Surrender to Temptation (Agent Lovers Series Book 1) (21 page)

Gray sullenly watched his brother through the kitchen window. After Jeff greeted Chris and Jennifer, he joined them at the table and began chatting with them like they were old friends. He didn’t appear to have any interest in Jennifer, since he did nothing more than speak politely to her.

The mere thought of Jeff’s attention toward Liz sent a surge of jealousy through Gray and caused his stomach to tense up. He felt the urge to give Jeff a swift kick in the rear and send him packing. Gray’s brother wasn’t going to get the opportunity to get to know her better; he’d see to that. Liz belonged to him!

As Gray watched, Furball walked over to check out the newcomer. A moment later, he struck at Jeff with his paw. Apparently Chris wasn’t Gray’s only ally.

“Aren’t you a nasty fellow? Pretty bossy, aren’t you?” Jeff snatched back the hand he’d been reaching out toward the animal.

“That’s Liz’s cat,” explained Gray as he walked up. Silently, he thanked the ball of fur for his reaction, as he handed Jeff a coffee cup. After he’d sat down, Furball jumped into his lap, as if to demonstrate where his loyalties lay. Purring, he snuggled up to Gray.

“He sure sheds a lot, doesn’t he?” Jeff turned to Gray. “Not that your clothes will look any worse for it.” Gray didn’t miss the malicious undertone in Jeff’s voice. He ran a hand over his shirt and pants.

I’ll have to look around later for a lint brush.
If Gray couldn’t guarantee that he was master of the situation, at least he could be master of the cat hair.

Liz appeared in the doorway, her leather jacket in her hand, and looked at Gray with raised brows. “Can I go for a ride now?” His nod was met with a jubilant smile. “Are you coming, Jenny?”

“Where?”

“Just a little ride on Jeff’s bike.”

“Of course!” The prospect of a brief foray into freedom sent Jennifer out of her chair and running for the door. Then suddenly she stopped and turned toward Chris. “Are you okay with that?” His gentle smile served as approval. Jennifer didn’t notice his subsequent nod because she’d already disappeared into the house.

Jeff turned to Chris. “What are you, her father? Why’d she have to ask you?”

He pulled the ignition key out of his pants pocket. Beaming, Liz walked up to him and took it out of his hand and thanked him. She turned around and was about to disappear into the house when Gray called her back. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Meaningfully he nodded toward her wrist. She walked over to him and held out her arm so he could take off the monitoring bracelet. Gray deactivated the connection on his device and then removed the second one from her arm. “If you’re not back in an hour, I’ll have the police out looking for you. Got it?”

“Make it three.”

“One!”

“Two and we’ll bring back lunch.”

After considering this briefly, he nodded. At least they’d be out of Jeff’s reach. When Jennifer came back out of the house, Chris walked over to her and took off her bracelet. Quickly the women left before Gray and Chris could change their minds.

With a mix of curiosity and amazement, Jeff followed the exchanges between the women and the men. He threw his brother with a thoughtful glance.

If they couldn’t have a normal, brotherly relationship that was based on affection, then Jeff wanted at least to discover whether his brother was capable of deep feelings. He looked toward the patio door through which the women had just disappeared.

“Hopefully they won’t ride in another race again,” Gray said sighing softly. He looked at his brother through half-lowered eyelids. Jeff jumped up like a scalded cat and ran after Liz and Jennifer. By the time he got to the front door, they were already speeding down the driveway, leaving a thick cloud of dust behind them.

Swearing loudly, he headed back to the backyard and sank into his chair. He gave a reproachful look to Chris and Gray, who were grinning mischievously. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? I would never have surrendered my Harley!”

“You’ll learn from your mistakes, Jeff. I had to learn that the hard way.”

“Is that why they’re wearing the monitoring bracelets?”

“That’s exactly why. Last night they took my SUV and totaled it in a race.”

“The
Mercedes?
Oh my God!”

Gray found Jeff’s expression to be priceless. Panic filled his eyes as he concluded that his motorcycle was about to take a beating.

“I don’t think those races run during daylight hours, Gray,” Chris said.

“You’re probably right. But if those two get the urge, I wouldn’t put it past them to organize one themselves.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“How can you be so calm? Obviously they’re out of their minds!” Jeff looked convinced that he wouldn’t see his beloved Harley again—at least not in one piece.

“We’re just yanking your chain.”

“Then they weren’t really in a race?”

“Sure they were. And my car really is in the shop as a result.” Gray smiled, enjoying how it felt to destroy the tiny sliver of hope his brother had desperately latched on to. Then finally he relented. “But don’t worry. Nothing will happen to your motorcycle.”

“Are you sure?” Doubt was written all over Jeff’s face.

“Absolutely. Want some coffee?” Gray deliberately switched the topic and enjoyed the next two hours completely. The whole time they talked, his brother looked like he was sitting on hot coals, and he looked at his watch every couple of minutes as he listened intently for sounds of a motorcycle approaching the house.

***

They had barely parked the motorcycle in the driveway when Jeff ran out to meet them. He raced past them and walked around his machine, looking for dents and scratches. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief. Not even the tiniest mark blemished his beautiful ride.

Only after Jeff was convinced that no harm had been done to his Harley did it occur to him that Gray and Chris had done a great job of pulling his leg. He had to give them credit for that.

“Did they tell you we’d total it?” Liz sounded astounded. She peeled off her leather jacket, slung it over her shoulder and put her hand on her hip.

“Yes. Did you two really total Gray’s Mercedes? Or were they just lying through their teeth?” Jeff swore to himself that he’d make the men pay if this was the case.

“Actually, it was me. Jennifer was just along for the ride. But it’s totaled, that part’s true.” Liz nodded and then she gave him a smile that could only be described as enchanting. No wonder his brother was nuts about this woman.

Suddenly his stomach growled loudly and her smile turned into an impish grin, making her look even more attractive. “Did they scare you with that story? Ha! Admit it: you were so worried, you lost your appetite and haven’t eaten all day!”

“Um…” Jeff looked from Liz to his Harley and back again. He ran his right hand across his neck and grimaced.

Jennifer, who had been standing behind Liz the whole time, holding their lunch, exploded with laughter in the face of Jeff’s embarrassment. The sullen look he gave her didn’t do anything to subdue her reaction.

With a bad-tempered grunt, Jeff drew himself up to his full six foot two inches and stomped past them. As he passed Jennifer, he grabbed the white plastic bags marked with Chinese characters and marched toward the kitchen with his head held high. He could feel their eyes looking at his back. Even though they weren’t laughing loudly anymore, he knew Liz and Jennifer were enjoying themselves at his expense. He swore to himself that he’d make Gray pay for that.

“How could you scare him like that?” Liz gave Gray a reproachful look and playfully punched his broad chest with her fist.

“Jeff needs to be put in his place every once in a while. And we didn’t even lie. You really did total my car.”

“Jeff’s bike was a great ride. I would have loved to take it out again, but he’ll never let me now.” Liz crossed her arms over her chest and gave him an angry look. “Why do you have to be like that?”

“He won’t be staying long enough for you to be able to ride his bike again.”

“Did he change his mind? I thought he was going to stay here longer. A few minutes ago he was joking that he planned to get on all our nerves over the next few days. Did I misunderstand?” Liz tipped her head to the side and gave Gray a questioning look.

Gray had assumed that Jeff would stay until the next morning, at the latest, and then disappear again. It looked like he was going to have to have a showdown with his brother within the next day or so.

Other than sighing in resignation, Gray gave no indication of his disappointment. He turned around to the counter and pulled from the Chinese restaurant’s plastic bags a series of Styrofoam containers filled with spring rolls, rice, fried noodles, sweet and sour pork, roast duck and other delicacies. He lined them up carefully on the sideboard and then turned back to Liz who’d been watching him the whole time. With a shrug he finally answered her question, “I honestly don’t have any idea how long Jeff will stay. He can be a bit unpredictable.”

Even though it was unlike Gray to answer vaguely, Liz seemed satisfied. She glanced at her watch. “It’s not quite lunchtime yet. Do you mind if I take a quick dip in the pool while you take care of the food?”

“Not if I get a small reward.”

“You want to be rewarded for unpacking the food?” She laughed softly. “That’s pretty shameless.”

She stepped closer to Gray and put her arms around his neck. Gently she pulled his head down toward hers. With the tip of her tongue she teased his upper lip and then she pressed her lips against his with a sigh, kissing him deeply and intimately.

Involuntarily, Gray pressed his body back against hers. While one of his hands traveled through Liz’s tangled, blonde head of hair, he slid the other under her shirt and stroked the silky-smooth soft skin of her stomach, and then to her back. Slowly he pulled her body closer, responding passionately to Liz’s kiss.

Suddenly, a loud cough came from behind them. The two of them turned to look.

“Is this yours, Liz?” With a meaningful look, Jeff held up two pieces of bikini with his right index finger.

“Yes, thanks for bringing it in.” Moving swiftly, Liz slipped out of Gray’s embrace, snatched the bikini from Jeff’s hand, and ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

“I take it that the rest of these things belong to you, brother.” With his other hand, Jeff held up the wet pile of clothes that Gray had left scattered by the lounge chair. His sardonic smile told Gray that he knew exactly what had taken place out there.

“I’m a grown up, little brother, and I have been for years!” With an indulgent laugh, Gray walked up to Jeff and held out his hand for Jeff to hand over his wet clothes. Then he disappeared into the small laundry room at the end of the hall.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Jeff whispered to himself as he stood alone in the kitchen. Satisfied with how things were developing, he slid his hands into his pants pockets and rocked back and forth. Suddenly he felt absolutely certain that he had found the leverage that would finally make Gray’s chilly facade crumble.

Whistling merrily he retrieved his backpack and went upstairs to look for an empty room. Finding one that was obviously not being used, Jeff threw his backpack on the bed and rummaged through it for his bathing suit.

Back in the hallway, he ran into Liz who was wearing the extremely tiny two-piece he’d held in his hands earlier. His eyes wandered admiringly over her perfectly-proportioned, well-toned body. His gaze lingered for a moment on the fresh, thin red scar on her upper right arm and then wandered to the yellow bruises over her ribcage on the left side.

How did she get these injuries?
he wondered. But all he said was, “Do you mind if I join you?” He smiled at her boyishly.

“Why should I? It’s a big pool.” She gave him an unreadable expression. “Care to make a bet?”

“Why not?”

“Last one in has to do the dishes later. Agreed?”

“Agreed—” But before the word was even out of his mouth, she was running nimbly for the stairs.

“Hey! You cheat!” Jeff chased Liz down the stairs, through the foyer and kitchen and out onto the patio, trying to catch up before she got to the pool and won.

Laughing loudly, Liz ran past Gray, who was sitting on the patio with Chris having a cup of coffee. She ran as if the devil himself were after her. Alarmed, Gray turned around in his chair just as his brother came through the doorway after her. At the edge of the pool, Jeff finally caught up to her, grabbed her around the waist, and fell with her into the water. Laughing as they resurfaced, they splashed and dunked one another over and over.

Gray gloomily watched for a while before he decided it would be best to put an end to their playful antics. With his lips pressed grimly together, he hauled himself out of his chair, but Chris placed a hand soothingly on his upper arm and held him back.

“Don’t! If what you said earlier is true, what you’re about to do is exactly what he wants. If you cause a scene, he wins.”

“So what should I do then, in your opinion? Sit and watch while he makes a play for her?”

“Whose bed is she sleeping in anyway? Yours or his?”

“Mine, of course!”

“Then there you have it! She belongs to you. Just don’t let him provoke you,” said Chris and gave him an encouraging smile. “Once Jeff notices that this little game isn’t working, he’ll eventually give up on his own.”

A somewhat calmer Gray leaned back in his chair and stared at the sky. He tried to block out the sound of Jeff’s booming voice and Liz’s sparkling laughter. It was hard for him to keep himself composed, but Chris was right. If he lost control, he could lose her, so he put on a brave face.

As Jennifer walked through the glass door, Gray’s forced smile became more sincere. He watched as she sat down and Chris leaned over the armrest toward her, then caressed Jennifer’s cheeks with his fingertips and kissed her tenderly on the mouth.

At just that moment, a wave of water shot across the table and drenched the couple. In shock, they jerked apart and looked around angrily for the culprit. They didn’t have to look for long. Liz stood behind Gray, resting one hand casually on her hips and swinging an empty bucket back and forth with the other. Gray threw her a look of mild rebuke over his shoulder.