Sinful Rapture
At some point she was going to have to deal with the wedding gifts that were piled in her living room, and cancelling the tickets for the Bahamas cruise she’d booked as a surprise for their honeymoon. But those were worries for the future.
For now she intended to enjoy each moment as it happened.
The chime of a bell had her arching her brows in surprise. That was fast. Like, sonic fast.
Of course, being the owner of the hotel no doubt leapfrogged your lunch order to the top of the stack.
Moving across the floor, she pushed the button to open the elevator doors, her stomach growling at the thought of snatching a few fries off Liam’s plate before he got out of the shower.
A fine plan, except for the fact it wasn’t room service who came storming out of the elevator. Instead it was a dark-haired man with bronzed skin and black eyes that were smoldering with an unmistakable fury.
Luc Angeli.
Her half-brother.
Belatedly noticing her gawking at him from the edge of the elevator, Luc came to a halt midstride, his eyes widening in shock.
“Holly?”
“Luc?” She gave a slow shake of her head. When her brother had walked away from Angeli, he’d sold all his shares of stock as well. Just another thing that had pissed off Vigo. So why would he be in Liam’s penthouse? “What are you doing here?”
“Me?” he growled, his dark brows pulled together in a scowl. Even casually dressed in jeans and a cotton shirt, he oozed arrogance. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She planted her hands on her hips, meeting him glare for glare.
She’d be damned if she let him make her feel ashamed.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m about to have lunch with Liam,” she said.
He sucked in a sharp breath. “Here?”
“Yes, here.”
The dark eyes narrowed, focusing on her damp hair and flushed cheeks. “Did you spend the night with him?”
She pressed her lips together. She’d wasted her entire life regretting the fact that she didn’t have a relationship with Luc and her elusive half-sister, Shelby. There were times, however, when her brother could be a bossy pain in the ass.
“Again, none of your business,” she said.
“That bastard.” Luc clenched his hands, taking a step toward the living room. “I’m going to break his fucking neck.”
Holly rushed forward, planting her hands flat on her brother’s chest.
“You certainly are not.”
His gaze scanned the living room. “Where is he?”
“Luc, what’s wrong with you?”
“What do you think is wrong?” His gaze moved back to take in her short shorts and T-shirt, lingering on the unmistakable Playhouse logo just over her left breast. “You’re standing here, half-dressed, in his penthouse.”
A blush touched her cheeks. Okay. He had the right to criticize her clothes.
They really were dreadful.
But not her choice to be with Liam.
“And?”
“He took advantage of you.”
“Are you kidding me?” She blinked. Even for Luc, who’d turned out to be an overly protective brother, this was a crazy talk. “We aren’t living in the dark ages and I’m not some shrinking virgin who can’t defend herself,” she snapped. “No one took advantage of me.”
He studied her for a long minute, his expression guarded. “Then he told you what he did?”
Holly dropped her hands, taking a step back. There was something in Luc’s tone that sent a chill down her spine.
“What do you mean?”
He hesitated before folding his arms over his chest. “I just had a most interesting chat with your ex-fiancé.”
Holly stiffened. Dammit. The last thing she wanted was Luc getting into a fight with Ted.
Her ex-fiancé might be a jackass, but he was still a partner in one of the most reputable investment banks in Nevada. Which meant that Luc often used them during the course of his business.
“Why were you meeting with Ted?”
He held her gaze. “Don’t ask foolish questions.”
“Did you hurt him?”
He shrugged. “Not as much as I wanted to.”
She rolled her eyes, pretending that she didn’t feel a tiny stab of satisfaction.
Hey, she was human enough to take pleasure in thinking of her ex-fiancé going to work with two black eyes and a broken nose.
“God save me from arrogant men,” she forced herself to mutter.
Luc was unrepentant. “The bastard jilted you.”
“I know what he did.” She grimaced. “I was there, remember?”
“I wanted a firsthand explanation why.”
She wrapped her arms around her waist. She didn’t want to discuss Ted. Or their aborted wedding.
Hell, she wanted to forget she’d ever been engaged.
“He did it because he’s a self-centered jackass,” she hissed.
“He is that,” Luc readily agreed. “But he claims that he was threatened not to attend the wedding.”
Threatened not to attend?
Had the idiot started making up conspiracy theories to keep Luc from beating the crap out of him?
“I…” She licked her dry lips. “I don’t understand.”
“He was warned that if he married you his business would be destroyed.”
“That’s ridiculous. Who would…” Her words trailed away as a horrid suspicion began to form in the back of her mind.
No.
It couldn’t be.
“Liam Conner,” Luc snarled, confirming her sudden fear.
“He’s lying,” a harsh male voice said from behind her.
She was on the point of turning when Luc surged forward.
“You bastard.”
“Luc, no,” she cried, pushed to the side as Luc launched himself at Liam.
Her brother managed to get in a punch to Liam’s jaw, knocking his head backward before Liam had his arms wrapped around the smaller man, slamming him against the wall.
“If you want to fight, we’ll fight,” Liam growled, his dark hair still damp from the shower and his tense body covered by a pair of khaki shorts and pale blue cotton shirt. “But we’ll do it later. Right now I need to speak with Holly.”
Luc released a curse, but catching sight of Holly’s pale face, he gave a slow nod.
“Later.”
Liam slowly stepped back, unconsciously rubbing his bruised jaw.
“Can we have some privacy?”
Luc shook his head. “No.”