The Bishop Affair (Dominated by the Billionaire Brothers - Part Four) Read Free Page A

chilly sitting by the
waves.
    Soft footfalls approached
from behind and the sudden warmth of a jacket draped over my bare shoulders was
a much desired comfort.
     
    “Thanks, George,” I said,
craning to smile up at him.
     
    My smile froze on my face.
     
    Jordan’s hulking frame
towered over me like a magnificent statue. With his tux off, he wore a silver
vest that stretched over his hard chest and went exquisitely well with his
black trousers. His jacket warming my body carried a faint trace of woody
cologne mixed with his scent, sending a charge of awareness through me. In an
instant, I stood up and shrugged the jacket off, letting it fall to the sand.
     
    “Lori, don’t be foolish,”
Jordan said softly. “I could see you shivering from the parking lot.”
     
    “I’m fine,” I snapped,
hugging myself against the chill. “I don’t need your stuff touching me.”
     
    “Can I explain what
happened? It wasn’t what it looked like.”
     
    “What it looked like?” I
repeated, my eyes beginning to sting again. “I saw you kissing Vanessa. I’m not
sure how that could’ve looked like anything else.”
     
    “Vanessa made a move on me,”
he corrected. “Believe me, I didn’t want it.”
     
    I scoffed. “You’re telling
me that a tiny hundred pound girl forced you to kiss her? You can benchpress
like a million pounds for goodness sakes!” I hugged myself tighter, looking
away, not wanting him to see the tears beginning to form.
     
    Jordan exhaled heavily.
“It’s true. Look, Lori, I know it looked horrible, but the kiss meant nothing.
I was caught off guard. I had no idea that would happen. I thought Vanessa just
wanted to talk. She told me it was something important.”
     
    “That sounds like a
convenient reason.”
     
    “You happened to walk in at
the worst possible moment when she made her move on me. That kiss lasted no
longer than a second.”
     
    I swallowed a hard lump in
my throat. “Is that so? Then why didn’t you come after me right away? Stuck
around to do some more tongue wrestling?”
     
    “There was no tongue.” His
jaw became taut and his voice strengthened. “Also, you ran off like a damn
cheetah in those heels. I was still making my way through the main hall, trying
not to bowl people over when you probably had already left the parking lot.”
     
    “Yeah, sure...” Jordan’s
cut-and-dry explanation did little to quell my emotions. It seemed all too
coincidental. Easy for an experienced rich playboy like him to come up with.
     
    “I’m serious.” He extended
his palm as his face tried to regain its composure. “I’ll take a lie detector
test if that’s what it takes to prove it to you.”
     
    “Whatever. Those things are
inaccurate.” I waved my hand dismissively. Knowing that Eric passed his
polygraph test to work at IBM when he denied having tried marijuana made me
certain it didn’t work.
     
    Jordan huffed. “C’mon Lori,
you know me. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you or anyone else.” He
took a step closer, offering a hand to my elbow.
     
    I jerked my arm away from
his touch, but didn’t budge from my spot. I was determined to stand my ground
this time.
     
    With my anger at the
forefront of my mind, it took a moment to process his words. Although he had
his intimidating boss-side, Jordan had been warm and gentle the entire time I’d
known him, not just with me but with everyone he interacted with. The first
time we met at the gym, he had tended to my head injury and told me to put some
ice on it. It seemed so long ago...
     
    ...But it actually wasn’t.
     
    “No wait, I don’t know that.
I’ve only known you for like a week.” I exhaled in frustration. “I don’t know what to think.”
     
    He took another step closer
and this time gripped my arm lightly. The heat from his touch rippled through
me, and I didn’t possess the self-control to pull away from the sensation. “We
haven’t known each other for long. But that