Chapter 2

• Neil snapped out of it and looked away from me, giving me a soft glare as he did so. I would have smiled if my interest wasn’t so zeroed in on that voice from the phone.
• “Uh, yeah. So-”
• “You can just end the call if you can’t wait, Neil.” The voice interrupted dryly, with a teasing undertone to it.
• “Cut it the fuck out. You said the contract lasts for fifteen weeks?”
• “Sixteen. You’d know if you were listening.” Whoever was on the other side sounded like he enjoyed teasing Neil. That was not what grabbed my attention though. It was the way he spoke, the husky edge to his deep voice. The relaxed way he enunciated his words like he did not give a fuck about anything. And like there was a dirty promise hidden somewhere in his words. It was sexy.
• God, what the hell am I thinking?
• “You can come stay at my place, it’s big enough and pretty close to your contract site. It’s perfect.” I heard Neil say.
• Wait. What?
• “I already made a reservation in a hotel near there.”
• “You can cancel it. Saves you a lot of money, you know.”
• I shot Neil an incredulous look. That was the wrong thing to say. Men are very sensitive when it comes to their financial capabilities. Neil always wants to pay for everything. He has the money, of course, he’s loaded. But sometimes I think he just wants to prove a point. I think it’s just a male thing. And I have a feeling this person on the phone -his step-brother, I think- would be much worse than Neil.
• As if to prove me right, his deep voice said flatly, “I can pay for my shit, Neil.”
• “I know, I know-”
• “I’m not interested in charity, bruh.”
• “Shut up for once-”
• “Don’t fucking tell me to shut up.” The voice said flatly. He seemed to love interrupting Neil.
• “I can, and I will. I’m older than you so shut the fuck up and just listen.” Neil said in an oddly patient tone. Like the tone of a teacher dealing with uncooperative kids.
• It almost made me smile. Almost. Because my breath was hanging in my throat, waiting eagerly for the response of the sexy voice from the phone.
• A low chuckle reached my ears. “I’m listening.”
• “To be honest, I need your help on a new project I’m working on. There’s a lot of smart ideas in that brain of yours and I need a few.” Neil started. “It’ll be easier to work together if we’re in the same building, you know?”
• “What makes you think I’d help you? You’ve got fucking workers. That’s their fucking job.”
• “I’m not asking you to help me. You owe me one, remember?”
• There was silence for a moment.
• “I’ll think about it.” His voice went deeper, “Tell your fiancée I said hi.”
• The line went dead.
• For some reason, hearing him talk about me made my pulse fly all of a sudden. We barely knew each other. I mean, I only knew Neil had a step-brother, but he was always never around the few times I met Neil’s family at some of their events and dinners so we never met. Neil once mentioned that things were kind of tense in the family, but he didn’t give any details. And that was about it, Neil does not really talk about him. Hell, I don’t even remember his name.
• Some Adam-something or other.
• “What do you think?” Neil's voice broke my train of thoughts. He was facing me fully, arms crossed in front of his naked chest, blue eyes trying to read my expression. His hair was messy in that way I liked, complementing his handsome face perfectly.
• “You could have told me first,” I said softly.
• “I’m sorry, babe. He just told me about it now, and the idea came to me so fast, I had to tell him.” He gently pulled me into his arms, “I really do need his help though. He can be a pain-in-the-ass sometimes, but he’s pretty smart.”
• I was quiet for a moment, then looked up at him. He towered over my head and shoulders, so I had to crane my neck to meet his gaze standing so close to him. And whispered. “You won’t be able to fuck me just anywhere now, baby.” Something passed his eyes and I smirked, “Learn to behave, Neil.”
• He chuckled. “It’s a big house.”
• I smiled as he shifted my hair away from my silky shoulders and cupped my face in his large palm. He gazed at me with desire. Affection. Love.
• “Speaking of fucking, let’s get back to business, Leila.” With that, he covered my mouth with his, squeezing me closer and closer, so close that it felt like he was trying to absorb me into his body.
• He loved me.
• I knew that.
• Only, that love would burn him. Soon.
• *
• “I’m pretty busy right now, Brooke, just sort out the deliveries and forward the profiles of the new models to me, okay?” I smiled at my business manager through the Tab screen perched on the kitchen island.
• A kettle started to whistle and I almost didn’t hear her respond and end the call. I owned a line of adult lingerie and bikinis and Brooke was my paranoid business manager who was always worried that our competitors would leave us in the dust or something. I take my business seriously of course, but Brooke wants me to model my lingerie and bikinis professionally. Like one of my bikini models.
• I really do not mind, as I model some exclusive lingerie and bikinis sometimes, it is my clothing line, after all. But Neil, for some reason, did not like the idea, so I kept it to a minimum and left most of the modeling to the girls and focused on the financial aspects of my business, and my love life.
• I pulled the chicken drumsticks out of the microwave oven and Chase, Neil's huge German shepherd dog padded into the kitchen, wagging its tail as if trying to coax me into tossing a drumstick at it.
• I laughed and the doorbell rang. Pausing, I peered at the kitchen doorway, trying to remember if I had ordered something.
• “Stay here, okay?” I said to Chase, smoothing out my wavy ponytail as I walked out of the kitchen.
• Sara, the nearly invisible housekeeper that comes over thrice a week to clean up, could have ordered some groceries and it could have been delayed unnecessarily. It had happened before. And it’s one of her days off today.
• I heard Chase whine from the kitchen as I crossed the huge living room, probably disappointed at me for not giving him a treat. I idly wondered if he posed a threat to the vulnerable chicken drumsticks alone with him in that kitchen.
• Reaching the door, I opened it and stepped out, squinting at the bright glare of sunlight. And that was when I saw him.
• Him.
• God’s only archangel of sin.
• If sex was a person, he was standing right in front of me. My eyes widened, drinking in the appearance of the stranger. He was massive. Tall. I mean tall. Broad-shouldered. Toned. Even though his flimsy shirt, his ripped abs were on full display. His strong-looking legs fit for a stallion were in jet black pants that I could tell were expensive as fuck. But not as expensive as his shoes.
• I felt my throat dry.
• His skin was tan. The type of beautiful tan that came with the genes. He was staring straight at me, accessing, unbothered and sexy as sin.
• “You must be Leilani,” He arched a dark eyebrow, face impassive. His voice. That voice was familiar. Unmistakable. The deep, magnetic voice with a husky and naughty edge to it. The way he said my name hit me like a punch to my sex hormones.
• It’s him.
• Neil's step-brother.
• At that moment, I realized, that the threat was not behind me in the kitchen, but it was right in front of me. Massive, confident, and undeniably masculine.