Seduced By A Steele (Forged of Steele #12) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,41

about merging the two families’ wealth. Thanks to an inheritance from my grandfather, when I turn thirty I will come into a large sum of money as well as a bunch of real estate in Texas.”

He nodded and took her hand in his. “Come on. Tonight, I want you to forget about your problems. Instead I want you to enjoy the Steele family.”

She thought that was a nice thing to say. “Thanks, Mercury. I appreciate you sharing your family with me.”

Thirteen

Mercury kept his eyes on Sloan through most of dinner. Memories of the kiss they’d shared were affecting him in ways he hadn’t counted on. It didn’t take much to recall how easily his tongue had slid between her lips and she’d sucked on his tongue just as greedily as he’d sucked on hers.

He’d heard her moans and was certain he’d released a groan or two himself. But that was fine with him, although he wasn’t one who would usually lose control while kissing a woman. Sloan was making it obvious she was different, and he was having a hard time pinpointing just what that difference was.

There was just something about her he found fascinating and it was more than how easily she’d blended in with his family. Everyone liked her; that much was obvious. His parents, his brothers and sisters-in-law and even his niece and nephews.

Even now the look in her eyes was brimming with the kind of happiness he had a feeling she hadn’t experienced much, hanging out with a family who loved each other. That didn’t mean they all thought alike or got along 100 percent of the time, but it did mean they respected each other’s opinions, even when they didn’t agree with them. It also meant that, when the time came, they would have each other’s backs and would be there for each other.

His only problem with his mom right now was that she had separated him and Sloan. The dining-room table that seated twenty-four was big and long, to accommodate their growing family. Eden had placed him at one end of the table and Sloan at the other. And she’d seated Sloan beside Gannon—the charmer, of all people.

Growing up, Gannon had been in awe of his older brothers. He’d been very impressionable, and their mother had warned them to set positive examples for their youngest brother to follow. With such a tall order, Mercury and his brothers had tried to be low-key around Gannon, but when it came to women, he’d turned out to actually be the worst of the lot. In fact, Gannon always said he was waiting for the day Mercury bit the bachelor dust so he could have all the single ladies in Phoenix to himself.

That was one of the reasons Mercury was keeping an eye on Sloan, to make sure she wasn’t being taken in by Gannon’s charm. It was obvious his brother was laying it on thick and the two were getting much too friendly to suit Mercury.

“You okay, Merk?”

Mercury turned to Jonas. Whereas all the other brothers had at least a year and a few months in their ages between them, that wasn’t the case for him and Jonas. In fact, for three days they were the same age. Because they were so close in age, there had always been a special bond between them.

“Yes, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Because you’ve been unusually quiet, and you’ve been staring at Sloan quite a bit.”

“Have I?”

“Yes. By the way, I like her.”

He took a sip of his lemonade, then asked in a low voice, “How can you like her when you don’t even know her?”

Jonas chuckled and lowered his voice, as well. “I can ask you the same thing.”

Mercury frowned. “Who said I liked her?”

“Your mouth. The one that was slightly swollen earlier. So was hers. That means the two of you did some heavy-duty kissing while locked up in Mom’s office. I doubt I’m the only one who noticed. So, do you like her?”

Mercury didn’t say anything because at that moment Sloan caught his attention when she laughed at something Gannon said.