Defying His Charm

“Like hell!” he roared, then gained control of his temper as he looked around to make sure no one had overheard them. Thankfully, they were still alone in the dimly lit hallway. “Naya, we’re definitely going to touch. If you need more time to get used to the idea, that’s okay, but…”

“NO!” she gasped and pulled out of his arms. She took several steps away, her hand moving up to her hair. “Did you mess up my hair?” she demanded.

Luke sighed, resigned to not leaving, but still in pain. It was actually getting worse just watching her. Hell, he’d been touching her but looking at her was doing it for him too?

Mentally shaking his head, he leaned a shoulder against the wall where she’d just been and crossed his arms over his chest. “Messed up is a relative term,” he commented. He thought it looked a hell of a lot better now than it had before. He looked down and chuckled, finding several pins on the floor. He bent down and picked them up, putting them into his pocket.

“I need those,” she pointed out, moving her head around, as if her eyes could see on top of her head.

He didn’t even hesitate as he slid his hands into his pockets, following the pins he’d captured. “No.”

She blinked and looked up at him. “No? What do you mean, no? I have to find a bathroom and fix my hair.”

He shook his head. “No.” He was being an ass, but he didn’t care. He was in pain wanting this woman, and all she wanted was to fix her hair. And broccoli. What was that about?

Naya couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You’re not going to give me the pins?”

“No.” He pushed away from the wall and took her hand. “If you’re not going back to my place, then let’s go back inside. That way, I won’t be tempted to pull you into my arms and make love to you against the wall.”

He felt her shiver but didn’t relent. He pulled her behind him through the throngs of people dancing and talking, right back to where his brothers were still standing.

When all of his brothers turned to face him, he knew that introductions were in order. He didn’t want to introduce her to anyone. He wanted to keep her to himself, to hide her away so that no other man could see the luscious perfection that was Naya. But the look in his brothers’ eyes told him he wasn’t getting away with anything. Especially not Naya.

“Naya, this is my oldest and most annoying brother, Zeke. Apparently you already know his wife, Marcy,” he introduced Naya. “And this is Teague and his lovely wife Gabby, my twin brother Logan and his wife Gaia.” He paused while everyone shook Naya’s hand. “Everyone, this is Naya. She’s a real estate agent working with me to sell the units we’ve just released in the Tombler Square building.”

Naya was more than slightly flustered. She was still trying to get all the pins out of her hair, shake hands with his family, and glare up at the man who was ignoring her glare. How rude!

“I apologize for…” she wasn’t sure what was going on.

“You need help with your hair,” Marcy said, stepping in and offering aide. “Ladies?” she asked Gabby and Gaia.

All three women immediately understood what was going on, having dealt with their own versions from their respective husbands. Quickly, they stepped away from their men and herded Naya away, ignoring Luke’s calls to stop.

She felt enormously better once she was away from his touch. “Thank you, Marcy,” she smiled at her friend. “I guess I’d better…”

“Oh, you can’t leave,” the gorgeous blonde woman called Gaia said with a smile on her beautiful features.

Naya blinked again. “I can’t? You mean, you didn’t just rescue me from Luke?”

The women laughed softly as Marcy moved in behind Naya and started pulling out the remaining pins. “Definitely not. We’ll run interference, but we can’t let you slip away. It doesn’t work like that.”

Gaia shook her head. “No. Not a good idea to leave. If you do that, Luke will never trust us to take you away again.”

Gabby shifted in front of Naya, handing her a lipstick. “Believe me, you’re going to need us to run interference in the near future. We’ve all been through this and the Steele brothers might be tall, gorgeous, and…”