“Holy shit.” Kade nearly dropped the laptop. One point five billion? Bloody hell. “You’re serious.”
Asher leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I told you—it’s a sizeable fortune. I’d suggest you get a bodyguard, but Dax already has someone assigned to you. He’s like that.”
“Assigned to me? Like following me?”
“Following, watching, paid to take a bullet for you—however you want to look at it.” Asher said it so nonchalantly that Kade thought he was joking at first, but he wasn’t. “You could get your own team, but we have vetted connections.”
Was that the privilege money afforded his bio family? The idea was repulsive to him. “I don’t want to pay someone to take a bullet for me,” Kade said slowly.
“Who the hell does? We do what we have to.” Asher shook his head.
“Asher, you make it sound like we walk around with targets on our backs. Yes, we have to be careful, but you’re painting an unnecessarily extreme version for him.” Grant waved for Asher to stop.
Asher threw both hands in the air as he surged to his feet. “Sorry, wouldn’t want my brother who was switched at birth and targeted for murder to think life wasn’t all hiking and drinking beer.”
Grant rose to his feet as well. His expression was sympathetic rather than confrontational as he faced off against Asher. “None of this was your fault, Asher. We had no reason to believe Kent was still alive.”
Asher punched the back of the chair beside him. “Mom knew the truth. If any one of us had believed her—”
“Stop second-guessing what we could or should have done. Patrice is dead. Let your anger die with her. We have our brother back. No one, not even you, Asher, can fix yesterday. But we can welcome him home. We can make this easier for him. Don’t be a hammer when that isn’t what Kade needs. Be the good brother you’ve always been to me.” Grant put a hand on Asher’s shoulder.
Asher’s mouth twisted in an ironic half-smile. “Have I been that good of one?”
Grant gave his shoulder a shove. “I’m cutting you some slack.”
It was only when Asher turned back to face him, that Kade realized he’d been watching the conversation as if it were a tennis match. He placed the laptop on the cushion beside him and stood. Part of him wanted to tell both of these men he didn’t need either of them. He felt sorry for them. His disappearance had indeed fractured the Barringtons.
Just as Lance had stepped up and come to Kade’s defense earlier, Kade felt suddenly protective of both Asher and Grant. Kade remembered something Asher had said during their first meeting. “How sad is this? The one who was stolen is the only one of us with a life he doesn’t want to change.” Asher was married to a good woman and had a child and was apparently filthy rich. What could he possibly want to change?
They all feel guilty even though they’re the ones who have suffered. “Asher—”
“Do what you want, Kade,” Asher ground out. “Grant’s right. The last thing you need right now is a hammer.” Asher spun on his heel and was halfway toward the door before Kade had a chance to speak.
The kindest choice came to him then. He spoke firmly. “Maybe so, but I do need you. Both of you.”
Asher halted and turned.
“I don’t know how to be a Barrington.” Kade continued, “I don’t even know how to be a Thompson anymore. I’m overwhelmed from just glancing at those legal documents. If any of this puts my parents—Pamela and Dave—in jeopardy, I’ll need to learn how to best protect them.” He took a deep breath, then added, “If I could snap my fingers and be Kent for you, I would, but until a few days ago I didn’t know you existed. I don’t expect to do any of this right, but with your help, maybe I won’t do all of it wrong.”
Grant and Asher exchanged a look.
Asher cleared his throat. “I’ll never be the brother to turn to if you need a hug, but I’ll always have your back. If you consider Pamela and Dave your family, then they’re our family as well. We won’t let anything happen to them.”
“Thank you,” Kade said in a thick voice.
With a smile, Grant said, “Hug him anyway. I will now that I know he doesn’t want me to.”
“Don’t expect that to work out for you.” Asher narrowed his eyes at Grant, but he didn’t actually look angry. “Either of you.”
Grant shrugged. He elbowed Kade in the side. “The trick is to do it in front of Emily. He doesn’t say boo when she’s around.”
“Are you sure you want to start this, Grant?” Asher asked.
“What did I miss?” Ian asked smoothly as he entered the room.
Asher arched an eyebrow. “Grant was just saying how you’ve been too hard on Kade.”
Ian shot a doubt-filled look at Asher. “I’ve been too hard on him?”
“Absolutely.” Asher smirked, as he gave Ian shit the same way Kade had given him earlier. “I believe he said you need to chill the fuck out.”
“That doesn’t sound like Grant,” Ian said, looking back and forth between his brothers.
“Why would I make it up?” Asher asked with a completely straight face.
“It’s true,” Grant said, playing right along with Asher. “I said it right before he offered to teach Connor and Dylan how to play chess. They’ll be so excited when I tell them.”
Asher put his hands on his hips. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Grant’s face lit with a grin. “Oh, I dare.”
Ballbusters. Kade liked it. This was a side of his brothers he could relate to. He smirked as he imagined the suit-clad, take-no-bullshit Asher attempting to teach Viviana’s brothers anything.
Asher shrugged and said to Kade, “I’d tell him where to go, but he knows more about where my money is invested than I do.”
Ian sighed and rolled his eyes. “Here we go.”
Grant flexed his shoulders beneath his pristine charcoal suit. “Do you know why your name will never come up on a card during Charades? Because it would be too easy. All I’d have to draw is a sphincter.”
Asher threw back his head and laughed. The rest joined in—even Kade. And it felt good.
A movement in the doorway caught Kade’s attention. Annie had come back for him. Their eyes met and the wonder of the moment continued as she seemed to understand exactly what was going on. She motioned that she was getting something to eat and for him not to rush.
He nodded and watched the door for a moment after she’d gone.
“Friends? Right,” Asher said.
Ian interjected, “Asher, it’s none of our business.”
“I like her,” Grant said. “Our gene pool would benefit from another infusion of normal.”
“At least he didn’t say average,” Asher joked.
Kade scanned the faces of his brothers. “Sorry?”
Asher thumped Kade’s back. “Let’s just say you shouldn’t take relationship advice from Grant.”
Grant puffed up in mock offense. “Or real estate advice from Asher.”
Ian chuckled. “Both are good stories for another day. Mom and Dad are waiting outside.”
As Asher headed toward the door he said, “I’ll tell you anything. My life is an open book. Unlike Ian’s. Everything is top secret with him. If he wasn’t my brother, I doubt I’d have the clearance to talk to him.”
“That’s definitely a fact. Too many shady deals in your past,” Ian retorted with a smile. “Grant would always be welcome, though.”
“Bastard,” Asher said then laughed.
Kade was on the outside of these jokes, which served as a reminder that he was not one of them—not yet anyway. Grant must have sensed his train of thought, because he moved to walk beside Kade. “So, where do you have your savings currently located?”
“At a bank?” Kade answered what he thought was a ridiculous question and saw a flash of horror come and go on his brother’s face.
Grant patted his shoulder. “It’s better than burying it in the backyard or under your mattress, I suppose.
It’s okay. We’ll start simple.”
Viviana met them in the hallway and slid beneath Grant’s arms. “Tell me you’re not lecturing Kade on his finances.”
Grant didn’t deny it, but he did flush. “He said he was open to guidance.”
Viviana winked at Kade. “If he calls you average, kick him right in the balls.” She rubbed her stomach. “He’ll heal up by the time I need him again.”
Grant pulled his pregnant wife to him and kissed her on the lips. “It’s her sweet nature that drew me to her.”
A sudden picture formed in Kade’s mind as he looked the couple over. “Grant, did you call your wife average?”
With an amused groan, Grant threw up one hand. “It was when I first met her and out of context it sounds damning, but I was attempting to explain that the night I’d met her I’d deliberately sought out someone—”
“Grant, I love you, but it’s insulting in any context.” Laughing, Viviana placed her hand on Grant’s chest. She hugged him and turned her attention back to Kade. “My husband means well. We’re still working on the way he phrases things.”
Kade was about to throw back something Grant had said earlier, but changed his mind before he uttered it. Grant had been nothing but kind to him, and he didn’t know if they yet had that kind of relationship.
Grant narrowed his eyes, but he didn’t look upset. “Say it. You know you want to.”
Kade smiled, still holding it back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
At Viviana’s nudging, Grant admitted, “I was complimenting his choice of Annie. I may have said our gene pool would benefit from another infusion of normal.”
Hand to forehead, Viviana burst out laughing. “You didn’t.”
Kade’s smile widened. He could get used to these people in his life. “He did.”
“What am I going to do with you?” Viviana joked at her husband.
Grant hugged her closer as they started walking again. “Stick with me forever because you love me and someone needs to keep me in check?”
Glowing, Viviana beamed a smile. “Sounds like a solid plan.”
They all exited out to the back veranda where Annie was gathered with the others. She looked up from her conversation with Lance and Willa and waved at Kade as he approached. When he joined the group, he took her hand in his . . . and it felt right.
Were they meant to be more than friends? He was confused. Part of him wanted to slow down with her, wait until his life settled before trying to figure out how he felt for Annie.
Another part of him, the part that had gathered his things from his parents’ house, had no intention of separating from her now. Right or wrong, friends or more, she was his port in the storm.
Is that fair to her? Is it how I’ll feel when the Barringtons leave and things go back to normal? But things won’t ever go back to the way they were—not my family—not me and Annie.
“Are you okay?” she whispered. “You look worried about something.”
“No, I’m good.” He leaned down and kissed her temple gently. “Have I told you how much I appreciate you?”
Her expression fell and she look saddened by what he said. He wished they were alone so he could ask her why, but the moment passed and she smiled, even tugged on his arm so he’d bend closer to her. “Yes, but you can show me later.”
A burst of lust brought his introspection to an end. He’d be in her bed that night. She was back in his life and it felt right. That was as much as he knew and as far as he could presently plan.
Later that night, naked and cuddled against Kade, Annie closed her eyes and basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She rested her hand on his chest as it rose and fell in deep even breaths. He held her close even as he slept. Their legs were intimately intertwined. Heaven. There might be a price to pay for it later, but she’d waited her whole life to be where she was.
One question pestered her, marring what otherwise would have been bliss. Would he be there if he knew she was in love with him? Would she lose him if she told him now?
He shifted. Her eyes flew open.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice deep from sleep.
She caressed his strong jaw. “Nothing.”
He dug a hand in her hair and tipped her head back. “You know you can’t lie to me. I know you too well.”
She lowered her gaze to his chin. “Not as well as you think. It’s been a long time, Kade.”
“It has been,” he said, adjusting his position so his face was closer to hers. “I had to leave, Annie. For my dad . . . for me.”
“No worries.” She understood. She always had. “I’m good. I’d tell you if I wasn’t.” Another lie. That was the problem with not being honest—it didn’t leave a person with much choice when it came to lying again.
He kissed her lips tenderly then studied her expression. “Good, because I want you to be happy, Annie. I don’t know how I would have survived the past two days without you.”
“You would have done fine, but you’re welcome.” She looked deeply into those intelligent, open eyes of his. He didn’t have secrets. She didn’t want to have one from him, but the risk was too great. He was struggling to make sense of how his life had changed. He wouldn’t always be, though. She’d tell him then.
“Guess what, Annie?” His tone lightened, and he smirked.
“What?” Her heart did a funny flip. There was a light in his eyes she hadn’t seen before, and she warned herself not to read too much into it, but she held her breath as she waited for his response.
His smile widened and he rolled so she was on top then under him. The sheets tangled around them. “I’m rich. Filthy rich. Like I don’t even know if I want that much money kind of wealthy.”
“That’s great.” Disappointment swept through Annie, and she gave herself a mental kick.
He frowned. “Is it?”
She forced a bright smile. “Of course it is.” I’m such an asshole. All I can see is how this will take you away again. You think I’m a good friend? I’m not. I’m trying to be, but I’m failing. “I’m sorry. I’m happy for you, just tired. Don’t read anything into my expression. Tell me everything.”
He turned to check the clock on the nightstand then moved back onto his side and hugged her to him. “Two a.m. Go back to sleep; we can talk in the morning.” He nuzzled her neck and his cock tented the sheet as another idea came to him. “Or kiss me and we’ll find something better to do than sleep.”
Her body warmed and she smiled. “Better than sleep?” She ran a hand down the flat hardness of his stomach, stopping just before his impressive erection. “I do love sleep.”
He sucked in a breath and whispered in her ear, “You also love the feel of my big cock deep in your pussy.”
Memories of exactly how good it felt brought a flush to her checks and wetness to her sex, but she batted her eyes at him and asked, “Do I?”
He growled. “Need a reminder?” His hands ran over her possessively then slid between her thighs as he kissed her deeply. His tongue slid between her lips while his fingers slipped between her folds. His thumb sought her clit and circled it slowly. Two fingers thrust inside her and pumped in and out with a rhythm that drove her wild. Her hand encircled his hard cock, desperate to take him where she was going.
They rolled back and forth over the bed in hot abandon. She couldn’t get enough of his taste, of the feel of his body moving against hers.
She gave herself completely over to him. His mouth was her master. His demanding touch a sweet torture as he brought her near release again and again then paused. Finally, she dug her hands into his back, opened her legs wide for him, and was near begging as he positioned himself above her.
He dipped just his tip into her, then pulled out and ran the thick length of him up and down over her clit. She bucked up against him and whimpered into his mouth as his tongue continued its dance with hers.
He pulled back then plunged deeply into her with a powerful
thrust that sent waves of heat rushing through her. She clenched around him, wrapped her legs around his waist, and welcomed him deeper and deeper. Her hands dug into his hair. He broke off their kiss to adjust her so he could put one of her legs over his shoulder.
There was no tenderness in this taking, but she didn’t want any. She wanted him to be as out of control as she was, as much a slave to her as she was to him. And he was. Theirs was a rough mating with a climax that left them both sweaty and shaken.
They lay side by side, simply holding hands for several minutes.
He chuckled. “Holy shit, Annie. I needed that.”
That.
Not necessarily her.
Annie clenched the sheet with her free hand and cursed beneath her breath. Why can’t I just enjoy being with him? Why do I have to ruin this? It’s good, so good. Why can’t that be enough?
“Annie?”
Annie turned her head to meet his gaze. “Yes?”
“Did I mention that I’m fucking rich?” His flash of a smile revealed he was not a mind reader.
She grabbed a pillow and smacked him in the face with it.
He laughed and tossed it off the bed then rolled onto his side and smiled at her. “I’m serious. And if there’s something you need, anything you need, tell me. I’d like to repay you in some way for being there for me this week.”
She stiffened. “I don’t want your money, Kade.”
He tapped her on the nose. “Don’t go getting all pissy. I know you’d fuck me for free. I just want to do something nice for you.”
She shoved him back and sat up. “I’d be careful how you talk while your balls are within grab-and-twist reach.”
His hand instantly went to cover his family jewels. “Never threaten the boys. They’re sensitive about shit like that.” He shot her a playfully apologetic smile.
She laughed. “The boys?”
“You have a better name for them?” He lifted his hand. Even unexcited he was impressive. “This guy is now sadly Humility. He used to be The Rock. Once he was Hercules. I’m not sold on your naming skills.”
Forever Now (The Barrington Billionaires Book 6) Page 10
