Page 18 of Until It Was Real

Dakota sweeps into my office. “Miles isn’t here. He left a message about the waves calling his name.”

I snatch my keys from my desk. “I’ll show him what calling his name means.”

I march toward the door.

“I’m wondering,” Dakota begins, and I pause.

“Wondering what?”

“If you assume one of your brothers pranked you because they prank you all the time? Or are you one of those men who thinks women are stupid?”

I frown. “Women aren’t stupid.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “And yet you don’t think a woman could have messed with your autocorrect.”

“I never said …” I trail off when I realize what she means. “You?” She nods. “You messed with my computer?”

Her nose wrinkles. “I wouldn’t say messed.”

“Messed sounds sexual,” Kai says.

Her lips purse. “Sexual?”

I nearly groan at the word sexual coming out of those pretty bowtie lips Dakota has. Those lips I’ve imagined touching with my own way too often. I wonder how she tastes. I bet whatever it is, is addictive.

“There’s nothing sexual about putting Mr. High and Mighty in his place.”

Any thoughts of tasting her fly out the window at her words. “You did this?”

She bats her eyelashes. “It wasn’t hard.”

My cock twitches. It enjoys the word ‘hard’ emitting from her lips. It wants to show her how hard it can be.

My nostrils flare. “You fucked with my computer and wasted my time.”

She fists her hands on her hips. “Maybe this will teach you I’m not an idiot you can have fired because you don’t approve of the car I drive.”

“I didn’t say a word about your car.”

“It was implied, bossypants.”

Kai chuckles. “Bossypants. The name fits.”

I glare at him and Zane. “The two of you out of here now!”

“Sorry, bossypants. No can do.” Zane waves a hand at my face. “You look as if you’re about to have a stroke. I can’t leave this sweet, innocent woman alone with you.”

Sweet and innocent? Dakota is devious, and she’s obviously keeping secrets from us. I will not allow some woman to come in here and ruin the business we’ve built as a family. No one will destroy this family. Not even our father.

“Promise to stop going behind my back to try and get me fired and I’ll fix your computer,” Dakota offers.

“You should fix my computer because I told you so.”

She shrugs. “No skin off my back,” she says as she strolls for the door.

“Stop!” I order.

She glances over her shoulder at me. “I don’t take orders from men who are trying to control me.”

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