Authors: Violet Walker
“
D
ad I appreciate the sentiment of what you were trying to do,” his brothers groaned across the dinner table from he and Brooke. “But you can’t hold the company hostage until we do what you want. Your meddling almost messed up things between Brooke and I.” He held up her hand and kissed the inside of her palm, smiling into her eyes.
Vance raised his glass filled with amber liquid in their direction. “But it all worked out, didn’t it?”
“It did,” Brooke smiled. “But only because I’ve had feelings for your son for a long time. If I was a new woman I could never trust his feelings for me were genuine or if I was just a means to an end. I hope you think about that with these two,” she tilted her wine glass toward Ethan and Jackson.
Ethan shook his head. “Don’t worry about me because it isn’t happening.”
Brooke noticed Vance’s smile dim at Ethan’s words but she had a feeling Jackson would be the next of the billionaire brothers to fall. He winked at Galina and she blushed before leaving the dining room. “Okay fine, I’ll back off. A little.”
“That’s good news dad because I’ve found the woman I want to marry and make plenty of babies with,” he paused just to make his dad squirm. “But your meddling has created some issues so I’m not going to rush my relationship with Brooke just to keep my job. A job I’m damned good at by the way.”
The moment between them was tense. Vance stared at Chase with a blank look on his face and Chase stared back, his look giving away nothing. “Fair enough son.” He lifted his glass and toasted Chase and the woman he would marry. Soon, hopefully. “I’m glad to see you so happy. That’s all I wanted for you. Plus a few grandbabies for me.”
Chase nodded in understanding. He knew his dad’s intentions were good but his execution left a lot to be desired. “Thanks.”
Ethan finished off his whiskey and slammed his glass down much harder than was necessary. “All this love talk is great. Congratulations Chase and Brooke.” He looked around at each person at the table. They were his family. “But what are we going to do about the person stalking our family?”
THE END
JACKSON
The Unforgettable Billionaire Brothers
Obsession Book Two
Violet Walker
The Unforgettable Billionaire Brothers: JACKSON
J
ackson Silver stood at the wrought iron balcony overlooking the south end of Silver House. He loved this property, hell he grew up here until he left for University and then bought a penthouse in the city so he could be closer to Silver Enterprises. He’d worked hard at the company like his brothers, spending the requisite two years learning every aspect of the business before earning his spot as Chief Financial Officer. His seven years as CFO were the most profitable in the company’s history and now his father was threatening to take it all away.
The sun glinted off the towering glass greenhouse in the distance and the rose garden below was a rainbow of colors, views that once soothed him. Today the cheeriness of it all just pissed him off. There was no way he was going to allow Vance to manipulate him into settling down or getting married. Nope, that was not something he was prepared to do. Not now. Maybe not ever.
When Jackson was in a mood for a woman he went out and found one. He was considered wildly handsome with his dark brown locks slicked back to draw the gaze to his blue grey eyes. And if you looked really close—which a few select women have been known to do—you might catch a few gold flecks that gave him a rakish air. Sharp cheekbones cut high on his face, bracketing a straight patrician nose and unusually full lips all came together for a striking man with a tall, well-built body. He used his good looks to find a woman who knew the score, who was happy with a few nights of physical pleasure and a parting trinket when her time was up. That was how he ran his love life and it worked just fine for him, thank you very much.
If Vance was willing to sacrifice the financial health of SE to manipulate his boys into the colossal trap known as marriage, he would sit back and watch it fail. “Dammit!” That’s what really pissed him off, that his father would put SE in jeopardy because he was getting old and wanted grandchildren. He would see his sons walk away from the company they’ve worked years to see succeed, all because of something as fluid and unreliable as romantic entanglements.
I guess it’s time for me to update my resume, he thought glumly as he watched the grey clouds roll in from the ocean. A storm, just what he needed to make this entire situation even worse. No, what was making all of it worse was his attraction to a certain icy blond housekeeper that was wreaking havoc with his mind.
Jackson grumbled and reached for his glass, hoping the alcohol would dull the growing anger inside of him. Another glass and he just might be calm enough to prevent him from killing father and fleeing to Brazil. Phone in hand he angrily dialed the private investigator Cade, to see if he had any updates on their stalker. Vance and his ridiculous decrees could wait.
“Jack, how they hell are ya?”
Jackson flinched at the unexpected boom of Cade Morgan’s loud baritone. The man had a voice that carried, which made him a formidable opponent when he tried to get information out of you. He was a damn good investigator though. “Cade man, tell me you found something.”
Cade sighed heavily. He wished he had more information to give but so far there wasn’t much to go on. He had a hunch but he’d have to do some more digging before making a visit to Silver House. “Well I don’t have an ID on the stalker yet but it sounds like it’s a woman, based on Brooke’s description.”
“Shit.”
Cade chuckled. “Are there any scorned women in your past I need to investigate?”
Jackson slapped his forehead in frustration. Truthfully there could be more than a few women who’d convinced themselves that he would change, would settle down and become a family man. Inevitably they would be disappointed, hurt and a few would be angry. No matter, he found that diamonds could assuage just about any feelings where women were concerned. “Not me, but I guess I should ask dad, Ethan and Chase.”
“Couldn’t hurt. Are there any other women, romantic or otherwise, I should check out?”
Jackson shook his head even though he knew Cade couldn’t see him. It was all so surreal, he was still trying to wrap his head around it. “Not on my end but I’ll check with the others and get back to you.”
“Sounds good, man.” Cade knew Jackson could hear the amusement in his voice but with things as they were he also knew Jackson needed a distraction. “So I’ll probably have to come out there.” Jackson said nothing. “You know, to check the property and surveillance.” Still nothing. “And I was wondering if that gorgeous Galina was still in your dad’s employ.”
“Stay the hell away from here and just do your job!” Jackson was out of breath with the ferocity of his anger. He slammed the phone down, but not before he heard the mocking laugh of his soon to be ex-friend.
He barreled into the sitting room of his suite and straight out the door and down the stairs in search of his father and brothers. They needed to get to the bottom of this stalker mess once and for all. Also he would love to get as far away from the beautiful yet aloof Galina before his control completely snapped. Each time he saw her ethereal features, peaches and cream skin, white blond hair and crystal blue eyes he was reminded of that one heated kiss they shared months ago. It was a one-off, or so he liked to tell himself, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. That in itself was ridiculous since he’d dated Hollywood starlets, some of the most beautiful models in the world, a few high powered executives and even a European princess. None of them had done much to hold his attention compared to the soft glide of her lips against his, her soft moans into his mouth and her petite body molded to his. He shook off those thoughts, or at least tried as he searched for his family.
He spotted Chase and Brooke canoodling in the library. “Chase. Dad’s office. Now.” He didn’t bother to stop, just continued to stomp down the hall until all the Silver men were convened in the office. Dad and Ethan were already there, glaring at each other.
“Jackson, will you please talk some sense into this one?” Vance hitched a thumb in Ethan’s direction, a mixture of affection and exasperation on his face. That pretty much defined their relationship.
Jackson held up his hand to quiet his father and Ethan. “Not now Dad we have bigger problems.” He looked to the door just as Chase entered the room, pink shiny lip gloss smeared around his mouth. Jackson shook his head with warm affection and relayed Cade’s info. “So each of us needs to make a list of women, professional or sexual,” he glanced at Vance, “who might want something from us. A woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer, who angled for more than fun in the sack, got fired or has a history of paternity suits.” He sighed heavily. “Basically any pissed off gold diggers, wannabe baby mamas or ladder backers.” The latter was Jackson’s term for the sexy females capable of conquering the world on their own but willing to lie on their backs to climb the corporate ladder quicker. “Get the list to me before dinner. The quicker Cade can figure this out, the sooner this will all be over.” And I can get the hell out of here.
***
Galina wondered what was going on that had all the Silver men converging on Silver House this week. She knew it must be something special because in the year she’d be here the younger men only came home at the same time during the holidays. Something big must be going on. She hoped whatever it was wouldn’t affect her employment with Vance Silver. She loved working for the older man. He was friendly, funny and treated her like a favored niece. Most of all Mr. Vance loved her baking and he couldn’t seem to get enough of it. His words of praise were the highlight of her days. Usually.
Unfortunately her mind was preoccupied since noon several days ago when she’d opened the door to water the flowers on the front stairs and nearly ran smack into Jackson Silver. He was a handsome devil with a warm smile, eyes that seemed to constantly dance with amusement and a big sturdy body that made her think naughty thoughts. Her crush on Jackson had reached ridiculous proportions and she knew she needed to stop her foolish fantasies about him. She made the mistake of Googling him one day only to find herself teary eyed as she scrolled through pages upon pages of Jackson with a beautiful and scantily clad woman on his arms in every photo. Her crush on him died a little that day, and the next day when she continued her search to purge him from her heart.
“Stupid, stupid woman,” she chastised herself as she rolled out more cookies to put in the oven. There was no point in thinking about a man like Jackson, or the way that particular man had kissed her until her panties were wet, her eyes crossed and her heart beating its own parade inside her chest. He would look at Galina and see a housekeeper. A beautiful woman sure, but still just a housekeeper, suitable for a dalliance but never for forever. It was a lesson she learned the hard way when she first came to America a decade ago as an aspiring model. With her long legs, white blond hair and piercing light blue eyes her look was very hot from the moment her plan landed at JFK. She booked magazine shoots, editorial spreads and runway shows and she made more money than she could ever spend. Her life was perfect but she merely endured it, looking for the right time to get out and pursue her real passion, baking. One night after a late shoot with the latest photographer du jour, she’d barely been eighteen and he was handsy, he decided to try and take what didn’t belong to him and wasn’t being offered. She’d fought him off, escaping when a male model came back for his mobile, and she left modeling the next day with a very healthy nest egg.
Soon after she met a woman, Sabrina Santangelo, an Italian lingerie and bikini designer who helped her apply to culinary school. When she got in, Galina used her modeling money for tuition and living expenses, and Sabrina paid her to model her designs during the production phase. It gave her just enough to keep her savings replenished while she finished school. From there she worked as the personal chef to Sabrina, her husband and two teenagers. Until eighteen months ago when the young Mr. Santangelo thought because she worked for his parents, she had to work for him too. In his bed. She left the next day and lived on her savings while she looked for her next job. She was out of work for almost six months before being hired on at Silver House. She didn’t mind the added duties because she got to cook all day long.
Thinking of her early days in America made Galina even more wary of her feelings for Jackson. Would he be like the photographer and just take what his heated gaze said he wanted or would he simply order her like the Santangelo boy? She didn’t know and right now it was irrelevant. She would keep her distance and treat him as gracious as she would any other guest of Silver House. It couldn’t be that hard.
Could it?
She shook off all thoughts of Jackson and everything else except the cookies she bent to pull from the oven. Unfortunately the one man she was intent on ignoring had just stormed into the kitchen, scaring the hell out of her and making her burn herself on the hot cookie sheet. Just great. She gasped at the pain and threw down the sheet harder than she should have with the still warm cookies there. “Dammit,” she cursed to herself and grabbed the burned wrist.
“Shit Galina, I’m sorry. Let me.” His gaze was serious when he looked down at her, then her wrist. “So sorry,” he caressed the wrist and pulled her gently to run it under the cold tap.
She tried to pull away. “Don’t worry about it Jackson. I have it covered.” His hold was firm but it didn’t hurt. At least not physically. “Jackson,” she warned. He pulled the first aid kit from below the sink and softly patted her skin until it was dry. He was so focused on his task that he didn’t notice—thankfully—Galina’s ragged breathing, racing pulse or the small beads of desire appearing on her skin. She hadn’t been so close to him since that night months ago when the moon or the ocean or the lonely holidays had gotten the best of her and she’d let him kiss her. She let Jackson kiss her until she was trembling with desire, very much like she was at the moment. His smell was intoxicating so she turned her head away from him.
She looked away and that was more than fine with Jackson since he wasn’t sure how much longer he could touch her silky soft skin without wanting to feel those creamy thighs wrapped around his body or to feel those pink nipples in his mouth and taste her. Dammit! He had to stop but he couldn’t. He picked up the ointment to rub on her wrist but first he touched his lips to the ugly red burn scar. The sound of her gasp went straight to his cock. He looked at her and saw surprise and desire mingling in her eyes, so light blue they were almost clear.
Jackson leaned in.
Galina leaned in closer. She could feel his breath fan her face.
He saw the pulse beat rapidly at the base of her neck and groaned.
Galina never took her eyes off him, darting between his liquid silver eyes and those succulent lips made to drive women wild. They were both close, so close to a repeat of that unforgettable kiss. Breath mingled together, a kiss just a nanosecond from taking place.
“Oh shit! Shit! I’m sorry. Shit!”
Brooke. Galina stepped back and straightened her perfectly neat skirt and hair and turned a smile on Brooke. She genuinely liked the woman. She was the first woman to come to Silver House and treat Galina like a human, instead of like she was a sex toy for the Silver men. “It’s okay Brooke. I have cookies fresh from the oven.”
“Oh goody!” Brooke darted a look between Galina and Jackson, a knowing smile on her face.
“I have three kinds so come tell me which you like best.” She kept her gaze trained on Brooke, never once acknowledging Jackson until he leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Better luck next time.” Then he turned on his heels and left the kitchen.