Page 27 of Riding High

Her words slashed through him, and Jed swallowed, conscious of the regret crashing over his head.Why did he feel disappointed at her rejoinder?Why did her words cut through layers of cynicism and distrust to slice into his soul?He didn’t allow a woman’s compliments to turn his head, and on the rare occasion he pissed someone off– usually because he couldn’t or wouldn’t commit to anything longer than a one-night stand– he ignored the bitchy comments and complaints.

But Eden’s words, a trite phrase said in anger, slashed and burned.

Luckily, he was saved from responding by the sound of a deep-throated engine in the distance.He turned and lifted his hand to block off the glare of the sun, not recognising the matt-black, top-of-the-range Range Rover powering its way up the long drive.He looked at Troyden.‘Expecting someone?’

Troyden shook his head.‘No.I don’t recognise the car.Do you?’

Jed pushed his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, watching as the car disappeared from view, heading for the front of the house.The engine cut, probably in front of the double staircase leading up to the imposing front door.The visitor was a stranger.Friends used the kitchen door to access the house.

They heard the distant peal of the old doorbell.Diana would open the door and question the visitor.In five minutes, she’d have the reason for his unannounced visit, his life history and possibly his bank account details.Diana’s grandmother was French, in the Resistance, and had passed her not-impressed-by-anything-or-anyone attitude on to her granddaughter.

The last person he expected to follow Di into the sunroom and onto the deck was Henry, the Baby Duke.His half-brother.

His mouth went dry, and a red mist appeared in front of his eyes.

‘What the fuck does he want?’he demanded, keeping his eyes on Diana.

Diana shrugged, not in the least intimidated by his muted roar.

‘He said he wanted to see you, that it was important.He wouldn’t leave until you spoke,’ Diana replied, her words laced with asperity.‘Heis also your neighbour, the new Duke of Bythesea, and his father died recently.’

Shit.Shit.Fuck.Shit.

Jed pushed a hand through his hair and looked at Eden, her eyes filled with curiosity.As were Di’s.They were both wondering why he was making a big deal out of a neighbour’s visit, and why he was acting like a jerk.And that was precisely why Henry had rocked up at Elmsleigh and not at his cottage.At his cottage, he would’ve told him to fuck off and slammed the door in his face.

He glanced at Troyden, who sent him a sympathetic look.But then lifted his head in a gesture suggesting he find out what his unacknowledged half-brother wanted.As Troyden always said, knowledge was power.

But…

Fuck.

He’d failed at finding anything on Eden, had his yoga session interrupted, broken a one-of-a-kind pot, sparred with Eden, then was caught off guard because Eden was Troyden’s niece and not his lover.Now his half-brother was here wanting to speak to him for some unimaginable reason.His day was already a shitstorm and he’d yet to eat breakfast.But, as his mother once told him, when you were walking through hell, your only choice was to keep walking.Or running.Standing still and allowing the flames to consume you was never a reasonable option.

Eden surprised him by stepping forward and holding her hand out to Henry.‘Hi, I’m Eden Ennis, a friend of the family.’

So she still wanted to keep her and Troyden’s connection a secret.

Henry’s appreciative eyes slid over Eden, and he held on to her hand for a few seconds too long.He was a guy and Jed knew Henry found Eden as attractive as he did.Closing his eyes, Jed imagined his fist connecting with Henry’s aristocratic nose.

Seeing him on his arse would make his day.Year.

‘Henry Raynott.’Huh, he’d expected him to add his title and that he owned half of Gloucestershire, but Henry did neither.He and Eden exchanged a flirty smile, and Jed ground his teeth so hard he was sure he tasted enamel.He bunched his fists, fighting the urge to stand in front of Eden, to be the barrier Henry had to break through to get to her.

There were a couple of things Jed knew for sure: his biological father was a prick, the earth was round, and Henry wasnotgoing to get Eden.

‘It’s nice to meet you, Eden.How long are you staying in Bythesea?’

The dude had a freakin’ village named after his family, for the love of God.How ridiculous was that?Jed ignored the rogue thought that, had the Duke acknowledged him, he would be part of that fucked-up family.Thank God he wasn’t.

Eden smiled at Henry, and Jed was in imminent danger of cracking a tooth.‘I’m not sure.’

‘Well, maybe we could go for a drink or a cup of coffee?I could show you around,’ Henry offered.Jed looked at Troyden, who lifted his eyebrows.He was hitting on Troyden’s guest on Troyden’s property.He had to admit the guy had balls.Balls he wanted to ram up his throat, but still…

Right, he was done.As Eden opened her mouth to respond, he stepped in front of her, met Henry’s eyes and scowled at him.‘Let’s walk.’

Henry nodded and sidestepped him to smile at Eden.Prick.‘I’m sure I’ll see you soon, Eden.’

Not if he could help it.‘If you want to talk to me, you’d better get moving,’ Jed called over his shoulder, stalking away.Henry’s footsteps behind him assured him he was following, and Jed released the air he was holding.He’d walk him back to his fancy-arse car so that Henry could get back into his vehicle and leave.There was nothing to say.Never would be.