Bachelor Untamed - Brenda Jackson [48]
“It’s been a while,” Xavier Kane said, smiling. “The last time we saw you, you were only a kid. How old are you now?”
“She’s twenty-six,” Uriel said, coming to stand beside her.
“Twenty-six….” Winston Coltrane said, as if rolling the age around on his tongue, while his gaze moved all over her from head to toe.
“Yes, she’s twenty-six, but don’t even think it,” Uriel said in a steely voice.
Winston met his gaze and Ellie glanced over at Uriel as well, thinking he was sounding territorial again. She quickly decided to downplay his actions by diverting Winston, “And how have you been doing, Winston? Do you still have problems with allergies?”
Winston returned his gaze to her and smiled. “No. I must have outgrown them, since I don’t have those problems anymore.”
But he did have a problem with being a womanizer, Ellie thought, although she doubted he saw it as a problem. It was something she had picked up on from the way he’d been looking at her, which had all but caused Uriel to growl.
“Well, I brought over some cole slaw and also baked some cookies. I’ll help Uriel get things set up in the kitchen. It’s good seeing all of you again.”
“Same here,” they said, almost simultaneously.
She was halfway out of the living room when she overheard Winston whisper to Uriel, “Is that the way it is, U?”
And Uriel’s response was firm. “Yes, that is the way it is.”
Uriel glanced around at his godbrothers, satisfied they had a clear understanding that Ellie was off-limits, which was a good thing. Now he could relax, since it seemed they were all treating her like the kid sister, as they always had. Everyone was enjoying her company, and she was enjoying theirs, as well.
And although he and Ellie had only hours ago agreed to engage in a summer fling—it was easy to see they were a couple. When she found a place to sit at the table to eat, it seemed natural for him to sit down beside her. And, more than once, he had found himself just staring at her, listening to her and his godbrothers converse. That was good because he liked looking at her.
There was something about her blouse, how soft it looked next to her skin, that made him want to reach out and touch it, touch her, rub his hand across her flesh, caress it, taste it. He remembered the taste of her and longed to have her again.
“What’s Donovan up to these days?” York asked, pulling Uriel’s attention momentarily from Ellie.
“Donovan is doing fine. He’s at the races this weekend,” Uriel responded. “He called a few days ago to let me know he’s engaged.”
Shock, total and complete, covered the faces of all the men at the table. “Are you saying that Donovan Steele met some woman who he wants to marry?” York asked, as if he refused to believe such a thing was possible.
“Yes, and it shocked the hell out of me, too. But I met her. She’s nice, and a looker,” Uriel said. He then glanced over at Xavier. “You’ve met her, too, right, X?”
Xavier stopped eating long enough to nod. A smile touched his face. “Yes, I met her. She is nice. But I have to admit, the night I met her I was more interested in getting to know her friend.”
“Who’s Donovan?” Ellie interrupted the conversation to ask.
Uriel glanced over at her and said, “Donovan Steele is a good friend of mine from college, and he and I are in several business ventures together. His company, the Steele Corporation, sponsors a car racing team at NASCAR.”
She nodded. “Oh. And why is it so strange for him to become engaged?”
Uriel smiled. “Because he was a devout bachelor. The last person anyone would have thought to consider marrying.”
Uriel decided not to add that there was no reason for Donovan to ever consider marrying, because he’d had his pick of affairs. In fact, he had lived for them. Why would a sane man give that up? And Donovan was a sane man. The thought of any woman messing with a man’s mind to the point