“Did you sleep well?” He knew she had, or at least he knew he had. V wasn’t the only one who didn’t like spending the night with someone. Zane definitely didn’t do it often, and not at all since he’d starting seeing V.

“Mmmm hmmm,” she mumbled, pulling the covers up over her head.

Zane slid beneath them and pressed his lips against her smooth, warm back. Cuddling had never been his thing, but he found that he liked the idea when it came to V. He found a lot of things he enjoyed when V was around.

“Your cell phone rang a little while ago,” Zane told her as he continued trailing kisses down her spine.

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because V flew out of bed, stealing the sheet as she went and leaving him lying there totally naked, staring after her as she traipsed across the room to the phone she had left on the counter in the kitchen.

“Shit!” V exclaimed, thumbing something into her phone as she stared intently at it. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“Something wrong?” He rolled onto his back, sliding his hands beneath his head, his body stirring to life at the sight of her in his house, with his sheet wrapped around her. It wasn’t covering nearly as much as she probably wanted it to.

“I’m supposed to be at work!” V bit out, glaring at him from across the room.

He grinned.

“What are you smiling at?” she asked as she marched over to the side of the bed, leaning down to pick up her clothes.

Before she managed to retrieve them, Zane had her flat on her back on the bed once more, hovering over her. He was still smiling while she looked none too happy. Little did she know, but he had already talked to Zoey that morning. As a matter of fact, Zoey had called his phone a few seconds after she had called V’s.

“What are you doing?” V exclaimed, trying to push him away, but he saw the hint of a smile on her perfect, heart shaped lips.

“Seducing you?” he questioned noncommittally, pressing his lips against her chest before cupping one of her breasts in his free hand. His other hand was busy holding him above her. To his surprise, V pressed up against his lips, one of her legs sliding between his while she used her thigh to caress his erection.

“No, seducing,” V breathed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his mouth closer to her breast.

“No?” Why did it sound like she was suddenly interested in being beneath him.

He thought it was a brilliant idea.

“I have... to... work,” she sighed heavily when he sucked her nipple into his mouth, using his teeth to make it harden even more.

“Not today, you don’t,” he mumbled, moving to her other breast and laving the hardened point with his tongue.

“I do,” she groaned and halfheartedly tried to push him away again.

Zane moved quickly, pulling V up off of the bed and lifting her into his arms with ease while she clung to his neck and laughed. “I’m thinking we need a shower.”

“Seriously?” V was no longer trying to convince him that she needed to go anywhere. Instead, she had buried her face in his neck and was brushing her soft lips over his collar bone.

“Seriously.” Zane smiled, placing her back on her feet. “Shower first, then breakfast, then we’ll both go talk to Travis.”

“Travis?” V jerked back from him like he’d just whipped her.

“Yes, Travis,” Zane stated calmly, flipping the shower knob on. “You had a business venture to discuss with him, right?”

With his back to V, Zane couldn’t see her reaction, but he could tell by the silence that she wasn’t all that thrilled with the idea of talking to Zane’s oldest brother today. He knew Trav was a busy man and Zane figured there wouldn’t be a better time than right now to discuss the upcoming resort. Hell, he didn’t know how long his brother actually would be in town. It seemed like the man was in Dallas more than he was in Austin these days.

Turning around, Zane faced V and held out his hand to her. When she placed her palm in his, he pulled her close, then backed them both into the oversized shower. She didn’t look too happy with him, but he had a couple of ideas on how to make her smile.


♀♂


Two hours later, V was sitting in front of Travis Walker in the small office of Walker Demolition, feeling like a recalcitrant child who had been sent to the principal’s office. His dark glare didn’t go a long way toward making her feel any better either. Part of her wished she hadn’t opted for breakfast because her stomach was now churning from her nerves.

“You want to manage the club?” Travis asked Zane.

V listened while the two men discussed the club and what Travis’ vision was, along with what Zane was hoping to get out of it.

Travis Walker was a hard man to figure out. If she based his mood solely on the tone of his voice, she’d assume he was pissed. However, when she looked into his eyes, she could see a sensitive side of him as he spoke to his younger brother. It was true, no one truly knew Travis or the hell that he’d been through. But it was common knowledge, he was a different man than the one everyone knew growing up. V was a few years younger than him, so she didn’t know the least bit about Travis, other than the bits and pieces she’d gathered over the years.

She could see Travis wasn’t against the idea of Zane managing one of the clubs, but she also knew he wasn’t going to make this easy on his younger brother either. Travis was not known for his loving, propitious persona. The man was hard, and it didn’t seem to matter who he was dealing with, unless, of course, you looked into those eyes. Something she was trying hard not to do.

When they finally finished their discussion, V was barely aware that both men had turned their attention to her. She’d been too busy fidgeting in her chair, twirling her thumbs in her lap and praying that she could find a way to sneak out without being seen. Of course, that wasn’t an option now.

“And what about you?” Travis directed his glare on her.

Interesting. Travis still sounded like he was angry, but the compassion that still remained on his face told a different story. It didn’t help her to find the words though.

“I –” V didn’t know how to come out with it. When she had discussed her idea with Zoey, it seemed like a good plan, but now that she was talking to Travis, she had second thoughts.

She could feel Zane’s eyes on her, but she didn’t turn to look at him. She was too busy trying to bolster her nerves in order to out and out request to be allowed to manage the spa. Not that she had any experience whatsoever, but she was strong willed and V knew she’d put all of her energy into making it a success.

“My brothers mentioned you want to manage the spa,” Travis said when it was finally clear she couldn’t choke out the words.

“Yes.” There, at least that was a start.

“And what makes you think you’re qualified to run the spa?” he asked, sounding slightly perturbed. Not that he ever sounded any different.

“I don’t have the experience, but I have the desire to learn,” V stated defensively. “I promise you by the time the doors open on the resort, I’ll be fully up to speed on what it takes to make it successful.”

There was no hiding the fact that she was nervous, nor could she hide the vexation she was beginning to feel.

“How do you plan to do that?” Travis leaned back farther in his chair, tilting his head to the side as though he were studying her.

“I –” Ok, so she hadn’t thought that completely through, but in her defense, V hadn’t anticipated coming to talk to Travis so soon.

“Give her a break, Trav,” Zane interrupted, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees, his shoulders stiff, the cords in his neck straining as he stared back at his brother. “You know her as well as I do. She’ll make you proud. V’s a hard worker, anyone can tell you that.”

V’s breath lodged in her chest as she stared at the man sitting beside her. Proud? Had he really just said that? Never in her life had anyone rooted for her – no one besides Zoey of course – and V had gotten used to going it alone. Hell, she worked for Zoey because it was easier than trying to make a name for herself. Not that she gave her job less than one hundred percent at any given time, but she hadn’t expected Zane to be in her corner on this one.

“Ok, say I let her manage the spa and you the club. How do you plan to work together?” Travis asked, directing his question to Zane. “I heard what happened at Anderson Croft’s and look where that got you.”

V sat up straight, feeling entirely too defensive at the moment. How dare Travis talk to Zane like that? The man stood up for her, when remarkably few people ever had. Granted, it also resulted in him damn near getting killed at the hands of a lunatic, but still...

Oh, God. What would happen if V encountered another asshole like Jake Sanders? Would Zane go off the deep end every time? Maybe Travis was right. Maybe this wasn’t a smart idea.

“It’ll work, Trav. You have to trust me on this,” Zane argued, and V could sense the tension escalating.

Placing her hand on his arm, Zane glanced over at her, and she felt the way his muscles abruptly relaxed. That was interesting. Did she do that to him? Was she capable of calming him down rather than riling him up?

“I don’t know if I’m onboard with the idea,” Travis began, but Zane unexpectedly reacted by shooting to his feet. V managed to grab his arm and pull him back down, although she knew he was giving in to her because there was no way she could’ve made the man do anything he didn’t want to do.

When she looked back at Travis, he was grinning.