Free Bringing Down Sam by Leslie Kelly

just the powerful body clad in the stark black tux that accentuated his maleness. The attraction, she suddenly realized, was in his demeanor. He simply didn't care. He'd walked into the room without the slightest concern about what people thought of him. She nearly envied him that. She'd gone through her whole life getting hurt because she cared too much what people thought and said about her. First her father, whom she'd tried so hard to please, especially after her mother left. And later the photographers, the media, the people who loved her when she was big and turned on her like a wolf pack on raw meat when the truth about her father hit the news. She'd been hurt by their defection, devastated when people believed she'd been involved in his illegal activities.
    Diana, Leanne and Ruthie said she cared too much, that allowing others to hurt her, whether they were important in her life or not, was her Achilles' heel. She had been working hard to cure herself of it. But it was still tough walking into a room full of strangers. She took a deep breath and drew on her modeling background, bringing a plastic smile to her lips and lifting her head as they crossed the room.
    "Is that why you pressured Diana into getting me to bring you here tonight?" Sam asked, piercing the protective bubble she'd so carefully erected.
    She glared at him before she could stop herself. His lips twitched into a tiny grin as he saw her annoyance. It was becoming increasingly difficult to remain flirtatious with this man when he seemed so bent on battering down all her defenses and getting at the real her.
    "Aren't you flattered?" she said, nearly biting the inside of her cheeks to avoid telling him to take a flying leap into the swimming pool.
    "Should I be? It's obvious you're an ambitious, beautiful woman who wants to be seen and recognized. What better way to do it than to show up on the arm of the country's latest freak show exhibit, the man who's turned back the clock on relationships by one hundred years?"
    Eve heard the hint of bitterness in his voice, and wondered at it. His tight-lipped stare and narrowed eyes told her he would not welcome any questions, however, and he seemed to regret being so candid. "I know what it's like to be a freak show," she murmured softly. "I know that more than you can imagine."
    Realizing she had forgotten to pitch her voice up to the irritating breathless squeak, Eve quickly glanced up into Sam's eyes. He stared at her searchingly, as if looking through the shape-shifting mask she'd been wearing, trying to find the real Eve Barret.
    Impossible . No one knew the real Eve Barret. She'd struggled so hard to distance herself from her father and her childhood that sometimes even Eve didn't know who she really was.
    "Samuel," a strong male voice called.
    Eve felt Sam’s whole body stiffen. She took a step closer to him, not liking his sudden tension. Laying a hand on his forearm, she felt his muscles tighten under her fingers. His hands curled into fists and his knuckles turned white. She looked up at his face, amazed he could have an expression of such nonchalance while so completely rigid.
    "Damn," he muttered. "The vultures are descending."
    Curious, Eve followed Sam's stare and studied the two men approaching them. “Who are they?” 
    "My father. And my cousin."
    Eve sucked in a nervous breath. She had never expected to actually have to meet any of Sam's family members. She remembered what she'd heard about Jacob Kenneman, knowing he was a steely-eyed, sharp-tongued, ruthless businessman. He bought and sold companies like some people used tissues.
    "Hello, Father," Sam said curtly as the other two men reached them. His tone was slightly warmer when he turned to the younger man, "Howya doin', Robbie?"
    His cousin's weak smile seemed genuine as he held his hand out to shake Sam's. Eve watched in silence. Robbie appeared older than Sam, but exuded none of his cousin's confidence. The other man had the same light