“Jack, how they hell are ya?”
Jackson flinched at the unexpected boom of Cade Morgan’s loud baritone. The man had a voice that carried, which made him a formidable opponent when he tried to get information out of you. He was a damn good investigator though. “Cade man, tell me you found something.”
Cade sighed heavily. He wished he had more information to give but so far there wasn’t much to go on. He had a hunch but he’d have to do some more digging before making a visit to Silver House. “Well I don’t have an ID on the stalker yet but it sounds like it’s a woman, based on Brooke’s description.”
“Shit.”
Cade chuckled. “Are there any scorned women in your past I need to investigate?”
Jackson slapped his forehead in frustration. Truthfully there could be more than a few women who’d convinced themselves that he would change, would settle down and become a family man. Inevitably they would be disappointed, hurt and a few would be angry. No matter, he found that diamonds could assuage just about any feelings where women were concerned. “Not me, but I guess I should ask dad, Ethan and Chase.”
“Couldn’t hurt. Are there any other women, romantic or otherwise, I should check out?”
Jackson shook his head even though he knew Cade couldn’t see him. It was all so surreal, he was still trying to wrap his head around it. “Not on my end but I’ll check with the others and get back to you.”
“Sounds good, man.” Cade knew Jackson could hear the amusement in his voice but with things as they were he also knew Jackson needed a distraction. “So I’ll probably have to come out there.” Jackson said nothing. “You know, to check the property and surveillance.” Still nothing. “And I was wondering if that gorgeous Galina was still in your dad’s employ.”
“Stay the hell away from here and just do your job!” Jackson was out of breath with the ferocity of his anger. He slammed the phone down, but not before he heard the mocking laugh of his soon to be ex-friend.
He barreled into the sitting room of his suite and straight out the door and down the stairs in search of his father and brothers. They needed to get to the bottom of this stalker mess once and for all. Also he would love to get as far away from the beautiful yet aloof Galina before his control completely snapped. Each time he saw her ethereal features, peaches and cream skin, white blond hair and crystal blue eyes he was reminded of that one heated kiss they shared months ago. It was a one-off, or so he liked to tell himself, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. That in itself was ridiculous since he’d dated Hollywood starlets, some of the most beautiful models in the world, a few high powered executives and even a European princess. None of them had done much to hold his attention compared to the soft glide of her lips against his, her soft moans into his mouth and her petite body molded to his. He shook off those thoughts, or at least tried as he searched for his family.
He spotted Chase and Brooke canoodling in the library. “Chase. Dad’s office. Now.” He didn’t bother to stop, just continued to stomp down the hall until all the Silver men were convened in the office. Dad and Ethan were already there, glaring at each other.
“Jackson, will you please talk some sense into this one?” Vance hitched a thumb in Ethan’s direction, a mixture of affection and exasperation on his face. That pretty much defined their relationship.
Jackson held up his hand to quiet his father and Ethan. “Not now Dad we have bigger problems.” He looked to the door just as Chase entered the room, pink shiny lip gloss smeared around his mouth. Jackson shook his head with warm affection and relayed Cade’s info. “So each of us needs to make a list of women, professional or sexual,” he glanced at Vance, “who might want something from us. A woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer, who angled for more than fun in the sack, got fired or has a history of paternity suits.” He sighed heavily. “Basically any pissed off gold diggers, wannabe baby mamas or ladder backers.” The latter was Jackson’s term for the sexy females capable of conquering the world on their own but willing to lie on their backs to climb the corporate ladder quicker. “Get the list to me before dinner. The quicker Cade can figure this out, the sooner this will all be over.” And I can get the hell out of here.
***
Galina wondered what was going on that had all the Silver men converging on Silver House this week. She knew it must be something special because in the year she’d be here the younger men only came home at the same time during the holidays. Something big must be going on. She hoped whatever it was wouldn’t affect her employment with Vance Silver. She loved working for the older man. He was friendly, funny and treated her like a favored niece. Most of all Mr. Vance loved her baking and he couldn’t seem to get enough of it. His words of praise were the highlight of her days. Usually.
Unfortunately her mind was preoccupied since noon several days ago when she’d opened the door to water the flowers on the front stairs and nearly ran smack into Jackson Silver. He was a handsome devil with a warm smile, eyes that seemed to constantly dance with amusement and a big sturdy body that made her think naughty thoughts. Her crush on Jackson had reached ridiculous proportions and she knew she needed to stop her foolish fantasies about him. She made the mistake of Googling him one day only to find herself teary eyed as she scrolled through pages upon pages of Jackson with a beautiful and scantily clad woman on his arms in every photo. Her crush on him died a little that day, and the next day when she continued her search to purge him from her heart.
“Stupid, stupid woman,” she chastised herself as she rolled out more cookies to put in the oven. There was no point in thinking about a man like Jackson, or the way that particular man had kissed her until her panties were wet, her eyes crossed and her heart beating its own parade inside her chest. He would look at Galina and see a housekeeper. A beautiful woman sure, but still just a housekeeper, suitable for a dalliance but never for forever. It was a lesson she learned the hard way when she first came to America a decade ago as an aspiring model. With her long legs, white blond hair and piercing light blue eyes her look was very hot from the moment her plan landed at JFK. She booked magazine shoots, editorial spreads and runway shows and she made more money than she could ever spend. Her life was perfect but she merely endured it, looking for the right time to get out and pursue her real passion, baking. One night after a late shoot with the latest photographer du jour, she’d barely been eighteen and he was handsy, he decided to try and take what didn’t belong to him and wasn’t being offered. She’d fought him off, escaping when a male model came back for his mobile, and she left modeling the next day with a very healthy nest egg.
Soon after she met a woman, Sabrina Santangelo, an Italian lingerie and bikini designer who helped her apply to culinary school. When she got in, Galina used her modeling money for tuition and living expenses, and Sabrina paid her to model her designs during the production phase. It gave her just enough to keep her savings replenished while she finished school. From there she worked as the personal chef to Sabrina, her husband and two teenagers. Until eighteen months ago when the young Mr. Santangelo thought because she worked for his parents, she had to work for him too. In his bed. She left the next day and lived on her savings while she looked for her next job. She was out of work for almost six months before being hired on at Silver House. She didn’t mind the added duties because she got to cook all day long.
Thinking of her early days in America made Galina even more wary of her feelings for Jackson. Would he be like the photographer and just take what his heated gaze said he wanted or would he simply order her like the Santangelo boy? She didn’t know and right now it was irrelevant. She would keep her distance and treat him as gracious as she would any other guest of Silver House. It couldn’t be that hard.
Could it?
She shook off all thoughts of Jackson and everything else except the cookies she bent to pull from the oven. Unfortunately the one man she was intent on ignoring had just stormed into the kitchen, scaring the hell out of her and ma
king her burn herself on the hot cookie sheet. Just great. She gasped at the pain and threw down the sheet harder than she should have with the still warm cookies there. “Dammit,” she cursed to herself and grabbed the burned wrist.
“Shit Galina, I’m sorry. Let me.” His gaze was serious when he looked down at her, then her wrist. “So sorry,” he caressed the wrist and pulled her gently to run it under the cold tap.
She tried to pull away. “Don’t worry about it Jackson. I have it covered.” His hold was firm but it didn’t hurt. At least not physically. “Jackson,” she warned. He pulled the first aid kit from below the sink and softly patted her skin until it was dry. He was so focused on his task that he didn’t notice—thankfully—Galina’s ragged breathing, racing pulse or the small beads of desire appearing on her skin. She hadn’t been so close to him since that night months ago when the moon or the ocean or the lonely holidays had gotten the best of her and she’d let him kiss her. She let Jackson kiss her until she was trembling with desire, very much like she was at the moment. His smell was intoxicating so she turned her head away from him.
She looked away and that was more than fine with Jackson since he wasn’t sure how much longer he could touch her silky soft skin without wanting to feel those creamy thighs wrapped around his body or to feel those pink nipples in his mouth and taste her. Dammit! He had to stop but he couldn’t. He picked up the ointment to rub on her wrist but first he touched his lips to the ugly red burn scar. The sound of her gasp went straight to his cock. He looked at her and saw surprise and desire mingling in her eyes, so light blue they were almost clear.
Jackson leaned in.
Galina leaned in closer. She could feel his breath fan her face.
He saw the pulse beat rapidly at the base of her neck and groaned.
Galina never took her eyes off him, darting between his liquid silver eyes and those succulent lips made to drive women wild. They were both close, so close to a repeat of that unforgettable kiss. Breath mingled together, a kiss just a nanosecond from taking place.
“Oh shit! Shit! I’m sorry. Shit!”
Brooke. Galina stepped back and straightened her perfectly neat skirt and hair and turned a smile on Brooke. She genuinely liked the woman. She was the first woman to come to Silver House and treat Galina like a human, instead of like she was a sex toy for the Silver men. “It’s okay Brooke. I have cookies fresh from the oven.”
“Oh goody!” Brooke darted a look between Galina and Jackson, a knowing smile on her face.
“I have three kinds so come tell me which you like best.” She kept her gaze trained on Brooke, never once acknowledging Jackson until he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Better luck next time.” Then he turned on his heels and left the kitchen.
Brooke noted the bright red flush on the stunning housekeeper and apologized again. “Geez I’m so sorry Galina. I didn’t know.”
She smiled sadly. “There is nothing to know Brooke.” Nothing at all. “I am a housekeeper and I know that. A handsome billionaire does not fall for the housekeeper.”
Brooke smiled wistfully, her thoughts going to a few short days ago when she thought the same thing. “They say the gorgeous billionaire doesn’t fall for his assistant either, yet here we are.” She recounted her years of unrequited affection for the oldest Silver brother and their long journey to love. “With the right guy, fairytales can come true.”
Galina shrugged. Perhaps. But never for her.
Chapter Two
“Dammit I told Dad we needed a fence around the house.” Chase grumbled as he and Jackson walked around the property. Why they were doing it, he couldn’t say. A property this huge had at least a few dozen ways onto the land and with no fence it was easier to breach the perimeter than they’d like to believe.
“Yeah, because Vance is such a good listener,” Jackson shot back. Jackson loved his father but his biggest flaw was that he thought he was the only one with good ideas. “Maybe you should have told him not to get a fence.”
Chase laughed and shook his head. “Hell no. He probably would’ve tried to make us put it up and quite honestly, I’m too good looking for hard labor.” Chase stroked his chin and pouted his lips.
“Well you are the pretty one,” Jackson grumbled. It was an argument they had often in high school. Chase was the pretty one, Jackson the ruggedly handsome one and Ethan was, he shuddered at the thought, the hot one.
Chase sighed, knowing what his brother was thinking. “Do you think he’s going to walk away?”
Jackson shrugged. “Honestly I don’t know. I mean, I figured at some point we’d all have to walk but look at you.” He’d never seen his brother so happy with a woman. Chase dated but usually very briefly and he didn’t get involved. But to see him now with Brooke he was all smiles, cuddles and sickeningly sweet affection.
“Yeah well I didn’t do it for Vance. Brooke and I had been circling each other for a while and being here kind of made it hard to ignore.”
“Why?”
Chase looked thoughtfully into the distance and turned to his brother. “I don’t know. Probably because she wasn’t making reservations for my dates, buying flowers or good bye baubles for them. It let her forget about all that and it made it impossible for me to ignore her.”
“Hmmm, well you guys are good together. I like her. She’s sweet.”
Chase was surprised at his brother’s admission. “Thanks.”
“Looks like you’ll end up with all of SE because Ethan is definitely walking away and I can’t see myself settling down anytime soon, if ever.”
He shook his head at his brother. “Okay, I can get why Ethan is the way he is about women, I mean Dad didn’t acknowledge him at all. He made his mom “the other woman”, that’s tough. Hell we didn’t even know Ethan existed until he came to live with us. Then his mom kills herself and he finds her, shit, I mean that has to be touch to digest. Dad abandoned him first, then his mom did, plus that bitch from college. But why the hell are you so anti-relationship?”
It was Jackson’s turn for the ambivalent shrug. “I’m not against relationships but I’m not ready to settle down yet. You can’t always trust women when you have the kind of money we have, so I take what they offer and give them something pretty when I’m done. It works for me.” Hell it more than worked for him. One day he’d have a wife and a few kids but not any day soon.
Chase smiled putting his dimples on full display. “Well it’s a burden to be this handsome.”
“Pretty,” Jackson coughed into his hand.
Chase scowled. “As I was saying, it’s a burden to be this handsome and rich as all fuck, but if anyone can do it, it’s me.”
Jackson laughed and punched his brother playfully in the arm. “You are as delusional as the old man.”
“Maybe, but still much better looking. Since you and Ethan are going to walk away from all of our hard work, I may as well be as crazy as Vance. There won’t be anyone to keep me in line.” He glanced at his watch, the Tag Heuer Vance bought each of them when they started at SE. “I’m meeting Brooke in the English garden in fifteen minutes so,” his voice trailed off and he pointed his thumb in the other direction.
Jackson laughed at his brother so eager to get back to his new love. “Sure thing man, just be careful. There’s a stalker out here.”
Chase sobered, gave a quick nod and rushed off to meet Brooke.
Jackson continued his slow walk back to the main house. There was nothing waiting for him but financial reports, Vance’s nonsense and a beautiful blonde he needed to avoid. In no rush to get back inside, he stopped at the greenhouse to see if there was any fresh lavender or jasmine to put in his room. He needed something to keep him calm. Between his thoughts of the stalker and losing SE Jackson, he just might lose his mind.
***
After her encounter with Jackson, Galina spent any time she wasn’t in the kitchen, in the greenhouse. She clipped flowers to adorn the many flat surfaces inside Silver House, trimming
them as needed to keep them healthy. She moved on to the fresh herbs and snipped what she needed for the day’s meals. Galina enjoyed being in the greenhouse, almost as much as she enjoyed baking in that magnificent kitchen.
The flowers were just another quiet refuge, she knew, to help her hide away from the world. Inside these glass walls the flowers were the real beauty and she could simply be. Be Galina, the young Polish girl with unusual white blond hair. Be the quiet girl with the amazing baking ability instead of the pretty girl men wanted for sex and nothing more.
She stiffened at the sound of someone entering the greenhouse. It had to be one of the Silver boys since no one but her ever spent much time in here. She knew it was Jackson before he came into view. His sure steps were surprisingly light, but those causal steps were pure Jackson. His slow deliberate gait matched his confident walk and her heart stopped at the slow smile that crossed his face.
“Jackson, hello.”
He grinned at the nervousness in her voice. He felt the same, he was just better at hiding it than she was. “Galina. Lovely to see you again.”
“Wh-what brings you here?” she asked.
He shrugged, taking in the different plants, herbs and flowers surrounding them. “I was out for a stroll with my brother and came here looking for something…calming.”
Galina shivered at his words. She could feel them like an actual caress over her body. That was probably why she felt so skittish around him. No man had ever provoked such desire in her. The few lovers she’d had were adequate but they never inspired the same level of want and need Jackson did. She knew she should run in the other direction for her own sanity, but instead she nodded obediently and said, “I have just the thing.”
He watched as she floated around like a hummingbird, snipping a few buds here and a few leaves there. She finally came to a stop in front of him holding out two linen bags. Against his better judgment Jackson reached for the bags but took her wrist instead and pulled her flush against him. “Almost kissing you in the kitchen today only wet my appetite for another taste of you.” He nipped her ear lobe, still whispering. “I often think about our first and only kiss and where else I would love to taste you.” When that involuntary groan sounded, Jackson did the only thing he could, he captured those pretty pink lips with his own.
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set 1-12 (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) (Alpha Bad Boy Billionaire Romance) Page 60