s hard cock. I was a rational female, and I’d just experienced tactile proof of something he’d been trying to tell me all night.

  I actually do turn him on.

  Shamelessly, I looked up at him with a delighted smile. “Yes. It was kind of hard not to notice.”

  Okay. It was a corny joke, but some secret part of me loved the way his body reacted to me.

  “Very cute,” Sebastian mumbled in a low, disgruntled voice.

  “I thought so,” I remarked with satisfaction.

  I had the feeling that it was rare that Sebastian Walker didn’t get exactly what he wanted.

  “I see him,” he replied, changing the subject.

  Untangling myself from him, I stayed with my back against the wall. “Then go do what you came here to accomplish.”

  He strode forward with an I’ll-argue-with-you-later-and-I-intend-to-win warning glance before he strode to a table where an older gentleman was seated with a few other men that I knew Sebastian would probably intimidate out of the picture very shortly.

  One of the guys rose after a few minutes, obviously excusing himself, and walking off into the crowd. Not long after that, the second male stood up, and turned around as he finished off his drink and sat it on the table.

  It was the first time I had seen his face because his back had been to me.

  He was young.

  He was blond and handsome if one didn’t know him—but I recognized him almost immediately.

  I didn’t need to be close enough to see his eyes. I already knew they were gray, cold, and calculating when he wasn’t laying on the false charm.

  “Oh, my God,” I whispered in panic, knowing that he’d spotted me. “No.”

  My heart started to race and I began to gasp for air.

  Following my fight-or-flight instinct as I moved into a full-blown panic attack, I turned and pushed my way into the crowd, trying to put distance between me and a man who had shaped my life in ways I never could have imagined.

  He caught my wrist as I passed the bar, turning me around to face him.