The Tangled Series Complete Digital Boxed Set (Bad Boy Rock Star, Millionaire, and MMA Fighter Bundle) (3 page)

Chapter Three

Reed

“Evening, George.”

“Mr. Eddington,” nodded George, as I set my overnight bag down. “So nice to see you again.”

“And you, as well,” I said.

“Dinner will be served in just a few minutes.  Would you like me to put your things in your room, so you can join the others?”

“That’s okay,” I said. “I’ve got it. I want to change before I eat.”

George nodded. “Very good. Will Ms. Royce be joining us this evening?”

I sighed. “Doubt it. The last I heard she was still overseas.”

“How unfortunate. You know, Jesse brought a girlfriend this weekend,” he said with a sparkle in his eyes.

I raised my eyebrows. 

He went on. “Yes, a nice young woman, named Sinclair.”

I stared at him for a minute. “You’re serious?”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Eddington. They arrived a couple of hours ago.”

I rubbed my jaw and smiled. “Interesting. I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Yes, she’s rather lovely.”

“I’m sure. Well, this should be a very interesting evening.”

“Indeed. Let me know if you need my assistance with anything.”

“Thanks, George.” I picked up my bag and walked up the white spiral staircase leading to my old bedroom, wondering what the hell was going on with Jesse.

***

Sinclair

Jesse chose the largest guestroom in the house for me and I sighed in pleasure when I saw the awesome view from my balcony. The moment I stepped outside, I imagined myself relaxing in the lounge chair, a drink in one hand, and something steamy to read in the other, listening to the ocean waves. Fortunately, I’d packed the new Kindle my mother had given me for Christmas a couple of months before and planned on using it right before bedtime. That is, if Jesse would allow me any sleep – he’d packed three bottles of our favorite white wine and mentioned drinking some at night on the beach. I’d agreed but only before he dropped the real bomb.

Skinny-dipping.

I shook my head. “Oh no, not this girl.”

He grabbed my arm. “Sin, you have to skinny-dip in the ocean at least once in your lifetime. It’s so liberating and –”

“Embarrassing! I don’t know about you, but I’m not getting caught with
my
pants down.”

He shook his head. “Nobody will even see us! I know of
the
perfect spot.”

“Well…” I said, mulling it over. The thought of swimming naked in the ocean sounded kind of interesting, although I’d always imagined doing it with a lover, not my gay, faux boyfriend.

“Come on,
live
a little,” he prodded. “This is the perfect opportunity. Even better – you don’t have to worry about me jumping your bones. You can try it out and if you don’t like it, well fine. At least you can say you did it.”

I groaned. “Listen, I’ll think about it.”

“What’s to think about? Nobody will see us, I promise! In fact, I’ll take you to this spot where my brother used to bring his girlfriends when we were growing up.”

“Oh, my God, Jesse, were you spying on them?”

He placed a hand on his chest and shuddered. “Hell no. He told me about it and one night
I
decided to take a swim alone,” he lowered his voice, “in fact, it was the first time I went skinny-dipping that I realized I was gay. I’ll never forget that night.”

I leaned forward, as he’d never mentioned that. “Oh, do tell.”

He smiled. “Let’s just say our neighbor’s nephew, a luscious actor from Chicago, was visiting and, oh, just thinking about him now makes me quiver. Anyway, he straightened out my head and not just the one above my shoulders.”

I giggled. “Seriously? How old were you?”

With a faraway look in his eyes, he sighed wistfully. “I was eighteen and he was in his twenties. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life. Funny thing is, he’s insanely famous now and nobody would suspect him of being bisexual.”

He then told me the actor’s name and I had to pick my jaw up off the ground.

“No freakin’ way!”

“I know. Too bad it only happened once. It certainly helped change the course of my life, though. It was one of the only fond memories I had living under my parents’ roof.”

“It was? Oh, Jesse,” I sighed. “Well, then we’ll definitely have to celebrate that memorable occasion with a glass of wine and a quick midnight swim. Who knows, I might even get the courage to remove my bathing suit.”

He grinned. “I’ll even promise not to vomit if I see your ‘fun-bags’.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re so crude.”

“Thank you.”

I pointed towards the door. “Now leave, or you’ll see much more of me than you ever wanted.”

“Thanks for the warning,” he said, moving quickly towards the door. “I’ll be back for you later.”

As I unpacked the black dress, my thoughts drifted to Mimi. She was a little tightly wound, but not quite as bad as I’d originally expected. Of course, I’d never lived with her and couldn’t imagine having a mother who gave me “air-kisses.” I thought about my own parents – Ben and Mary Jeffries. They were kindred souls, both warm, loving, and would give you the shirt off of their backs to make you feel welcomed in their home. I loved them dearly and wouldn’t give them up for the world. Not for anything. As far as my biological parents were concerned, I was open to meeting them, but I certainly wasn’t in any kind of hurry.

I slipped on the form-fitting dress and stared at myself in the mirror. Long auburn hair, curves, round booty, and lips that I’d always thought were much too full. In fact, when I was a teenager, I’d tried to find ways to make them appear smaller, especially after Billy Davis had teased me at party with a cruel comment, telling everyone that I had “cock-sucking lips.” I’d been mortified at the time, and even to this day, still felt a little self-conscious about them. When I’d confided all of this to Jesse and had talked about having them reduced, he’d looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“Women have their lips filled with collagen to get what you already have, honey. Don’t you
dare
touch those cock-sucking lips.”

Thus, I hadn’t touched them, but neither had anyone else in the last year. Needless to say, hanging out with Jesse and hearing about his sexual exploits was beginning to drive me crazy. I was over Shawn but found myself fantasizing about sex in the most inopportune times – when I was running my hands through a sexy male customer’s hair, searching through the meat aisle in the grocery store, or at the gym while I watched the muscle-heads lift weights. With their straining biceps, tight buns, and flushed faces, it was enough to make me squirm on my stationary bike. Needless to say, I was frustrated and sometimes jealous of all the penis Jesse was getting. I just wasn’t courageous enough to do anything about it yet.

Pushing these thoughts out of my mind, I slipped on my black heels and waited for him.

“Ready?” asked Jessie, fifteen minutes later, wearing a dark gray wool suit.

“Yes. Wow, you look so polished and handsome.” I smiled.

He lifted his chin in the air and posed. “Saks, Armani.”

I sighed, put my hands on my hips, and posed. “Kohl’s, discount rack.”

He burst out laughing and grabbed my hand. “Doesn’t matter, you still look good, even with that obnoxious cleavage.”

I looked down. “Obnoxious?”

“Oh, I’m just giving you shit,” he said, pulling me out of the bedroom. “I’m sure you’re every heterosexual man’s wet dream in that dress, Sin. Take a chill pill.”

“Thanks, I think.”

When we arrived in the dining room, Mimi and an older man who shared Jesse’s bright, blue eyes were already waiting.

“Oh, good,” said Mimi. “They’re on time.”

Jesse’s father stood up as I prepared to sit next to Jesse at the dining table. “Ms. Jeffries,” he smiled warmly, holding out his hand. “I’m Jesse’s father, Jack Eddington. It’s a pleasure meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you, too. Please call me Sinclair,” I answered, as his hand clasped mine.

His eyes raked over my body and he licked his lips. “Well, I’m pleased to see that Jesse also has exquisite taste in women. Just like the rest of the Eddington men.”

I blushed. “Well, thank you.” I smiled.

He released my hand and motioned for Jesse to pull out my chair. “Son?”

“Oh, where
are
my manners?” quipped Jesse, as he stood back up and pulled it out for me.

“Thanks, babe.” I smiled back at him as he pushed my chair.

“You’re welcome,
lover
,” he answered, tugging on a strand of my hair.

“Sinclair, would you care for a glass of wine?” asked Jack. “We have a bottle of Chateau Margaux that I just opened for Mimi. How is it, by the way, my dear?” he asked.

Mimi, who’d just taken a prim sip, retained her puckered expression and nodded. “Yes, a little dry, but good.”

“Sin
adores
wine,” drawled Jesse, grabbing the bottle.

“Good, she’ll fit right in here,” said Jack.

Jesse poured both of us a healthy glass and took a sip. “Oh, yes,” he groaned in pleasure. “This wine could definitely cause a scandal. Honestly, I could see myself drinking a case of this.”

Jack smoothed down the right side of his moustache and smirked. “At seven thousand a bottle, I highly doubt we’ll have to worry about that little exhibition.”

Jesse burst out laughing. “Oh, contraire. I know where you hide the booze and I also know you can certainly afford it. How is the casting business, by the way?”

From what I’d understood, Jack was some bigwig casting director and made mucho dollars. Another reason why many celebrities were expected at tomorrow’s party.

He tilted his head and looked down at his own drink. “Well, actually, I’m considering retiring.”

Jesse’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding,”

“Not at all,” said Jack, swirling the ice around in his glass. “I’ve had enough of the political bullshit and would much rather spend my days playing golf or sailing on the yacht.” He looked at me. “Do you sail?”

I cleared my throat. “Unfortunately, I’ve never been sailing.”

He smiled. “Well, I’m sure we can remedy that. What do you say, Jesse? Invite her over again, next weekend and we’ll de-virginize her.”

Jesse choked on his sip of wine.

I patted his back and murmured, “What’s wrong Jesse? Never de-virginized a woman before?”

“Who’s a virgin?” interrupted a deep, velvety voice.

All three of us turned to stare at the tall, dark-haired man standing in the doorway. As he moved closer, my breath hitched and something inside of me woke up – a desire to be naked and staring up into the most intense blue eyes I’d ever seen.

Wow, I had no idea Jesse’s brother was so freakin’ hot.

“Oh, Reed!” gushed Mimi, standing up. “Come here and give your mother a hug!”

I whipped my head back to Mimi, who stared at her older son as if he was some sort of god. It made me sick to my stomach to see her treat two sons so profoundly different.

Reed gave her a hug, shook his father’s hand, and then turned to Jesse. “Look at you, all ‘dressed to the nines’. You make me look like a bum off the streets,” he said, motioning towards his dark jeans and yellow polo shirt. With perfectly chiseled features, broad shoulders, and athletic build, I couldn’t imagine any bum looking quite like that.

“Oh, you look just fine,” said Mimi. “Sit down and join us, Reed. We were waiting for Gretchen to serve dinner. In fact,” she said, moving towards the door. “Let me see what is taking so long.”

As she left to check on the food, I stole another glance at Reed’s face, noting that his nose appeared like it may have been broken once or twice and he had a small white scar under his lip. These things seemed to make him even more hot and I wondered if he’d gotten them fighting. Jesse had mentioned that his brother had been a hothead in high school.

He caught me checking him out and smiled a deeply dimpled one that warmed my tummy.

What in the hell was wrong with you, he’s taken and you’re definitely not looking
, I told myself.

“Son, introduce your girlfriend,” said Jack, finishing off his cocktail. “Where are your manners?”

Jesse, who had just taken a bite out of a piece of bread, waved his hand. “Oh, yeah – Reed, Sin, Sin, Reed.”

“Sin?” asked Reed, a corner of his mouth twitching as our eyes met, again.

I raised my chin. “It’s short for Sinclair.”

“Don’t let that fool you,” said Jesse, with a wicked grin. “She lives up to her name.”

I elbowed him in the ribs and he grunted.

“So, girlfriend, huh?” remarked Reed, lifting the bottle of wine and studying it. “I had no idea you had a woman in your life.”