Bought By The Billionaire Brothers(27)
Author: Alexx Andria

“Gone. Congestive heart failure. He died in his sleep. The doctor said he probably never knew what hit him.” At the mention of her father, Penny’s eyes watered and he felt compelled to comfort her, which was no small tragedy to have her back in his arms , though he had to remind himself he was playing a part, not auditioning for a permanent role . She settled into the cove of his shoulder and rested her head on his chest. Why’d she have to feel so perfect snuggled up to him? He shifted subtly, uncomfortable with his own thoughts but Penny didn’t seem to notice and continued sharing . “He was all I had. Losing him had been the worst blow of my life. I never thought I’d recover. I’d always dreamed that my papa would walk me down the aisle, play baseball with his grand kids, and be there forever. I never saw it

coming that he’d been sick. I should’ve been more diligent about making him go to his yearly doctor appointments but he hated doctors and hospitals. He said the best way to get sick was to hang out where the sick people were.”

Dillon chuckled. He wasn’t much a fan of hospitals and doctors himself. Back before he’d said sayonara to the family, there’d been an expectation that he’d go into medical school if not the family business . That hadn’t turned out well. Dillon had never handled being domineered very well. Too much piss and vinegar as Granddad used to say with a delighted chuckle. The old coot had been a funny bastard with an odd sense of humor and Dillon had loved him for it.

Penny pulled herself upright to meethis gaze. “Enough about me. Youdidn’t come up here to hear my lifestory. Ever since you arrived Vinceand Nolan have been on edge and now, I have all these questions swirling around in my head. No one will tell me what’s going on and I’m getting tired of being in the dark.”

Dillon regarded her with quiet consideration, wondering how much she would want to know about her precious twin masters. Likely he could shatter her illusions with a few choice stories but that plan could backfire and he couldn’t take the chance. “My brothers and I had a falling out.” He shrugged. “Nothing more exciting than that. Happens in the best of families I’m told.”

“You’re lying to me,” she said flatly, surprising him. “You’re just as bad as the twins. I’m good enough to fuck but not good enough to spend the night and sleep beside or share personal details that matter. I’m a person, not a lamp for crying out loud.”

Her impassioned outburst colored her cheeks with bright spots of pink and he knew the wrong response would be to simply push her down to the mattress and fuck her silly, though the idea held strong appeal, but she was downright delectable in her passion. “Penny, you make it hard to concentrate,” he admitted, his gaze straying to the gap in her robe, reminding him of the first time he’d caught a glimpse of her creamy globes back in the apartment.

He’d sprung wood so quickly he was surprised he hadn’t knocked the breakfast table over. “If you belonged to me, you would never sleep alone.”

But even as her face flushed at his declaration, Penny wouldn’t be distracted by pretty compliments this time. Her jaw tensed and her gaze hardened. “I want to know about Isabel.”

All jocularity fled at the mention of Isabel’s name. It was hard to remain the cool, impassive wall of stone when your defenses were breached unexpectedly. Penny had a way of catching him off-guard that was certainly a liability. “I told you already. She’s dead.”

“You also implied Nolan and Vince had something to do with her death.

What happened? They won’t tell me.

Will you?”

“I’ll tell you about Isabel… if you tell me why you sacrificed your morals and everything you believed in to sign on the dotted line of my brothers’ contract.”

She stared, her bottom lip trembling.

“What makes you think I’m ashamed?

Maybe I’m perfectly content belonging to Vince and Nolan. They are very good to me.”

“Because it’s written all over your face when you talk about your father.

He’d be appalled at what you’ve done, wouldn’t he? Was your particular arrangement what he’d had in mind for his little girl?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Fair enough.” His tone hardened.

“Neither is Isabel.”

Heavy silence weighed between them for a long moment but Dillon caught the stubborn tilt of Penny’s jaw and knew she wasn’t going to give up just yet. “Isabel meant something to you,” Penny said , cocking her head as she regarded him with open speculation . “Did you love her?”

“Yes.” The sound came out more bitter than he’d meant to allow but the pain, no matter how many times he’d tried to bury it, always managed to leach its way to the surface.

“Did she love you?”

“I thought she had. But then, when you’re a Buchanan, who knows how anyone truly feels about you. I was a young fool,” he said, twisting his mouth in a parody of a smile.

“Something, I assure you, I am not any longer.” He no longer wished to talk about Isabel, no matter that he’d baited her with the information. Dillon hadn’t been prepared for the emotional backlash created by sharing such a painful part of his past with Penny and he was feeling like an inept schoolboy for his failure to prepare for all possibilities.

“This is a conversation without a happy ending. Let’s leave it at that.” Please Penny. Her deep, dark eyes bored into his soul, promising salvation that he didn’t want or trust.

At this stage in his life, he’d learned the only person you could trust was yourself. Particularly when beautiful women were involved.

Penny didn’t know how she felt about the revelation of Dillon and Isabel. It wasn’t as if she’d expected that the Buchanan men hadn’t lived full lives before meeting her, but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit to territorial feelings towards them all. “I’m a good listener,” she said, hoping that Dillon would open up to her in a way that neither twins would. She ignored the fact that he’d already practically growled at her for even mentioning Isabel’s name. She sensed that there was a deep, dark wound festering inside of Dillon and she felt the need to help him. “If you were in love with Isabel, how were Vince and Nolan involved?”

Dillon looked away, but not before Penny caught a glimpse of the raw pain inside. “You’re like a badger,tenacious to a fault.” It didn’t sound like a compliment by the way he phrased it but Penny refused to be stopped. She needed to know what secrets were tearing apart the Buchanans .