God, I was as attracted to him as I was at seventeen. For the first time, I’d felt the stirrings of desire. Sure, I’d kissed his brother Jock, my boyfriend senior year of high school, fooled around a little, but he hadn’t made me come alive as I had just by looking at twenty-seven-year-old Jed.

He was older now, around forty. His hair was almost black, but as he came closer, I could see threads of silver at the temples. The square jaw I’d thought could sharpen knives was now covered in a trimmed beard.

Over six feet of perfect body. His jeans molded to his thick thighs. His forearms were corded and tanned, sprinkled with dark hair. He was fit, as if he tossed hay bales or ran marathons. Or both.

I hated that men got better with age, while women got old. But Jed had, and in his case, I didn’t mind. Maybe it was because I was looking at him through something other than a teenager’s eyes. I saw him now in a completely different way. I wasn’t expecting rainbows and fairy tales or love any longer. Only the emotionless release a hot guy wanted to give me. And he was hot. Then back to my regularly scheduled life.

The day Jock pointed out his older brother at their family barbecue was one of the last days I’d been naïve. I’d grown up that holiday weekend after learning Macon’s plans to use me as part of a business deal. I started to build that protective wall of aloofness that I’d been adding bricks to ever since. I might lift my skirt, but I wasn’t dropping any of my shields for a man.

I didn’t know any other way. Macon had been dead for five days. Things hadn’t changed at the office yet, but they would when I returned. I was CEO now and there was nothing my father could do to me any longer. I already had shares in the company and the will had only divided up his portion between his kids, although I’d been given majority interest. South, East, and West wanted nothing to do with it.

I could finally steer the company the way I wanted, the way my mother had wanted. The way it should have been since it was her family money that had started it.

Macon had been only the hired hand who’d charmed himself into her panties long enough to make me. Trap her into a loveless marriage where they somehow had sex two more times to make my brothers, one of those fun occasions making twins. Or maybe they weren’t actually his, as I suspected.

“You’re in your head, princess.”