Surrounded by Pleasure (4 page)

“I hope you like salmon. Jeffery is an excellent cook.”
He reached up and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on
her cheek, his eyes boring into her.

“Yeah, I like salmon just fine.” Unable to withstand the
intensity of his stare—or his caress—she darted her eyes around the room. On
her visual journey of avoidance, she saw Toby had taken a seat at the other end
of the table. She was no social butterfly herself, but she figured he’d at
least try to engage her more since she was the new one around here. However,
when she saw the look on his face, that thought fled, and she had to stifle a
gasp. He looked sad. So sad it almost seemed like longing or despair. But when
their eyes met, he straightened in his seat as if he’d been slouching, which he
hadn’t been, cleared his throat, and gave her a courtesy nod before grabbing
his drink and taking a sip.

She frowned as she watched him study his liquor as he’d
done earlier during her initial introduction. Maybe he was just shy and not as
forward as his brothers. She definitely couldn’t fault him for that. She was so
far out of her own comfort zone that she almost envied the reclusive brother
with the sexy dimples. When Rob stroked her arm, she wished she were sitting
next to Toby instead.

The door to the wine room swung open, startling her. Jack
and Josh walked out, with Jack carrying a bottle of wine and Josh holding two
glasses. They both walked to the table, but they had cold looks on their faces,
and they both were staring at her. She trembled, not understanding the hatred,
but as they stepped closer, she realized she wasn’t the intended victim of their
hateful gazes. They’d been staring at Rob. When she looked over at him, he was
staring back at his brothers with the same narrowed expression on his face.
What was their deal? And why was Rob holding onto her arm now?

“Umm—”

“Josh,” Mikaela said quickly, and he immediately diverted
his attention to his wife. His expression softened as he gave her a brief nod.
Then he looked over at Jack and tugged at his arm as Krista pulled her arm free
from Rob’s grasp.

“C’mon, you can sit next to me.” Josh took a seat next to
the head of the table.

“Are you not going to sit next to your wife?” Krista
asked incredulously. Why wouldn’t he want to sit next to Mikaela?

Josh chuckled. “I figured she’d want to visit with you,
and if I sat over there, I’d be too tempted to haul her away and make her eat
dinner in bed.” He looked at his wife and winked.

“Oh, you,” she said, smiling. Then she looked at Krista.
“See what I have to put up with around here? Nothing but a bunch of cavemen.
It’ll be nice to add some estrogen in the atmosphere.”

“
Lumberjacks
, kitten.
No cavemen around here.”

Their banter seemed to calm the charged atmosphere, and
Krista took a deep, settling breath.

The main door to the dining room suddenly opened and an
older gentleman walked in. “I am terribly sorry I’m late.” He walked right up
to the head of the table and started to sit but caught Krista’s eye and stood
back up. “Sorry indeed. Where are my manners?” He walked over to her with his
hand extended. “I’m Thomas Woods. You must be the lovely Krista Owens. Welcome
to our home.”

She stood, taking his hand. “Yes, sir. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” He withdrew his hand and headed back to his
seat at the head of the table, but he seemed agitated.

“How’d it go, Dad?” Josh asked as Jeffery walked in
pushing a cart of food and started serving dinner.

“Not as well as I’d hoped. That damn”—he glanced over at
Krista, looking contrite—“forgive me.” He then looked back at Josh. “That Pete
Caldwell is a piece of work.”

“Thomas, you weren’t over there trying to negotiate the
purchase, were you?” Mikaela asked.

“Sorry, dear, but Mr. Caldwell called me over under the
pretense of showing boundary lines on the southern side of his property.” Then
he looked at each of his sons, saving Josh for last, and Krista figured he
relied on that son more than the others when it came to business. “But
actually, he told me his daughter is contesting the sale, so he’s talking to
his attorney about backing out of the deal.”

“What?” Mikaela screeched. “Oh, hell no! You tell Mr.
Caldwell that you two have already entered into a contract, and that—never
mind.” She waved her hand dismissively. “
I’ll
talk to his attorney. Don’t you worry one bit, Thomas. I’ll get this cleared
up.”

Thomas looked at Mikaela, and Krista could see that when
he exhaled, a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Thank you, dear. I
wasn’t sure what to tell him when he blindsided me with that.”

Without even thinking about it, Krista opened her mouth.
“If
Caldwell
’s
daughter contests the sale and she has a legitimate claim to the property, it
will prolong the closing.”
If the Woods
are even successful with the purchase now
, but she didn’t say that.

Mikaela looked at her, and she could feel her cheeks
heating. Maybe she should’ve just kept her mouth closed. She was here to help
Mikaela with her other workload. Not this land purchase.

“I know. But she’d have to prove she has a stake in the
property for her claim to be valid.”

“There could be any number of valid claims she could
make. If he’s incorporated and she’s a major stockholder or board member, if
his holdings are in a trust and she’s the beneficiary, heck, even if she stands
up and says her father is not in his right mind and can produce a power of
attorney, anything can prolong or invalidate the sale.”

“His holdings are not in a trust. He is incorporated, but
she wasn’t on the board of directors, but surely she’s one of his heirs.”

“Not that I don’t like watching two gorgeous women flex
their brainpower, but what does it all boil down to?” Rob asked, then reached over
and caressed Krista’s knee. She tried not to jerk away at the sudden contact.
Again.

“It means,” Mikaela started, “this purchase could take
much longer than I was planning on.”

Krista could read the real answer in Mikaela’s eyes. She
was going to be here longer than a month. Stuck. With one man who couldn’t keep
his hands off her, another who looked ready to pummel said touchy-feely
brother, and another who acted like her very existence here was a major
hindrance.

Great.

So, why did Mikaela look almost relieved?

Chapter Three

Toby kept his nose down, studying his drink. He was going
to start eating as soon as Jeffery put his plate down in front of him because
he was starving and the sooner he ate, the sooner he could get out of here. But
as he stared at his salmon and asparagus, salivating, he just couldn’t seem to
pick up his fork and eat. It physically pained him to try and eat, and he
immediately thought about how his father had always waited for his mother to
take the first bite before he’d dive in at any meal. And Josh acted the same
way with Mikaela. Hell, he’d started that shit from the first day he met her.
Unable to help himself, Toby glanced at his sister-in-law as he remembered. But
his eyes immediately darted to Krista.

God, she was fucking beautiful. A head full of billowy
brown hair and eyes the color of the sky. And her body? He’d never envisioned a
woman so luscious with curves in all the right places. His dick twitched at the
sight of her ample cleavage. And her smell was downright intoxicating and went
straight to his balls. His whole body tightened when she walked into the room
in that killer dress. And when she opened up her mouth to speak, tingles shot
down his spine. But his reaction tonight wasn’t totally physical. Listening to
his brothers fight over her was making something very primal rise up in him.
Too damn bad, though. He was not, was
not
going to get in the middle of that. She was an incredibly sexy woman with an air
of innocence about her, but Toby was not going to risk his life. Or hers. Even
if he felt something for her—which he didn’t,
damn it
—he’d be doing her a favor by not giving her more attention
to deflect. His brothers were doing enough already. And it was pissing him off.

When Jack and Josh had walked out of the wine room,
everyone within a five-mile radius and the ability to hear mental communication
would’ve heard Jack’s mental roaring and cussing at Rob for getting close to
Krista and touching her. It took everything Toby had not to snarl at Jack and
Rob and inform them . . . what? He wasn’t even going to go there. It didn’t
matter what he thought in the heat of the moment. Krista Owens was off-limits
to him.

So, why couldn’t he pick up his damn fork and eat?

You know why.

Fuck.
He wasn’t going to entertain the
idea of Krista being his mate. Even if he wanted to fuck her—okay, so he wanted
to fuck her. He wasn’t crazy, but even if he was going to pursue the opportunity
to fuck her, it wasn’t as if he could mate with her. She was in a loving,
committed relationship. So, the whole can’t-eat-before-my-female-does mentality
shouldn’t apply. There was no way she could ever be his in the lifetime bonding
sense.

The crushing weight of sadness that thought brought on
would just have to be ignored. And apparently, he would have to ignore it for
longer than a month if what the ladies were arguing about the purchase of the
Caldwell
land was true.

Renewing his effort, Toby stared at his fork and slowly
reached for it. Feeling sweat pop up on his brow, he refused to look up. He was
a fucking adult, an
unmated
adult,
who could eat whenever he damn well pleased. As he grasped his fork, he felt a
surge of victory, and when he dug in, scooping a piece of salmon and shoving it
into his mouth, he couldn’t help feeling like a giddy kid. He was eating, which
meant those silly thoughts about Krista and mating where just overreaction. He
chewed, smiling, as he glanced up at everybody else, unable to hide the relief
on his face.

Sonofabitch!
She was already eating.

He fought the very childish need to drop his fork and
storm out without eating. If he weren’t so fucking hungry, he’d totally do
that.

You okay, man?
Toby’s head snapped up at Josh’s
mental question. It wasn’t like Toby could tell him what was on his mind.
Everyone in this room with the ability to shift into a mountain lion would be
able to hear their conversation just as if they were talking aloud. But Toby
knew that he’d still keep his thoughts to himself even if only Josh could hear
the conversation.

Yeah, bro. I’m
good.

You don’t look it.
You’d better keep your ass over on that side of the table. I have enough shit
to deal with since Rob’s touching my woman. I won’t tolerate you doing it, too,
Jack warned.

Dude, she ain’t
yours
, Rob said
as his hand moved under the table, obviously touching Krista some more.
She’s mine as long as she’s here.

It took all Toby’s willpower not to growl out loud, much
less through their mental communication. Jack wasn’t as controlled, as the
animalistic sounds vibrated through their connection.

Enough! I will not
have my sons fighting over her like she’s prey. You will show her respect and
allow her to make the choice. Now enough with the mental communication with
Krista around. She’s a smart woman, and I don’t want her getting suspicious
.

Toby looked away and went back to his meal. Getting
reamed by his dad wasn’t on the top of his list of the most enjoyable
activities. So, he’d just keep his focus on his food and get the hell out of
here.

Toby was almost finished eating when he caught Mikaela
and Krista whispering. He didn’t want to keep looking, but the distressed look
on Krista’s face had his protective instincts flaring without warning. Then
Mikaela stood, followed by Josh.

“We’re going to bed. Goodnight, everyone.” Mikaela
smiled.

Fearing he’d be stuck here with Krista, Toby shot up.
“I’m going—”

“Me, too,” Krista said at the same time, standing when he
did. They both stared at each other, and Toby knew the shock he saw on Krista’s
face mirrored his own. Mikaela, on the other hand, was grinning like a shit-eating
possum.

“Oh, perfect. Toby, can you see Krista to her room? We’d
do it, but you know we stay in one of the cabins now.”

“Er.” What the fuck was he supposed to say? Krista knew
where her room was. As far as he knew, she’d already unpacked and showered. Naked.
In the shower, all soaped up, rubbing her body, caressing her breasts.
Whoa.
Must avoid all thoughts of her in
the shower.

“I’ll do it,” Jack stood.

“You haven’t finished eating. Sit down,” Thomas said,
frowning.

“Then I’ll do it,” Rob said after swallowing the biggest
bite of food Toby had ever seen him eat.

“Don’t be silly. Toby was just leaving anyway. Isn’t that
right, son?”

Shit.
Just what he needed. Another
reproving look from his father. Okay, he could do this. He needed to get used
to her being around anyway. If he went out of his way to avoid her at all cost,
then his father would know something was up. Not that he cared if everyone knew
he didn’t want to pursue Krista sexually, but if his dad thought he was being
rude to her, it’d backfire. And he didn’t want to spend hours talking to his
dad about Krista and engaging in more activities with her in an effort to make
her feel welcome. He needed to keep his interaction with her to a minimum
without overdoing it.