Her brother had always been a petty child, and he’d grown into a petty man. Still, they used to be able to get along, to find a middle ground. Now she hardly knew him—or her younger sister, Kelsey.
Kelsey also held a share of the company, but she hated to get caught in the cross fire between Virginia and Cliff, and usually gave her proxy to one of the other voting board members. She threw herself, instead, into her college studies and her computers, taking great pains to separate herself from the family business.
There were times, like tonight, when Virginia wished she had the same options. It would have been nice to be just an ordinary woman for once. Any woman. Then she wouldn’t have to question Dillon’s motives in pursuing her.
He wanted her; she knew that. He couldn’t have faked his reactions in the car. She’d been more than a little aware of his erection, heavy and full, pressing into her hip. But there was more to it than that, she was certain. And if it wasn’t a part of the company he wanted, then what?
She’d read his file when Cliff had first hired him to oversee their security department, mostly because he didn’t seem to be the typical Johnson’s Sporting Goods employee. He didn’t look as if he’d ever played a recreational sport in his life and every time he donned a tie, it seemed to choke him. No, with eyes so dark they almost appeared black, he looked more like a mercenary. Or a renegade. And his file had revealed that he’d never held a steady job for long. The man skipped around the country, and sometimes out of the country. It was for certain he’d been somewhere warm recently, because his skin was darkly tanned, contrasting sharply with the sandy brown hair that hung beyond his collar.
His qualifications and references had been excellent, plus he’d had some military training, so Cliff had hired him regardless of the way he looked.
Dillon knew his business. In the first few days he’d instigated additional safeguards on several levels, approved by Virginia, that would save the company substantial funds in the long run. Ruthless in many ways, he’d already fired two night guards, claiming that the men had been leaving their posts, playing poker and not paying attention to their jobs. Dillon wouldn’t allow any dereliction of duty. He now did a personal background check on everyone hired under his jurisdiction, which encompassed all the company offices and the store locations, as well. He took his responsibilities seriously and expected the same of everyone else.
The intelligence in his dark eyes was easy to read, as visible as his strength and every bit as appealing. Even his disdain for her family’s business seemed sexy to Virginia. But still, he was an enigma.
She’d give him one night, she decided. Even if he did prove later to be a swindler with ulterior motives, it wouldn’t matter. She’d never get drawn in by a wimp, so there was no risk of a bruised heart. She wanted a man who could stand toe-to-toe with her, a man to be her partner in life, who was her equal in every way.
But Dillon, with his incredible body and incredible kisses, would work nicely for now to fill a terrible void. Her aching loneliness had lingered too long, and she needed a little attention, the kind only a man could give a woman.
No, she could never get serious about a man like him. But every woman had the right to a fantasy on occasion. And Dillon Oaks was six feet two inches of hard, throbbing fantasy material. He’d do just fine.
THE MINUTE DILLON opened his door, Wade pounced.
“What happened? How did it go?”
Damn, this was just what he needed. The entire night had been irritating enough; he didn’t need to be accosted by his brother right now.
He shrugged out of his battered leather coat and kicked off his low boots. “What the hell are you doing here? Are you trying to screw things up?” If anyone found out they were related…
“I was careful,” Wade protested, looking wounded. “I took a bus to the corner and then walked the rest of the way. Besides, it’s dark. No one could have seen me. Now, tell me what happened!”
His little brother, the personification of espionage excellence. What a joke. They’d been raised by different parents, and their upbringing and their outlooks on life couldn’t have been more different. “Calm down, Wade,” he said. “Nothing’s happening yet. Hopefully, this coming week sometime.”
“Damn it!” Wade began to pace, his turmoil the complete opposite of his usual, carefree lightheartedness. “What is the matter with that woman! No woman has ever treated you like this. Usually you’re the one forced to turn them away.”
Even though Wade’s words echoed his own earlier sentiments, Dillon shook his head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m no Romeo.” Then he added with a frown, “And Virginia is no fool.” A virago, but not stupid.
“Ha! She’s a stuck-up bit—”
“Shut up, Wade.” His defense of Virginia took him by surprise. He was automatically protective of women, the trait inborn, but of all the women he’d ever known, Virginia was least in need of his chivalry. Still, he didn’t like the idea of using her this way, even if there wasn’t any choice. Virginia had the answers he needed, and there was only one way to get them.
Fuming, Wade finally dropped into an overstuffed chair. “It has to be soon, Dillon. We’re running out of time and I can’t take much more of this. I keep having visions of being locked away in prison.”
“I told you it won’t come to that. I won’t let it. If nothing else, I’ll get you out of the country before that happens. You could come home with me to Mexico until I get things straightened out.” Then he added, just to distract Wade, “How’s Kelsey holding up?”
“She’s got morning sickness.” Wade looked ready to sink into the depths of depression. “She’s sick and that damn brother of hers isn’t helping matters by doing his best to separate us. He thinks that since I’m without a job and accused of a crime Kelsey won’t want me. She’s afraid to see me, in case he has me locked up right now. I have to settle for the occasional phone call and it’s intolerable. At this rate, she’ll be giving birth before we have a chance to get married!”
Dillon went into the kitchen and opened a can of cola, then began stripping off his shirt. For the sake of the party at the mansion and his scheme, he’d donned a dress shirt and tie. He hated ties. Wearing them to the office during the week was torture.
The lengths he went to for his brother.
Half brother, he corrected himself. They hadn’t shared the same father, but Wade was still his brother in every sense of the word. Blood was blood, as his father had been fond of preaching. You didn’t turn your back on a blood relative.
When their mother had died, leaving Wade alone, he’d made the effort to find Dillon, wanting him at the funeral, wanting to become a part of his life.
At the time, Dillon had just finished a stint in the military. He’d been living the life of a loner, independent of everyone, even his father, with no clue as to where his mother had gone or what she’d been doing, and not particularly interested in knowing. He certainly hadn’t heard that she’d remarried and birthed another son. All his father had ever told him was that she hadn’t wanted either of them, and that as soon as she could, she’d abandoned Dillon. She’d turned her back on both of them, and that said it all. They’d never talked about her; given the circumstances, it hadn’t seemed necessary.
Women had come and gone in their lives while Dillon was growing up, but none of them had been all that important. His father’s relationships never lasted; women were just a necessary convenience for him.
Though he and his father were close, Dillon had never really understood his attitudes on some things.
Discovering he had a