“Don’t you dare leave this room, Brianna.” I stiffened at the command in his voice. Everything in me rebelled at following his order. I slowly turned around, facing both men. Mateo’s eyes were hard, with a clear warning in them.
“Is my brother threatening you?” Marcus questioned me. It made me wonder what exactly he thought he could do if I said yes.
“What makes you say that?” My eyes drifted back to Mateo. He watched me like a hungry wolf. The question was whether I was his willing or unwilling prey.
Pussy whipped,Marissa’s voice kept screaming in my head. What if he felt this intense desire, just like me? Maybe there was something to it.
Yeah, a brain check. I scoffed at myself.
“I’ve been trying to take you out on a date for over a month,” Marcus spat bitterly, “and you wouldn’t even look at me. Less than a week and you jump into the sack with him. He’s double your age.”
“How old are you anyhow?” I asked Mateo, not answering Marcus.
“Forty-nine,” Mateo answered, surprising me. Yes, I knew he was older but I would have guessed he was maybe early forties, tops. Wow, he was an extremely hot looking forty-niner. Then I frowned. Wasn’t that a sex position in one of the books? Or was it a sixty-niner?
“Is forty-niner or sixty-niner a sex position?” I asked. “I’m always mixing my numbers.”
Marcus' mouth actually dropped.
“Forty-niner is a football team,” Mateo answered, his lip quirking. Maybe that was why he was so dangerous. He made people feel comfortable and then next thing you knew, you were spilling all your secrets and bang… you were dead.
“He’s old enough to be your father,” Marcus tried to point out the obvious.
“What can I say?” I turned my gaze at Marcus and shrugged my one shoulder nonchalantly. “I never went through the rebellious stage. It was time to get it all out.”
“You can rebel with me,” Marcus suggested, taking a step towards me. A seductive smile played on his lips and his hand reached to brush against my cheek.
“Whoa,” I muttered, grabbing his hand and pushing it away. He was a good-looking guy but he did absolutely nothing for me. And the fact he changed women like underwear was a big strike against him. But then, maybe his older brother wasn’t any better? Geez, I really found myself in a great position.
I had no idea how Mateo found himself next to me. One moment, he was sitting behind his desk like a king ruling his kingdom, and the next, he stood beside me, towering over his brother. He was at least four inches taller than Marcus.
“Marcus, watch yourself,” Mateo’s voice was calm, but there was undertone of such a cold threat in it that it sent shivers down my spine. Mateo’s arm came possessively around me while I stood stiff between the two brothers. His gun peeked through his jacket, and I had no doubt he’d use it if needed.
“He didn’t mean-” I tried to smooth the situation but Mateo chimed in.
“Yes, he did.” I could see now firsthand how scary this man could be. “I won’t repeat myself again, Marcus. You are to keep your distance from Brianna. She’s off limits.”
Marcus laughed nervously. “She works for me. How do you expect me to keep my distance?”
“She no longer works for you.” He wasn’t even going to explain it to his brother. That wasn’t right, and I didn’t want to burn bridges. Marcus wasn’t a bad guy; he just liked to conquer women for some stupid reason. Maybe because it made up for shortfalls in the business compared to his brother.
“Mateo-” My words got stuck in my throat as soon as I met his eyes. “Nothing,” I murmured.
“Is that what you want?” Marcus asked me, a concern lacing his voice.
Not exactly!But it wasn’t as if I had the luxury of saying that. I couldn’t afford Mateo digging into my past, making deadly connections that could cost lives. There was attraction to him, yes, but this was too much. In less than a day, I had lost all my freedom and my job with Marcus. If his brother wouldn’t have shown any interest, he wouldn’t have made a move on me. It would have been just flirting.
I nodded my response and Marcus turned around without another word and stormed out of Mateo’s office.
With a tired sigh, I turned to face this man that intrigued me from the moment I set eyes on him. We stood there watching each other, neither one of us willing to yield. But then, I already yielded, didn’t I? He got it all. It was just supposed to be sex and here we were.
“Grab your purse and let’s go,” he finally spoke.
“Where?” I grabbed my purse, and let him lead me out of his voice and back through the white tiled hallways.
“We’ll have an early lunch and talk.”
“About what?”