Men of Fortune 1: Derek by Sienna Matthews Page A

couldn’t see his right hand above the
table.
    Sure now that he was feeling her up, she
knocked his hand away. She was certain the caress wasn’t accidental
either, as he’d rubbed the same spot on her thigh over and over.
Angry that Derek’s cousin would do such a thing, a cousin he
trusted, she glanced toward her husband. Did Derek know?
    Probably not. Her heart sank as she perused
his laughing visage. He wouldn’t be this comfortable and at ease
with them had he known one of his cousins was a vile seducer who’d
hit on his wife.
    Or would that make them in the same league?
One an adulterer while the other entices married women to
adultery?
    Her head spun.
    Marrying into the Fortune family may not be
so fortunate for her.
    All right, Adam had to know her intentions
by her actions. She’d let it go this once. But if he did it again,
she’d have no choice but to let Derek know. No matter how it hurt,
her husband needed to know that his cousin had hit on her, with no
invitation from her.
    “Carly, you’re not eating.” Adam frowned
down at her plate, which was still half-full. “Anything the
matter?”
    How could he look at her with such warm,
innocent, brown eyes? Was she wrong somehow? Had she imagined the
whole thing? She shook, tiny fine tremors radiating from within her
body. Was she losing her mind?
    “Honey?”
    She attempted a smile. “I’m fine. Cooking a
storm always robs me of appetite.”
    “Hmmm.” His eyes turned appraising as he
surveyed her figure. “You should eat more. You’re too thin as it
is.”
    A flicker of heat leaped in his eyes,
causing an answering passion to rise up in her. Yes, she was
attracted to Adam, in fact, to all Derek’s cousins, as they all
looked good enough to eat, but so what? One didn’t eat all the
beautiful cakes that caught one’s eye. Moreover, she was a married
woman now, allowed to look but not to touch and certainly not to
respond.
    Who was she kidding? They probably weren’t
even attracted to her. After all, with looks like theirs, they
could have any woman they wanted. Why would they want somebody like
her, average and even plain? As for Adam, the man was a born flirt.
He’d hit on old, toothless, wrinkled Granny if there were one
around.
    She willed her pulse to slow down and become
steady. “Really? My gym instructor would disagree with you. I’m
close to ‘overweight’ on the BMI index.”
    On her other side, Oliver made a snort of
disbelief. “I agree with Adam, but then, we like our women with a
little meat.”
    “Thank goodness I’m not one of your
women.”
    When Adam replied, “But you are,” her head
whipped around so fast she feared it would tear off from her neck.
“Explain yourself,” she demanded, heart pounding.
    Perhaps he’d damn himself. She had a witness
after all—Oliver.
    Adam only smiled lazily. “You’re Derek’s
wife, a Fortune. Of course you’re one of our women.”

    That was logical, only she wasn’t quite sure
that was what Adam meant when he’d dropped that little bomb or
Oliver when he’d agreed with the other man. What was going on here?
She didn’t remember the men being this ambiguous and mysterious
before, saying things that could have a double entendre.
    Adam’s hand hit her thigh again, and this
time, he gave her a little smile, the heat flaring to life in his
eyes. He insinuated his hand under her skirt, so that he touched
her bare skin, and where he touched, her flesh burned—to her
shame—with want.
    She trembled and froze. No, she couldn’t
want Adam, and no, she couldn’t make a commotion. She’d vowed
earlier to tell Derek if Adam made a pass again, but not like this,
not through making a scene. Derek would be so hurt to know his
cousin—
    No, she’d need to ease him gently into the
knowledge—
    Adam’s hand inched higher with every second
that she didn’t do anything. His hand carved a burning path on her
skin. Riveted by the pleasurable sensations—reluctant as she was