HUNTER (The Caine Brothers Book 1)

Copyright 2015 by Margaret Madigan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead are purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

ISBN: 978-1-943430-03-1

Formatter: E-Book Builders

To Wren Michaels without whom the Caine Brothers would never have been conceived (of).

Hunter Caine prowled the bar at his father’s wedding reception. The only way he’d survived the tedium of the ceremony had been the knowledge there’d be plenty of alcohol later.

“Hit me again,” he told the bartender, placing his second empty on the counter. If he was lucky, he’d be able to escape early; if not, he wanted to be good and drunk if he had to stick around for the duration.

“It’s not all that bad.” Hunter’s brother Xander met him at the bar holding up a finger to signal the bartender he’d take one of the same.

“I hate weddings,” Hunter said.

Xander took a long draw from his beer, then said. “Don’t blame you. After watching Dad do it so many times, I’ll be surprised if any of us get married. You’d think he’d be sick of throwing these big parties.”

“He loves the attention. It’s just another way to say fuck you to everyone who doesn’t have as much money as he does.”

“Joke’s on him,” Xander said. “The guests come for the free food and booze. They know it’ll be expensive and plentiful. They don’t give a shit about him getting married again.”

“Let’s hope he quits at four. The novelty wore off a long time ago.”

“Maybe we’ll get another brother out of this one.”

Hunter gulped his beer. “I’m thirty-one. Why would I care about any kid he had now?”

“Harsh, man.”

“Whatever. So where’s the rest of the gang?” Hunter did a quick scan of Xander’s cleaned-up wedding look—jeans, biker boots, a white button down, and a black sports coat. He wore his longish blond hair down, and at least his facial scruff was neatly trimmed. He even managed to cover most of his ink.

“Brothers or bikers?”

Hunter smirked. There were enough brothers to make a gang. “Both.”

“Bikers are staying at the state park. The rest of the brothers are lurking around here somewhere. I think we’re all waiting for the earliest possible escape.”

“Did I hear someone say escape?” Damian said, separating himself from the crowd and joining them at the bar.

“Speaking of brothers—” Xander said.

“You’re a SEAL. Don’t they teach you how to withstand all kinds of torture?” Hunter asked.

“There’s nothing the navy can teach us to survive this kind of shit.”

Damian ordered a shot of whiskey and downed it in one swallow, then ordered another. As the tallest of the Caine Six, as his father referred to his offspring, Damian was the huge wall of muscle everyone expected from a SEAL. Among his siblings it was also well accepted that he held his alcohol better than the rest. It would take a lot more than two shots of whiskey to lubricate him through the reception.

“Well said,” Xander said.

“What are you boys drinking?”

Hunter closed his eyes for just a moment and sighed as his father, Dalton Caine, approached them through the crowd. Surprisingly only one woman followed him. Usually an entourage of men and women trailed behind him. Hunter only vaguely wondered where the new wife had disappeared to already. He didn’t care.

“Dad,” Xander said by way of greeting.

Damian threw back another shot and gestured to the bartender to keep them coming. He threw his father a nod.

“Congratulations, Dad,” Hunter said.

“Thanks, boys. You know where the rest of your brothers are? I’d like to have a drink with my sons.”

“I think I saw Jaxon hitting on some chick not long ago,” Damian said. “And Bishop’s probably sitting in a corner somewhere, brooding.”

“No idea where Colton is,” Xander offered.

“Well, no matter. I’ll catch up with all of you a little later. There’s still plenty of party left.”

As much as Hunter wished there wasn’t. The look in Damian’s eyes said he agreed.

“I was actually looking for you, specifically, Hunter. I want to introduce you to Allison McDowell. I just hired her a couple of weeks ago as my personal assistant after Elizabeth left, but now that I’m retired, she’s all yours. You haven’t hired a girl of your own, yet, have you?”

Hunter’s gaze slid from his father to the woman a few steps behind him. He’d spent the last month facilitating a project on the other side of the state, so he’d missed his father’s newest acquisition.

Tall, blonde, and with model-perfect looks, she was saved from being Barbie-boring by sharp blue eyes, lips thinned in disapproval, and arms crossed under impressive breasts. She wore a conservative navy dress and heels that made her long legs appear even longer. She looked ready to stab someone.

He could relate.

His first instinct involved a twitch of his cock and the desire to pull her hair down and run his fingers through it. Leave it to his dad to hire the most beautiful woman he could find as an assistant. He liked to have eye candy in the office. Said it made it more pleasant to be there. For the most part, Hunter disagreed—he didn’t need the distraction—but where Ms. McDowell was concerned he might be willing to make an exception.

Hunter stepped forward and offered his hand. “Nice to meet you, Allie,” he said, dipping his voice into a smooth, charming timbre.

She looked ready to spit fire, which piqued his interest even more. “It’s Allison, actually.”

He nodded. “Then it’s nice to meet you, Allison. And no, Dad, I haven’t hired anyone yet.”

He’d worked with the company since finishing his undergrad degree in business, and while completing his MBA. He’d had an assistant until just recently when she left for maternity leave, then informed him she and her husband would be moving.

It had been on the tip of his tongue to tell his dad he’d hire his own assistant now that he ran the place, but Allison intrigued him. His father’s sexism clearly pissed her off, but not enough that she’d quit already, so she must need the job—or want it. The fire in those baby blues suggested intelligence and spunk, two very useful traits in the real estate development business.

Her firm, professional handshake surprised him. He’d expected meek from a pretty personal assistant, but she met his gaze without the least bit of intimidation, and if he wasn’t mistaken, maybe just a little bit of challenge. Interesting. He made most people—women especially—nervous. Money and position had a way of doing that, and he’d had both for so long he didn’t even think about it anymore. But as the up-and-coming CEO of Caine Development Corp., the pandering and flattery had been especially prominent. Allison didn’t offer him any of that bullshit.

“It’s good to meet you, too,
Hunter
,” she said, emphasizing his given name in response to his use of hers. “I’ll look forward to speaking with you again in the office on Monday.”

“I can’t wait.” He threw her a suggestive wink.

She frowned and released his hand, then turned to Dalton. “Thank you for inviting me to your wedding, Mr. Caine. It’s been lovely, but I have a previous engagement this afternoon. Congratulations on your marriage and your retirement.”

She flashed an insincere smile at them all, pausing just a beat too long on Hunter, then turned on her heel and left.

“Wow,” Xander said. “She’s not at all what I imagine when I think of a personal assistant.”

“She’s fucking hot, though,” Damian said. He elbowed Hunter in the ribs. “Make it a little easier to go into the office?”

The same thought had crossed Hunter’s mind, though on second thought maybe he’d come on a little too strong with the winking and charm. He didn’t want to scare her away, or worse yet, come across like his father. He was anything but a chip off the Dalton block. Maybe the alcohol and his general dislike of his father’s weddings had gotten to him.

“Just think of her as a cherry on top of the multi-billion-dollar company you inherited from me,” Dalton said, a big grin on his face.

As the oldest son, and the only one interested in taking over the company, it had fallen to Hunter to assume the helm. The rest of his brothers had their own career interests and had never been left wanting for money either from their father or from their own efforts.