A Billionaire Between the Sheets Read Free Page B

to make money?”
    Nash got to his feet. “Unfortunately, I find myself in the same boat as you’re in. In order to start making money, I’ll need an investor.”
    Great. Maybe Francesca wouldn’t mind three pet poodles.
    Grayson, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking about needing money or making it. As if he were sleepwalking, he opened the bedroom door and moved out into the hallway. “I need to paint her. Now. While the afternoon light is still good.”
    Nash laughed. “I don’t blame you, baby brother. Despite the bug bites, she looked pretty hot in that wet T-shirt. Of course I’m interested in doing something other than painting her…now, while the light is good.” He glanced at Deacon. “Or would that be considered incestuous?”
    “She’s not our damned cousin!” Deacon snapped just as the door to the bathroom opened and Olivia’s head peeked out. She looked much cleaner. Almost squeaky-clean with her wet hair and steam-flushed skin. Her eyes were as green as he remembered them and still seemed to cover half her face.
    “Do you think I could get something to wear until my clothes dry?” she asked. “A robe? Or a T-shirt, perhaps?” Her gaze drifted over to Deacon and then sizzled down his bare chest to his boxers. “Ahh, I was right. Cotton boxer briefs mid-cut.” She tipped her head to the side and the door cracked open a little more, revealing a naked shoulder. “Nice fit in the butt, although they’re a little too snug in the crotch area.”
    Before those innocent eyes could make his crotch area even snugger, Deacon grabbed a pair of jeans from the drawer and held them in front of himself. “Grayson, find Olivia something to wear.”
    While Grayson went to do his bidding, her gaze finally lifted to Deacon’s eyes. “You’re right. I’m not your flesh-and-blood cousin.” She looked at Nash, who now stood next to Deacon. “But alas, I still can’t have sex with you, Nash. I’m in a relationship.” Grayson returned with a stack of clothes, and she gave him a soft smile as she took them. “And yes, you may paint me. But only if you bring me a comb.” With that she pulled her head in and closed the door.
    While Deacon’s features hardened, Nash laughed.
    “I think I like her better now that she’s all grown up.”
    *  *  *
    Deacon had always thought of California girls as having long, straight, bleach-blond hair and tanned, leathery skin. Olivia had neither. Her hair was shoulder-length, but a deep golden wheat color and wavy, and her skin was pale and smooth. She wasn’t what he would call a stunner, especially in the baggy T-shirt and jeans Grayson had loaned her. Which didn’t explain why he couldn’t seem to look away.
    “Thank you,” she said as Nash handed her a glass of sweet tea before sitting down at the table across from her. Grayson sat on the couch, flicking a nubby piece of charcoal over his sketchpad. Deacon preferred to stand. He leaned against the old stove with his arms crossed, trying to look bored and uninterested. It was difficult when every cell in his body seemed to be on high alert.
    The shower had helped Olivia’s hair, but only agitated the leech hickey on her neck and the bug bites on her arms. Deacon didn’t doubt for a second that they itched like hell. Or that she was sweating her butt off in the humid heat. But Olivia showed no signs of discomfort. She sat with a placid smile on her face as she took a sip of her tea.
    “So the reason I’m here is because—”
    “Don’t move,” Grayson said as his hand flew over the sketchpad. “Stay right where you are for just a second.”
    “I apologize for my baby brother,” Nash said. “He’s so busy thinking with the right side of his brain that he doesn’t know how to socialize.”
    “Because we all know which brain you think with, Nash,” Deacon cut in. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to work.” He took a step toward the door, but she stopped him.
    “Please, Deacon. Just give