Hidden Pleasures Read online

  Regardless, it was inappropriate for him to kiss her in a restaurant, and maybe that should be the first thing she covered with him—how he should behave out with a woman in public. It was quite obvious that he was used to doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted and wherever he wanted. Her instructions would definitely nip that in the bud.

  She felt her heart race at the thought that she had a game plan. Regardless of what he figured he was getting, the only thing she would be delivering to Galen Steele was exactly what he’d asked for, what he definitely needed. A crash course in manners.

  And before she could get cold feet, she picked up the phone off the nightstand.

  Chapter 7

  Galen very seldom went on online for anything other than to check out the competition. But here he was surfing the Internet for information on Etiquette Matters.

  A half hour later he couldn’t help but smile. What he’d just read was pretty darn cool. In his opinion, Brittany Thrasher was a highly intelligent woman. With an idea she started in college—pretty similar to how he, Eric and Wesley had gotten started—she had created Etiquette Matters. And over the years it had become a very profitable business. According to her bio, she’d had a fascination with the use of proper etiquette and had been considered an Emily Post wannabe. She’d started off with a small column in her university’s newspaper and later she gave private classes to young women who’d come from the wrong side of the tracks, had made it to college and were determined to improve their social standing by getting a firm grasp on manners, etiquette and protocol.

  She’d found her niche and within a year of graduating she’d hired five people to assist her. Now there were ten in her employ and the business seemed to be doing well. There was always some company or organization that wanted to know the right way to do things. Last year she’d even included a department on international protocol.

  She had a waiting list of parents wanting private lessons for their children. And the contract she had snagged with the NFL was definitely impressive. He didn’t have to be reminded that she was a professional. The shocked look on her face when he’d kissed her in the café proved that. Any other woman would have been ready to take it to the next level then and there, and would have thought it was a feather in her cap to be kissed in public by a Steele.

  But not Brittany Thrasher. She’d been concerned they’d behaved inappropriately. He’d never forget the look on her face when he’d brought up the idea of her teaching him bedroom manners. It didn’t take much to make her blush whenever he discussed a couple being intimate, which made him wonder about her sexual experience.

  He tapped his fingers on his desk, thinking his mother would probably like her because Eden Steele was big into all that etiquette sort of stuff. She thought the women he was drawn to didn’t have any class. How would his mother react knowing he had the hots for a woman who not only had class but was a master at teaching it to others?

  He glanced at the clock on the wall. She had only a couple of hours left to call and he honestly didn’t think she would. If that kiss hadn’t scared her off, then he was certain the discussion of bedroom manners definitely had. The only thing he could hope now was that once she got home and found the package she’d realize the proper thing to do would be to at least call and thank him for his generosity. And when she made that call he would be quick to suggest they get together when she returned to Phoenix to take ownership of the house. From there he’d move things forward.

  A short while later, he had finished getting dressed for dinner at his parents’ house when the phone rang. He quickly picked it up because he was expecting a call from Eric. “Yes?”

  “I will accept your offer, Galen.”

  It took him a full minute to find his voice. He truly hadn’t expected her to accept. “I’m glad to hear that, Brittany.” Surprised, as well.

  “I’d appreciate it if you’d have your attorney draw up the papers.”

  He lifted a brow. “The papers?”

  “Yes. I want it stated in writing just what I’m going to receive after the seven days.”

  He pulled in a deep breath. She was concerned with what she would be getting after the seven days and his mind was already focusing on what he’d be getting during those seven days. Horny bastard.

  “No problem,” he heard himself say. “I’ll have my attorney draw up the papers immediately.” There was no doubt in his mind he would have to practically kick Eli in the rear end to do it. No matter. Whatever it took.

  A part of him—that decent side—figured he should end this farce by telling her that she already owned the house, but something was keeping him from coming clean. Probably the thought of her in his bed.

  “When can I come pick you up?” he asked. Already he was feeling aroused. He shook his head. When had he wanted a woman this much? She had him intoxicated. He wished like hell that he could sober up but he couldn’t.

  “I think tomorrow morning will be soon enough,” she said. He felt his stomach tighten in disappointment.

  “That will give me time to check out of the hotel and shop for a few items of clothes I’ll need. I hadn’t planned to stay in town but a few days.” Then she added, “You don’t have to pick me up because I have a rental car and I prefer keeping it.”

  He clamped his mouth shut after coming close to saying he preferred she turn the car back in. After all, there might be a time when he wasn’t available to chauffeur her and he’d never let a woman drive any of his cars. “That’s fine. Here’s my address.”

  “Hold on, let me grab a pen.”

  Moments later she was back on the phone and he rattled off his address to her. “If you need directions I can—”

  “I don’t need directions. The rental car has GPS.”

  “So I can expect you around noon tomorrow?” he asked, trying to keep the eagerness out of his voice.

  “Yes.”

  “Good, I’ll see you then,” he said.

  “All right, and don’t forget to have the papers with you.”

  “I won’t. Goodbye.”

  He hung up the phone and rubbed a hand down his face. One part of him felt like a total bastard. The other part of him still felt like a total bastard, but a very happy and excited one.

  Eli glared at his brother on the other side of his desk. “Whatever you’re involved in, Galen, Brittany Thrasher will end up screwing you.”

  Galen smiled. Hell, he hoped so.

  “You’re thinking with the wrong head,” Eli went on to add, clearly on a roll. “And don’t be surprised if that head gets smashed with all of this.”

  Ouch! Galen couldn’t help flinching at that. Like their old man, Eli had a way with words, especially while reminding you there were consequences for the actions you took.

  “Just prepare those papers, Eli. She wants them tomorrow.”

  Eli shook his head, still not ready to let it go. “This doesn’t make sense. She thinks she has to spend a week with you for a house you’ve already given to her.”

  “When she finds that out she’ll be surprised and happy, now won’t she?”

  Eli grunted and then said, “Yes, but your ass still might be grass. Women don’t like men taking advantage of them.”

  Galen rolled his eyes. “And those words are actually coming out of your mouth? You, who have more notches on your bedpost than I do.”

  “Yes, but I got them honestly.”

  Galen shook his head. Now he’d heard everything. Instead of arguing with Eli, he moved away from his brother’s desk and went to look out the window. The gym across the street had closed hours ago.

  He and Eli had come straight from their parents’ home where everyone had congregated for dinner. All six sons had been present and accounted for, grudgingly or otherwise. Over the years he and his brothers had figured their mother insisted on her Thursday-night dinners as a way to show her sons that although their father had once behaved like them when it came to women, after meeting her all that had come to a
n end. In other words, she was allowing them to see with their own eyes that a man who’d been known for his whorish ways could fall in love one day, marry and be true to one woman for the rest of his days. Like Drew Steele.

  It didn’t take long being in their parents’ presence to see just how much in love they were. He and his brothers had always known from the time they were able to walk and talk that Drew adored his Eden. And after nearly thirty-five years of marriage nothing about that had changed.

  But what his mother refused to understand was that in her sons’ eyes, she was one in a million. The woman who’d brought Drew Steele to heel. She was in a class by herself and there wasn’t another woman like her. But most important if there was, the Steele brothers weren’t looking for her at the moment. They enjoyed their womanizing ways. There were benefits to not settling down with one woman, but Eden Steele refused to see that.

  “Here.”

  Galen turned his head. Eli had prepared the paper and was holding it out to him.

  He couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, man,” he said, taking the paper and scanning it. The wording was simple and legal. All he had to do was sign it.

  “Whoa, hey, you owe me big. And don’t think you won’t get billed. For after-hours services, too.”

  “Whatever.”

  “And I’m beginning to question your logic when it comes to women, Galen. Are you sure this woman doesn’t mean anything to you?”

  Galen lifted his head and glanced over at his brother. Very funny. She’s a woman. They all mean something to me.”

  Eli rolled his eyes. “I’m not talking about all women. I’m referring to this particular one. Brittany Thrasher. The one you signed over a house to. The same one whose name I’ve seen a lot over the past couple of days.”

  Galen was silent for a few moments and then he leveled with his brother. “Okay, she’s different, Eli. I can’t put my finger on why, but I need this week with her.”

  “To teach you manners?”

  Galen smiled. When he’d spelled out the terms of the agreement to his brother, Eli had looked at him like he was crazy. Any son of the eloquent and sophisticated Eden Tyson Steele had impeccable manners. Whether he displayed them or not was something else.

  “Manners and whatever else she wants to throw into the class sessions,” Galen replied.

  Eli rubbed his jaw. “Hmm, maybe I need a class in manners, as well.”

  Galen’s eyes darkened. “Don’t even think it. We’ve never shared before and we won’t be doing it now. If you even make an attempt, my head won’t be the one that will get smashed. Yours will. I’ll personally see to it.”

  Eli laughed. “Sounds like someone has acquired a jealous streak.”

  “Think whatever you want. Just remember what I said.”

  A few minutes later, after leaving Eli’s office, Galen got in his car and stretched his neck to work out the kinks. He did not have a jealous streak. If anything he had a protective streak. Who wouldn’t after hearing the tear-jerking story Brittany had shared with that other woman? He knew the story, although he’d eavesdropped to hear it.

  He knew what the house meant to her, her biological mother’s last gift, and although he had a reputation when it came to women, he still had a heart. He could still be compassionate when it came to some things, thanks to having Eden for a mother. So for him to have signed the house over to Brittany made perfect sense. At least to his Eden Steele genes. On the other hand, pursuing Brittany for the purpose of sharing his bed was true to his father’s genes.

  Galen knew he and his brothers had been blessed to have their parents. Brittany had never known her mother, and the house was her only connection to the woman. Seeing her come so close to losing it had brought out protective instincts in him. It didn’t matter that he never knew he’d possessed those protective instincts until now. If any of his brothers had been placed in the same position, they would have done the same thing….

  Well, maybe not.

  The important thing was that he was the oldest and he needed to set good examples for the others to follow. And he’d told Eli the truth. As much as he and his brothers joked around, when it came to certain things, they were dead serious.

  Eli thought he was thinking with the wrong head.

  Maybe he was. If so, he needed to know why Brittany Thrasher had such pull on not only that part of him but his common sense, as well. He needed to know why he’d thought about her all evening through dinner, and why he couldn’t wait to see her tomorrow at his home.

  The thought that she would be with him for an entire week filled him with an emotion he didn’t understand, and he figured the only way to understand it was to be around her. Spend time with her.

  Oddly enough, as much as he wished otherwise, his mind and body didn’t transcend into a sex-only mind-set when he thought about her. He chuckled as he put his car into gear and headed home. No wonder Eli was concerned about him. The bottom line was that he had invited Brittany to his home to be his lover. He knew it and she knew it.

  Knowing it made an unfamiliar sensation settle deep within him, and for some reason he welcomed the feeling.

  Brittany tilted her head back to gaze up at the house. The sprawling two-story Tuscan-style structure sat on a hill with the mountains for a backdrop and looked like something that would be showcased in a magazine for the rich and famous.

  Although Nikki said all six of the Steeles were successful, Brittany didn’t have a clue what Galen did for a living. It was quite obvious that whatever he did paid well.

  She glanced around the house and figured it had to be sitting on at least four acres of land. Fittingly, the house had sort of an arrogant look about it. She could see Galen living here, making this place his castle, his home on the range, his haven against the outside world.

  And he was bringing her here to it.

  To spend a week with him. Although he claimed she was supposed to teach him manners, she knew what side of the bread was buttered. To get her mother’s house she had to be his lover for seven days.

  The thought of that had bothered her until she’d talked to Nikki again. They’d had breakfast that morning. “Remember you’ll be there for therapeutic purposes,” Nikki had said. “No matter why he thinks you’re there, Brittany, you’re going to use this week to find out some things about yourself. You need to know if there’s more to your inability to enjoy sex than what you think.”

  With that belief firmly planted in her head, Brittany told herself she was on a mission. She needed to see if there were hidden pleasures in her life and if so, Galen was just the man to find them. She was well aware that he had a mission as well—getting her into his bed. Wouldn’t he be surprised to discover it wouldn’t be as hard as he’d thought? But like Nikki had said, it was only for therapeutic purposes.

  She began walking up the walkway when suddenly the huge front door, which looked to be made of solid maple, was flung open. And there he stood, in his bare feet with a pair of jeans hanging low on his hips, and an unbuttoned shirt that showed a hairy, muscular chest and broad shoulders.

  “You’re early. I just got out of the shower,” he said, leaning in the doorway.

  She could tell. Certain parts of his skin still looked wet and he had that unshaven look. And as she continued walking toward him, that spark of attraction that had taken hold of her senses six months ago, amidst all her anger and frustration, was back. She’d never experienced anything like this before. Maybe Nikki was right with her hidden-pleasures theory.

  He was watching her approach with those deadly green eyes pinned directly on her. He looked as good as good could get and was stirring something within her with every step she took.

  “Yes, I’m early,” she found her voice to say. “I didn’t need to shop for as many items as I’d thought I needed.” She felt butterflies in her stomach flapping around. She hadn’t known until him that a man’s presence could do that to a woman. The idea slid over her and for some reason she felt good ab
out it. Maybe what she’d heard about his abilities was true. A part of her hoped so. She would hate living the rest of her life denying the part of her that was woman.

  She came to a stop in front of him. A combination of soap and man plus the scent of cactus gave him a masculine aroma. She studied his face. There was a firm set to his jaw, and the smile on his lips, best described as predatory, only added to the activity going on in the pit of her stomach.

  “Come on in. I’ll get your things later,” he said, stepping back to allow her entrance. “First, I want to show you around and then I want you to relax.”

  She glanced back at him. “Relax?”

  “Yes, you’re uptight. I can feel it.”

  Brittany didn’t understand how he could feel anything, but he was right. She was uptight. Who wouldn’t be under the circumstances? She had dated Samuel Harold a full six months before they’d slept together and Gilford even longer than that. And here she was, contemplating sharing Galen’s bed when he was a virtual stranger. It didn’t matter one iota that their paths had crossed six months ago. That time meant nothing and the words they’d spoken to each other had been cross ones.

  “I promise not to bite.”

  A thought occurred to Brittany and she had to fight not to laugh out loud. But she couldn’t stop her gasp when she stepped over the threshold and looked around his house. If she’d thought the outside was beautiful, the inside was downright gorgeous. The Venetian plaster ceiling along with the hardwood hickory and stone flooring looked extravagant in a rustic sort of way. And the design of the travertine stairway was an artistic dream come true.

  He led her from the formal foyer into a huge living room with a fireplace. She glanced up. The Venetian ceiling in this room was dome shaped and the back wall was made of glass, a wall-to-wall window that provided a forever view of the majestic Black Mountains and the pristine northeast valley.