Fisher (Prince of Tigers, #3) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,17

of fair assessment. But right now, he knew she’d been absolutely correct. In all things. Damn it, he thought. There was nothing he could do about it now. He’d fucked everything up by trying to be bossy to a company with more integrity than he’d ever had.

~*~

Fisher watched Piper pace. She was good at it too. While most people would walk in a straight line to and fro, she moved around the camper, touching things, putting things away while she spoke to herself. Once in a while, she’d ask him a question, but for the most part, she just talked to herself.

“How did you know he would pay if I simply turned off the Internet?” It took him a second to realize the question was being put to him. “You took a big chance with this. Don’t you think?”

“No. I mean, I have an idea what could be happening with the program if you had turned it off. But in just turning off the Internet, it scared him enough that he thought he was screwed over. Why did you call his wife?” She told him. “Okay, I guess that makes sense. She is the one that would be in charge of the money if she owned most of the stock. Do you think she’ll do what she said and divorce him?”

“Yes. He’s done this before—several times, as a matter of fact. The fact that she didn’t know about how he’d used the house as collateral really hurt her. I think that hurt her more than him fucking with her family’s company.” Fisher knew he’d have been hurt by that too. “You doubled the price on what he owed me. I’m not sure that was the way to go with him. It didn’t take me anything at all to just turn the Internet back on.”

“How many days was he late on paying you in the first place?” Piper told him he was ninety days late on a net ninety payment. “I don’t think doubling what he owed you was nearly enough. While I don’t know how long it takes you to write a program, I believe you’re underselling yourself. But then that’s just me. Will you please come here and hold me? My cat is all jumpy because you’re jumpy.”

She stared at him. “That’s the stupidest pickup line I’ve ever heard.” He laughed at her. “I do sort of feel like my skin is on fire for some reason. Is that the reason? Because I need you to touch me in some way?”

“Which way would you like for me to touch you?” He could hear the huskiness in his voice. The need to be with her, hold her, touch her bare skin, made his cock swell and thicken. “I’m not suggesting anything, but the thought of touching you is making me sort of stiff.”

“Sort of stiff? I’m standing five feet from you, and I can see how hard you are. Why do men do that? Get all hard at any kind of thought of touching skin?” He didn’t have an answer for her, so he just watched her as she moved toward him, but stayed away too. “I don’t know a great deal about sex. I’ve sort of had it, fumbling around in the back seat of a car. Trying to figure out how a condom was put on. Things that I suppose someone my age has figured out. I didn’t date too much after my dad passed away.”

“I don’t imagine there was a great deal of time.” She sat on the floor in front of him. Not in a sexual way, but just sitting on the floor. Not that his cat cared what sort of pose she was in, he just wanted her. “I’ve spoken to my parents about finding you. My dad, of course, has spread it all over town that I’m here with you. Also, you’ve not met her as yet, but Harper, my brother Bryant’s wife, has been looking into things about your family.”

“Are you changing the subject? Or is it important that I know these things right now?” He told her he thought it was safer if he changed the subject. “All right. But safer for who? Never mind. What did Harper find out about them?”

“Your sister is broke. Again. I guess every four years, or so, she gets herself into a position that makes it so she can’t make her house payment, nor pay anything to the private school where she sends her son. This