DONOVAN (Gray Wolf Security, #1)(126)

“I thought you didn’t know if you were going to see her again.”

“I didn’t say that. I just asked what you thought of her.”

“Did you invite her to come here?”

“Am I not supposed to have a personal life?”

“No.” Jacob glanced at me. “I just prefer that you keep it out of the workplace. Besides, doesn’t she have a job?”

I shrugged. “Maybe she had a day off.”

Jacob picked up his food containers and crossed to the trashcan. “You have a meeting with those people from the ad agency at four. Try not to be late.”

“Yes, Daddy,” I said with a little salute just as the door opened and Adrienne stepped through.

She was wearing a subtle blue dress that just sort of hung from her shoulders and flowed over her curves like a bedsheet might do. Her hair was pulled back into a classic ponytail, the soft waves she’d displayed in her hair the night before making the ponytail look like a collection of ocean waves. She was wearing a subtler array of makeup this afternoon that highlighted those intense blue eyes, and a dainty pair of gold earrings adorned her ears. The only flaw in the beauty of the picture was those bright silver flats.

She smiled with genuine delight as she took us in. But I’m not sure who brought that warm expression to her face, me or Jacob.

“Hi,” she said somewhat breathlessly.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Adrienne,” Jacob said as he approached her, his hand held out quite politely.

“You, too, Jacob,” she said, that smile not fading a single iota.

“Hey, don’t you look beautiful,” I said, moving up beside my brother.

She immediately let go of Jacob’s hand and moved in to me, tipping her head back to accept a kiss. I was sure she expected just a casual peck, and that was probably what it should have been. But I couldn’t resist drawing her close and taking advantage of the knowledge that she enjoyed my kiss. I pressed my lips to hers firmly as I slid a hand around her waist, urging those gorgeous, full lips apart. She sighed as she moved in to me, her body molding to mine, accepting the kiss she knew she had no choice but to endure. She seemed more receptive to it today, less stiff than she’d been in the car last night. And, I had to admit, that made me want to push to see just how far she’d allow me to go.

She was so tiny. It was a little awkward, bending so low to pull her closer to me. But it also brought out something inside of me, made me want to wrap myself around her and hide her from the world. It was a sort of caveman idea, that mine, mine, mine sort of mentality. And, as she was mine, I so desperately wanted to possess every inch of her.

“Don’t forget that meeting, Lucien,” Jacob said, breaking through the little cloud I’d lost my head inside of.

Adrienne broke the kiss and pressed her face against the front of my shirt. I slid my hand over the back of her head as I straightened and focused on my brother.

“I won’t. But I think I’ll show Adrienne around beforehand.”

Jacob glanced back at me. “I don’t need to remind you of the rules regarding visitors, do I?”

I groaned. “It’s my company, too. You don’t always have to treat me like I’m a child.”

Jacob actually smiled at that.

“It was nice to see you again, Adrienne,” he said before slipping through the door and pulling it closed behind him.

The moment we were alone, Adrienne pulled away.

She walked around me and started checking out my office like a nosy guest at a dinner party looking through the medicine cabinet. But the serious expression on her face and the methodical way she went about it made me feel uneasy.

“What are you…?”

She held up a finger and gestured for me to be quiet. She walked behind my desk and ran her fingers under the edges, then pulled open the top two drawers, sticking her hand inside to feel the underside of the desk top. Then she pulled something out of the dainty purse she’d been carrying over her shoulder, studying it for a moment before she waved it around the room. Then she walked, pausing here and there, before she finally sighed and slid the device back into her purse.

“Okay. It’s safe to talk here.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“We’ve had cases like yours that were as simple as someone placing a bug in the CEO’s office so they could overhear every conversation he had. But there doesn’t appear to be anything here.”

“You’re sure?”

“As positive as the latest technology can make me.”

I was kind of impressed. She was not what I’d imagined.

“My father has some of our people checking out the people on your team. We should know soon if there are any irregularities in their bank accounts that might suggest they’ve been talking to someone about your device.”

“Do you think someone might have already made some sort of payment?”

She reached up like she was going to rub her eyes, but then she stopped and dropped her hands to her side, holding them stiffly, as if she were trying to remind herself how to behave.

“It’s possible,” she said, her eyes moving around the room like she was still looking for something off.

“If that’s true, then we could be in real trouble.”

“This thing is really important, isn’t it?”