The Key West Anthology (19 page)

Prologue

Harper

A very loud, impatient knocking on my front door startled me. I had just stepped out of the shower and begun drying myself off when it started. I knew I hadn’t been expecting anyone, and rarely did I have any surprise guests.

I rushed off to my room and quickly slipped on my robe. Gathering up my English Mastiff, Brutus, I led him to the spare bedroom. He was a huge dog and he tended to intimidate guests, all 152 pounds of him. “You stay here, buddy,” I said. His big puppy-dog eyes looking up at me made me melt as I closed the door behind me.

I hurried toward the front door and looked out through the peephole. Ian stood just on the other side, scowling and looking around as he waited. He was an extremely busy guy, and for him to stop by unannounced, I knew something had to be wrong.

I slid the chain off the door and unlocked the dead bolt. Before I had it completely open, he pushed through, and I stumbled back from the impact.

“What the hell is your problem?” I glared up at him. “That was one hell of a rude entrance. Did you happen to forget whose place this is?”

By the look on his face I could tell he couldn’t care less at the moment. “Do you realize that your brother cornered me last night and interrogated me?” he snarled.

He was seething, and frankly I was pretty pissed off myself by the idea of Jett confronting him. “Come again?”

“Last night I was having dinner with some associates and potential clients. Your brother cornered me near the bar right as I was leaving. He asked me what my intentions were with his sister.” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. “What the hell are you, twelve?”

Oh hell no, he did not get to barge in to my home and talk to me like that. I hadn’t done shit to deserve his attitude. His arrogance was pissing me off more than the idea of Jett’s intrusive actions.

I stepped toward him, placing my hands on my hips and glared back at him with equal disgust. “Let me tell you something, Mr. Cocky-Ass SOB. You better watch your tone with me, or march your cranky ass right back out that door.” I pointed toward it.

He narrowed his eyes. Like that shit would stop me from spouting off. Please. This man had no idea who Harper Jameson really was.

“Now if you can oh so delicately pull your head out of your ass and take a deep breath, maybe we can discuss this without you spewing all this shit my way. Think you could possibly act like an adult here?”

I had already figured out that Easton and Jett were trying to convince me Ian was bad news. Hell, the two assholes had even gone as far as having someone follow me on my last date. But cornering Ian was the last straw.

Ian stood before me, weighing my words. He and I had only been seeing one another for a few months. It wasn’t love, it was lust. I was attracted to him, and he in turn was attracted to me. I didn’t see it being long term. We weren’t planning a future or declaring our love. I guess you could say we decided to fulfill one another’s sexual needs without placing a label on what we were. We weren’t a couple, yet I refused to sleep with him if he was sleeping with other women too. I mean, in this day in age, I had to make sure we were being safe when it came to my health. We agreed to not sleep with other people, and we got what we needed from each other. I didn’t mind the arrangement we had, as long as he fulfilled my needs, and I had no reason to look elsewhere. And oh my, did he fill those needs well. The man was a machine.

The smoldering look he was still shooting me made me have thoughts I shouldn’t be having right now.

“I need you to handle it, Harper,” he stated. “I won’t have Jett, or anyone else for that matter, butting their nose in my business. I’m a private man, you know this. Take care of it.”

Before I could respond, he spun on his heel and walked out the door, leaving it standing wide open.

Oh the shit, it just hit the fan. Jett and Easton had better run; I was going to kill them both.

And when I was finished with those two, Ian would get his. That man would remember I am not the kind of girl to tolerate being approached like that. If he actually thought I would just tuck my tail between my legs and allow him to shoot demands at me, he was sadly mistaken.

I was more than sure he needed a little lesson in Harper 101: don’t piss me off, because it will never end up in your favor.

Chapter One

Harper

I threw on some clothes and stormed out of my condo. Jett should be at the restaurant by now, and he and I needed to get a few things straight. It was time he realize I was a grown woman and he’d better back off.

Jett’s black Jaguar was parked in its usual spot, just outside the employee entrance. I threw my car in park and yanked my keys from the ignition. At the moment I had tunnel vision, which was zoomed in on my ass of a brother. I would make him regret his actions.

I entered the restaurant and walked straight to his office. I turned the handle and shoved open the door, causing a loud smack as it hit the wall with force.

Jett sat behind his desk. His eyes widened, but a small grin pulled at the corner of his mouth, which only pissed me off further.

“You,” I growled, pointing my finger directly at him. I marched forward.

“Aw fuck, what now?” he mumbled.

“You are without a doubt the biggest ass.” I slammed my hands down on his desk, leaning in a little closer. It took everything I had not to leap over it and slap that smug look right off his face.

“Damn, girl, what the fuck crawled up your ass?” Kade’s voice filled the silence, followed by his amused chuckle.

I spun around. “You, Kade Russell Thomas, better back the fuck off. You don’t want to get on my bad side. Unless pissing blood sounds fun to you, I suggest you zip it up, smartass.”

I narrowed my eyes at Kade. He’d better understand I was not joking in the slightest. He was always trying to be funny, but right now was not the time for his mouth. It would only backfire on his ass and cause me to inflict bodily harm. His best bet was to shut up and watch what was about to go down.

“What the hell is going on?” Jett asked.

I spun back around, redirecting my anger at the ass that deserved it. “Why are you snooping around in my business? Jett, who I date, or who I fuck, is none of your damn concern.” My heart was racing, and I seriously wanted to nut-punch my brother. “You have no right to question him.”

I slammed my hands down on the desk once again, and a loud thud rang throughout the room. “It is my life, my choice. Back the fuck off.”

The jerk actually starting laughing. He thought my outburst was humorous. “See, that’s where you’re wrong, Harp. It is my business. I don’t trust the guy. He’s hiding something. You’re just blinded by his lies, and you don’t see it for yourself.”

“Fuck you, Jett,” I snarled. “This is my life.”

The office door opened behind me, and I looked back over my shoulder, wondering who had the nerve to interrupt my bitchfest.

Easton Black, asshole number two and the second person on my shit list. He’d just saved me the hassle of having to track him down.

“And you.” I walked toward him and dug the tip of my finger in the center of his chest. He smirked and my anger grew. “Call off your dogs. The next time one of them follows me on a date, I will pepper-spray their sorry ass and then run them over for shits and giggles.”

Easton grinned and rubbed at the spot I had just jabbed, and his hand grazed mine. He was a very attractive man. He was also cocky and arrogant, and 90 percent of the time I wanted to slap him. He was demanding and straightforward. He was confident and rude at times. He was me with a penis.

I looked back at Jett as a thought suddenly hit me. “Does Quinn know about your recent obsession with who I’m dating? Maybe I need to go fill her in.”

The way his face instantly fell, I knew I had hit a nerve. Quinn would take my side on this; I was sure of it. By the panicked look on his face, I was pretty sure he feared the same thing. I truly loved the visual of her making him suffer to teach him a lesson.

I walked out, and as I passed Easton, a gust of his cologne engulfed me. Man, the guy smelled edible. A shiver ran through me and I brushed it off.

Pissed, Harper. You are angry at him
, I reminded myself.

Chapter Two

Easton

Seeing Harper angry and all fired up was sexy. She was a spitfire, and I had no doubt she would be just as feisty in bed.

“Fuck.” I sighed. “I’m sorry, Jett, I know she’s your sister, but that was fucking hot as hell. She is a wild one. I think I’m a little turned on.” I whistled, and my eyes connected with Jett’s.

He shook his head and gripped the back of his neck. “Don’t.”

One word with so much meaning. I could see the message written all over his face. For now I wouldn’t push it. I knew he was hanging on at the end of a rope; I shouldn’t cut it.

He reached out and picked up his phone from the desk, then dialed and put it to his ear.

“Hey, baby,” he said all sweet and love-foolish. “Listen, Harper may be by. She, um…” He paused.

I took a seat next to Kade, and we both watched in amazement. Watching him stumbling as he tried to talk his way through this was one of the funniest damn things I had ever witnessed. “She’s pissed, and I think she’s coming by to tattle on me,” he finally explained. He listened to her response. “Well yeah, but…” He paused once more and leaned forward, resting his head on his hand. “No, listen, I don’t trust the guy.” He groaned when Quinn apparently started again. “Babe, seriously. I’m just worried she’s gonna get hurt.”

Another pause. “Yeah, but—” He wasn’t getting a word in. Kade chuckled, and Jett shot him a look that would have intimidated someone who didn’t know him. He was so gone, whipped, and sunk. He had it bad for Quinn, and she was schooling his ass.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll see you tonight. Love you.” He hung up and leaned back in his chair.

“What’s wrong, Jett, Quinn lay down the law?” Kade asked, his voice laced with amusement.

“I want all the information you can find out about this Ian guy,” he said, his eyes closed tightly.

“What about Quinn?” I asked.

“I’ll handle her,” he said, sitting back up and locking eyes with me. “Something about that guy doesn’t sit right with me. I want to know what he’s hiding. I know there’s something.”

I nodded. “You got it. I’ll call Bennie now, get Ray and him working on it.”

Bennie and Ray were the guys my dad passed on to me—two brothers who worked side by side and who had become surrogate fathers to me. My father was a hardcore businessman. Along the way, he gained a lot of enemies and in turn felt it was necessary to have men on call to cover his back.

After my father passed away, I inherited his fortune. I’d known he was a wealthy man; I just didn’t realize how wealthy. We’d only had each other for so long that life now felt lonely without him. Even though he was a little shady at times, we were always very close.

My mother died when I was four. Before that, she’d found out during a breast exam she had a lump. That exam just happened to be during the same visit where the doctor confirmed she was pregnant with me.

After further testing, they determined she did, in fact, have breast cancer. Her choice was to carry me to term, even though her doctor advised her against it. She was already in stage two, and the tumor was extremely aggressive. But she insisted, “The life of my child means more to me than anything else in this world.”

My father passed away eight months ago after a massive heart attack. I inherited more than I had ever imagined, including my go-to men. I could always count on Benny and Ray, no matter how big or small the task.

I knew they would be the guys to find out everything I needed on this Ian guy. He was shady. I agreed with Jett on that. He was always looking over his shoulder, like he was hiding something or hiding from someone. Whatever he was involved in, I didn’t like the idea that Harper had anything to do with him. In the end, she may suffer. That thought sat heavy on me and left a bad taste in my mouth.

I’ve known Harper for years. She was full of attitude, full of fire. Most found her intimidating, but I actually found her temper a huge turn-on. Something I chose to hide because my friendship with Jett was very important to me. I was sure if I voiced an interest in his sister, everything would change. I just wasn’t sure I would be able to hold back if I was ever given the chance to have a taste. The temptation would be too much.

I was more than positive she would be ready to murder me once she found out I had just upped the ante. Jett wanted information, and I would do whatever it took to provide it. I wasn’t worried about Harper’s reaction. I could handle her. It actually may be fun pissing her off.