Love Under Two Honchos (3 page)

Benedict?” The effect of Alex’s hand in hers was no less potent, or disturbing, than his brother’s had been.

“Don’t be so formal. It’s Josh and Alex,” the latter said. “Since, as I said, we
are
going to be working so closely together, and all.”

“Of course.” For the first time, Penelope decided that brazening things out wasn’t necessarily always the best policy. She could only hope that at the restaurant, she’d be able to keep her distance from these devastatingly arousing men.

Love Under Two Honchos

13

* * * *

Alexander Benedict had never felt so off-kilter in his life.

He wanted to lay the blame for this feeling right at the dainty little feet of his Grandma Kate, but he wasn’t even really certain that it was her fault.

A gentle, feminine laugh rippled across his skin, making his cock twitch and begin to harden. Beside him, his best friend and closest sibling, Joshua, sucked air in through his teeth and adjusted his position on the restaurant chair.

Alex didn’t have to ask Josh if he’d just gotten a hard-on, too. He knew he had. There could be only one explanation why he and his sibling were both under this particular spell, reacting this way to a woman they’d met for the first time just a few hours before.

Penelope Primrose was a witch!

Though, with that deep black hair that almost sparkled blue in the lights and those violet, fathomless eyes, she could have played the role of a Greek goddess instead of a witch.

Aphrodite, naked, rising from the water, arms opening slowly in a
lovers’ welcome
.

Whoa! Where the hell had that image come from? Alex dislodged the phantom of an old dream and focused his will on telling his cock the lady in question was definitely off-limits.

He watched her now, on the other side of
Lusty Appetites
, as she chatted with his sister-in-law Kelsey, the two of them behaving like old friends.

“Not hungry, son?” his father Jonathan asked.

Alex looked up at his dad, then down at his plate, still half full of Kelsey’s delicious roast beef, fries, and gravy.

“Of course I am. I just didn’t want to wolf down this great food and hurt Mother’s feelings.” Alex gave his fathers and his mother—

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the three of whom sat across the table from him and Josh—a big smile.

His mother’s response to that declaration was to raise one eyebrow, a look Alex knew well. Bernice Benedict was the queen of patented looks. That one small gesture said,
Who do you think you’re
trying to pull one over on?
, and was a look that she’d used on him many times in his life.

Then his mother shook her head. “I wonder which ancestor that smooth tongue and quick wit of yours comes from?”

“Darling, our son is one of a kind,” his father, Caleb, said.

Alex could only grin back at his parents. He wasn’t about to let a temporary aberration, and surely that’s all this reaction he was having to Penelope Primrose could be, get in the way of his enjoying this unexpected family celebration. Good company, good food, and his Grandma Kate back in the bosom of their family, at least for the next few weeks, made for a very good evening, probably even better than the one he and Josh might have with luscious Lola. It was a comfort to think so, in any event.

Alex surveyed all the familiar people jammed into Kelsey’s restaurant. It didn’t take much to get the combined Benedict, Jessop, and Kendall families in the party mood, but nothing worked better than having their globe-trotting Grandma Kate back home.

The guest of honor was busy making the rounds, of course, moving from table to table, chatting, hugging, laughing. He didn’t know where she got her energy. “Isn’t she something?” He couldn’t keep the admiration out of his voice.

“You’d never know she was ninety,” his mother agreed. “I hope I’m half as active at her age.”

Grandma Kate was clearly on a course that would bring her their way. She stopped at the table occupied by the rest of his siblings. He grinned when Colt and Ryder practically jumped to their feet. He guessed tales of his grandmother had preceded her, courtesy of his sister Susan, their future wife.

Love Under Two Honchos

15

It was always such fun watching people and their first encounter with his grandmother. Anyone who thought to treat her like the proverbial “little old lady” was always in for a surprise.

Katherine Wesley Benedict was
nobody’s
little old lady.

The door to
Lusty Appetites
opened, and Alex caught the flash of two uniforms, one a sheriff’s brown and the other an Air Force captain’s blue.

“My, my, I love a man—or two—in uniform!” Grandma Kate said.

Adam Kendall, Lusty’s sheriff, and his brother Morgan both broke into wide grins.

“Kate!” Morgan made it over to her first. He scooped her up into his arms and spun her in a big circle. Alex winced, but his grandmother laughed like a young girl.

Morgan set her down and gave her a big, smacking kiss on the cheek. “It’s about time my favorite girl came home to me.”

“Oh, you. The two of you should be finding your own woman,”

she said, including Adam in that appraisal.

“Working on it,” Adam said, just loud enough so that those close by could hear.

Alex grinned. That was the perfect answer to give Grandma Kate!

Alex immediately adopted the stance as his own. As long as she had some indication that he was on the road to doing what she wanted him to do, she’d leave him be. She wouldn’t even necessarily pester him for the details.

Alex turned to look at his brother.

“Adam’s smart,” Josh said quietly. “He headed her right off.”

“I was just thinking that very thing myself. We’ll keep that response on the ready for when she gets around to us.”

Alex didn’t think it would be a question of if, but when, she got around to them. Many of the nation’s seniors adopted a cause in their December years. Grandma Kate’s cause was marrying off as many of
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her grandchildren—both actual and associate—as possible, and as soon as possible.

“Morgan, come and sit down here. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you.” Grandma Kate grabbed the big man’s hand and pulled him over to their table. Alex and Josh shifted to make room for them both.

“What have you been doing?” Grandma Kate lowered her voice to a loud whisper. “Or can you say?”

“Sorry, Kate. I really
can’t
say.” Morgan was a captain in the Air Force. Though he was a pilot, his current assignment was Special Tactics and Combat Control—or what was sometimes referred to as black ops. “But I’ve put in for a transfer to finish up this tour. I’ll be doing something different soon. I’ll be working on writing some training programs, which is really all I can say about that, too.”

“Mom’s glad because he’ll be closer to home,” Adam said. He came and stood just behind Grandma Kate’s chair. “He’ll be stationed at Goodfellow AFB over in San Angelo,” Adam said.

Alex noticed that Adam stood so that he had his back to the wall and could see the entire restaurant. His own father did that sometimes.

He guessed once a lawman, always a lawman. Though Alex couldn’t understand why his cousin would need to feel so vigilant in his sister-in-law’s restaurant in their own hometown. Alex’s gaze strayed back to Penelope.

The woman moved with a fluid grace. He wondered how far down her back that gorgeous hair would fall if he snuck up to her and pulled the pins out. Would she taste sweet, like honey, or sharp and tangy, like his favorite hot salsa?

“Alexander.”

Alex blinked. “Grandmother.” He guessed his grandma had called his name a couple of times. He could feel his cheeks heating and wished for one moment the floor would open up and swallow him.
I
wonder why, when we’re embarrassed, we always wish for something
that has never actually happened to anyone, and that, if it did happen,
would likely hurt like hell?

Love Under Two Honchos

17

Alex blinked again and gave his grandmother his best smile.

“I’m going to rely on you and Joshua to give every bit of hospitality, assistance, and cooperation to Penelope that you can.

Since the two of you
are
the honchos of our oil company, now, it’s your duty to see to her. This project is very important to me.”

Alex’s radar quivered. He looked over at his brother. Josh returned his look, one eyebrow raised. That look told him he and his brother were on the same page.

Rather than wonder about it, he said, “Why is it so important to you, Grandma?”

“This last cruise I was just on, there was a young man on board who had a lot to say about big oil companies and what they’ve done to the planet. I wanted to boast about our ecological record, only I couldn’t, not with any real authority. Made me feel uncomfortable.

And it made me think that maybe we haven’t been as good at global stewardship as we could have been. I do not like to feel uncomfortable, and I don’t like to feel guilty.” Then she lowered her gaze so that she looked at him over the top of her glasses. “And then there’re those letters. They seem like threats to me, and no one threatens my grandchildren and gets away with it.”

Of course, her answer made perfect sense. “Don’t worry, Grandma. We’ll both do everything we can to see that Penelope has everything she needs.”

“Good. Susan and her men are heading out in a few minutes, on their way to pick up the boys’ adopted father and bring him here. He’s going to be staying with your folks. Did you know that your father Caleb knows Mike Murphy? Anyway, she offered Penelope her place for the night. The poor girl’s been traveling since dawn. There’s lots of room in that ranch house for the three of you. Tomorrow, y’all can head on out to Houston. You’ll see she gets settled, both tonight and tomorrow?”

Alex looked at Josh. Neither one of them could deny their grandmother anything, even though, in this case, Alex wondered how
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he was going to possibly resist temptation. Spending the night in the same isolated ranch house as the beautiful Ms. Primrose? God help them all.

Since the lady in question had barely looked their way since they’d all come over to the restaurant, maybe it wouldn’t be as difficult as he thought. Alex nodded. “Of course, Grandma. Josh and I will take very good care of Ms. Primrose.”

* * * *

Penelope wasn’t certain how it had happened, but after dinner, she found herself waving good-bye as Grandma Kate was driven off, while standing on the sidewalk as her luggage was being loaded into a Hummer.

A Hummer that belonged to Josh and Alex Benedict.

She’d done a pretty good job, she thought, avoiding the two devastatingly attractive men. When she shook hands with them after the meeting, felt her nipples peak and her slit leak, that had been her only option. Avoid them, avoid temptation.

Joshua and Alex Benedict are
not
the men that have visited my
dream-time sexual fantasies for the last six years
.

It didn’t matter how many times Penelope played that mantra through her mind. Her body wasn’t paying any attention to her. No, at this very moment, her hot little hormones were doing a happy dance up and down the outside of her pussy.

“It’s not far to Susie’s place,” Alex said. “She’s taken over and remodeled an old ranch house at the north end of the original Benedict tract.”

Penelope had been scrambling for some way to get her mind off her arousal and could have wept with joy over this conversational offering.

“The original ranch that Sarah Benedict inherited from that blackguard, Tyrone Maddox?” she asked.

Love Under Two Honchos

19

Alex’s eyes widened, and Josh said, “You know about our family history?”

“Oh, yes. Your grandmother and mine were good friends for years, remember. After I went to live with my Grandma Wright, your Grandma Kate was a regular visitor. She told me such stories about your ancestors.” Penelope was on a roll. When Josh went to get behind the wheel of the vehicle and Alex stood with the front passenger door open for her, she got into the truck, then slid over to the middle of the large seat.
Keep talking
. “What a pleasure it was for me today to tour your museum while I waited to be called into the meeting. I felt as if I knew every one of the people whose portraits I viewed.”

“So you do know about our family and our town?

Our…traditions?” Alex’s breath fluttered her ear as he expanded on Josh’s question. His words were spoken in a tone Penelope could only describe as sexy.

When had he moved so close to her? What in the name of all that was holy was she doing in the front seat of this truck, between these two extremely studly men, watching the lights of the town of Lusty fade away into the background?

She looked at Alex, then over at Josh. Both men were looking at her as if they hadn’t eaten in a lifetime and she was a feast for their own personal consumption. The interior of the truck seemed to shrink, was suddenly impossibly small. Their masculine scent, raw and appetizing, went to her head faster than the most expensive champagne ever could.

Her pussy cheered, and her brain began to short-circuit. She blinked, tried to remember the question Alex had just asked her at the same time she realized Josh had put the turn signal on and was slowing the vehicle, then pulling over to the side of the road.

“Um…er…yes…Oh, God, what was the question?” Penelope wanted to cringe at the weak, whispery sound of her words.

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“Perfect answer.” Alex’s words brushed her face seconds before his lips claimed hers.

Lusty and luscious, wet and wild, Alex’s mouth covered hers. His flavor tantalized, hot and delicious. His tongue wooed hers, and then conquered it with motions at once seductive and dominating.

Alex raised his head, eased back, and Penelope had one moment to blink and another moment to recognize the sensation of another arm coming around her, a gentle hand turning her head.