No Turning Back (26 page)

At this point she’d pay money for Beck to get dressed and for both Hanovers—all Hanovers and their mates, actually—to leave the house. “Thank you.”

Callen’s attention flipped back to her. “You have a problem with Beck being naked?”

Somehow she’d turned the attention back to her. Talk about a mistake. She should have run out of the room the second Callen walked in. “We’ve already been through this subject.”

“You’ve been talking to Beck about his dick?” Callen smiled as he stared her down. “What exactly was your position on Beck’s—”

“Do not answer his question.” Beck pointed in her direction but took a threatening step toward his brother. All that movement had the towel slipping in another round of penis hide-and-seek. He caught the edge and bunched the cotton right over the area in question as he looked at Callen. “And you. Drop it before we get sued by one more person.”

“Lucky for all of you, I don’t feel particularly harassed or inclined to sue, but I am ready for us all to move on.” Hell, she’d throw her body down the steps if that would end this conversation and get her plan back on track.

Beck nodded before turning to Callen. “And, really, it’s not what you think. She was acting like she’s never seen a man naked before, so I—”

“Oh, come on.” The final pieces of her humble servant act crumbled. She held back a frustrated sigh, but just barely. “I thought we were done with this topic.”

Callen glanced at her again. “You have seen one, haven’t you?”

She inched closer to full head explosion. “Okay, well, thanks for the entertainment, gentlemen, but I’m done.”

The bathroom was about a foot too small for the three of them to stand there and with each new comment the walls closed in. She shoved past Callen and managed to get one foot into the hall before she turned back to Beck. “Put on your clothes and get out of there so I can clean.”

This new frown had his whole face pinched. “Since when do you get to order me around?”

She knew she should have said “please” but she couldn’t bring herself to be that civil at the moment. “Since I’m working.”

“That isn’t really an answer.”

She slipped her second foot out of the confining space. “I’ll be waiting in the sewing room.”

“I’m still trying to believe we have one of those.” Callen didn’t move but his mumbling was tough to miss.

The Hanover stubbornness made a nerve at the back of her neck pinch. Never mind they were sons of a notorious con man and life had handed them a shitty load. She had a job to do.

She’d almost made the first getaway step when Beck opened his mouth again. “I’m still waiting for you to tell me why the sight of my penis makes you all twitchy.”

“Subtle,” Callen said.

She came to a sudden stop and shot them a frown of her own over her shoulder. Beck’s towel barely covered anything now. She spied a peek of hair and a lot of skin. If she didn’t know better she’d say he was holding it that way on purpose. He wanted her to look. Challenged her to look.

The man clearly was trying to kill her . . . or her control. “That topic is closed.”

Beck nodded. “We can continue it later.”

“I meant forever.”

Callen shook his head. “That’s unfortunate for Beck.”

She’d officially stuck around this house too long. “I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Please don’t be here.”

She skipped the sewing room and the search and headed downstairs to what she hoped was a Hanover-free zone. With any luck, her breathing would kick start once she got there.

A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you, first and always, to my husband. You make every day better and never complain about how little I do around the house (or how scary I look) at deadline time. You’re a keeper.

To Leis Pederson for believing in this project when it consisted of only fourteen pages. We searched for a project to do together. I’m thrilled we found one and hope for many more.

To Jill Shalvis for reading this, loving it, and telling me this was my year. You believe in me when I don’t and I am grateful every day for your friendship. You’re also the best writing conference roommate ever (but don’t tell anyone because I don’t want people trying to steal you away from me).

To Alison Kent, Wendy Duren, Kassia Krozser, Jill Monroe and Stephanie Feagan for providing unconditional support, enduring friendship, countless laughs and smart advice. Thank you for everything.

To the readers and reviewers out there who support the romance genre. Your time is precious and I am profoundly grateful whenever you spend it with one of my books.

HelenKay Dimon
is a bestselling, award-winning author whose books have been featured at
E! Online
and in the
Chicago Tribune,
and had two books named “Red-Hot Reads” and excerpted in
Cosmopolitan
magazine. When not writing, she teaches fiction writing at MiraCosta College and UCSD. You can visit her website at www.helenkaydimon.com.