Sleeping with the Enemy's Daughter (3 page)

21

Sleeping with the Enemy's Daughter

by Nadia Aidan

His brothers thought he was crazy. Hell if he were them, he would too. But then Camille had walked into his office that morning and they'd all stood at attention. They'd practically fallen over themselves to agree to his plan. He couldn't blame them. She was alluring with her feathery soft glossy curls and rich, silken skin that was as smooth and flawless as a dark chocolate dessert.

However, now that he had time to mull over his proposition, he realised it nagged at him that he'd included them in the first place. She was just supposed to be a means to an end—a tool for revenge. So why did the thought of sharing her with his brothers rankle him? He knew why. Because he wasn't good at sharing. Not women—not anything.

He dragged a hand down his face and leaned back in his chair, now furious with himself that he'd set in motion a chain of events he was now powerless to stop. What had seemed like a perfect plot for revenge was slowly starting to feel like a huge mistake.

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22

Sleeping with the Enemy's Daughter

by Nadia Aidan

Camille fidgeted nervously in her car as she released a long, deep breath and gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned red. Glancing towards the house, she fixated on the light shining from the second floor. She gulped deeply. It was foolish to hope they weren't home, or that they had all gone to sleep.

She now had—she glanced at her watch—
less
than thirty minutes to march inside and begin her contractual
obligation
to them.

Her decision had not been an easy one. She'd spent a sleepless night and a restless day pondering their offer. There were few—correction—there were
no
other options. This was her last chance—they knew it and so did she. Now the question was whether her family ranch was worth the humiliation of being at the beck and call of four men that she'd been taught to despise since the day she could say the word
Downing
.

Reaching for her purse, she dragged in a deep breath and piled out of her sporty Mercedes Coup—one of the last testaments to her life
before
her greedy, stupid stepmother had made such luxuries, just that
a luxury.
Now the bitch was long gone, off to find herself yet another rich widower, while she was there trying to pick up the pieces. It wasn't fair. With jerky movements, she ambled towards the front door and pressed the doorbell. How many times she'd screamed aloud and silently that it wasn't fair, she couldn't recall, but 23

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what she did know was that no matter how many times she said it, the end result was still the same. No, it wasn't fair, but then life never was.

Camille's heart skipped a beat when the door swung open. She swallowed the lump in her throat when her eyes met the steely blue gaze of none other than Jacob Downing. He stepped aside, and ushered her in.

With a soft thud, the heels from her shoes dug into the welcome rug that covered the doorstep. Not quite ready to face Jacob, she let her eyes dart about the foyer area. The last time she was there she'd entered from a different way, apparently because it was closer to their office. Now in the main entrance, she could see more of the actual home and from what she saw of it she had to admit it was nice. It was a classic ranch design but the décor was contemporary, with its russet stucco walls and its imported Schonbek chandeliers of the finest hand cut Swarovski crystal. It was definitely a man's home, but it was clear that that man had expensive tastes.

"Come along," Jacob murmured as he placed his large hand against the small of her back and urged her forward.

"This way," he said when she hesitated. She nodded curtly before she forced herself to plant one foot in front of the other in order to ascend the stairs. Her hand trembled slightly and she gripped the banister tighter to steady herself.

Her nervousness increased steadily as they meandered their way through the home. Like her own family ranch home, 24

Sleeping with the Enemy's Daughter

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this one was huge, and they walked for several seconds through winding corridors, before they stopped at a door. Jacob dug into his pocket and pulled out a small key before slipping it into the lock and turning the knob. He stepped aside to let her walk through the doorway first. As soon as she stepped inside, she stopped in her tracks.

"This apartment has four bedrooms, two baths and a full kitchen. You can enter and exit from the garage which is through that door," he said as he gestured towards a door adjacent to the kitchen area.

"It's very private. My brothers and I will leave it up to you to decide whether you want housekeeping to come in and clean—"

She spun around to face him. "But I already have an apartment."

His lips twisted into a disapproving frown. "Did we not make it clear to you that you are to be
available
to us at
any
time?"

She gritted her teeth together fighting against the tiny voice in her head that screamed at her to rake her nails down his face.

"This apartment is for
our
convenience. Not yours." She stood there fuming, but didn't argue. What was there to say, really? She'd already agreed to this stupid charade. She knew the terms. If she was having a hard time accepting them then that was
her
problem not theirs.

"Do all four of you live here?" 25

Sleeping with the Enemy's Daughter

by Nadia Aidan

He nodded. "I have a condo in Dallas because I do a lot of business there. Jackson also has a house in Houston, but basically this is our home."

Her head began to spin at the revelation.
Omigod.
With nothing but a few steps separating her from them, she could very well find herself
servicing
them more than she did anything else.

"If you give me your keys I will have movers transfer your things here. We'll also take care of breaking the lease on your apartment—"

She opened her mouth to protest.

"You won't need it," he added.

Her lips pursed into a frown, although she knew he was right. She tensed when he stepped towards her, his large frame edging into her personal space. She immediately took a step back, but his hand shot out to grasp her wrist, halting her futile attempt to escape his looming presence. With hooded eyes, he leisurely studied her face. "When was the last time you took a lover?" he asked, his deep voice sliding over her with that husky quality that out of all of them, was unique to him.

"Excuse me?"

His eyes darkened with irritation. "When was the last time you had sex, Camille?"

Her mouth fell open in shock. "That's none of your business! What I did before has—"

"Do I need to remind you that fighting me at
every
turn is not something I consider satisfying
or
pleasing?" 26

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"So besides being your
mistress on a string
, I now can't speak my mind or have
any
opinion?" His eyebrows lifted at her outburst, before they snapped back down to frame unyielding eyes. "Not when it comes to sex. So
again
, when was the last time?" Her nostrils flared at his words. She turned away from him then, effectively wrenching her wrist from his grasp. She was so embarrassed. How could she admit that she hadn't slept with a man in over
three
years? Her ex-husband had stopped even pretending to desire her a year before the divorce and while in Dublin she was too busy trying to reclaim the person that she once was that she didn't even consider opening herself up to a relationship. She ducked her head when her face began to flush with heat.

"Th—three years," she whispered, unable to meet his penetrating gaze.

"That probably means you don't have very many pieces of lingerie," he mumbled more to himself than to her, apparently unfazed by her humiliating declaration.

"I'll go shopping with you tomorrow. My brothers and I don't have
exact
tastes but they are similar. They can take you out later if they don't like my selections." Her gaze snapped to his face. "So you make a habit of sharing women?"

He shrugged. "The younger three do,
sometimes
—"

"But you don't?" She asked, wondering why that was.

"Nope. This is my first time." His eyes seemed to burn a hole through her clothing as they travelled the length of her 27

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figure, much like he'd done two days ago in his office. "I'm possessive by nature," he said softly. Camille's eyes grew wide at his statement, wondering exactly what he meant by that. She got the distinct impression that
all
of them were possessive by nature. She opened her mouth to ask him to explain when a soft knock sounded at the door. Moments later it swung open. Her heart squeezed tightly in her chest when she saw Jason, Jeff and Jackson stride through the doorway.
Damn.

She'd thought she'd at least have the first night off, but apparently not.

* * * *

Camille glanced at Jacob when he nodded at them. They all returned his nod, before smiles broke out across their faces. She studied them as some type of silent communication passed between all four of them. She started to ask what was going on when Jacob spoke.

"She hasn't had sex in three years," he said casually. She closed her eyes as waves of embarrassment washed over her.

"Really? Why not?" Jackson asked, turning his gaze towards her.

Her stomach dropped. She didn't know how to answer that. She wondered if they didn't really care if she answered, but when they all stood there silently waiting with expectant eyes she figured they cared after all.

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"I—I um went through a divorce. And then I moved to Ireland. And I—I needed to get over my divorce," she stammered.

"You still love him?"

She shook her head at Jackson.

"No," she answered simply, relieved when they dropped the subject, seemingly satisfied with her answer.

"Take off your clothes."

She stared at Jacob. "Huh?"

She nodded dumbly when impatience flashed in his eyes.
Okay, I can see how my questions could get annoying.
Reaching for the hem of her sweater, she pulled it over her head and tossed it aside, before unfastening her jeans and shucking them down her thighs. She was so mortified when she had to hop slightly just to get them off because they were too tight.

"
All
of your clothes," Jacob whispered. Her stomach clenched into tiny knots when she lifted her gaze to stare at each of them. There had only been three lovers in her entire life, and none of them had ever been particularly overjoyed when they saw her naked. She had
finally
reclaimed her self esteem—she couldn't backslide now, and she knew the Downing brothers had nothing but revenge on their minds. They would make her strip naked and then burst into fits of laughter. She was certain of it, and she refused to be a malicious pawn in their game. She'd agreed to their absurd bargain, but she refused to be ridiculed by them. She jerked her head towards the light switch. "Can we dim the lights?"

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Sleeping with the Enemy's Daughter

by Nadia Aidan

"No," Jacob said firmly.

She pursed her lips into a frown at his refusal. She glanced around at all of them, her eyes pleading. What she saw in their gazes confused her. There was some impatience, which she figured was due to her stalling, but that was overwhelmed by the sparks of desire that churned in the depths of their eyes.

Their desire was encouraging, but it wasn't enough. She lowered her head, as tears burned the backs of her eyes. She couldn't do it.

She'd never had the courage to undress with the lights on. She didn't know how to do it now and certainly not with all of them standing there. They were just
so
perfect, and she was just so
not
.

She stiffened when Jacob stepped in front of her and reached around her back to unfasten her bra. Leaning down, he placed a slow wet trail of soft kisses against her neck as he gingerly pried her lacy undergarment from her body.

"Don't." Jacob commanded when she moved to lift her hands to cover her breasts.

She stopped.

In a heartbeat he dragged her into his embrace and lowered his head to seize her mouth in a deep, hungry kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips, stroking inside her mouth, lighting a fire that made her nipples harden and her pussy ache.

Tearing his lips from hers he slid down her body. With slow, torturous movements he placed gentle kisses across her 30

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jaw, down the column of her throat, between her breasts, and against her stomach. Once on his knees, he lifted his hands to loop his fingers under the elastic of her underwear.

"Look at me," he barked out when she slid her gaze to the floor. She shifted her eyes to meet his. She held his gaze as he slowly pushed her panties past her hips, over her ass and down her legs. She stepped out of them, shocked when instead of flinging them aside, he balled them up and slipped them into his pocket.

"You won't need them," he murmured softly. "While you are inside these walls, you will not wear
any
panties," he said and leaned forward to place gentle kisses against the mound of her pussy.

She cried out when he slipped his tongue between the folds of her wet heat, his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin of her shaved pussy. He stroked his tongue back and forth, ploughing though her moist flesh, dragging ragged cries from her lips.

"Mmmm. You taste so good. I can't wait to fuck your pussy," he groaned before he shifted back on his heels and stood up.

He glanced over his shoulder at his brothers. She'd been so focused on Jacob that she'd forgotten all about them.