LITMIR.BIZ

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remembered that look, knew what it meant, though it had been years since she’d experienced it. Experiencing it now made her stomach flip and her muscles tighten. She wondered if her plain black shift disappointed him. It fell to just below her knees, then met with her black stockings. With a barely scooped neck and elbow length sleeves, the dress exemplified her life—plain, uncomplicated, quiet.

      Just as she had wanted it to be.

      Several women were attempting to speak to him, but he ignored them. He pushed himself away from the wall and started toward Brandi. She considered making a hasty exit, leaving Shay to fend for herself. Watching the two of them get acquainted wasn’t something she could anticipate with any degree of outward indifference.

      But Shay turned then and followed Brandi’s gaze. She placed a restraining hand on Brandi’s shoulder, and as the man reached them Shay embraced him with her free arm, kissing his cheek with familiar affection. Brandi could only gawk.

      “Sebastian, you did wonderfully—our biggest attraction! For a moment there, I was afraid my bid would cause a brawl. Some of the ladies were very disappointed to be put out of the running.” She laughed, then added, “I was right—you are a natural.”

      “A natural idiot for letting you talk me into this,” he said easily, his gaze swinging down to Brandi. He studied her, and his tone dropped to an intimate level. “I don’t think I’ll thank you for making that last bid, Shay.”

      Brandi’s eyes widened. Was he insinuating that he’d wanted her to bid? She opened her mouth to…say what? She had no idea, but then he glanced at Shay again.

      “I’d appreciate an introduction,” he said, “since you two seem well acquainted.”

      Shay grinned, making no effort to hide her satisfaction at his interest. “Not only well acquainted, but related. Sebastian, I’d like you to meet my little sister.” She pressed Brandi forward. “Sebastian Sinclair, meet Brandi Sommers.”

      “Sister?” He looked surprised and his eyes narrowed on Brandi’s face, scrutinizing her every feature. Brandi knew he was drawing comparisons between her and Shay, and she was bound to come up lacking. She stiffened her spine and scowled at him.

      Shay forged on, intent on some course that eluded Brandi. But somehow Brandi knew, she wasn’t going to like it.

      “Sebastian is a good friend of mine,” Shay said, then added with a burst of wary enthusiasm, “Happy birthday, honey! I bought him for you.”

      SEBASTIAN’S FIRST THOUGHT was that the woman would faint dead at his feet. She’d gone deathly pale and her mouth had dropped open. Yet when he reached for her, she jerked back and there wasn’t a single ounce of uncertainty in her expression.

      Her glare said plain enough that she wanted nothing to do with him.

      His sense of indignation rose, but he was unsure what to say. He couldn’t pull his gaze away from her face, regardless of her obvious rejection. Up close, he could see her huge eyes were a very soft blue, ringed with thick black lashes. Her nose tipped up on the end and her small stubborn chin was slightly pointed. There were hollows beneath her cheekbones giving her a very delicate appearance, but her jaw was firm. Her lips…she had a very sexy mouth, he decided, lush and well defined, even if she refused to smile, even if her expression now was more shocked than pleased. She wasn’t pale like Shay, but rather her skin had a dusky rose hue, and her midnight black hair…it was wildly curly, cut short and framing her face…untamable. He found himself suffering a severe case of instantaneous lust. And yet the woman looked appalled at her sister’s generosity. Well, hell.

      “I’d never have guessed you were related,” he said, trying for an ounce of aplomb in the awkward moment. “You two look nothing alike.”

      Shay grinned. “I’m adopted, didn’t you know? I guess I never told you about that.”

      “I guess you didn’t.”

      She surprised him with that, enough that he could actually take his eyes off Brandi’s face a moment to stare at Shay. “You’re not kidding?”

      “Nope. My stepparents thought they couldn’t have kids, so they took me in. And they’ve always treated me like their first child.”

      “You are their first child,” Brandi muttered, frowning up at her sister.

      “But shortly after my adoption was final, Mom got pregnant.” Shay beamed down at Brandi. “She’s like a miracle child.”

      “Hardly a child now,” he said, his attention resting on Brandi’s pursed lips for a few seconds. He envisioned kissing that mulish expression off her mouth, then had to force that image away before he embarrassed himself.

      Brandi rolled her eyes, then crossed her arms over her breasts—small perfect breasts, he couldn’t help noticing. She barely reached his collarbone, but she managed to look imposing nonetheless. “You’ll have to forgive my sister, Mr. Sinclair. She gets carried away with her generous intentions on occasion. But I don’t want…that is…” She fumbled for the appropriate words, which gave Shay a chance to offer more arguments.

      “I can afford him, Brandi. And he’s the perfect gift!” Brandi stared at her sister, and Shay grumbled defensively, “Well, he is!”

      With her face bright red and her posture rigid, Brandi appeared more than determined to send him on his way.

      Sebastian interrupted before she could do just that. “When you say ‘little’ sister, you aren’t exaggerating.”

      Shay grasped the change of topic gratefully. “Brandi looks like the family. Petite and dark. I’m afraid with my gawky height and fair hair, it’s me who’s the oddity.”

      “Ha!” Brandy now had her hands on her narrow hips. “A beautiful oddity and you know it.” To Sebastian, she said, “Shay is the reining matriarch of the family. She does her best to boss us all around, and usually we let her because she enjoys it so much. It gives her something to do and keeps her out of trouble. But this time…”

      He didn’t want to be dismissed, so he held out his hand to Brandi and quickly interrupted. “So I’m a birthday present, am I? I suppose I’ve been worse things in my line of work.”

      She put her small hand in his large one, gave it two jerky, firm pumps, then mumbled, “Nice to meet you.” And in the next breath she asked with a good dose of suspicion, “What exactly is your line of work?”

      Shay poked Brandi in the ribs, causing her to jump. As Brandi rubbed her side, scowling, Shay explained. “Sebastian owns a personal security agency and he does a credible job of taking care of people, watching out for them, protecting them from danger of any kind. It’s one reason for all the brawn you noticed.”

      Brandi’s eyes flared and her cheeks flushed. So she’d noticed him to that degree had she? Excellent.

      She stuttered a moment, then ended with, “I’m going to kill you, Shay.”

      Shay looked totally unconcerned with the threat. She fluttered her manicured hand in Brandi’s direction as if to fan away the anger. “Sebastian has to stay in top shape. His job can be, at times, very physical. But he’s up to it. He’s real hero material, he just doesn’t realize it.”

      “I do my job the same as anyone else, Shay. There’s nothing heroic about it.”

      “You see what I mean?” Shay asked Brandi, then added in a stage whisper, “Actually he’d be a perfect male if he wasn’t such a chauvinist. But Sebastian thinks of all women as delicate and frail and he wants to save them all.”

      He narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I don’t know about that, Shay. I certainly wouldn’t term you as delicate. Tough as shoe leather maybe, but not—”

      Shay smacked at him, laughing. But Brandi frowned as if she didn’t quite trust him, regardless of her sister’s romanticized declaration. Then she turned to Shay, and though she lowered her voice, he heard every word.

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