But Vince and Nolan didn’t know who he’d become over the years. No longer the brash and angry youth they remembered, Dillon was as cold and calculating as the most dangerous corporate shark and Dillon wanted what had been taken from him.
The bonus, of course, was that Dillon was going to enjoy teaching his little brothers the value of never underestimating their opponent. They made a grave misstep in assuming that Dillon hadn’t changed over the years, that he wouldn’t notice their underhanded shenanigans until it was too late. Unbeknownst to them, Dillon had been quietly building his own empire, separate from the Buchanan stronghold, as well as keeping on an eye on Vince and Nolan’s every move. He knew their dirty secrets, their private escapades. Yet, they were completely in the dark about him. Laziness and arrogance, Dillon smirked. Two qualities that made easy bedmates but disastrous partners. Well, well little brothers…time to learn the most valuable lesson of all: never underestimate your opponent and always, always guard your investments.
Dillon’s smile spread as he left the apartment.
Penny McDaniels would be his first acquisition from Buchanan Enterprises.
A laugh rumbled from his chest. Oh, Miss McDaniels…you have no idea that soon…you will belong to me.
3
Penny stepped into the foyer of the expansive home where dozens of well-heeled people mingled about like schools of privileged fish and she chafed at the intense discomfort of feeling out of place. Everywhere her wandering gaze settled she found evidence of how out of her league she was in her surroundings. She tried not to fidget but her fingers itched to curl in the fine fabric of the designer dress clinging to her generous curves, pushing up her breasts like twin offerings on a carnal plate so that they swelled obscenely over the edge of her dress. Goodness gracious, her nipples were nearly exposed and she’d said exactly that when Vince had presented his gift to her. But Vince had simply smiled as if he’d been perfectly aware of this fact — and he’d approved.
Was she honestly the same woman who’d gone from wearing boring beige panties on a typical day to wearing expensive panty and bra sets that cost more than some people’s salary? She shifted and grimaced as her thong wedged itself more firmly up her tush and for a split second she longed for the comfort of her boring, beige granny panties. But boring beige wasn’t sexy. Tiny, scraps of lace climbing up your ass crack was very sexy, even if it was annoying as hell to feel as if you were constantly fighting a wedgie.
And damn it, if there was one thing she was desperately trying to learn, it was how to be effortlessly sexy. Oh, like her…Penny couldn’t help staring just a little at the lithe woman who glided by with a champagne flute in her hand, her willowy figure everything Penny would never be, as she commanded the attention of every set of male eyes in the room. Penny had never commanded a room. She hated being the center of attention, mostly because she feared people were judging her but also because she was a bit shy, if the truth were known. And this party was like scrubbing sandpaper across a raw wound, she thought grumpily.
“You’re probably the only person in this room who can actually move their facial muscles enough to furrow your brow but why mar such a lovely face unnecessarily?”
Penny jumped at the sound of Dillon’s voice at the sensitive shell of her ear and shivered as a secret thrill chased her consternation that Dillon, Vince and Nolan’s oldest brother, had somehow crashed this exclusive party.
“What are you doing here?” Penny asked, determined to keep things frosty between her and Dillon. She belonged to Vince and Nolan, the twin Buchanan brothers and there was bad blood between the twins and Dillon, so that meant she automatically owed her allegiance to the twins. “I thought this party was by invitation only?”
Dillon produced a slim, hand-written invitation in fussy calligraphy between his index and middle finger then with a flick tucked it back into the dark confines of his tailored suit. “Seems there are a few people who still enjoy my company. My brothers notwithstanding, of course.” He gave the room a cursory glance. “Speaking of, where are Frick and Frack tonight? Surely, they didn’t think to leave their little lamb in the company of wolves? Particularly when the wolves are hungry.”
Penny’s breath hitched at the bold way Dillon’s gaze skimmed her curves before returning to her astonished eyes. She struggled to catch her breath when her heart rate threatened to spike to an unacceptable level and tried to ignore the flutterings of arousal that always sparked to life whenever Dillon was within two feet of her.
“Are you feeling all right, dove?” Dillon asked solicitously, though his handsome mouth twitched with knowing. She glared and jerked a nod, swallowing and looking away to compose herself.
“My dress is tight,” she muttered. “And it’s hot in here.”
“Of course,” he acquiesced though in truth, she knew he was simply agreeing with her because he enjoyed toying with her. Dillon Buchanan was the worst sort of man — handsome enough to make a girl forget just how bad he was and just bad enough to make a girl think of terribly sexual things with a smoldering glance — and Penny had to check herself each time he poked his head into her life. Which, as of late, seemed like a lot.
“Stop it,” she said, shocking him with her terse demand. “I know what you’re doing and I’m not about to fall for it.”
“Oh?” One dark slash of an eyebrow lifted in mock surprise. “Do tell. What am I doing aside from providing you with a little friendly company in a room filled with strange faces? Perhaps I was mistaken in my assumption that you looked ready to pass out from sheer terror.”
“I did not look ready to pass out,” she said indignantly, but it was probably the fact that he was right that bothered her most. She had felt ready to crumple to the floor in a puddle of Vera Wang couture.
Penny swallowed and desperately searched for a familiar face, or more specifically, two intimately familiar faces before she tumbled into pure panic. Of course, they couldn’t arrive together. No one could know about their arrangement — technically, it was illegal to own another human being, even if that human being was a willing participant — so that meant Penny had been forced to arrive on her own to a party where she knew no one aside from Vince and Nolan Buchanan, her Masters.
“Tell me, Penny, what is it about me that makes you so jittery?”
Her nose twitched at the sharp tang of his cologne as well as the subtle but alluring scent of pure masculine skin and she had to scowl to prevent herself from leaning in for a deeper inhale. “Perhaps I just don’t like you,” Penny replied with a cool smile that belied the heat curling in her belly. There was something about Dillon that stole her breath and made her think of things best left alone. Guilt sharpened her tongue as she added with a lift of her chin, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to find Vince and Nolan. They’re probably looking for me as we speak.”