It was with supreme satisfaction that I watched Jackson close the door to the housekeeper's office. Right in Jake’s handsome face.
Chapter Thirteen
Jake
This was hell. I was in hell and there was an angel serving drinks.
I dumped a shot of bourbon into my eggnog. Well, maybe a bit more than a shot. I was getting drunk. But not quite drunk enough for this. Not yet anyway. It was a long-standing tradition, one our mother had adored. But I had always hated it, even as a child.
The annual Delancey Stables Christmas party.
A celebration of rich old fat cats and the reigning class of Brentwood, Tennessee. Plus, the horse people were in attendance, of course. I didn't mind the horse people so much, even if they were mostly rich as hell. At least they worked for a living.
Well, kind of.
Elle was here too. Hiding from me somewhere, no doubt. She'd been working here for two weeks now. Driving me crazy by always being in view but just out of reach. She had gotten very good at ignoring me.
My plans of seduction were not going well, much to my brothers delight.
I’d had extensive and well planned fantasies of having her at my beck and call. Close at hand so I could make my moves on her. Land her quickly and painlessly. Not that I usually needed moves to get a girl in bed. Even one as gorgeous as Elle, not that I’d met anyone who came close. Hell, not even movie stars looked like her. Not really.
Usually I just had to snap my fingers. I tried to imagine Elle running over and plopping her sweet ass in my lap just because I told her to. Kind of like a stunningly beautiful, proud, ornery but obedient kitty cat.
I snorted out loud, earning me a reproving look from one of my great aunts.
Fat chance.
There was no comparison anyway. There simply weren't any women as good looking as her. And she seemed blissfully unconcerned with how she looked, or the effect she was having on me. She was just worried about keeping a roof over her head and food in her belly.
Not that I could fault her for that. She didn’t come from much. And she had risked it all to come to the Untied States.
I'd seen the way she looked around the kitchen or when she was serving food. It made my insides twist to think she'd been going hungry. I’d finally realized that she was living off the meals they gave the staff and made sure the chef increased portions for everyone so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable about it.
I'd been rewarded by a glow in her cheeks as they grew a little softer and rounder. Unfortunately, it just made her even more desirable. Lord help me if she ever actually wore anything sexier than the uniform, which somehow looked nearly obscene on her hot little body.
Feeding her had finally assuaged a small amount of my guilt over geting her fired from the club in the first place. And it opened my eyes to how tough things could really be, even for a hard working girl like Elle. I had never wanted for anything, not even when I was on my own. And that didn’t even take into account my extra cushy safety net.
Even at my lowest point, I’d always had this place to come back to. I had just been playing at roughing it, really. I’d always known I had a safe haven if I needed it.
Elle didn’t have that. She was on her own. And damn if I wasn’t impressed by her tenacity.
She'd proven herself to be a hard worker. The staff all loved her. And they all seemed to be on her side in the battle of the sexes that was waging between us.
It was more than a battle. It was an all out war.
It all boiled down to one thing: I wanted sex. And she wasn't giving it to me.
I laughed again, proving to everyone in earshot that I was the crazy Delancey brother. Not that I gave a damn. At least I wasn't disappointing them. It was pretty much what was expected of me at this point.
Why buck tradition by acting normal? I was the bad brother, and fiercely proud of it. At least, I always had been. I wouldn’t mind it if Elle saw that there was more to me than that though. I wanted her to know that I was smart. That I was good with the horses. That I could be a good provider, and not just because I was from a wealthy family.
Even if all of that disappeared, I would be able to take care of her. Protect her. Keep her well fed and with a roof over her head.
It scared me a bit, the shift in my thinking. I’d never thought about a woman long-term. But with Elle, I couldn’t help but think it.