Page 3 of In a Bind

The motorcycle started up out on the front drive.

Carter looked down at his daughter as she stepped out of his embrace. "You didn't invite your friend to stay?"

She walked over and poured herself a shot of scotch. "What friend?"

I, of course, watched with more than a little interest as she dropped her head back, pushed the glass to her lips and shot it down. Aside from long lashes, a button nose with a tiny diamond stud and a great pair of legs, Carter's youngest had a lot more tattoos than one would expect to see on the daughter of an old money billionaire.

"The man on the motorcycle. The man I just watched you kiss on the front steps," Carter huffed.

"Why would I invite a man I just met an hour ago to my dad's birthday party?" It seemed she had just noticed me standing in the room, which didn't do a helluva lot for my confidence.

Carter shook his head. "Oh, I don't know, Raini, maybe because you were kissing him out on the front steps as if you had just married the man."

She laughed. It was a fucking awesome laugh. It had a sexy, gritty quality that could make a man tell a lot of jokes or plan a tickle fest just to hear it.

She placed the shot glass down on the table. "Well, I wanted to thank him for giving me a ride. Otherwise I'd still be on the highway with my thumb—Oops." She sucked in her bottom lip to stop her words as her dad's formidable brows formed a furry bridge over his angry scowl.

"Rainsford Bonneville, what have I told you about hitchhiking and where the hell is your car?"

"It's making a funny sound and that blasted check engine light won't turn off."

I had to turn my face so that Carter wouldn't see my smile. It seemed a good time to make an exit, which was my plan until Raini walked over.

"You'll have to excuse my dad for not introducing us. He is, after all, the birthday boy and his head is filled with gifts and cake and expensive bourbon." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Raini."

"This is Zane Bostwick," Carter interjected.

Raini tucked her hair back, exposing a long line of tiny hoops in her ear along with a hidden tattoo, a feather that lined the back of her ear. "You're one of the guys who owns that sex toy company. What's it called?"

"Plaything and yes, sensual toys are part of it." I'd learned that if I replaced the word sex with sensual when describing Plaything it sounded less shocking. Even though I was sure Raini wasn't the type to be shocked by anything. Carter, however, preferred not to be reminded. As long as his healthy residual checks came in, he was fine staying out of the details of the business.

Raini's eyes reminded me of blue pearls, round and nearly opaque with color. She took the time to look me up and down in the same brazen fashion I'd caught myself doing thousands of times when I met a beautiful woman. The only reason I hadn't done it to Raini was because her dad was standing five feet away, and it might have been pushing his good will just a little too far. Now Raini had beaten me to it. Although, standing on the opposite side, I was feeling a little violated. I wondered briefly if that was how the women felt when I did it to them. Nah. How could that be?

Apparently, Raini didn't have a lot of social filters. She reached over and picked up a long strand of my hair. I had worn my hair long for several years, mostly because my copper colored locks had always been an attention grabber with the women.

"Is this color real?" Raini asked. It seemed my hair had grabbed her attention too. Just not the kind I was used to.

"It was like this when I was born, so I guess it's real."

She studied the piece in her fingers. "You're not a ginger. You're a, hmm, a burnt umber."

"Raini, for heaven's sake, leave the man's hair alone. Zane, why don't you head out to the buffet. I need a few words alone with my daughter."

"Sounds good. Nice to meet you, Raini." I headed down to the bottom floor and out to the patio where most of the guests were standing with their drinks and plates of food. I could see Aidan's dark blond head towering above everyone. He was talking to two women. I waved to him and headed over to the buffet table.

Aidan came up behind me holding a new plate. "The lobster salad is fucking awesome. Where have you been?"

He piled his plate, his third or fourth, most likely, high with the salad.

"I was upstairs talking to Carter." And then I thought about the last few minutes up in Carter's sitting room. I looked at Aidan. "You know how on the drive up to the house I said I didn't know what type of woman I wanted but that I'd know when I saw her?"

"Since it was only twenty minutes ago, I remember." Aidan grabbed a crab puff and shoved it into his mouth. "Why?" he muttered over his food.

"Because I think I just saw her."

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