background and so far had not come up with anything on the shady side. In fact, the guy seemed to be a talented businessman building a fortune from a hostile take-over, he’d orchestrated, of a power company. He’d been the CEO of Imagine Energy Corporation for the last eight years, in that time growing the company to its current standing of the fourth largest power company in the world. He was single and owned houses in New York, San Francisco and on a Caribbean island called Grand Serenity. Dane had never been married and had no children. He was rarely seen in public and owned a fleet of black Escalades, which partially explained why Jaydon Donovan, who used to be married to Brandon’s cousin Parker, had been seen driving away from Giovanni Morelli’s house in one, the night of Giovanni’s murder.
After a shower that did nothing to calm his thoughts, Brandon dressed in khaki shorts and a white shirt. He opted for comfortable boat shoes today and picked up his room key, wallet and shades from the table before leaving the cabin. There were hundreds of people disembarking and he moved through them without incident, eager to see some tropical sights, hoping they would relax him.
If he’d been able to spend the night with Amber last night Brandon was certain he’d be more relaxed this morning. He’d thought about her for hours as he sat on his balcony, staring out to the indigo darkness. She’d kissed him, twice, and each time not only had his body reacted, but something else inside him had clicked. Brandon was a thinker, so it was natural that he’d spend quite a bit of his evening contemplating what that meant exactly—besides the fact that he was extremely attracted to this woman he’d just met. He’d told her that they weren’t on any time schedule, that there were no rules where two adults and their attraction was concerned. He actually believed that.
His parents had fallen in love the day they met each other at a political function in Houston and were married within three months. His grandparents, Isaiah and Dorethea Donovan, had fallen in love after seeing each other at a town picnic and were married within six months. Brock met Noelle as a result of Linc’s expansion of the Gramercy Casino. They’d had sex in his pool only a day after he’d picked her up from the airport. Sure, that wasn’t public knowledge, but brothers tended to share those types of things and Brock had wanted to talk before he’d finally proposed to Noelle years after they’d been living together. Conclusion—there was no timeframe for love.
Not that Brandon was in love.
No, he was fairly certain what he was feeling right now was just a significant bout of lust. So significant that he’d actually toyed with the idea of masturbating to the memory of her sexy body rubbing against him in that pool yesterday. Of course, he’d nixed the idea because he preferred the real thing to his imagination, no matter how vivid. Still, feeling out of sorts this morning, Brandon sure could have benefited from a sexual release last night.
He’d been walking on the dock when he first saw her, that hat he supposed she used to keep her identity hidden, pulled down tight on her head. Still, he would have recognized her from miles away, the seductive sway of her hips damn near calling his name. He’d picked up his steps in order to get closer to her only to be pissed off beyond measure when he saw the guy bump into and then insult her. The push and retort she gave the guy in return would have made Brandon smile with pride, had the guy not immediately gotten angry and attempted to go after her.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Brandon said the moment he grabbed the guy’s arm.
“Get the fuck off me! That big bitch pushed me!” the guy yelled as he looked back at Brandon and struggled to break free of his grip.
“You pushed and insulted her, first,” Brandon told him. “Now, the way I see it that’s self-defense.”
The guy
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