Free ARROGANT PLAYBOY by Winter Renshaw Page A

brother’s house manager greets us along
with a tuxedoed butler. It always amuses me how my reclusive brother prefers to
have a staff of eight at his beck and call while preferring to remain alone in
his spare time. I can hardly spend an hour without some kind of social
interaction yet I prefer to keep my penthouse employee-free.
    The world couldn’t handle two
of me anyway. Dane would venture to say the same.
    “Hello, Mathilde,” I help Bronson
unload luggage and wheel Odessa’s bag around the car. “Mathilde, this is
Odessa. She’s consulting for TEH. I assume Dane told you she was staying?”
    “ Oui .” Mathilde smiles as if the auburn-haired beauty standing
before her is enchanting. “The rooms are ready. We’re happy to have you.”
    Odessa leans in and kiss-kisses
Mathilde’s cheeks, taking her hands. “Very lovely to meet you, and thank you
for accommodating us. I look forward to my stay at Golden Oak.”
    We follow Mathilde up a winding,
mahogany staircase, one I’ve traveled many times, until we reach a quiet hall opposite
of my brother’s wing.
    “Here you are, mademoiselle . Monsieur King , your room
is next door. Press the call button if you need me.” Mathilde disappears into
the dark hall.
    “Sure beats the Hampton Inn.”
The corner of Odessa’s mouth pulls up. I don’t think she’s being facetious, but
it’s so fucking hard to tell with her.
    “Unpack. Freshen up if you’d
like,” I say. “I’ll come get you before we head downtown. Dane has meetings planned
for us the rest of the afternoon.”
    ***
    “What’s your brother like?”
Odessa asks as we’re driven to headquarters an hour later. “In person, I mean.”
    “Intense.” I straighten my tie.
    “Just…intense?”
    “Yes.”
    “He can’t be that bad. He
seemed nice on the phone.”
    “He’ll be impressed with you.”
    “I’m not worried about him
liking me. Not everyone has to like me.” Her hand flies to mine as if the
gesture could possibly soften her words. “And I don’t mean that in a snide way,
Beckham. I’m just saying. I’m comfortable with who I am.”
    “I’m pretty sure you made that
clear when you were prancing around my bathroom naked, finger-brushing your
teeth.”
    She laughs, dragging her hand
off mine and leaving a cool vacancy in its place. “I try not to care what
people think of me. It’s none of my business.”
    “And yet you work in PR, where
you’re constantly manipulating the way people perceive things.”
    “Don’t think you’re the first
person ever to point that out.”
    She tucks a strand of hair
behind her ear, revealing a tiny diamond stud. I never noticed it before. I was
too fixated on appreciating the way her hips sway when she walks or too busy
looking for a hint of a smile on her pink lips to pay attention to the little
things. There’s a freckle on the side of her cheek too: a small, lonely freckle
in a sea of flawless, creamy skin. The tiniest hint of a bump in the profile of
her nose catches my eye. She isn’t a boring, classic beauty, but she doesn’t
need to be. She’s soft edges and dynamite, and that sets her apart from the polluted
sea of cut-and-paste beauties back home.
    Twenty minutes later, we’re strolling
down the hallway toward the double mahogany doors that’ll deliver us to my
brother. I burst in without so much as a knock, knowing full well how much he
hates that.
    “Dane,” I say.
    He glances up, not startled in
the least. He’s used to my tricks I suppose. His gaze lands on Odessa, and he straightens
his posture before rising.
    “Dane, pleasure to finally meet
you.” Odessa goes to him, her hand extended and a radiant smile on her face.
    She’s never smiled at me that
way.
    “Thanks for coming all the way
to Utah,” Dane says. He speaks to her but gifts me a curious glance. If I know
my brother he’s trying to decide if I’ve fucked her yet. “I hope the flight was
at least somewhat enjoyable.”
    “It was a lovely flight.