The Family Jewels Read Online Free Page B

to do was stay aloof, stringing him along with this bogus investment opportunity until he was able to get the information he needed.
    He tossed back the last of his scotch, setting his glass down on the nearest empty table. Tomorrow, he'd give it a rest. Drop a line in water, enjoy the weather, have a long think out on the boat. Maybe Mike would be able to take half a day and join him. It had been months since he’d spent any time with his brother, and he was sick of avoiding him.
    "Well, when I was done with her, she could hardly walk," Hannigan continued, face stretched into a leer.
    Jake forced a tight smile, but even that made him feel oily and he was just about to excuse himself when he saw her.
    A woman in a gold dress. Maybe “dress” wasn't the right word for it. It was a second skin, really. A fall of effervescent fabric so thin, so sheer, that it cascaded over her body like water. Her hair was black as pitch and tumbled down her bare back in a mass of waves, nearly touching her pert backside.
    His cock went instantly hard and he reached out and plucked a glass of champagne off a passing tray to wet his suddenly dry throat. Who the fuck was that, and why wouldn't she turn around?
    "Countess Ilya Van Bergen,” Alistair said, sidling closer to him. “Word is that she's only in the States for a few more weeks. Here raising money for an arts school in Bavaria. I'll tell you what, I'll give those starving artists fifty grand if she'd bend over and let me get a little paint on that canvas, if you know what I mean."
    Jake tuned him out, totally enthralled with the woman in front of him as she turned, giving him her profile.
    He hated the thought of staring at her the way Hannigan was, but he couldn’t look away, either. From this angle, he could tell her face was as lovely as her figure, featuring full lips, wide eyes with impossibly thick lashes and a long, elegant neck that he had the sudden urge to nip at.
    "I'm going in," Alistair said. "Wish me luck."
    Apparently it was a rhetorical request so he didn't wait for Jake’s blessing, which was good, because he wasn’t going to get it. In fact, Jake had to grip the side of the mahogany bar to keep from physically restraining the bastard so he couldn’t get his greasy paws all over that beautiful woman. Surely she would see through him and send him packing straight off.
    But she didn't.
    Jake watched from his spot by the bar as Alistair Hannigan seemed to charm the knickers off the young Countess. He still couldn't see her face, but her shoulders shook with laughter at points, and she'd reached up and toyed with both Alistair's lapel and his hair in the past few minutes. He shook off the passing disappointment, set down the too-sweet champagne and ordered a second scotch.
    It was better this way. He might not be able to get the information he needed tonight, but he still had to be on top of his game and Countess Van Bergen would have split his attentions. Not to mention, she clearly had terrible taste if she was charmed by Hannigan, so they made a perfect pair.
    What he couldn't allow, though, was for her to monopolize Alistair's time. Tonight, it was crucial that he not only get a tour of the place, but also whet Hannigan’s appetite about the investment deal again. If not tonight, he'd have to go to the poker game on Friday as well, and he wasn't sure his stomach could take another evening of the man.
    He scooped up his drink and handed the bartender a five dollar tip before crossing the room to where Alistair and the Countess stood, heads bent together like childhood conspirators, chuckling.
    "Alistair, there you are. A word, please?"
    Hannigan met his gaze with a sulky frown. "Little busy here right now, Callahan."
    "Apologize, just need a quick second.”
    He felt rather than saw the second set of eyes trained on him and turned his head to meet the Countess's irritated gaze, nearly jerking in surprise. Not because she was as beautiful up close as she’d been a