While I’d been in Denver with Dani and Harper, I’d purchased some inexpensive earrings while I was there. But nothing had prepared me for Jett’s gift.
The sapphire set was beautiful, and I’d cried all over him for being so considerate.
Relax and enjoy them!
I straightened my spine and remembered that they were just things.
I was grateful that I’d gotten a completely extravagant dress for the wedding, along with a bunch of other utterly decadent pieces to add to my wardrobe.
I was pretty sure my gift from Jett would have looked totally wrong with the dress I’d brought with me from Seattle, so I was glad I’d shelled out some money to get something a lot nicer. And sexier.
The black evening dress that Jett’s sisters had talked me into was, in their words, sexy enough to make a man beg, but not sexy enough to be trashy.
I smiled as I remembered the pained expression on Jett’s face when he’d seen the dress. The cut-out back and the hem that landed just above my knees had been a little bit too much for him, even though it was actually pretty tame compared to some of the others I’d seen.
The dress had been worth every penny when I saw the heat of desire in his eyes when he’d looked at me.
“How much money would it take to get you out of Jett’s life?” a low baritone asked smoothly from behind me, jolting me out of my thoughts.
I turned sharply, almost colliding with the large form that was now in front of me.
It was Jett’s brother, Carter. I hadn’t formally met him yet, but I’d seen him at the ceremony.
My first impression was that he was aesthetically very pleasing to look at, but his blue eyes were as cold as a glacier. Dark-haired like Jett, he also had some of his younger brother’s features, but he lacked any animation. Carter was as cold as Jett was warm. Everything, down to the smallest detail, was absolutely perfect. He looked at home in a tuxedo, like a male model who was taught to put on a sophisticated demeanor. But nothing about Carter seemed to be an act. I could almost feel the chill as I looked back at him.
“Excuse me?” I said politely, certain I’d heard him wrong because of the noise in the venue.
“You heard me,” he answered grimly, as though he’d read my mind.
“Why would I want to get out of Jett’s life?”
“I want to know how much money it will take to get you out of my brother’s life,” he rasped. “I want you gone, never to communicate with my brother again. How much? I’m willing to make giving up your sugar daddy worth it.”
“He’s not my sugar daddy,” I answered, getting irritated by Carter’s presumptions. “You know nothing about me.”
He lifted an arrogant brow. “On the contrary,” he said bitterly. “I know everything I need to know. You were homeless, and Jett loves to pick up strays. He gave you a place to stay, and because he was an easy mark, you manipulated everything you could from him. So far, I know he purchased you a new vehicle, and those pretty blue sapphires you’re wearing right now. I have no idea how much cash he’s laid out because I can’t get to his bank records, but I’m assuming he set you up well with money, too. Jett is nine years older than you, and he has limitations because of his accident, not to mention the fact that he’s severely scarred. But I suppose you can overlook those things when he’s giving you everything you want. Must look pretty good to you. The only thing you have to do is sleep with him. And I have a feeling that’s not a problem since I assume you were a prostitute when you met him.”
“I was not a hooker,” I denied angrily, folding my arms in a defensive act that helped me feel stronger.
Truth was, Carter Lawson was probably the most intimidating man I’d ever met, as well as one of the meanest. And I was feeling slightly vulnerable.
“Interesting,” he observed. “Too bad I have a hard time believing that.”
“I don’t give a damn what you believe,” I retorted.
“I can put a million dollars in your bank account tomorrow,” he said with nothing but steely determination in his voice.
“Your brother was a lot more generous,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “He put in two million.”