“And I think I told you that my sex life is not ever going to be dependent on a goddamn contract.” He sounded irritable.
“You signed it.”
“I did it knowing that terms are easily changed.”
“I refuse to negotiate,” I said emphatically.
“We’ll see,” he answered vaguely.
As I locked the door after we’d stepped outside, I knew I was going to have to be more careful. Being seduced by a guy like Seth wasn’t part of my future plans.
At all. Ever.
CHAPTER 8
SETH
I’d seen a glimpse of the real, passionate Riley Montgomery earlier in the evening, but she hadn’t revealed even a flash of that same vulnerability in the hours after she’d shared that mind-blowing kiss with me.
Everything was all about the business at hand for her.
Getting her property by playing the game.
And it annoyed the hell out of me.
I wanted to know her, find out why she was so adamantly against pursuing anything except a business arrangement.
But Riley remained a mystery to me, even though we’d spent most of the evening together.
“You might want to approach Mr. Rutledge,” Riley whispered next to my ear, and then nodded her head at an older man sitting by himself at a small, linen-covered table. “Insanely rich, and known to be an honest, straightforward businessman.”
I turned my head to look at her, and that was a goddamn mistake.
My cock hadn’t deflated once the entire night, and every time I glanced at her, it was full staff all over again.
Dancing with her had been torture, but one I’d been more than happy to endure just to have her lush body within my grasp.
As expected, there were more than enough snobs at this gathering, but since it was being hosted by Eli and Jade, a lot of them seemed to be on their best behavior. It was like every person here realized that if they stepped out of line, they’d never be invited to another Eli Stone event. And they were right. My brother-in-law had no tolerance for malicious fools.
Riley and I had eaten and danced, and then I’d watched her work the room with absolutely no hesitation.
“You’ve done your homework,” I told her.
I’d already approached several people she’d obviously researched, and she’d been right about every single one of them. I’d picked up several new, eager prospective investors, and learned about several properties for sale. Now, I was starting to itch to get out of the overindulgent atmosphere.
I could only play the game for so long.
The crowd wasn’t overly loud. The orchestra was playing, but it was fairly sedate. Simply background noise—until you were actually on the dance floor. People seemed to group together to chat—or gossip. I wasn’t sure which one, since Riley and I had spent a lot of time circulating, and very little standing still in any particular gathering for any amount of time.
Riley had done so well at scoping out the crowd that I hadn’t needed Eli’s help when he’d offered it a short while ago.
I looked around the room. I had to admit that it still seemed surreal that I was even among these people. Not that I’d ever aspired to spend an evening with a bunch of snobs, but the fact that I was wealthy enough to be here was pretty unbelievable.
Being at the fund-raiser reminded me that sometimes I still felt like a fraud.
Going from incredibly poor to super rich was still something almost unreal to me, but I knew as long as I never forgot where I came from, I could see all this as just a game.
I still preferred having a beer over champagne.
I still considered a good day of fishing the best way to spend a day.
I still liked to get outside and active, although more often than not, that was accomplished by indulging in a long run that would work up a decent sweat.
Granted, I was getting used to being brutal in the business world, but all in all, the money hadn’t really changed me and my siblings that much. It just made shit easier to accomplish.
“Do you want another drink?” I asked Riley.
She shook her head as she smiled up at me. “No, thanks. Two is my limit. Although I wish I had access to a decent cup of tea.”
Her smile hit me like a kick to my gut. She looked so elegant, and so damn beautiful that I couldn’t think straight.
There wasn’t another woman at the event who could even compare to Riley. And every time another bastard even looked her way, I wanted to beat the crap out of him.
My protective instincts were probably why the three men who were presently pointing in Riley’s direction and checking her out stopped me in my tracks.
Instantly, I forgot all about my reasons for being at this gathering. My complete attention was focused on a potential threat.
“Are you going to talk to Mr. Rutledge?” Riley asked curiously.
“Not yet,” I replied, my eyes glued to the three guys who were now coming our way.
Dark hair. Blond hair. And the other guy is somewhere in between.
That was about the only observation I had time for before the man with the dark hair wrapped his arms around Riley from behind.
“Hey, gorgeous,” the man said as he draped his beefy arms around Riley’s shoulders. “How about a dance?”
Fuck! I saw red in an instant. “How about you take your goddamn hands off her before I break both of them,” I growled, moving forward to loosen his grip on Riley. I stepped between him and the woman I considered mine, at least for tonight.
“She doesn’t belong to you, man,” the guy said casually, but his eyes were deadly and dark.
“She does right now,” I barked. “If you want me to prove it, we can take this outside.”
I’d make damn sure he was in no shape to find his way back inside the building.
I’d been in my share of brawls over the years, and I didn’t mind getting my hands dirty. The asshole had touched Riley without her permission, which meant I wanted his head.
Right. Fucking. Now.
I reached out to grab the guy’s jacket and haul him outside, but Riley suddenly pushed between the two of us. “No, Seth. Don’t.”
I glared at her because she’d put herself in harm’s way, but she stared back at me with a pleading look I couldn’t fucking ignore.
“He was mauling you, Riley,” I informed her irritably. “Give me one damn good reason why I shouldn’t take his head off.”
“Because he’s my brother,” she said firmly as she waved at the two guys next to the dark-haired man I’d wanted to pound into the ground seconds ago. “All three of them are my brothers.”
It took a moment for her words to soak through my anger.
Son of a bitch!
Riley did have brothers. She’d mentioned it. But I hadn’t expected them to be here.
She quickly made the introductions. “Seth, this is Hudson, Jaxton, and Cooper. My older brothers.”
Hudson, the asshole I’d nearly punched, shot me a shit-eating grin, and then held out his hand. “Hudson Montgomery,” he said gruffly. “Glad you’re so diligent about protecting my little sister.”
I shook reluctantly because I was still a little irrational. “Seth Sinclair.”
Once I’d shaken the hand of Cooper, the blond, and Jaxton, the somewhere-in-between, I was a little bit calmer.