Scandalous Heroes Box Set (23 page)

Jayde laughed. “I may not speak Irish, but I understand that. What happened between you two to get this much feeling from you?” She put her gentle gaze on her friend.

“Nothin’,” Affrica insisted. “I’m just hungry.”

Wise eyes stared back at her, but Jayde just batted them before remarking sweetly. “I bet. Something tall topped off with dark brown hair and poured into that sexy suit.”

“Hush you!” Affrica adjusted her hold on the child in her arms. “This is why you are stuck with the kids. No one wants to hear your smart mouth.”

Jayde laughed even harder. “If that is what you need to tell yourself.”

Soon, the two women had full plates and sat at a table engaging in conversations with other people. Still, even as she ate, Affrica found her gaze flickering toward the arrogant man who had assumed she didn’t belong in the house.

* * * *

At the end of the day, Affrica stood by the front door, talking on a phone. As if she felt a presence behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and found Reeve watching her. He couldn’t help himself; she continually drew his eye. Closing the phone with a snap, she arched a brow and held his dark gaze.

“
Cad é atá uait
? What do you want?”

Reeve stepped closer to her.

“Did you come to accuse me of something else?” Her eyes snapped with challenge.

“I didn’t mean—” Reeve began.

“I don’t care what you
meant
, Mr. Leighton.” Her burr grew along with her anger. “Your point was clearly made.”

“Hey now!” Reeve protested and reached out with one hand to touch her. “I don’t know who you think you are—”

“Affrica?” A deep voice cut Reeve off. “
Deacracht
?”

Reeve looked behind him and swallowed. Hard. Standing in the doorway was Aidrian O’Shea, better known as Hondo. The lone black man on his brother’s SEAL Team was one of the two most imposing in Reeve’s eyes, the second being the tall Native American, Maverick. Rarely did any emotion show from Hondo that didn’t intimidate Reeve in some way. He wouldn’t want to face
any
of them down, however.

She shook her head. “No. No problem. I was just about to leave. I have to go.”

Reeve witnessed as an unpleasant emotion filled Aidrian’s eyes that were almost black. Maverick’s appearance in the room stymied whatever Aidrian had been about to say. A flirting smile crossed Maverick’s face as he slapped his teammate on the shoulder and moved across the open room to pull Affrica unhesitatingly into his embrace.

Maverick muttered something softly that only the woman he had in his arms could hear. Watching the man press a kiss to the side of her neck, an action that got a shiver in response, made Reeve sick to his stomach. Why did he feel the urge to bite someone’s head off?

“Stop it, James.” Affrica giggled as she smacked him in the chest.

“Dinna be puttin’ them lips anywhere near my sister, Mav,” Hondo growled. “I dinna know where they’ve been.”

Affrica laughed again. “Stop. I canna stay here and listen to this.” Stepping away from Maverick, she walked to her brother and kissed him on the cheek. “I have mah phone, always. I’ll be safe so dinna worry about me.”

She looked up at him and grinned. The love she felt for her brother obvious on her face. “You be careful, okay? I love you. I really have to go.
Slán agat
. Goodbye.”

Hondo nodded and let her step out of his embrace. “Love you, too, Affrica. Stay safe.”

Affrica walked over to Maverick and kissed his cheek when he leaned down and tapped the smooth copper skin. “You, too; take care of my brother and yourself,” she said.

“Always,
tanke jigala
, little sister, always.” He gathered her close. “Be good.” One black eyebrow arched. “Don’t make me kick this man’s ass whoever he is. Stay safe,
tanke jigala
.”

“
Slán agat
, James.” She moved past him to the door and cast a spiteful look back to Reeve before opening and walking through the front door, shutting it gently behind her.

Reeve was alone with Hondo and Maverick, neither of whom was watching him with nothing other than suspicion. Slipping on his sunglasses, Reeve nodded sharply to them and headed for the door himself.

“Leaving already, Reeve?” Scott’s voice stopped him.

He’d not even realized his brother had entered the room. “I have something to do,” Reeve answered. He noticed the shrewd look that Hondo sent him. “Thanks for the food.”

“Everything okay in here?” Scott questioned.

“As far as I know,” Reeve replied. He shifted his weight, feeling a bit nervous from the unwavering stare coming from Hondo. And also the one coming from Maverick.

Scott looked from man to man before shrugging it off. “All right then. Have a good one, Reeve. Come on, guys. You know Lex has more food for us.”

Maverick moved, and Hondo followed after another second of that bland ‘death’ stare he delivered in Reeve’s direction. Scott looked at his younger brother, opened his mouth then shut it, opting to remain silent. He waved before disappearing as well.

Left alone, Reeve scowled at the retreating forms of the trio of men bound together in ways that he and his brother could never be, nor had they ever been. He had always envied his brothers; caught in the middle, Reeve wasn’t special in his mind.

Not the baby like Godric. Nor was he the
firstborn
, the heir to the Leighton legacy, as Scott was.

Then, there was the fact Godric owned a business, had since he was twenty-four. That was six years ago, and his country club was one of the most prestigious around.

In addition, the firstborn had to go and join the military. Become one of the best. Reeve
was
proud of his brother, but there were times he missed the closeness they used to share, back before Scott left for Annapolis and a career in the US Navy. The closeness Scott, or
Harrier
, now shared with the other members of his Team had once been between Reeve and his brother.

Therefore, Reeve was the playboy of the family. Parties, fast cars, and faster women. That seemed to be his motto. For a brief time, he’d sobered up a bit after a scare of being a father with Marisol, but after that got cleared up, he had gone right back to his familiar lifestyle.

He knew Scott didn’t approve of how Reeve was “wasting” his life, but ever since he had seen the way Scott looked at Alexis that first night he met her, Reeve felt something was missing from his own. And no matter how hard he partied, it was still there, mocking him. Daring him to confront it. So he ran hard and partied even harder.

Flipping his car keys in his hand, he opened the door to the house that had become the permanent home of his brother and sister-in-law and walked out into the comfortable autumn afternoon. His gaze immediately honed in on the woman who was talking with a taxi driver as the man put her bags in the trunk.

As she tossed her head, her gaze turned back to the house, and a glower settled over her features.

“Let me explain,” Reeve said as he realized his feet were heading him in her direction.

The driver got into the vehicle, and Affrica leaned against the cab, one arm over the open back door. “What do you want?” she snapped.

“I want to apologize for—”

“For assuming I was stealing something?” Affrica butted in.

“Well, I didn’t know who you were.”

Her brown eyes made him want to jump in and see where they took him. It looked like she had flecks of dark gold in them, when he peered nearer. Moreover, he wanted to peer as closely as he could.

“I didn’t know who you were either, but I didn’t make the wrong assumption.” Her gaze raked over his body. “I was right on the money about you.”

“Meaning?” Reeve stepped closer, dwarfing her body with his larger, much stronger one.

“I figured you were a rich, arrogant asshole.” A smirk filled her face. “I was right.”

Reeve lowered his face to hers and inhaled her subtle fragrance. “You forgot something,” he mumbled, using the voice he knew women thought of as a sexy baritone.

“What’s that?”

“How incredibly handsome I am.” He moved two lean fingers to twirl around a thick curl. He couldn’t believe how soft her hair was. Reeve wanted to bury his hands into the hair on the sides of her head and see if she tasted as sweet as he believed she would.

A decidedly less-than-feminine snort escaped Affrica. Leaning in, her fingers trailed over the edge of his silvery shirt, just tantalizing his skin as her lips moved within millimeters of his own. “I see handsome men all the time, and trust me…I dinna forget it. I dinna think it worth mentionin’.”

She stepped away from him and into her waiting cab. A wave of her hand to the driver and the vehicle was pulling away from him. Reeve swallowed as a bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck.
Sweet Jesus.
“That woman,” he muttered as he went to his waiting vehicle.

He was still mulling over the honeyed breath she had and the spicy scent of her skin as he opened the door to his cherry red Ferrari Enzo. “Damn woman! Who the hell does she think she is?”

Even later that evening, as he was in out with his woman for the day with whom he had every intention of going to bed, his mind drifted back to the dark, brown-eyed beauty whose fierceness and spark aroused him in ways he didn’t understand. What he did understand was the refusal of his body to cooperate. After dinner, he left his date at her place. Alone.

* * * *

Reeve walked into Towering Oaks Country Club and headed immediately for the manager’s office. The door was open, and he heard his brother Godric talking to someone about setting up an appointment. Believing he was on the phone, Reeve breezed right in and froze. Sitting in a chair across from his youngest brother was none other than Affrica. His eyes moved over her as she sat there, a large canvas case next to her.

She wore dark green cargo pants and a black shirt. She had some hiking boots on her feet. Her hair consisted of the same mass of curls it had been at Scott’s house, and just as he had then, Reeve longed to bury his hands deep within it.

“Be right with you, Reeve,” Godric said, barely granting him a glance.

Affrica looked at him, moved her gaze over his jeans and t-shirt before dismissing him without a word, placing her dark eyes back on his brother. It made Reeve wish he’d worn something like a suit to impress her.

“Hello is usually a common courtesy.” Reeve heard himself say to her with anger in his voice. He moved closer to her.

“So is knocking on a door before you enter,” she shrugged, “yet you chose to ignore that pleasantry, and so, I ignored one as well.”

“Reeve!” Godric said, astonished. “Please behave yourself. Ms. O’Shea is here on business.”

He sneered as his gaze traveled lewdly over her body. “I bet she’d look cute in the waitress outfit.”

“Ms. O’Shea, please forgive him,” Godric pleaded. “I don’t know what his problem is.” He glared at Reeve.

With a bland expression, Reeve watched as she stood effortlessly.

“I will see you in two days then, Mr. Leighton.” She offered words along with her hand.

Reeve glared back as his brother blushed and shook her hand. “I thought I told you to call me, Godric.”

“Godric.” Affrica nodded then looked at Reeve who was crowding her. “You know, ya should at least go home and get the smell of whore off you before you go out again. Dinna she have a shower?”

“Jealous, sweetcheeks?” Reeve asked, stepping even closer. “I can give you a job if you are looking for one.”

A dispassionate look filled her eyes. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll work for you, whate’er you want,” she paused, “as soon as you clear it with my brother. Remember him?” Affrica leaned in and sniffed him. “Ya should be ashamed of yourself. You’re still drunk. You may not care about yourself, but ya should respect your brother more than this.” She breezed out the door, carrying her bag with her.

It took Reeve a moment to stop watching her ass move as she walked. Then, he glanced back at his brother who was shooting daggers at him.

“You need to grow up. She wasn’t applying for a job here. She is shooting the photos for the layout they are doing on me in the business magazine.” Godric put his head in his hands.

“A photographer,” Reeve mumbled, more to himself than anything. He could hear his brother berating him but all his attention was on the way Affrica’s mouth formed words. He wanted to kiss her lips.

“Reeve, Reeve!” Godric was standing in front of him. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He waved a hand around the room. “Coming in here and insulting her like that. That was extreme even for you.”

Reeve wasn’t sure. “Look, I’m sorry, man. I’ll call her and apologize to her.”

“Oh no, I’m not giving you her number. That trick may have worked in the past, but not now. What the hell is going on between you two? And where did you have the pleasure of meeting her?”

“Nothing,” he muttered. “Nothing is going on between us. I met her at Scott’s, and we just got off on the wrong foot. She doesn’t seem to like me much at all.”

“Well, hell, I don’t know,” Godric snapped sarcastically, “try being
nice
to her.”

“I want to, Godric. I do. It’s just,” he ran a hand through his hair, “when I see her, things come out all wrong.” Reeve wanted to smash Godric’s face in as his youngest brother burst out laughing.

“You got the hots for her. My big, bad, playboy brother has the hots for a woman who isn’t giving him the time of day.” Laughing still, Godric moved back to his desk and sat.