The Kane Cross (Cross 1)

9 - Heiress

Baxter sat in the crowded bar drinking beer while his sister insulted him. The only reason he came out was to protect Tate from doing something stupid because of the cheating SOB. Seeing Ivy with her sent him straight to the bar. Why didn't he realize Tate would be with her loyal friend?

As he looked across the bar, he admired her golden hair. She laughed, and he watched other men look her way. They could look, but he had pulled her jeans off and made her say his name. He wondered if she was wearing the miniscule thong or the cotton panties. Both made him hard.

Putting the chair between Tate and her friend was a distraction. He didn't want to sit next to Ivy. Baxter Kane was a coward. Thanks to his insistent sister, he moved. With hundreds of people crowded around, he should have smelled them or the stale beer, but her fresh floral scent imbedded itself. The memory of burying his face in her neck vividly controlled him.

Ivy potentially working at Kane Properties caused a debate inside his head, and he couldn't keep up. Having her a few flights below could be comforting or very troublesome. It certainly would be inappropriate to be involved with an intern. When against the wall, he always made the right choice. It was Ivy he wanted against the wall. Supporting her career was the only unselfish reason for her to invade his company. Also, Tate wanted it and he wanted to make Tate happy.

He worried about her bouncing back from being jilted. It was the only reason he went to the bar. Not even Jimmy wanted to venture out with him. He would rather walk over to Chestnut Street to sip obscenely old scotch with his best friend. They understood each other having grown up with parents dressed in formal wear who gave them a kiss on the cheek and left their care to the nanny or the butler, a grown man who called the ten-year-olds master.

The big difference was the large Sinclair two-hundred-year-old Greek revival lacked the chaos his siblings created. Jimmy lived there alone most of the time, except for the staff.

Annoyed with his warning, Tate lashed out at him. "Whatever. Maybe if you ever had good sex, you would understand."

Why did everyone think he couldn't please a woman? Was he really that selfish of a human being? He couldn't look at the pink painted across Ivy's cheeks, but would bet a grand she didn't agree with Tate.

"Little sister, I would tell you the details of how I please a woman but I was raised to be a gentleman."

Ivy began coughing. As he pounded on her back, Tate harped on him for embarrassing her friend. Once he knew she was breathing he rubbed her back. The touch memory set off turbulence within. Maybe he should have let her leave.

Tate drank while Baxter calculated an exit strategy. Another drink appeared courtesy of a guy wearing a backwards baseball cap. His sister attracted attention just sitting in a chair, but when she smiled and laughed every dick turned hard. His was already far from flaccid because of another female.

A girl who barely looked old enough to drink walked to their table with her phone out. "Can I have a selfie with you?"

Tate looked at her with glossy eyes. "Me. Why?"

"Because this is you right?"

She had a photo set of Tate and the ass titled 'Jilted Heiress'.

Tate slurred, "I'm not an heiress."

Baxter stood and politely explained to the girl that Tate didn't pose for pictures. Because of his height, he towered over her. Leaning over his sister, he coaxed, "Come on. Time to go home."

With his arm around her, he led her out as Ivy followed behind. Proper grooming set in as intoxicated Tate held her head high. The photos he was sure were being taken would tell the entire story, including how he wished it were Ivy against his side.