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How badly she wished some other men were making a similar offer. But now she knew how they really felt about her. There were no intimate feelings, only obligation keeping them nearby.

“We’ll see, Dmitri.”

“Ah, so your answer gives me hope. You call me if you need anything. And watch your ass. Andrei will call upon you for a meeting to make his demands. Don’t let him get you alone. The thought of his hands on you enrages me.”

“I’ll have to handle whatever he dishes out. Saving Pro-Tech and everything Storm and them have achieved is priority. Plus my brother’s business is at stake as well as their friends from Liberty Construction and Development. I have no choice. I’ll need to do whatever it is Andrei asks for while I’m cleaning house for Pro-Tech.”

Chapter 3

“You must be losing your mind. Holy shit, Aspen, I can’t believe all of this happened at the party last night. What are you going to do?”

“No big deal, India. I had it under control and knew sooner or later that Andrei was going to confront me. You had your own eye candy to enjoy. How was the blond anyway?” Aspen asked as she took a sip from her sparkling water. She was trying not to let on to the fact that her life was in danger and that she was working this angle to save her brother and her bodyguards’ businesses. They were sitting at a table in LaFonte, a French restaurant a few blocks from the office in downtown.

“He was pretty good actually. Wanted me to stay today but I got this odd vibe. I don’t know. I don’t think he was totally up front with what exactly he does for a living.”

Aspen chuckled. “I’m sure you were up front when you told him you make over four hundred thousand a year and have enough money saved to live an elaborate lifestyle for the next five lives.”

“Of course not. Then he would use me for my money besides my body. No way.”

“Well there you go. So will you see him again?”

India smiled. “Perhaps,” she replied and Aspen laughed. India leaned forward. “How about you? How hard was it to not tear Zin’s clothes off when he kissed you like that?”

“Hard. But that’s not exactly the way I imagined one of them kissing me for the very first time. It makes me so angry to know that Zin at least feels something. They’ve always treated me like a little sister, thanks to Porter. But it’s so strange. Like I’ve told you a thousand times before, India. I get this feeling, this strong, deep sensation like an invisible bond between me and the five of them. They’re the only ones who seem to affect me in any way. I mean, Andrei had me by the throat and was threatening me, and I swear I was almost numb to the sensations. But Storm, Winter, York, Zin, and Weston can just look at me and get a reaction.”

She played with the fork by her s

alad plate.

“Maybe they really do have feelings for you and are just fighting them?”

“No, Storm proved what was really going on last night,” she said and explained what happened.

India leaned back and looked angry as she shook her head. “That’s just fucked up. No wonder you’re living on the edge right now, Aspen. That must have hurt. Especially since you want them so desperately.”

“I don’t want them. I get it now. I know I’m destined for loneliness. It’s just what my life will always be like. No one. No man has the ability to get beyond this wall I have around my heart.”

“That’s not true. There must be someone out there you’re meant to be with and fall in love with.”

“I had to force myself to learn how to not feel. Condition myself to hold back and not give all of me to anything or anyone. Now here I am thinking about five men who I can’t have, who obviously don’t want me and I feel like crap. How could they get to me like this when I know where my fate lies?”

“Sweetie, have you noticed the two guards that are stationed around the room? The same men who were at your penthouse when I picked you up this morning? Storm and his team care about you.”

“But nothing can happen between us. Not when they see me as their sister. They proved this is all out of loyalty and obligation.”

“I think it’s more than that. I think they don’t want to put you in any danger. They’re not exactly running legitimate businesses. They have ties to the Russian mob, and they have enemies. Perhaps they don’t want you placed into that type of danger?”

“I think last night proved that I can pretty much put myself in danger without their connections or business associates.”

India laughed. “What would you have done if Andrei tried to make you leave with him?”

Aspen looked at her best friend and held her gaze very seriously. “I would have killed him the moment I had the chance.”

“Excuse me, ladies, but the four gentleman at the bar would like to buy you both a drink. Your choice.” The waiter interrupted and both Aspen and India turned to see the four very attractive businessmen staring at them and raising their drink glasses. One of them was turned sideways and Aspen couldn’t see his face.

India gave a small wave and then looked at the waiter. “We’ll take a bottle of your 2007 Sassicaia cabernet please. Oh, and thank the gentleman for us will ya, doll,” India said without missing a beat as she ordered the two-hundred-dollar bottle of wine from Tuscany, Italy.

“Are you out of your mind?” Aspen asked as India winked at the men across the way.