Page 63 of Callan

I know how distracting a woman can be.

So I might end up dragging her to my bed and have her under me just to get her out of my system.

She might not be what I think she is.

We might not hit it off.

She might hate me, which would make things even more pleasurable for me. And for her, in the end.

Nothing fuels my pleasure like fake hate.

Whichever way our story goes, I want to make her time worthwhile.We’ll see how that goes. I already have mixed feelings about the whole thing.

And there’s something else I like about her.She’s unpredictable and keeps me guessing.

I was annoyed with her that night, and for sure, I was intrigued, unablenotto think about her.

Aside from the practical benefits, the idea of gathering information for me has also been a ploy to have her bound to me in some way.

I thought it would help me observe her and learn more about her. The woman who’d sparked my imagination.

Which is a rare occurrence these days.

The silence grows in the room, making me turn around and glance at my brother.

Alistair’s eyes are trained on me.

“What’s bothering you?” he asks, his dark green eyes flickering between his thick lashes.

We’ve all inherited our mother’s eyes. Different shades of poisonous green. Mine are tinged with amber. Alister's are dark like the forest. Ewan’s eyes are washed out––a gray cloud tinged with watercolor green.

And Duncan’s are blue-green. I’m not gonna lie.

The color of our eyes did us a solid with our women.

“Nothing,” I say in a clipped voice again, moving to the armchair.

Slowly I slide into my seat across from him, his eyes still on me.

“You’re not only thinking about the necklace,” he says, his words tearing into the silence.

I lean back, smiling.

“What makes you say that?”

“The way you act.”

He crosses his arms on top of his chest while I stretch mine along the armrests.

“Why don’t you want to tell them about the necklace?” he asks.

Pursing my lips, I ponder.

“It’s better that way. I don’t want to make a big fuss about it before I figure out who did this and why. If I tell them, we’ll have a war on our hands. You know Ewan. He’ll kill first and ask questions later. He still has a lot of anger left in him. And Duncan?” I sigh. “Duncan would use this opportunity to go after some people who might not have anything to do with the necklace. That won’t help me either. I won’t get the necklace back, and more importantly, I won’t know what or who to look for.”

He studies my face.

“So, what’s your plan?”

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