Bought by the Billionaire Brothers (The Buchanan Brothers 1)

***

They were Gods among men, thought Penny McDaniel with a private swoon as the Buchanan brothers walked past her, completely oblivious to the fact that Penny had been working for them for at least six months now and had undoubtedly passed her in the halls numerous times without noticing.

Nolan and Vince Buchanan had been born to money but they’d managed to do well on their own with Buchanan Enterprises. And why wouldn’t they? Razor sharp in business, hotter than Georgia asphalt, and built like…well, Gods, they were destined for success.

Penny liked to think of herself as smart, reasonably attractive and capable — however, most people, men in particular, simply saw a chubby girl with dark hair and glasses.

In other words, those of the opposite sex rarely noticed her at all.

So was she surprised that both Nolan and Vince had completely overlooked one of their many accountants? Not really. Likely to them, she was simply another bean counter — and an uninteresting one at that.

The thing was, the Buchanan brothers never suffered a drought when it came to finding a gorgeous woman to place on their arm or in their bed but they’d managed to escape the marriage lasso in spite of the ardent attempts of a select few.

Penny ducked her gaze when Nolan’s gaze suddenly swung her way while speaking with a colleague and her cheeks heated although it was highly unlikely that he’d even noticed her staring at him as if he were a fully-loaded Chicago-style pizza. But oh, goodness gracious, if he could read her mind! Well, she’d be fired, Penny thought wryly. She daydreamed of impossible scenarios; ones that were shameful and best left in the secret confines of her imagination, and would likely send her tumbling into hell for even allowing them into the theater of her mind. But, ohhhh…she stifled a sigh. Was it so wrong that she longed to personally count the ridges in Nolan’s stomach with her tongue? How did she know he had washboard abs? She’d had the honor of delivering some important paperwork to Nolan’s personal office and while she’d been disappointed the office had been empty, she’d consoled herself with a short peek at the personal photos on his desk. And one had been of him and some skinny beach blonde who looked as if a piece of rice would get stuck in her throat if she chanced to eat one.

Based upon the women Vince and Nolan squired about town, it was Penny’s guess that they preferred bones over curves and while it was certainly their prerogative, it did give Penny a painful pinch to be found completely out of their league.

Before she realized it, an unhappy sigh escaped her as she returned to her numbers and ledgers.

“Something the matter, Miss McDaniel,” a smooth voice interrupted her and she startled when she realized Vince was leaning on her cubicle, watching her with those gorgeous dark eyes. She swallowed but it felt as if all the spit in her mouth had dried up and all she could do was stare like an idiot. “Everything okay?” he asked, his smooth brow furrowing when she continued to gape at him.

“F-fine,” she managed to stutter, pushing her glasses higher on her nose and wishing she’d paid more attention to her wardrobe choice that morning. Why hadn’t she worn something…less bookish? Sure, she was a bookkeeper but she didn’t always have to look the part, right? She fluttered her hands down her slacks and curled her toes inside her no-nonsense flats. If he were to mentally undress her, he’d find a boring white bra and beige panties — beige! Of all boring colors — surprise! Ugh. Why hadn’t she purchased that racy red and black number she’d seen on the mannequin at Feisty, her favorite full-figured store on the mall? At least even if no one was tearing her clothes off with their teeth, she would know that beneath all those drab conservative clothes of a sensible accountant a wild woman was hiding, just waiting for the right moment to pounce.

The truth was, although she longed for adventure, she was almost painfully shy, which went perfectly with the accountant stereotype that she hated. Yet, as she was well aware, stereotypes existed for a reason: because there was often a veneer of truth clinging to them.

“You don’t talk much do you?” Vince remarked when Penny had offered a tremulous smile instead of engaging in a conversation.

She talked all the time — to herself and her cat (Ack! Another stereotype!) — but the prospect of holding a casual conversation with one of the hottest men she’d ever laid eyes upon was a bit daunting and had turned her into a complete mental case. It was a damn miracle she hadn’t started drooling onto her spreadsheet. Somehow she recovered her sense long enough to say, “Just trying to stay busy, Mr. Buchanan. I mean, I have plenty of work to keep me busy, of course,” she amended with a hot blush. Great. She’d just insinuated that she didn’t have enough work, which was the exact opposite. “I love working for Buchanan Enterprises. Best job ever. I swear.” She cringed at the verbal vomit falling from her mouth but she couldn’t seem to stop. His eyes were impossibly dark, and might she add, sinfully sexy. She could happily drown in that stare. “I would work overtime if I could.”

He chuckled at her ridiculous statement as if he knew she was simply babbling but he didn’t seem to hold it against her. In fact, he simply winked and said, “Keep up the good work” before pushing off her cubicle wall and going on his hot, merry way.

Penny felt her cheeks and sure enough, they were warm enough to suggest a furious blush was blooming in her face, likely making her look as if she’d just spent two hours in the sun. She fanned herself and drew a deep breath to clear her head. Vince Buchanan had spoken to her. So what? Big deal. What? Are you nuts? A voice screeched. It’s a very big deal.

A smile slowly spread across her lips as she savored the moment, even if it’d been short-lived and frankly, a little embarrassing.

Maybe she wasn’t invisible after all…maybe…but just as the questions started trickling in, a lithe blonde that Penny had seen before at the office strolled through the front doors and made a beeline straight for Nolan’s office. She didn’t check in with reception or deign to make pleasant conversation with anyone as she blew by. In the face of all that physical perfection, Penny’s daydreams fizzled to the pleasantness of a wet fart. The door closed behind the woman and Penny couldn’t stop wondering what she and Nolan did behind closed doors. Likely everything.

Everything Penny had never really tried.

She fidgeted with her mechanical pencil, depressing the lever to advance the lead and then pressing the lead back into the canister, fighting against a twinge of jealousy. Penny had never…well, it wasn’t that she…okay, so she was still the Big V. Her father had always told her to guard her “treasure” as he’d blushingly put it during that excruciatingly embarrassing conversation about the birds and the bees when she’d been fifteen and thus far, she’d guarded her treasure so well, no one had been able to find it much less steal it.

Was she complete and utter trash that her curiosity about sex had turned into a raging obsession? She longed to know why people were willing to sacrifice their dignity or their marriages — even their livelihood! — for sex. Once, she’d touched herself down there but even as it had been pleasurable, afterwards she’d been swamped by feelings of shame and humiliation for being so wanton as to give into the curiosity about something that ought to be saved for marriage.

But truthfully, even as she hoped to find a man to give her treasure, she knew with a certainty, the man who plucked her cherry would likely not look like Vince or Nolan Buchanan.

Her gaze strayed to Gilbert, another accountant in their department. The man was nice enough with a pleasant smile but his hands were a bit knobbish, which suited his thin frame, she supposed, and he was most certainly going bald, even though he tried to hide it (unsuccessfully) with a comb-over. To compound matters, Gilbert had asked her out on a date that she hadn’t agreed to yet but she knew she probably would. She withheld a sigh. Likely, a man like Gilbert would be the one to discover what was hidden beneath her boring beige panties. It wasn’t that she was hung up on appearances as such, but she wanted passion and wild debauchery at some level in her love life and she knew without looking too hard, that Gilbert wasn’t the wild man she sought.

Suddenly, Nolan’s door opened and the blonde walked out, her eyes were wet and she was storming from the building as if her ass was on fire.

Penny averted her eyes and pretended to focus on her work but her mind was conjuring all kinds of scenarios that were far more interesting than the balance sheets she was supposed to be formulating. Nolan must’ve ended it with Beautiful Blonde. Not surprising, Penny thought, speculating. Nolan seemed to have an issue with commitment. The bevy of beauties came and went but never stayed. She straightened as Nolan appeared at the door, his gaze following the angry blonde as if contemplating chasing after her. But as Penny watched, holding her breath at the mini drama, she was secretly relieved when he simply watched her go. Nolan’s gaze tangled with Penny’s and the breath she’d been holding evaporated as her lungs simply ceased to work. Nolan was…electric. That was the only word to describe him. He was different from Vince in that he was a dirty blonde but he had that same intensity as his brother that made Penny weak in the knees every time. She may have made a short squeak of alarm at being caught so brazenly staring at him because Nolan’s stare narrowed before returning to his office and closing the door. Penny gasped in dismay. How stupid of her to openly stare at her boss like that. Had she made him uncomfortable? Had she appeared weird? Probably no weirder than when Vince had tried to talk with her and she’d babbled like a talking monkey. She dropped her head into her hands and groaned. Why couldn’t she just find a nice, normal boyfriend to keep her thoughts occupied so she could stop caring so much about the Buchanan brothers and their various escapades? She dragged her pile of spreadsheets toward her with a miserable frown and resigned herself to working late and putting the Buchanans out of her head for the night.

That Saturday, Penny found herself summoned to the Buchanans’ on an urgent errand by her supervisor. The summons itself wasn’t shocking, as George was always using Penny as his personal assistant in a blatant abuse of power, but when George admitted that Vince had asked for her specifically, her jaw dropped. “Why me?” she’d asked.

“I don’t know,” George answered, his tone nervous. “But you’ll call me if they start asking questions, right?”

“Questions about what?” Penny asked, confused.

“Just…I don’t know…like how I run the department and such. You’ll call, right?”

Penny almost giggled. George was probably dropping a load in his pants right about now and she wasn’t above enjoying his fear just a little because he deserved it. If anyone should be running that department, it was Gilbert and not George but Gilbert was non-confrontational and George was a bully. “Sure,” Penny lied. “But I’m sure it’s nothing. Don’t worry.”

“Right, of course,” George said, but his voice held a subtle shake, which made Penny curious as to what George was really afraid of. Maybe George was doing stuff he shouldn’t with company money. Wouldn’t surprise Penny in the least. George was a pig who liked to play in other people’s pigpen. And when Penny called him a pig…she was being generous to him and unfair to the pig. “You know the address?” he asked.

“Of course,” she murmured. The Buchanans owned a beautiful estate outside of town that technically belonged to their grandfather but he was in a nursing home and had already left everything to his grandsons in his living will. “I’d better get going. They want me there by eight.”

She disconnected with George and hurriedly went to her closet. Thank God, she’d shaved her legs and armpits that morning and on a whim, had actually trimmed up the hair around her lady parts. Just thinking about it, made her blush so she returned to her wardrobe. What should she wear? Would it matter? Likely, neither men would look twice at her any more than they’d spend time taking a second look at a utilitarian lamp or desk. She bit her lip and stared at her clothes, wishing heartily that she’d been more daring in her shopping choices. Not a single red or racy thing in there, she thought unhappily. Oh, so what? It wasn’t as if wearing something daring would suddenly cause them to overlook her bountiful curves to ravish her right there in the foyer of their grand mansion. A delicious shiver danced along her spine at the very idea. Did that actually happen to people? God, she hoped so. She dearly wanted to be ravished at least once in her life. She grabbed the least conservative blouse she owned and paired it with a pair of jeans she’d reserved for going out with friends and after dabbing a little make-up here and there, she headed out.

The Buchanan mansion was like something out of a movie — as in perfect and imposing – and for a long moment Penny simply stared at the sprawling behemoth of a house, wondering how in the hell they didn’t get lost just trying to find their way to the bathroom at night. Snapping her mouth shut when she realized it had gaped, she grabbed her business satchel that held her supplies (paper, computer, pen, etc.) and knocked on the massive double oak door with her heart in her mouth.

To her surprise, Vince answered the door himself when she’d been expecting a servant. “Ah, come on in, Miss McDaniel,” he said, greeting her far more warmly than she would’ve imagined for a mere employee such as herself. She smiled nervously and followed him into the house. “We’re so glad you could come. I’m sorry to have pulled you away from your weekend but this couldn’t wait.”

“No worries,” she murmured with a braver smile. She found herself completely charmed by his easy-going manner even if in the back of her mind, she was ripping his underwear off with her teeth. She blushed furiously at the thought and stammered, “I-I’m always available for you. I mean, for the business. If you have business that needs attention, of course.” More rambling. Fabulous. Penny calmed herself and tried again, saying in a more reasonable tone, “I don’t mind picking up some additional hours if I’m needed.”

“Great. You are definitely needed,” Vince said with a wider grin. “Follow me. Nolan is waiting for us in the den.”

Penny couldn’t stop her gaze from going straight to Vince’s perfect behind as she followed him dutifully through the large house. His tush was something angels probably sang about. It was nicely rounded with plenty of muscle but lean, too. Frankly, Penny wanted to take a bite out of it. She swallowed and focused on being professional and polite when her hormones were starting to do terrible things to her ability to remain either of those things. Would it be totally out of line to beg Vince or Nolan — or both! — to throw her down on the sofa and plunder her body like two pirates bent on obliterating her precious treasure?

Good lord. She was going to hell. But before that, she was going to get fired. Get a hold of yourself, she chastised the inner vixen clawing and scratching and bellowing to be free. Her poor dead father would likely turn five different shades of mortified if he knew the thoughts Penny was having right that moment about her hunky bosses. I’m sorry, Papa! But they’re gorgeous!

Nolan was standing with his back to them, staring out the darkened window with a drink in his hand. He turned when they entered the room and drained his glass before heading to the bar for another. Perhaps he was still eaten up over his break-up with Beautiful Blonde, though it seemed out of character for the man who could easily replace the woman without blinking an eye. “Would you like a drink?” Nolan asked, pausing long enough to shoot her an assessing glance that she felt down to her toes. Had he just…no, impossible. She was most definitely imagining things if she thought Nolan Buchanan had just slid his gaze over her curves as if wishing she were standing there in her skin. She realized she hadn’t answered and stammered a polite refusal even though a shot of whiskey might steady her nerves. The last thing she wanted to appear was unprofessional. Then, he graced her with a brief, yet charming smile, and said, “Are you sure? No one here will mind, I assure you.”

She glanced at Vince and he nodded in agreement. Bolstered by their apparent approval, she amended her previous answer. “If you don’t mind,” she said, watching their reactions as she quickly clarified. “I mean, I never drink on the job. Of course, I’ve never worked from someone’s home either but the same rules apply I would assume.”

He chuckled and handed her a short glass with a finger of something dark. She took an exploratory sip and nearly choked. “What is this?” she gasped, feeling as if her lungs were seizing. A slow burn began creeping up her throat and suffusing her body nicely. When she could breathe again, she murmured with a shaky smile, “Oh, I guess that’s not too bad. I’m not used to the good stuff, apparently.”

“Scotch, even the good stuff, can be an acquired taste,” Nolan said, lifting his drink in a toast and then drained his glass. Vince accepted a glass from Nolan as they both took their seat and gestured for her to do the same. She wanted to slide in between the two brothers but she demurely took a seat across from them in a large, overstuffed chair that nearly swallowed her, which was a feat seeing as she wasn’t what one would call a petite flower of a girl.