Primal Promise

Ten

Her most recent purchase rested in her lap as once more they slipped through the streets of Portland en route to the airport. She held her lower lip captive between her teeth, awash in nervousness as she idly ran her fingertips across the box holding her new swimsuit. She wanted to hold to her decided plan to go with the flow and not worry about things, but it wasn't her nature.

The car pulled up beside a very fine-looking private plane. She'd expected that they were flying to the ranch, but it didn't make it any less nerve-wracking. She slid out before the driver could come and open her door as if she were an invalid. She had already grabbed up the stork bag and her shopping when he spoke up from behind her.

"You go on inside, Miss Avery, I'll take care of the bags."

She balked a little, not wanting to be lazy, but he knew where it all went and she didn't. She consoled herself that it was simply deferring to an expert, not just making someone else do all the work. She climbed the steps and with a deep breath, stepped inside.

She realized instantly that she wasn't alone. Two of the seats were already occupied by a pair of men who were obviously the twins that Jameson had mentioned. They smiled simultaneously, their teeth white and even, their eyes masked behind sunglasses.

"Hiya." They said as one, mirrored up-nods given in her direction.

"Um, hello." She remembered her inner promise to pretend this weekend that she was the woman Jameson thought she was. Head up, her smile flashed in return, she strolled past to put her things in a storage compartment and then take a seat of her own at the back of the plane.

Soon as she was down, the pair stood up as one and moved to sit closer, one beside her, one across from her. Both removed their sunglasses revealing eyes of bright aquamarine. They were perhaps a year or two younger than her, and each had a face that belonged on the cover of some catalog for an Ivy League college. One had his hair cut short at the sides and finger length on top, the other let his hair grow down into a honey wheat swoosh that brushed the lower edge of his perfect cheekbones.

"So, you're Jameson's mate?" the twin with the shorter hair asked.

"I think she's more than just his friend, Mate." The other pushed the waves off his forehead turning from his brother to her and smiled. "I'm Brodrick, and the numpty is my younger brother Maverick. You can call us Brody and Rick."

She heard something in Broderick's tone when he first spoke that sounded almost like a warning toward his brother who, for just a flash, looked like he'd been caught at something. She couldn't imagine what, so she let it go. Judging by the faint inflections in their words and the slang, they had been living in Britain for a while. Maybe it was just a European thing.

"It's very nice to meet you both. I'm CJ. I can assure you Mr. Holt and I are not anything more than friends." Truth was, they were barely that. She didn't know him well enough, or vice versa, for her to say they were anything more than acquaintances.

The door to the plane was closed by the driver, who sighed and dropped into a seat with a faint smile. "All loaded. We'll be on our way presently." He looked back at the three of them, though his eyes fell to CJ when he spoke. "They're minding their manners I hope."

"Of course we are, Uncle Herb," Rick said, fastening his seat belt.

"Absolutely." Maverick winked and fastened his own.

CJ nodded as she pulled her own seatbelt across her hips. "They've been perfect gentlemen."

"Hear that, we're not only gentlemen, but we're also perfect." Brody blew on the back of his nails and buffed them on an invisible lapel.