“And if some high-society producer thinks she can go around me and get the answer she wants, she has another damn think coming. Discussion over,” he’d replied firmly, humor evaporating as the image of Sonia came back to his mind, his thoughts.
His jaws tightened.
“Somebody’s got his shorts in a knot over said high-society producer, I see,” had been his twin’s laughing retort.
To which he’d given him the anticipated single-finger salute answer. Looking at his brother was like looking at a mirror image of himself. So, when his brother lifted one brow and laughed, Key found himself hoping he didn’t look like a damn laughing hyena, as well.
Key had left the room, ignoring Nick’s taunting laugh.
Although they were identical twins, the two men played women very differently. Yet for all of their differences, Nick knew him, just as Key knew Nick, better than anyone else.
Key knew that Nick was aware that Sonia Brandon had gotten under his skin, but he didn’t give a damn. He would take pleasure in telling her no and had been waiting for nearly a week to do just that.
He stared down at her, rubbing the back of his neck.
That was before he’d discovered who and where...he and his brother were linked to. And with that, he wondered if Sonia Brandon knew about the big-ass skeletons in his closet, skeletons he was determined to keep exactly where they belonged, deep in the closet.
And if they didn’t know, Key was determined that the sexy producer and her staff would not find out. He knew if they did, they would do everything to exploit his family. His family had been through enough with the death of his mother and his father’s massive stroke soon after...life had been rocky. They were all just recovering from the loss, moving on and living, and he was damned if he’d allow anyone to come in and destroy that.
The fact that he himself had just learned about the Wildes, in particular his and Nick’s birthright, gave Key some confidence that he was the only one outside of his father who knew. But no mistake about it, it was a rocky confidence.
Because, although he dismissed the possibility that Sonia knew, he was going to cover all of his bases. He would be the one to figure out not only how to tell his brother, but if and when they would make contact with the Wildes. And if that happened, something so private damn well wouldn’t be broadcast before millions of people.
He was determined she or anyone in her crew would not discover his and Nick’s connection to the Wildes. To that end, he kept in mind there was an outside chance that particular egg was already out of the basket.
After wrestling with the decision, and not knowing for sure in the end, Key relied on one of his father’s favorite sayings: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Not that she was exactly his enemy, but Key wasn’t trustful of the industry to which she belonged.
So if he had to make a deal with the devil...he glanced down at the beautiful woman who had been playing around in his mind from the moment they met. In all truth, from the moment he’d heard her husky, low, sexy voice, something about her had...intrigued him.
He would play her for a little longer. Until he found out exactly what, if anything, she knew about the skeletons in his family closet.
To that end, he knew he’d have to promise her something—himself.
“I’d like to make a proposition, Ms. Brandon,” he said, keeping his face neutral. He carefully examined her features, searching for any signs that would clue him in to what she was up to, let him know if she had inside knowledge of his family.
“And what would that be, Mr. Kealoha?” Sonia asked, her dark brown, clear gaze locked with his, her face devoid of any telling emotions, anything to alert him that she was hiding something.
The woman was good.
She definitely knew how to play her cards close, Key thought in admiration. She had a poker face that would give the reigning poker champ a run for his money. But her voice...the natural husky timbre in her voice sounded nearly breathless. It was her weakness. He knew she had no idea that her voice was so telling, as he’d witnessed.
She’d had his ranch workers eating out of the palm of her hand from the first moment she spoke to them. Just as he had, they’d sat up straight, their attention closely given to the small woman with the sexy voice.
Not that it had only been her voice that the men had reacted to.
Uncontrollably his glance fell to the crest of her breasts. Each inhalation and exhalation he watched with a focused, helpless stare, as though he was caught by some invisible traction and couldn’t look away.
“Ahem...I’m waiting,” she said, and coughed.
Damn.
Embarrassed that he’d been gawking at her tits like some overgrown adolescent, the crazy spell was broken and his glance met hers.
One delicate brow was lifted, her lips pursed as though she was pissed to the max. Which only served to make his cock even harder. She was so damn sexy, even mad she turned him on.
If possible, Key felt even more like the overgrown kid she reduced him to whenever he was in her presence.
He tightened his jaw and mentally ordered his cock to stand down and act like the grown man it was attached to.
“I would like to propose that you stay close to me. I’m extending an invitation for you to be my ‘right hand’ so to speak,” he began, lowering his voice, hoping to seduce her into feeling...comfortable around him.
If she was for him, she couldn’t be against him.
“Allow me to show you why I agreed to the show, initially. Allow me to demonstrate to you why I love this ranch.” He turned, extending his arm out to encompass the ranch. “Why I love this land.”
“And in exchange for that...?” she asked, allowing the sentence to dangle.
Key held his grin of satisfaction at bay. He could tell that he’d gotten her attention.
Good.
Her dark brown eyes lit with interest, and her small pink tongue came out to swipe across her full bottom lip. Just like her voice, the small action was a giveaway for her. One he was sure she hadn’t realized she did whenever she was...intrigued.
His gaze zeroed in on the sexy movement. Damn, just when he was getting control of the situation she got him.
His cock thumped against the zipper on his jeans in direct response to her nipples, which had, as though on cue and defying the confines of her bra, proudly pressed against the tank top she wore. As though reaching for him.
Before he realized his own intent, he took a step forward. Taking her hand in his, he brought it up, forcing her into closer contact with him.
“I give you me. I will be more involved in the show, make more of an appearance on the show,” he began, and held up a hand when he saw a light enter her beautiful dark eyes. “To a degree,” he cautioned. “I want the audience to come to love the land as we do. For them to understand why we feel the way we do, they have to believe it. You have to believe it. Do you believe, Ms. Brandon?” he asked, tilting her chin forward.
She slowly nodded, her gaze focused on him. He had her right where he wanted her to be.
“And you’ll sign on for a second season, Keanu?” she asked, her gaze direct.
The way she said his name again forced a reaction from his body, one he was struggling to keep in control.
Although he wasn’t ready to make that final concession, he knew he had to give her something. He nodded.
“I think it will make for a good show. And it’s all about the show, right, Ms. Brandon?” he asked, avoiding a direct answer. When her gaze narrowed, the slightest bit, he