Brenda Jackson - A Brother's Honour

And then there was the fact that the old man had made sure Dalton hadn’t been able to touch his trust fund when he’d turned twenty-five like his brothers, claiming Dalton was too much of a playboy and would lose every cent within a year. If Richard Granger expected that to keep him down, he’d been wrong. Instead, Dalton had pushed himself, determined never to have to go to the old man for anything. He’d excelled in sports and had gone to the NFL straight from college. The signing fee alone had been nice, and the two-year stint had led to lucrative endorsement contracts.

Okay, he would admit he’d almost proven his grandfather right by nearly losing it all through a few shady investments and living in the fast lane. But in the end, he’d managed to pull his shit together and become the self-made billionaire that he was.

“Are you going to sit over there for the rest of the night, Dalton?”

He chuckled and slowly rose to his feet. Like Victoria, he was as naked as the day he was born. “And just what has you in such a horny state, Victoria?” he asked, sliding his naked body back in bed beside hers.

Instead of answering, she glanced away. But not before he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. “Victoria?” he asked softly, pulling her into his arms. They went back a long way. Sometimes he thought too long. Three years ago, almost down on his luck, he had met her father at a party while in London. Stuart Hunter, Earl of Falmouth, was nothing short of a financial genius.

For some reason, the old man took a liking to Dalton and invited him to one of his seminars. A year later, Dalton became the owner of more than twenty million in investment properties, including a number of apartment complexes in Paris and several shopping malls in Switzerland and the United States.

Victoria looked back at him and he saw even more tears. “It’s Derek. Father told me today he heard Derek is remarrying,” she said in a broken voice.

“I see.” And he did, more than he cared to. He knew that although five years ago she had divorced the bastard for screwing around on her, Victoria was still in love with the man.

“I gave him twelve years of my life, Dalton, and I thought they were good ones. I assumed our marriage was solid. He showed me in the worst possible way that it was not. And then to make matters worse, the woman is young enough to be his daughter,” she added snippily.

He decided now might not be a good time to remind her that she was old enough to be his mother. His mother. He pushed the painful memories of his mother and father away...and tightened his hold on Victoria. “Forget him, Victoria. He’s caused you nothing but pain. You deserve better.”

He’d told her that a number of times before. So had Stuart. But she refused to let go of a love that evidently controlled her heart. He couldn’t imagine loving anyone that much and that deeply.

“I tried forgetting him, Dalton.”

“But not hard enough,” he said with irritation in his voice. He thought of everything she had going for her and figured she didn’t need this drama. Hell, when it came to her, he couldn’t help but feel protective. They weren’t just occasional lovers; they were friends.

In a smooth move, he shifted their bodies to ease her on her back and glide between her legs. “I promise not to dwell on that million I lost last week if you promise not to think about that prick of an ex-husband of yours.”

She looked up at him, eyes widened. “You lost a million dollars? Does Father know?”

“No, and I don’t plan to tell him. I had it to lose, Victoria. Besides, I don’t want to hear one of his damn lectures.”

She nodded. “All right. Mum’s the word.”

He lowered his mouth, ready to take hers, when his cell phone went off. He wanted to ignore it but recognized Jace’s ring. His brother never called him at this hour just to shoot the bull. Something had to be wrong.

Victoria had seen the concerned look on his face and had reached over to grab the phone. She handed it to him. “I think you should take this.”

He thought so, too. He clicked on, putting the phone on speaker. “What’s up, Jace?”

“It’s Granddad. He had a heart attack, and we’re needed at home.”

Dalton shifted off Victoria to ease back against the pillow. “And who the hell are we?”

“Damn it, Dalton. This isn’t the time to act like an ass. Hannah called. It’s serious.”

“And I should care...why?”

Jace didn’t say anything for a minute and then in an angry tone, he said, “Because he’s your grandfather.”

Dalton hadn’t meant for those words to affect him, but they did. “The old man never cared about me and wouldn’t care one way or the other if I were there or not. Everyone knows you were his favorite, like Caden was Dad’s. I only had...” A lump formed deep in his throat when he finished by saying, “Mom.”

He forced a smile through all the painful memories that suddenly emerged. Yes, he had been his mother’s favorite. He’d known it, and so had his brothers. But he had been the youngest, so it stood to reason he’d found a special place in Sylvia Granger’s heart.

“You won’t let things die, will you? You like holding on to crap,” Jace accused.

Yes, he did, mainly because years ago he’d decided to never allow anything or anyone get close enough to hurt him again, and clinging to crap made sure there was distance. As far as Dalton was concerned, he’d already lost both parents, so losing the old man wouldn’t destroy him.

“Look, Dalton, my plane is boarding now. I’m on my way to Virginia. I got word to Dad through the warden and I talked to Caden a few moments ago. He’s meeting me at the hospital, St. Francis Memorial.”

“Just keep me posted.”

“Is that all you got to say?” Jace asked angrily.

“Yes. Goodbye, Jace.” And then he clicked off the phone.

Victoria took it out of his hand and placed it back on the nightstand. “You should go, Dalton.”

He frowned at her. “Why?”

“Because he is your grandfather.”

His frown deepened. He had confided in her years ago, so she knew his family history. The good, the bad and the ugly. “And?”

“And if you think what he did to you all those years ago, denying you access to your trust fund until your thirtieth birthday, was so wrong, then go and let him see that in spite of what he did, you became a huge success.”

She paused a moment and then asked softly, “He doesn’t know, does he?”

Dalton shook his head. “No.” In fact, he doubted even his brothers knew of the vast amount of his wealth. His family assumed he was an American gigolo in England living off women.

“Then maybe it’s time he did, before it’s too late.”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

“I think it does.”

He bit back a retort, one that would have burned the hell out of her ears. “You’re wrong.” He lay there a moment wondering who he was shitting. It did matter, and it bothered him that it did.

Wanting to force Jace’s call from his mind, he reached for Victoria, captured her mouth and hungrily began mating with it. And when he felt her passion beginning to stir, he lost himself in her incredible heat.

Chapter Four

The moment he entered the hospital room, Jace wrenched his gaze from the doctor standing by his grandfather’s hospital bed. And for a minute it was hard to believe the man lying there was actually Richard Granger. The once-tall, robust man looked as if he’d shrunk into an unconscious body that was now connected to various machines.

Jace had last seen the old man during the holidays. Although he’d tried talking Caden and Dalton into spending Christmas and New Year’s at Sutton Hills, both had declined. At least Caden had had an excuse with his holiday concerts being sold out. Dalton hadn’t needed an excuse. He’d simply said, “When hell freezes over.” Or words to that effect.