The Tycoon's Secretive Temptress Read online

  The man looked at the number, then back at the forklift operator and nodded his head. “Yeah. I’d better go fix this mess before something gets lost.” He waved his clipboard over towards the aisle in question. “Go ahead and do your count. I’ll be right back.”

  Gianna waited until he walked towards Joe, still yelling, before she hurried to the aisle in question. Pulling out her phone, she started snapping pictures. The glycerin was in one place, but she was three rows over, the exact place where…there was nothing. Nothing at all! Staring, she glanced at her report, then at the number over the huge, metal shelf. This was the right place, but there wasn’t anything here! What in the world?!

  “Hey! What the hell are you doing over here?” the big guy called out, hurrying towards her. Gianna quickly, and as surreptitiously as possible, snapped some pictures of the empty spot, and then turned and beamed innocently up at her escort. “I think I have what I need,” she told him. “I’ll head on out now.’

  “What the hell is going on here?” he demanded, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. “You’re not here to check on glycerin, are you?”

  “I am!” she told him, gasping at the pain from his grip. “Let me go!”

  “Not a chance, little lady. You’re a spy, aren’t ye?”

  She yanked at her arm, but his hand was holding her so tightly, that her attempts were only hurting her further. “Stop it! Let me go!”

  The man bent down low, snarling in her face. “You’re a handful of trouble, aren’t you, girlie?” He snickered. “You know what we do with bad baggage around here?”

  Gianna was terrified but didn’t want to show it. Reaching into her jacket, she pressed the button on her phone, ready to record the conversation. She couldn’t see the button, so she hoped it was the right one. With her luck, she’d probably pressed the video button and was taking a video of the inside of her pocket. Going with hope and probably a huge dose of stupidity, she lifted her chin, glaring at the man. “You’re a thief! You’re stealing supplies from the company that pays you!”

  The man’s hand tightened on her arm. “What do you know about money? You’re just a pretty little toy that’s probably only good for one thing. Did the big guy send you? Are you the bait that’s going to get me and my crew to confess?” He squeezed her arm harder. “You’re pretty enough, I’ll give you that. But you gotta have brains to get anything out of me.”

  Gianna was furious now. “Why would you do it? Why steal supplies? They aren’t worth enough to keep you out of prison.”

  “You don’t know anything. You have no idea how much this company makes. Selling a bit on the side gives me enough to go on nice vacations, just like the big guys in the city get to do.”

  Gianna didn’t think he would care that she didn’t take extravagant vacations. “I think you should return all of the supplies, sir. This is a good company. Brant and Reid pay you a good salary.”

  He stared at her for a moment of stunned silence, then threw back his head laughing. “You think I give a shit what the guys up in the big building want?” He turned and shoved the clipboard onto a shelf. “They make more than enough. Time for them to share a bit of the good stuff.”

  “Hey Tony!” someone called out from the main aisle.

  “I’m busy! Whatever it is, handle it!” he roared.

  There was a long silence and Gianna knew that she had to act fast. This man wasn’t just angry, he was mean. Since he was in charge of shipping, Gianna was very aware that she could be at the bottom of a box being shipped to somewhere she couldn’t pronounce if she didn’t act soon.

  “Tony, so that’s your name. Why don’t you let me go and I’ll just walk out of here and keep my mouth shut?” she lied, smiling prettily up at him. “I’m just a little girlie, like you said. Who is going to believe me anyway?”

  He licked his lips as his beady eyes roved over her figure. “Yeah, you’re a little thing, but you got all the right parts in the right places. Maye we’ll have just a bit of fun before we get rid of your cute ass.”

  Uh oh. Gianna didn’t like the sound of that. She might have gotten herself in a bit deeper than she had anticipated. Time for action, she told herself.

  Slumping over a bit, she curled her shoulders inward, trying to make him think she was defeated. “I’m sorry, Tony. I just…” she waited a moment, added in a dramatic sniff for effect. She felt his hand loosen slightly and knew that the moment was right. Moving closer, she looked up into his eyes, a single tear sliding down her cheek. “Tony, please. I’m sure we could figure out a way to resolve this.” As his mouth curled into a disgusting smirk, she put her hands on his arm for leverage. With all of her might, she pulled her knee back and…she saw the exact moment he realized what she was going to do. It was a split second of recognition. Thankfully, she had momentum on her side and her timing was perfect. He didn’t have a chance to block her attack. Her knee slammed directly into his groin. Gianna followed up by swinging around, using her body’s momentum to slam her elbow into his nose.

  She was just about to hit him again when a steel arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her off her feet.

  “Hold on, tiger,” Brant’s voice whispered softly in her ear as he carried her out of the area and police officers swarmed in to handcuff Tony.

  Gianna peered around Brant’s broad shoulders, her heart pounding wildly as she realized how close she’d come to being in serious trouble.

  Brant set her down, holding her steady for a moment until she looked up at him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked gently.

  Was she okay? Gianna wasn’t sure. She was shaking like a leaf, and her elbow hurt a bit. “I think so,” she temporized. That was becoming a habit today, she told herself.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  Gianna pulled away, ducking under his arm and stepping around him.

  But he intercepted her, stepping in front of her. “Gianna, look at me!” he ordered.

  She stopped and frowned up at Brant, peering around him to watch the police lead several others out of the warehouse. How had he figured out who else had been in on the thefts? Darn it, he’d been better than she was! Smarter and faster and…well, he hadn’t put himself in danger.

  Knowing she’d done something stupid, she retreated to what she knew best. Focusing back on him and his angry expression, she went on the defensive. “You didn’t believe me when I told you that someone was stealing from you yesterday, Brant!” she announced, throwing her hands up in the air. “You didn’t believe me and you’ve been giving me silly, pointless assignments until this one. Finally, you give me something real and when I find something that I know is true, you no believe me!”

  “I believed you, Gianna!” he growled. “Why did you come out here to confront the man?”

  He believed her? She’d been about to begin her second argument but…well, she hadn’t figured out what her next argument was going to be…he believed her?

  He was still glaring at her and she didn’t like it. “Because I needed proof! The way you looked yesterday, you…well, I wasn’t sure you’d believed me initially, so I’d convinced myself that you didn’t believe me, and I had to prove it to you.”

  Brant wasn’t sure if he was more furious with her or with himself. Probably her, he thought, wanting to spank her pretty butt! “You had to prove what to me?” he roared, matching her anger now.

  Brant looked down at her, his anger increasing as it hit him just how much danger she’d been in. And it was his fault because he hadn’t confided in her, hadn’t included her in his plans to investigate and find the culprits after she’d brought him the data proving her point yesterday.

  “You shouldn’t have come out here by yourself!” he snapped. “You should have trusted me! You should have…”

  “As you trusted me?”

  “Yes!”

  “You didn’t say anything when I gave you the information yesterday! Not one word!” Her
passionate Italian nature was rearing its beautiful head and he liked it. Too much!

  “Gianna! You wore heels to confront a thief. What the hell were you thinking?”

  Her shoulders trembled as her indignation increased. “What I’m wearing has no bearing on this conversation!”

  They were yelling at each other now, completely unaware of everyone around them. Thankfully, the other warehouse employees were more interested in watching their supervisors being walked to the waiting police car in handcuffs.

  “Of course it does! What if you’d needed to run away? What if you’d needed to do something other than slam the guy’s testacles into his throat? Huh? Did you think about that before coming out here?”

  “I hadn’t intended to confront the man! I was just going to take pictures and bring them back to you, then demand that you do something to stop the thief!”

  “Good plan! But that doesn’t help the fact that you were confronted. And even after you were confronted, you didn’t say or do anything to get yourself out of the situation and back to a safe position! Damn it, Gianna! You put yourself in danger!”

  And with that, he moved away from her, running a frustrated hand through his thick hair. Swinging back to her, he pointed his finger right at her. “Don’t you ever put yourself in danger like that again!” he growled, so furious, he could barely get the words out. Pacing back and forth again, his mind going over and over how he’d found her. She’d been about to…she’d almost been hurt!

  She opened her mouth, once again ready to argue with him. But this time, he’d had enough! He couldn’t handle watching her full lips spout dangerous words while she bristled with emotion.

  Or maybe it was just all the adrenaline pumping through his body. He didn’t care. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

  He’d only intended to kiss her so she couldn’t argue with him any longer, but as soon as his lips touched hers, the fire that had been sizzling between them for the past several months exploded into a bonfire! The heat and fear, the incessant desire for her all comingled into a white hot need. He nibbled her lower lip until she opened for him. As soon as her lips parted, his tongue moved inside, teasing and taunting hers. Her long, sexy fingers dove into his hair, pulling him lower as she pressed all of those incredible curves against him. That only inflamed him further until he didn’t care that they were in a warehouse or that he didn’t trust her. At this moment, with her body against his, fitting against the hard planes of his body so perfectly, his mind stopped functioning.

  A quiet cough pulled Brant out of the haze of lust. Slowly, almost painfully, he lifted his head. For a long, breathless moment, they stared into each other’s eyes. He watched as her tongue darted out, licking swollen lips and he wanted to roar with frustration and need!

  “Don’t do that,” he groaned, leaning into her but closed his eyes when she shifted against his erection, cradling and rubbing against him. Damn, she felt good! Better than good.

  “Sorry to bother you, Mr. Jones,” a tentative voice said, accompanied by a throat clearing.

  Painfully, he pulled back, lowering Gianna down to the floor. Turning and suppressing his need to punch out whoever had interrupted them, he found one of the police detectives looking away as if that could give him and Gianna a bit of privacy.

  “What’s up?” Brant asked, still holding Gianna. She felt too good, too soft and feminine to release just yet. Besides, she was currently leaning heavily against his side and he wanted to pull her back around and start kissing her all over again.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Jones,” the detective replied, turning to face him. “We’ve arrested all six of the employees and my team will move in to gather more evidence. They’re all saying that they didn’t steal anything, that the supplies must have been misplaced.

  That’s when Gianna remembered her cell phone. “Uno momento,” she mumbled, forgetting to speak in English. Lifting her phone out of her jacket pocket, she stared at the screen. “This might help,” she said and pressed the button to replay the recording. Crossing her fingers, she waited. The sound was muffled but, slowly, the conversation between herself and Tony unfolded. It wasn’t an outright confession, but it was clear that Tony had stolen something.

  “Does that help?”

  The detective smiled, nodding his head. “That’s a pretty good start,” he laughed. “Can I take this for now? I’ll have it returned to you as soon as the police technician downloads the information.”

  Gianna nodded, unaware of her dark curls teasing Brant’s hand as it rested on her neck. “Of course. Please take it and I come pick it up when you’re finished.”

  The man nodded and slipped the phone into a plastic evidence bag.

  Gianna suspected that she wouldn’t see her phone for a while. It might even need to be replaced.

  “Thank you, Detective,” Brant said, extending his hand to the man. “Your timing was perfect this morning.”

  “My pleasure.” He looked at Gianna. “Ma’am, please let us do the tough stuff from now on. I don’t like thinking what those men might have done to you if we hadn’t arrived in time.”

  Gianna didn’t answer, but thought that she’d had things well in hand at the time of his arrival. Looking over at Tony, she saw that a paramedic was cleaning up the blood from Tony’s busted nose. She smiled as she looked lower, noticing the ice pack on his groin area.

  “Come on, tiger,” Brant urged, putting a hand on her arm and…

  Hissing, Gianna pulled back.

  “What’s wrong?” Brant demanded. “What did…?”

  He stopped when her hand moved to her upper arm. “Gianna, what the hell?”

  She carefully slipped her jacket off and examined her arm. A vicious bruise was forming, turning her creamy skin dark purple. “How the hell did this happen?” Brant demanded, taking her hand and lifting her arm up gently.

  The detective turned, his eyes sharpening on the bruises. “Ma’am, what happened? Did Tony Mandoli do that to you?”

  Gianna shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal about the bruises. “I tried to walk away, he tried to stop me.” She waved her hand slightly. “Non e niente.”

  “Dammit Gianna! This isn’t nothing!” he argued, quickly interpreting her comment. “You are going to press charges for assault.”

  Gianna’s mouth opened up in horror. “But…” she waved her hand towards Tony who was being led to a police cruiser still holding the ice pack to his groin. The guy limped slightly and she smiled, warmed by the fact that he was just as hurt as she was. “I did that to him.”

  The detective moved closer. “The argument could be made that you acted in self-defense. I’m guessing that he was holding your arm first?’

  “Si. Yes, but…”

  The detective shook his head. “It’s up to you, ma’am. But I’d like to add on assault charges. A bruise like that might also help the judge to deny bail. If he’s a threat to society, he shouldn’t be out walking the streets.”

  “He’s right, Gianna.” Turning back, he nodded to the detective. “She’ll file assault charges. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll even drive her to the courthouse to make sure that she follows through.”

  Gianna frowned, fully aware that he said the last part just for her. But the detective smiled. “Good idea.” With a nod to both of them, he walked away, heading towards his vehicle.

  Brant pulled out his own cell phone and took pictures of the bruises on her arm.

  “This isn’t necessary,” she argued, trying to pull her arm away.

  “Hold still,” he ordered, gently holding her arm in place as he snapped several more pictures. “There, that should do it. I’ll have our lawyers file the charges today and we’ll get an order of protection for you as well. I don’t want to take any chances with that guy.”

  “I will handle the charges,” she told him, tugging her jacket back on and looking around for her purse. Brant grabbed it and handed it to her.
/>   “Let’s go, Stallone,” he took her arm more carefully this time as he led her out of the warehouse.

  Chapter 6

  “She tried to take on a guy twice her size!” Brant grumbled, pacing back and forth in Reid’s office. “What the hell was she thinking?”

  Reid chuckled and dialed a number.

  “Who the hell are you calling?” Brant glared at his brother.

  “Who do you think?”

  Brant leaned his head back, rubbing the tense muscles. “Right. Gang up on me.”

  “Yo!” their youngest brother answered. “What’s up in the land of Oz?”

  “Get this,” Reid, the oldest of the brothers began eagerly, “the woman driving Brant crazy just increased her efforts.”

  “Uh oh. What did the lovely Gianna do now?” Mack asked and both brothers could hear the amusement in his voice.

  “How the hell do you know her name?” Brant demanded.

  Reid grinned. “Selena and I went up to the mountains last weekend and I spilled to our baby bro.”

  “Interesting issues you have going on there,” Mack teased. “So what did your lovely lady do to spark your temper this time?”

  Brant glared balefully, refusing to say another word.

  “Since Brant is furious, I’ll fill you in.”

  “I’m all ears,” he laughed.

  Ten minutes later, Mack was no longer laughing. “Why the hell did you let her go out there to confront the bastard? That’s what we’re for! You should have called the police!”

  Brant dropped into one of the big leather chairs in Reid’s office, pouring a glass of the good scotch his brother hid in his office liquor cabinet. “I did call the police. That’s the part Reid forgot to tell you. I showed up right as the guy was ready to do some damage. Thankfully, our timing was good and only the warehouse manager was hurt.”

  “And Gianna’s arms,” Reid filled in.

  Brant closed his eyes, hating the memory of her soft skin bruised like that. “I’d better not ever see that asshole again!” he growled. “I’ll kill him!”