7 James

A cool breeze washed against his skin, which was nice. James let his mind drift off, thinking about everything and nothing. It was some twenty minutes later when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and noted the name flashing at him. A smile crept across his face. He flicked on the loud speaker, at the same time muting the music.

"Hey, sweetheart," he greeted.

"Daddy?" came Aria's voice.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Are you coming home soon?"

He laughed. "Yes. Have you finished your piano lesson?"

A pause and then, "Yes. But, Daddy, Sammy won't eat the food I gave him. He'll starve if he doesn't eat. I'm worried. He hasn't been eating properly for days now. Should we take him to the vet?"

He frowned. "I'll be home in a minute, Aria. Daddy will take care of it."

"Really?" She laughed merrily, which made his heart glow. "Daddy? I've just learned a new piece today. Do you want to hear it?"

"Of course," he said even though he knew she was horrible at it. He didn't think piano was her thing, but he couldn't say no because she'd wanted to learn so much.

"It was hard, but Mrs. West told me…"

James shook his head. There she goes again, he thought.

"Shit!" he swore as his foot slammed hard on the break while one hand pressed down on the horn and the other expertly turned the steering wheel, veering the car out of the way. The sound of tires screeching against asphalt was loud in his ears. An agonizing short moment later, the car came to a complete stop, missing hitting the girl by mere inches.

"Daddy?" A panicky voice reached him, and James realized Aria was still on the line.

He took a deep breath and said calmly, "Everything is okay, sweetheart. Just a rabbit on the road. I'll see you soon, all right?"

"All right," Aria replied, uncertain.

He quickly cut the line and opened the door.

The girl was sprawled on the ground, her backpack and printout map scattered around her.

He came to stand before her, concerned she might be hurt. Slowly he watched her drift her gaze up his legs and then finally to his face. The moment he saw her fully, his gut churned into a delicious twist of sensations. Large, frightened eyes stared up at him. Her face was flushed and delicately pretty. Long, tangled, braided hair rested haphazardly over one shoulder. The longer he looked at her, the more he was convinced he'd seen her somewhere before. Then it hit him! Andy Donovan. Fucking hell! She looked like Andy Donovan. This had to be his sister.

He couldn't believe Andy's sister was this young. She didn't look much older than twenty. Her e-mail suggested otherwise though. Short and to the point with a no-nonsense-fucking-about-the-bush way. From the e-mail, he thought she was in her late thirties, armed with two million dollars.

He was wrong. He knew the moment he met her eyes this girl didn't have two hundred dollars in her wallet, just like her brother.

Crouching down to one knee, he looked closely at her. Then she had to go and lick her lips. His gaze was drawn to the glistening, plump flesh, and a surge of desire rushed through him. Oh shit! Not a good first impression. Nothing good was going to come out of this. The girl looked like she needed a good ravishing, on those lips and maybe a lot of other places on her body.

To distract himself, he asked, "Are you all right?"

When she didn't respond, he wrapped one hand over her arm. Electrical sparks charged between them, and he felt the wind knocked out of him. Sparks!

Fuck! He felt sparks for Andy Donovan's sister.

His hand tightened on her slender arm as he felt a sudden, overwhelming yearning rush through him. He slammed down the urge as quickly as it came. Slowly he guided her up, his gaze hot on hers. Then he took a step back, refusing to think about the attraction that was inching its way back to the surface.

"Don't walk onto the road without looking if you don't want to get hit," he said.

"Thanks," she replied softly, followed by a tentative smile that took his breath away.

He walked away reluctantly. In the car, he switched on the engine and turned his gaze to watch her again, curiously. She was busy gathering her belongings. Her actions were delicate, and he had no idea why he found it so fascinating. After pushing the gear forward, he pressed his foot on the accelerator and sped past her, headed up the hill.

If she was coming up to see him about her brother, she'd have a hell of a hike to get there. He hoped like hell she wouldn't. At least not now, not after he'd smelled her, sweat and dirt mingled with something sweet, which was delightful. Not after he'd seen the perfect color of her flushed face and felt the softness of her milky-white skin. She was too fucking tempting by half. His hands itched, and his cock stirred and hardened as blood began to migrate there, readying the little beast for action.

He slammed the arousal shut at the same time he pulled up the hand break. Switching the engine off, he took a deep breath, his face dark with a scowl.

"Fuck!" he muttered under his breath as sexual frustration spurred hot in his veins once again. He shut his eyes and took another deep breath. A few seconds later, knowing the feeling would be gone soon, he got out of the car and headed up to the front door.