Eliza Jane - Tempted

“Oh.” I guess he’s right. Colt’s always had his eighteen and older rule. I blush knowing that Reis thinks I’m hot.

“And you’re kind of a shrimp.” He pats the top of my head, drawing attention to my height – which clocks in about a foot shorter than him and Colt.

I roll my eyes. “You’re just as charming as Colt, aren’t you?”

He chuckles. I think he secretly likes that I just compared him to his older brother.

“Come on, Shrimp. I need you to show me around.”

Reis slips the key into the lock and holds the door open for me. I hadn’t planned on staying, but I step through. I’ll give him a quick tour so I don’t seem rude. I point to things as we progress through the room. “Seating area. Computer.” I motion to Colt’s sofa and desk. “TV.” I pick up the remote, handing it to Reis as I go. He sets it back down.

“Uh, bed.” My cheeks flamed pink against my will. Reis grins. He smiles easily and often, not like the usually serious Colt.

“So I guess that pretty much completes the tour.”

“Shower?” Reis turns to face me, cocking one eyebrow.

“Oh, right.” I point to the door at the end of the room. “His bathroom’s through there. There should be some towels in the cabinet.”

Reis stands solidly before me. “Well unless you care to join me, I guess that’s it then.”

Join him? In the shower? I attempt an awkward laugh, hoping he’s kidding, but his face is serious. “I’m good, thanks.”

“Knock, knock,” MJ calls, pushing open Colt’s door. Whenever I’m not in the dorm or the computer lab, MJ knows I’m most likely in Colt’s room.

I step back from Reis, thankful for the reprieve from the intensity between us. “Hey MJ.”

Reis grins looking between MJ and I.

“I figured you’d be in here,” she says.

“This is Colt’s brother, Reis. He’s just moving back from California and I was showing him around.”

Reis extends a hand towards MJ, and she places her hand in his. “MJ,” she says, introducing herself while her hand remains locked in his.

Reis is completely at her mercy, taking in her smooth honey-colored skin, chocolate eyes and brilliant smile all in an instant. The way she straightens her shoulders and pushes her chest forward tells me that she’s into him. Which is strange, because she’s so anti-Colt and they look so much alike. He doesn’t shake her hand, he just holds it, releasing it almost reluctantly a moment later.

“Well I was just leaving,” I say to MJ, interrupting the unspoken reverie between them.

“And I was just about to shower. If you care to join me.” Reis tips his chin toward the bathroom, but his eyes rest on MJ.

I stifle a cough. “Um, no. Come on.” I pull MJ by the arm. She doesn’t say anything, but I can tell she considered it for a second. “MJ,” I scold under my breath, pulling her to the door.

“So I guess that’s a no on the shower?” he calls.

I slip out of the room as quickly as I can, towing MJ behind me. I hear Reis chuckling from the other side of the door.

What a little shit! He only did it to get a rise out of me. I stalk away, needing to blow off some steam and keep my distance from Reis.

Colt

I check my email for any new cases, find one and assign it out to a field agent, then check in with Vera. All the first years are set to arrive today. Vera will be busy. We have a new class of seven students starting. It’s the smallest class we’ve had in several years, but I’m new at all this and don’t have all the connections my dad did to recruit new students.

Then later I need to drive Reis home. Mrs. Lee has him enrolled at a local public school. Neither of us has ever gone to public school, and I know he’s pissed. But he can’t go to school here. It wouldn’t make any sense. He needs a regular high school experience, soccer, getting ready for college – not following in our dad’s footsteps, like I’m doing.

I figured it’d be good to have Reis close by, but I didn’t like the way he’d looked at Taylor this morning. His eyes roamed her body, moving from her hips, back up to her face, then resting on her chest. I wanted to thump him upside the head, but it’s his first day back, and he’s my brother so I let it slide. Sending him off with Taylor was the last thing I wanted to do. I’m craving alone time with her, and wish I could hang out and not have to worry about running this place. When I was an instructor showing up for classes two hours a day, and taking on the occasional assignment, I never realized how easy I had it.

This year, I’ve hired a black belt from the local karate school to teach my old class to the first years, I’ve upped Vera’s responsibilities to handle more of the affairs with the students, and I’ve taken over all of McAllister’s work. I’ve emailed him occasionally when I can’t figure something out on my own, but for the most part, I’m handling it.

I’m working on securing a deal for a new long term partnership rather than one case at a time. It would be nice to have the steady work, and steady income coming in. There’s a total of thirty-nine staff members here to pay, not to mention the mortgage and utilities for the school. I’m hoping a major deal like this could free me up from having to constantly hunt for new cases. Plus I’m not willing to take on some of the shadier things that my dad was willing to do, so I’ve already had to turn down some work from his old contacts. I won’t put Taylor or anyone else in a position to do something illegal ever again. That’s why this securing this deal is so important to me. I open the latest email from Geoffrey, the director of a firm that works directly with the British military that I’m hoping to partner with.

TO: Colt Palmer

FROM: Geoffrey James

SUBJECT: Wiltech partnership

Mr. Palmer,

I appreciate the information you provided on the various skills you employ on your staff. I would like to propose we work together on a trial basis – I have a case you could work now, and if all goes well, we can discuss the long-term arrangement we’ve spoke of.

I’d like for you to come to London, meet with myself and a senior officer to negotiate the details. In addition, you can actively work the case I have in mind from our headquarters in London. We anticipate it shouldn’t take longer than a few weeks.

Let me know if this arrangement is suitable to you.

Best,

Geoffrey

Wow. A few weeks. In London. I hadn’t planned on being away from here – my duties, and of course, Taylor and keeping an eye out for Reis, but if I can secure us a long term contract, it’ll be more than worth it. I won’t have to constantly worry how to keep paying for this staff. About of the bills and invoices come through our office manager to me, and I would’ve never imagined how expensive it is to keep this place up and running. Gas and electric bills, school supplies, food for the cafeteria, and of course salaries for the teachers. McAllister always insisted on giving all of the students a free ride here, so he could easily recruit students to work the cases he wanted, but I’m considering changing that practice in the future. Tuition would help to cover some of the costs.

If I go to London – I’ve got to land this business. I try to picture myself, thousands of miles away, trying to do both jobs, working the case and winning over Geoffrey, plus handling the day to day business of the school from afar. I’ll need someone to go with me if I hope to manage all this. And I know just the girl for the job. Bria. Skilled in negotiations, she’ll be key in influencing Geoffrey to work with us, and she can help me in the case, whatever it is too.

I hit reply and let Geoffrey know that a few weeks in London will be fine, and that I’ll be bringing along an agent of mine to assist in the case.

Taylor’s not going to be happy about me going overseas, let alone being alone with Bria for an extended period of time. I’ll have to break the news to her carefully. Especially after last night’s disaster of a date.

Taylor

“Hey, Shrimp.” Reis pats the top of my head, rustling my hair.

I roll my eyes. “Hey Reis.”

“Let’s go do something. I’m bored.” He leans over my shoulder inspecting my computer screen. “And this doesn’t look all that important.” He waves toward the screen which is black at the moment, except for a string of code blinking back at me.

I stretch my arms above my head, realizing that I’ve been sitting immobile for several hours. My spine cracks with the movement. “I could take a break. What’d you have in mind?”

He grins, half of his lip curving up in a deliciously naughty manner and he wags his eyebrows at me suggestively.

I punch him in the stomach.

“Ompf.” He hisses, rubbing his tight abs. “Let’s go for a run. We can work out some of this sexual tension between us.”

I cock an eyebrow at him, shaking my head. “Fine. Let’s go.”

After changing into shorts and T-shirt, I meet Reis in the foyer. He’s bent at the waist, lacing up his running shoes. His gym shorts are slung low on his slim hips. No shirt. Damn. I try and fail not to notice his bare chest. He smiles when he catches me looking.

He looks down his body. He knows he’s good looking. Though thankfully he isn’t as cocky as his older brother. “You think you can handle this?”

Scratch that. He’s every bit as cocky. “I think I’ll manage.” I step around him. “I just want to tell Colt we’re leaving.”

He shrugs and follows me to Colt’s office.

The door has been left partially open and I peek my head inside.

He looks tired. One hand roams through his hair causing it to stick up every which way and his other is tapping against the desk like he’s lost in thought. When he hears the door hinges groan, he looks up, catching my eyes.

His face brightens instantly. “Hey baby.”

“Hi.” I cross the office to him and he pushes his chair away from the desk to meet me halfway. I step between his knees and hug him. With him sitting down, we’re closer to the same height and he wraps his arms around my back, squeezing me to him with a firm pressure. I feel him inhale against my neck and relax against me. It makes me smile. I pull back and kiss him once briefly on the corner of his mouth. “I’m going go for a run with Reis.”

He eyes go from mine to Reis’s form standing in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame. “Can you put on a fucking shirt?”

Reis chuckles.

A deep blush creeps up my neck. I don’t like Colt thinking that Reis’s body is distracting me, but that’s obviously what he assumed. And unfortunately he’s right. It is a little distracting.

But when I’d told Colt about Reis hitting on me before, he’d chuckled and said good for him. Apparently Reid used to be something of a wallflower and Colt’s reaction was one of pride. I don’t know what I’d been expecting…jealousy…or annoyance, but not pride. He actually seemed amused. I was forced to let it go. If Colt didn’t care about Reis’ ogling me and flirting, then why should I?

I kiss Colt once more. “I’ll run, then I’ll shower and after I’ll come and find you.”

He nods. “I should be done in a few more hours.”

I guess I have some time to kill. I turn and follow Reis from the office.

Reis sets off at a steady pace once we’re outside the building. He leads me behind the school to a worn path that runs along the perimeter of the woods. He runs at a moderate pace, slow enough so that I can keep up, but fast enough that we were both getting a workout.

“Colt doesn’t do the girlfriend thing. You must be pretty special, Shrimp.”

“Yeah. I guess so.” I wasn’t sure why, but talking about my relationship with Colt feels weird. Struggling for a way to change the subject, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “What about you…girlfriend?”

“Not anymore. I was seeing a girl last year, but it ended a few months ago.”

He’s quiet for the next several minutes as our feet continue to pound along the trail, our breaths coming fast. I guess that’s all I’m going to get from him. But it’s interesting to know that he doesn’t have the same hang-ups as his brother when it comes to girls.

“So are you excited about your new school?”

He scoffs. “Oh yeah, starting a new school your senior year is awesome.”

I could relate to his sentiment. When I started here last year, I thought my life was over. Little had I known at the time that my life would never be the same.