Chapter 3

James

A sense of relief swept through him the moment he slid into the black Ferrari. Switching on the engine, the music blared into the confined space. Putting the gear on reverse, he whipped out of the parking area, then exited the Worthington estate.

A cool breeze washed against his skin, which was nice. James let his mind drift off, thinking about everything and nothing. About twenty minutes later, his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and noted the name flashing at him. A smile crept across his face. He flicked on the loudspeaker, at the same time muting the music.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted.

“Daddy?” Aria said.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Are you coming home soon?”

He laughed. “Yes. Have you finished your piano lesson?”

Aria paused, then said, “Yes. But, Daddy, Sammy won’t eat the food I gave him. He’ll starve if he doesn’t eat. I’m worried. He hasn’t been eating properly for days now. Should we take him to the vet?”

He frowned. “I’ll be home in a minute, Aria. Daddy will take care of it.”

“Really?” She laughed merrily, which made his heart glow. “Daddy? I’ve just learned a new piece today. Do you want to hear it?”

“Of course,” he said even though he knew she was horrible at it. He didn’t think piano was her thing, but he couldn’t say no because she’d wanted to learn so much.

“It was hard, but Mrs. West told me…”

James shook his head. There she goes again, he thought.

“Shit!” he swore as his foot slammed hard on the brake while one hand pressed down on the horn and the other expertly turned the steering wheel, veering the car out of the way. The sound of tires screeching against asphalt was loud in his ears. An agonizing short moment later, the car came to a complete stop, missing hitting the girl by mere inches.

“Daddy?” A panicky voice reached him, and James realized Aria was still on the line.

He took a deep breath and said calmly, “Everything is okay, sweetheart. Just a rabbit on the road. I’ll see you soon, all right?”

“All right,” Aria replied, uncertain.

He quickly cut the line and opened the door.

The girl was sprawled on the ground, her backpack and printout map scattered around her.

He came to stand before her, concerned she might be hurt. He watched her gaze drift up his legs and then finally to his face. The moment he saw her fully, his gut churned into a delicious twist of sensations. Large, frightened eyes stared up at him. Her face was flushed and delicately pretty. Long, tangled, braided hair rested haphazardly over one shoulder. The longer he looked at her, the more he was convinced he’d seen her somewhere before. Then it hit him! Andy Donovan. Fucking hell! She looked like Andy Donovan. This had to be his sister.

He couldn’t believe Andy’s sister was this young. She didn’t look much older than twenty. Her email suggested otherwise though. Short and to the point with a no-nonsense beating-around-the-bush way. From the email, he thought she was in her late thirties, armed with two million dollars.

He was wrong. He knew the moment he met her eyes this girl didn’t have two hundred dollars in her wallet, just like her brother.

Crouching down to one knee, he looked closely at her. Then she had to go and lick her lips. His gaze was drawn to the glistening, plump flesh, and a surge of desire rushed through him.

Oh shit! Not a good first impression. Nothing good was going to come out of this. The girl looked like she needed a good ravishing, on those lips and maybe a lot of other places on her body.

To distract himself, he asked, “Are you all right?”

When she didn’t respond, he wrapped one hand over her arm. Electrical sparks charged between them, and he felt the wind get knocked out of him.

Sparks!

Fuck! He felt sparks for Andy Donovan’s sister.

His hand tightened on her slender arm as he felt a sudden overwhelming yearning rush through him. He slammed down the urge as quickly as it came. Slowly, he guided her up, his gaze hot on hers. Then he took a step back, refusing to think about the attraction that was inching its way back to the surface.

“Don’t walk into the road without looking if you don’t want to get hit,” he said.

“Thanks,” she replied softly, followed by a tentative smile that took his breath away.

He walked away reluctantly. In the car, he switched on the engine and turned his gaze to watch her again, curiously. She was busy gathering her belongings. Her actions were delicate, and he had no idea why he found it so fascinating. After pushing the gear forward, he pressed his foot on the accelerator and sped past her, heading up the hill.

If she was coming up to see him about her brother, she’d have a hell of a hike to get there. He hoped like hell she wouldn’t. At least not now, not after he’d smelled her, sweat and dirt mingled with something sweet, which was delightful. Not after he’d seen the perfect color of her flushed face and felt the softness of her milky-white skin. She was too fucking tempting by half. His hands itched, and his cock stirred and hardened as blood began to migrate there, readying the little beast for action.

He slammed the arousal shut at the same time he pulled up the hand brake. Switching the engine off, he took a deep breath, his face dark with a scowl.

“Fuck!” he muttered under his breath as sexual frustration spurred hot in his veins once again. He shut his eyes and took another deep breath. A few seconds later, knowing the feeling would be gone soon, he got out of the car and headed up to the front door.

Ms. Lane, the housekeeper, waited for him.

“Where’s Aria?” he asked, his back to her as she carefully pulled down his jacket.

“Upstairs in her sitting room, sir,” she replied tonelessly.

He headed up the stairs two at a time. On the second floor, he went into Aria’s sitting room. She was reading a book, and Sammy and Alfie, two balls of white fur, one big and one small, a Samoyed and a Westie, were beside her, resting their heads on her lap. Ms. Sophie Wilson, Aria’s nanny, sat on a chair not too far away. When James cleared his throat, Aria glanced up. Her face was bright when she saw him.

“Daddy!” she squealed with delight, rushing to him and throwing herself into his open arms. The two dogs were after her and barked excitedly at his feet.

Lifting her, he kissed her on the cheek. “One for me,” he said. Then he kissed her on the other cheek. “One for Uncle Scott.” She giggled when he proceeded to kiss her forehead. “And one for Uncle Eric.”

Aria wrapped her little arms around his neck and kissed him back on his hard cheekbone. “One for Aria.”

He laughed. “Yes, one for Aria.”

“Daddy, Sammy won’t eat.” She pointed down at the Samoyed with accusation. “He won’t listen to me.”

James raised his brows. “Oh? Shall we see if I can make him eat then?”

Aria nodded enthusiastically, and Alfie barked excitedly. James carried her out of the sitting room and then down the stairs toward the kitchen, Sammy, Alfie, and Sophie following close behind. All the while, his little darling kept on chattering, telling him about her day at school. Suddenly, she stopped and asked, “Daddy? Is the rabbit all right?”

For a moment he didn’t understand what she was talking about. Then he remembered, and an image of the girl sprawled on the ground sparked in his mind. A sudden desire to kiss and taste those plump lips seared hot in him.

He snuffed down the scorching craving and concentrated his attention on his lovely daughter instead. “The rabbit is fine.”

“Why didn’t you bring it up? It might have been injured and needed nursing.” She sounded disappointed in him.

He felt like someone punched him in the stomach, hard. Guilty as charged. Why didn’t he offer to bring Andy’s sister up? Because he’d wanted to kiss and fuck her right there and then, and having her sitting in the car with him would just be too tempting.

“It wants to go home to its family, darling,” he said evasively.

“So its mommy can nurse it back to good health?” Aria asked innocently.

“Yes,” he said, finally reaching the first floor.

“But what if it doesn’t have a mommy?” she asked, her bright-blue eyes large. “Like I don’t have a mommy because Mommy ran away?”

A toxic surge of anger and hurt rushed through him. He stroked his daughter’s dark hair fondly and said, “It’ll have a daddy to look after it.”

“Like me?” she asked, smiling happily.

“Yes, sweetheart, like you,” he replied.

She tightened her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. They went into the kitchen a moment later, and Martha greeted him with, “Mr. Maxwell, what can I do for you, sir?”

As usual, she looked flustered in his presence. He was used to staff, regardless if it was here in the house or at the various Maxwell hotels, resorts, and commercial buildings around the world, looking and acting like he was about to pull a gun and shoot them in the head. It was just as well, because he’d had his fair share of shooting people in the head. Not to mention a lot of backstreet and underground fighting.

“Sammy needs food,” he said.

“He just had his,” Martha stammered, her face a little pale as usual.

“He didn’t eat it,” Aria said. “Daddy is going to make him.”

Martha looked at the dogs. “I’ll prepare it for him again right away, sir.”

About five minutes later, Sammy sniffed at the lump of brown meat in his bowl and took a small bite. Alfie helped himself to the food as well. The greedy brat!

“He’s eating,” James said.

“How come he only listens to you?” Aria asked, her eyes large and accusing. She was so cute; he couldn’t help but kiss her.

“I have no idea,” he said honestly. “Still want to play for me?”

She nodded enthusiastically. James lifted her and carried her across the hall to the back of the mansion where the music room was located. The dogs left their food and followed them out, as did Sophie.

He was soon listening to his darling daughter playing mistuned music when the knocks came at the door.

Ms. Lane stood there, her hands clasped before her. “Security needs a word with you, sir.”

He’d known it was coming. He turned to his daughter. “Aria, Daddy has business to attend to, all right?”

Aria nodded. “Can I take Sammy and Alfie outside to play?”

“Of course you can.”

Glancing at Sophie, he said, “Make sure she doesn’t go into the woods.”

“I’ll make sure of that, sir.” She smiled at him, her eyes bright.

He’d admit Sophie was a remarkably beautiful young woman, and he always wondered why she would want to be stuck here as Aria’s nanny. He knew she was more ambitious.

He dismissed the thought from his mind and walked out the door, up the stairs, and into his office. Switching on the intercom, he demanded, “What?”

“Sir.” The voice of Peter O’Neil came through. “There’s a girl here to see you. She said you sent her an email requesting her presence?”

He switched on the laptop screen connected to the security camera. The black screen flashed on, and then a moment later, the girl’s face appeared before him.

He stared at the screen, at Andy’s sister, long and hard, and felt his cock stirring again. “Does she have a name?”

“Mia Donovan, sir.”

He took a deep breath, his eyes still on the laptop screen, on the girl who caused sparks, the girl who managed to awaken his cock without even doing anything seductive. He was so fucking going to regret this.

To Peter, he said, “Let her in.”