Beth Kery - Since I Saw You

“By a year and a half. Lucien is the oldest of us all. Six weeks ahead of Ian,” Kam said. She noticed him studying her face with a narrow-eyed gaze. Instinctively, she knew he wondered if Ian had told her about the background of their common heritage.

“Ian has explained to me about Trevor Gaines being his, Lucien’s, and your biological father,” she said without flinching.

“Did he also tell you that dear daddy was a fucked-up son of a bitch?” he asked with harsh flippancy, before he took a swallow of beer. Too flippant. She sensed the edge of anger beneath his unconcern this time. His description of Trevor Gaines was apt. The French aristocrat had been a sick SOB who got his thrills from impregnating as many women as he possibly could, whether by seduction, rape, or other unsavory means. Using those means, he’d gotten Lucien’s, Ian’s, and Kam’s mothers pregnant in a close span of time. There had been other victims, too. The newly discovered knowledge had nearly sent Ian over the edge when he’d learned of it last year. This much she knew: Kam came by his bitterness toward his father honestly.

“He told me,” she replied simply.

His tense expression relaxed somewhat when she offered no false platitudes in regard to the unthinkable crimes of the man who had created him.

“I’m having trouble finding uses for all the money I got with the pharmaceutical deal,” he said, changing the subject. “What am I supposed to do with a hundred times that amount?”

“Ian and Lucien both seem to think the capital will help you to buy more advanced laboratories and equipment that will spur you on to more creative heights of invention. You could potentially create a lasting company that could revolutionize the watchmaking and medical biofeedback industries—not to mention people’s everyday lives. You could provide thousands of jobs. Ian has a lot of faith in your brilliance, Kam. But in the end, if you can’t think of anything you’d do with the capital from another sale, then this entire conversation is pointless.”

His nostrils flared slightly as they faced off in the silence. Just beneath his obstinacy and wariness, she sensed he was listening.

“I’ve arranged meetings with three watch company representatives,” Lin said, sitting back slightly so that Victor could arrange bowls of Emile’s steaming, fragrant onion soup before them. “I can tell you with certainty that every one of my contacts is far from thinking it’s a waste of time , as you put it. They’re extremely interested in your product. Fascinated, in fact. They’re all very eager to see a firsthand demonstration of your product.”

“And to meet me,” Kam muttered.

She met his stare calmly. “And to meet you, yes. Thank you, Victor,” she said when the bartender handed her a black napkin. He knew the white ones left lint on her black skirts. She was in the process of smoothing the napkin over her thighs, when she glanced sideways.

Kam’s gaze was on her lap. As if he’d noticed her sudden stillness, his stare flicked up to her face. The heat she saw in his eyes seemed to set a spark to her flesh. Excitement bubbled in her, the strength of her reaction surprising her. She couldn’t deny it, this unexpected rush of lust.

It was because he looked so much like Ian that she was having this reaction. It must be that. The forbidden held the power to tantalize. God knew there was nothing more taboo than her boss. Ian Noble was the one thing she couldn’t have . . . could never have. Even if he was the only man she’d ever loved, he was off-limits to her, now more than ever since Francesca Arno had entered his life.

But his newly discovered brother wasn’t off-limits, Lin acknowledged as Kam’s hot, gray-eyed stare lowered to her mouth and she felt her nipples tighten as if by magic. No, Kam Reardon appeared to be about as available as she wanted him to be.

Kam unglued his gaze from Lin Soong’s mouth with effort. She wasn’t what he’d expected.

Not in the slightest.

He’d caught her scent as they talked, and his cock had appreciated it even more wholeheartedly than his brain. When she’d moved her hands over her lap, it’d been like mainlining lust into his blood. How could a woman’s hands be so sexy? Watching her primly smooth the cloth napkin over her thighs had momentarily hypnotized him, not to mention made him go dry-mouthed. He couldn’t help but imagine her touching herself while she was completely naked, shapely hands gliding over lithesome thighs . . . between them. She had the most flawless skin he’d ever seen. He’d touched her on purpose. He’d never done that before when just meeting a woman . . . He’d wanted to put his hands on her so much it was like a mandate.

He didn’t need to guess that her skin would flow like silk beneath his discovering, hungry hand. She wasn’t built like the women he usually favored—robust, voluptuous women who wouldn’t quail at his demands in bed. No, she had a figure like an elegant wand, all compact, yet lush curves and graceful refinement. Fiercely feminine came to mind as an apt descriptor. Her effortless sense of chic defied description in any language he’d mastered. Her legs were long and shapely beneath the narrow skirt she wore. He hadn’t realized it was possible for a person to possess such a slender waist. If it weren’t for the suppleness of her movements and the sleek strength hinted at by her muscle tone, he’d worry he’d break her in bed.

Not that she would ever go to bed with him. That was just his cock spouting off, of course. Still, Kam was practical. He knew the game board had altered ever since he’d seen Lin walk into the restaurant; he just wasn’t sure how it would change yet.

He was captivated by even the smallest of her gestures. She was utterly perfect with her clothes on. He could only imagine the raptures of her naked body. Did a woman as graceful and sophisticated as Lin Soong purr in bed, or did she hiss and bare those small white teeth?

He mentally cursed his uncontrollable thoughts, reaching for the loaf of warm, crusty bread that Victor had set before them in a basket.

What was Ian thinking, sending him a woman that was so gorgeous, she was almost otherworldly? Was Lin Soong the enticement to come around to Ian’s way of thinking? Was Ian trying to prove to Kam there were indescribably worthwhile benefits to wealth and power? No wonder Ian grumbled that every chief executive officer and business mogul on the planet wanted to poach Lin Soong from him.

Too late, Kam realized he’d ravaged the bread with his rough hands. He glanced apologetically at Lin. Her face was still and calm as she watched him with large, dark eyes. Against his will, he imagined what it’d be like to have her look up at him with those eyes while his cock was harbored deep inside her, erupting.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, taking a piece of the torn loaf for himself and leaving a mangled portion in the basket.

“No problem.” She reached and ripped off a piece for herself, those hypnotizing white hands nearly as forceful as his had been. There was something sexy about her actions, knowing she didn’t disdain the place where his fingers had been . . . his touch. Blood pulsed into his cock. He shifted in the uncomfortable chair, grimacing. She picked up her spoon and matter-of-factly dipped the edge of her bread in the fragrant broth. Unable to look away, he watched her insert the corner of the bread between her lips and bite. His cock swelled and twitched. He tamped down an almost uncontrollable urge to nip at that mouth. It was small, but her dark pink lips were lush and shapely.

Her nostrils flared slightly as she returned his stare and chewed her bread, her expression a strange combination of calm innocence and complete understanding of what he was thinking.