SEVEN
SHE WHIRLED AROUND. A man on the stairs in dark jeans and a gray tee-shirt wore a face identical to the one she’d just left on the couch. Yet somehow, she couldn’t explain why, it was completely different. He smiled and came running down the stairs toward her. When he got close enough to touch, she leaped back, holding out her hands.
Behind him to the right, Magnus rushed out of the living room with Roman in his wake or… maybe not Roman.
The guy in front of her checked them out, but his attention quickly came back to her.
“What the hell is going on?” she demanded.
“Ah, shit, Struan, trust you to be up early,” Roman said. “Bet he’s already done forty laps and 20K.”
She focused on the man closest to her. The one who looked just like the guy she’d been intimate with last night.
“Bambi, baby,” he said. “I can explain this. I am not Roman Lowe. My name is Struan, he’s my twin.”
“Oh my God,” she said and stumbled backward. “He’s your… but we…”
“Wait a second…” Magnus said. “Ah, fuck, you two pulled the bait and switch again!”
This Struan guy didn’t explain, just kept his attention on her. “I wanted to tell you, but it’s complicated. Roman was supposed to be there last night, but he… he was drinking and—”
“Yo, fuck, bro, don’t tell her that shit!” Roman objected while Magnus chastised.
As they argued, Struan tried to get closer to her. No way, this was too… she backed up again.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes soft with contrition. Looking into him, she recognized the mesmerizing man from the storeroom. “I was going to call you today. You ran off last night. You disappeared so fast and—”
“I didn’t want to get in the way and I… I thought the moment was sort of perfect on its own.”
Dating a Hollywood star long-term hadn’t occurred to her for a second. What they had was what it was and… except it wasn’t.
He smiled though his head tilted in curiosity. “Then why are you here this morning? Didn’t you come looking for me?”
“No, she didn’t,” Magnus said, appearing behind him. “You’re supposed to be the sensible one, Struan. Your reckless behavior’s caused your brother a lot of problems… enough it might end his career.”
“End his…”
Yes, she was confused and pissed, but finding out they’d been recorded sideswiped her too. The guy deserved a minute to compute.
She laid a hand on his forearm. “There’s a video,” she whispered, stroking him, relishing the feel of those little dark hairs moving beneath her fingers. A buzz of electricity zapped her, him too, it was there in his eyes when they rose from her hand.
“A video of us together?”
“Or a video of us,” Roman said, coming up at her other side.
When he tried to put his arm around her, she sidestepped, bumping into Struan.
“Can you please stop touching me?” she said, unsteadied by it all.
This was a lot to take in.
“Yeah,” Struan said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to hold her against him. “Hands off.”
Shrugging off Struan’s arm, she backed away from them both. “That goes for you too,” she said. “You’re no better… in fact, you’re worse!”
It was easy to refuse Roman, the letch. Struan was a whole different ballgame. Their magnetism provided the perfect excuse to lean on him, which would be a huge mistake.
“Worse?” he asked. “Why am I worse?”
Roman laughed. “She doesn’t want your hands on her, man. She thought she was getting me last night and didn’t expect to hook up with the help.”
Offended, her mouth opened. If he didn’t have so many protectors around, she might’ve slapped the supposed star. Last night, her instant attraction to Struan had been visceral and real, regardless of his name, or his “position” in the family.
Roman’s swagger fueled a need to take him down a peg. Swerving around him, she went to Struan and grabbed his face to pull him down for a kiss. The moment her mouth touched his, their ecstasy came back full force. Suddenly, there was no trouble, no craziness, nothing except their mouths. His arms realized what was happening before his mouth did. When he held her, she gave him control of her body. A second later, his tongue caught up with what was happening and merged with hers.
Before she lost her senses and asked for directions to his bedroom, she pulled back. Abstaining wasn’t easy. Against him, in body contact, she didn’t want to be mad. Hormones led, and, man, she wanted to follow.
“You’re worse because this feels right. It’s easy to run away from your sleazy brother. You’re harder to resist.”
The corner of his mouth reacted. Whatever the reality, that was a compliment. One she’d rather not give, but truth was truth.
Roman hissed. Good, let him be second best. Honestly? She was pleased he hadn’t gone to the Lighting Darkness event. Imagining a second locked up with him was awful enough, never mind enduring the actual experience.
Magnus leaned in to pull her away from Struan. “Shame you’ll never get to explore that,” he said, lugging her toward the living room.
She reached for Struan and missed. Guy didn’t help, just stood there dumbfounded until rage flared in his expression, signaling his returning acuity.
Magnus pushed her down on the couch. Struan and Roman weren’t far behind.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Mag?” Struan asked, sitting with her.
Cradling her face, he brushed her hair away to check she was okay, or offer more apology, she wasn’t sure which. When he examined her wrist, what had been Magnus’s point of contact, his offense rose again.
“Back off, she’s your brother’s fiancée.”
“Excuse me,” both she and Struan said at the same time.
Roman dropped onto the couch at her other side.
A confident, stern, man in charge, Magnus stood in front of their trio. “Last night’s events are on devices across the world right now, we can’t ignore that. Roman has used all his passes and is hanging onto his career by the skin of his fucking teeth. This could ruin him. If the network thinks he’s going back to his old ways, we’re fucked.”
“And I did nothing wrong,” Roman said.
“Except getting wasted before the event,” Struan said.
“If I didn’t, brother, you wouldn’t have got laid.” A beat. “You’re welcome.”
He better not expect gratitude. He’d had his hand up her skirt, that was gratitude enough.
She laid a hand on each of their thighs. “I am sorry that this happened,” Bambi said, pushing them both away. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble for anyone’s career.”
“She didn’t know who she was sleeping with,” Roman said. “Who knew Struan could be spontaneous? Fuck, we sure he wasn’t high? Really this is all his fault.”
Struan reached behind her to shove his brother. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Why don’t you tell the truth?” she asked Magnus, attempting to catch each man’s wrist to stop them wrestling with her in the middle. “Tell the media Roman wasn’t the one at the event.”
“We can’t tell them they were conned. Roman was invited to the event, Struan went as him. This isn’t the first time they’ve done this. The world can’t know that. We can’t have the family secrets getting out. Everyone will second-guess which Lowe brother they have at their event or on their set… And they’ll ask why Roman didn’t show.”
Which would mean admitting Roman was drunk and Struan was saving his ass.
“And I’m sorry for that, but it’s not my problem.”
“While the media are all over you it is. Whichever Lowe brother they think you’re screwing, they have footage that won’t go away. We can protect you if you stay. We can give you security and corral the media. Here, you’ll have everything you need. Out there on your own, you’re exposed, that could be dangerous. And you’ve got to think about your ass too. What will your employer think of you fraternizing with party guests while on duty? If they find out he’s your fiancé and may be interested in making a donation to the cause… and perhaps making some appearances…”
She didn’t like the sinister thread in his voice. “Are you blackmailing me?”
“No, he’s not,” Struan said, his voice deep and gravelly. “Because if he was, I’d be the first to make him pay for it.”
“We need her help, Struan,” Magnus said. “You know his past; we can’t go through this again. What’s the alternative?”
The men looked at each other. An air of guilt surrounded Struan. Okay, so she couldn’t claim to know anything intimate about Roman’s past or the family secrets, but there was something going on, something simmering not too deep beneath the surface.
“Okay, you guys figure it out. I wish you all the best.”
This time when she got up, her tension was lower, though her heart was a little heavier. Turned out she might’ve found herself a good man, he just wasn’t the one she’d thought.
In their few frames together, Struan was something special. Maybe she could have opened herself to him. Being so comfortable with a man that fast was novel. Rather than explore it, she had to walk away and would never know how it might’ve played out.
“Fawn!” Being closer to the door than last time made no difference, escape still eluded her. Goddamnit. Why couldn’t she get there without someone interrupting? Licking her lips, she turned around just as he jogged up in front of her. “I’m sorry.”
That threw her. “For?”
“Last night,” he said. “I want to get that out first. I should’ve told you who I was. You thought I was Roman and I didn’t correct you. I was attracted to you and I… there’s no excuse, I’m sorry.”
“Okay, thank you,” she said. “I appreciate that. Have a good life.”
He caught her before she could turn, crowding so close that her back hit the door. “This is on me. Roman’s career is on the line because of that video, our video. And I’m not wild about you being out there alone with the paparazzi dogs hounding you. Stay.”
“What?”
“Stay here for a few weeks until this blows over. I know I put you in this position and Roman too.” Nothing about the years of bad behavior that put the other Lowe brother’s coat on a rickety peg? “We’re the ones who did what we did, he doesn’t deserve to be punished for it.”
It shouldn’t have hurt, or shocked her, that he’d be so loyal to family. Actually putting it together though was difficult. He was suggesting…?
“You want me to play his fiancée?” she asked, concealing her hurt.
“I…” He swallowed. “No, I don’t. But this isn’t about what I want. The media have to think he’s serious about you. Your career could suffer for this too, and I don’t want that. So, please, let’s just ride this out for a couple of weeks, maybe a month. I’ll look after you. Nothing will happen that you’re not comfortable with.”
“I’m not comfortable with this.”
“Okay, then help me out,” he said, raising his arms in a loose shrug. “How do we fix this? Are you going to face the paps alone? They’re vicious.” She remembered. That morning, she might not have made it out alive if it hadn’t been for Magnus and the security guys. “And Brooker will know about this now.”
“You remember who I work for?”
His frown was confused. “Why wouldn’t I remember? You told me last night.” He had been listening. Oh, sigh. Knowing that didn’t make the situation any easier. “Won’t you let me look after you?”
“By telling the world I’ll marry your brother?”
“He won’t touch you, I promise.”
Bobbing her head, she moistened her lips and put a hand on his chest to ease him back. “Okay, but it’s sad.”
“Why sad?”
Once again, truth was truth, bitter or not.
She breathed out a semi-sigh. “Because if the world thinks I belong to him… I can never belong to you.”
“Mr. Lowe…” a guy called from somewhere behind him. “Chic is—”
“In a minute,” Struan said without breaking eye contact with her.
“I’ll need to go home and get my things.”
“Is that agreement? You’ll stay?” Their gazes answered. “Someone will fill your closet.” He came in even closer. “You don’t need to go anywhere. It’s not safe for you out there.”
“I have things I need to get.” Oh, the line of his throat, thick, masculine—she closed her eyes, shaking loose the memories threatening to take over. “What was I saying?”
“Things,” he said, touching her upper arm.
She bowed away. “We shouldn’t do that?”
“Do what?”
“Touch.” She scratched her lip. “I’m engaged to your brother.”
He bowed to murmur. “I saw you first.”
“This is not finders keepers.”
“How about he who fingers…”
Trailing off that smile showed his dimple, taking a needle to her defenses.
“Don’t,” she said on an exhaled laugh.
“I’m your ally. You need an ally.”
“Shouldn’t my ally be my fake fiancé?”
“Didn’t seem you were that interested in him.”
“No. First impression? He’s an arrogant letch.”
Their fingertips met. “You don’t have to be afraid here.”
“Why not? Are you going to guard me?”
“If I have to.” His fingers slipped between hers. “I’m sorry you got pulled into this.”
“Are you?”
In unison, their hands lifted, fingers tangled as palm pressed to palm. If they’d never met, this wouldn’t have happened. There would be no video. No career crisis. No hungry press desperate for every morsel. Was being free of the drama enough to make her wish away their night together…?
The front door burst open, startling them apart.
“Where is my muse?” the gorgeous, tan new entrant asked and fixated on her.
Damn, that muse might be her.
“Bambi, meet Chic,” Struan said. “First time your new canvas is already a work of art.”
Sighs and swoons, he probably shouldn’t be saying things like that in front of people.
“Before I’m anyone’s muse,” she said, unsure how to react to the new man’s scrutiny. “I need to make a call.”
“A call?” Struan asked, then answered. “Wishbone?”
More proof. A good man not only interested in getting laid, he’d cared enough to listen. And she’d stuffed it up already. Wasn’t life just one big laugh?