Heirs: A Contemporary RH New Adult College Dark Romance (The House Series Book 4)

by Rachel Angel

  “I hate the thought of him kissing her, fucking her,” I said. “But if he can keep her safer…”

  Before I could finish my sentence, the front door blew open.

  Talk of the devil and the angel…

  Sutton was standing in the doorway with a gun in his hands.

  Chapter 3

  Ash

  Talk of the devil.

  Seb, Thomas, and I immediately raised our hands, showing we weren’t armed.

  Sutton continued walking through the house, with his gun pointed ahead of him. I think he was sweeping the place, making sure there weren’t more of us around.

  Finally, after going through the first floor, he said in a whisper. “Upstairs?”

  “No one there,” Seb calmly said.

  “It’s just you three?” Sutton asked, still with his hands on the gun in front of him.

  “Just us three,” Seb said, almost bored.

  Sutton let out a breath before standing straight and pulling his gun back. “You could have told me that before.”

  “But that wouldn’t be as fun,” Seb said.

  Sutton gave him a hard glare before looking at me and Thomas. “You guys alright?”

  Seb shrugged his shoulders. “Why wouldn’t we be alright? Nothing going on here, Officer. Just us boys minding our own business in our own home.”

  Sutton must have heard the sarcasm in Seb’s voice because he said. “You’d probably wish I came by as much as I do, with your Keystone’s track record on getting into trouble.”

  “Trouble?” Seb asked. “When have we been in trouble, Officer Sutton? In fact, it seems we are always the ones who have been victimized.”

  “Exactly,” Thomas said. “We’ve never done anything to make you believe or think we’re troublemakers.”

  “We Keystones have always been upright citizens here in Majestic, minding our own business,” Seb said. “What made you think of pulling your gun out on us at our own home?”

  Sutton put away his gun and stood up straighter. He coughed and said, “I thought I saw a suspicious car pull out of your estate on my way over. Besides, you know your father’s lawyer, Sloane, was kidnapped when he showed up to your house before. Strange things seem to happen at your place, guys. One can’t be too careful.”

  Seb smiled and patted Sutton’s shoulder, “Well we appreciate your cautiousness, Officer. One can’t be too careful. You’re right.”

  “Now that I know your house is cleared and safe,” Sutton said loudly. “I’ll be on my way.”

  From the doorway, as if on cue when Sutton said “cleared and safe,” a beautiful face peered in, along with her full thick long dark hair, which I longed to wrap my hands around and get my face lost in.

  Kaley.

  My heart always skips a beat when I see her. Man, I love her.

  “Hi guys!” Kaley said in her sweet melodic but sultry voice I couldn’t get enough of.

  All of us boys turned towards her, including Sutton. Our eyes drank her up like she was a refreshing ice cold glass of sweet lemonade.

  She was still wearing that sexy red sweater dress that clung to every part of her like a second skin. Fuck. She was like a candy lollipop I couldn’t wait to unwrap.

  “Kaley,” I let out, my voice a bit gruff from the horniness I was feeling. “Where did you go? We were so worried.”

  “My fault, guys,” Sutton said walking over to Kaley to put his arms around her waist. “I saw her at Majestic Café last night, and well, you know we were lovers, so one thing led to another and…”

  “Sutton!” Kaley exclaimed, patting his hands off her waist.

  “Well, Darling,” Sutton said, possessively like a stupid numbskull Neanderthal, “You know how I get when I see you with other men.”

  It was clear Officer Sutton was laying claim on Kaley in front of us. Only Kaley didn’t seem to completely agree.

  Seb and Thomas felt the same I did about Sutton staking his claim on our Kaley. They stepped forward towards Kaley the same time I did.

  “Glad you’re back,” Thomas said. “Like Ash said, we were worried about you. You just vanished like that. Took off.”

  “If you were so worried,” Officer Sutton said with a crooked wry smile that I wanted to swipe off his too handsome face. He was almost as good-looking as me or even Seb and Thomas; one might think he would be the fourth Keystone brother. Damn that.

  No wonder Kaley would find him attractive enough to suck face with.

  “Believe me,” Thomas said, looking at Kaley with an unwavering look of desire and possessiveness. Thomas was staking his claim on Kaley now with his cocksureness. “We looked everywhere for her, but then we got a call from our security company that our house alarm went off. We had to go back to check. For some reason, we couldn’t turn it off from afar.”

  “Crazy how that can happen,” Sutton said with a grin. He almost looked like he was chuckling about some inside joke too.

  Wait. Hold on. Did that joker have something to do with the alarm going off? Did he also have something to do with the internet connection going haywire at the same time so we had to go back to check? It would fit into the timing of Kaley going off with him.

  Only when we arrived home, and before we turned on the lights to the manor, we were ambushed by Langley and his men. Did this oaf have something to do with that?

  My eyes zoned in on the well-built tall man, who looked like he spent more time in the gym working out than he did sitting in a police car, getting fat eating donuts and drinking sugary drinks all day. Blond hair, blue eyes with high cheekbones, a cleft square chin, aristocratic nose, and full lips; he could be a model in New York if he tried. So what was a guy who didn’t look like a cop doing being one in a small town like Majestic?

  Besides the obvious, which every hot-blooded man could see, what did Sutton want with our Kaley? Why our Kaley who everyone knows, I mean everyone in Majestic knows, is ours. Mine. She was ours to the point she was a Keystone. At least I planned on making her my Keystone one day.

  And what did Sutton have against us Keystones? What was with the suspicions? What with the talk about us being troublemakers? Why would a cop think that we were the troublemakers when the only time cops ever came to our house was because we called them for help. When did the people calling them for help thought of as the troublemakers?

  And his hands…he couldn’t stop touching our Kaley. Her waist, her hips, even her butt.

  Seb was already on the other side of Kaley, pulling her into the house while Thomas closed and locked the door shut.

  Yeah. Good move. If Langley decided to head back here, at least we could lock him out for a while.

  Seb had managed to get Kaley away from Sutton as he guided her towards the sofa to have her sit down. “How are you, Kaley,” he said, looking her over. “Are you okay? Not hurt?”

  Kaley shook her head. “I’m fine. No, guys,” she said. “I should be the one apologizing. I should have contacted you. Let you know where I was. Only I didn’t have my phone and purse with me.”

  Seb, Thomas, and I stared at Sutton. That was no way to treat a lady. And knowing Kaley, she would never leave her phone behind. Sutton had forced her to go with him, against her will. It was becoming clearer now.

  No real cop would do that.

  Again, despite having Kaley look like she was fine, who was Sutton really, and what did he want with Kaley?

  Chapter 4

  Kaley

  I’ve never been so happy to see my boys again. Seb, Thomas, and Ash were alive and well. Not beaten up, bloodied, or dead like I feared.

  I wanted to hug and kiss each one of them so tightly but Sutton was there, and there was that provision in the will.

  I looked at Sutton who was standing with his hands on his hips by the door. He looked pissed that I was sitting on the sofa, surrounded by the Keystone brothers, who were fawning over me, seeing if I was hurt anywhere.

  It was obvious they didn’t trust Sutton, and they didn’t buy t
hat bit from Sutton about us being lovers, and one thing led to another so off we went without my purse and phone, I was so horny for him.

  Yeah right, and I would forget all about the pie, the key that was in it, and the will, while I was at it, so horny for Sutton that I would forget all of that.

  I admit when we did reach Sutton’s house, and we ended up fucking, it was incredible. I couldn’t get enough of him, and he couldn’t get enough of me. But I wasn’t his. I wasn’t even his girlfriend. Lover. I wasn’t exclusive with him. And he was acting as though we were.

  Needless to say, I was a bit angry at him at the moment. He was supposed to have brought me back to Keystone Manor, dropping me off, and then going off like the officer he was, not act like a jealous lover.

  “Can I get you anything to drink?” Ash asked.

  “Water?” I said, not used to Ash getting me something to drink like a guest.

  “Right away, Babe,” Ash said smiling, clearly happy to have me back again.

  “Did you eat anything?” Thomas asked. “Have you eaten? You left the Café before finishing your dinner.”

  I looked at Sutton. “I ate. Sutton cooked breakfast for me.” I remembered how he did and how delicious it was, especially the way he fed me the breakfast. Everything the man did was hot.

  Seb and Thomas frowned. Clearly they knew I spent the night with Sutton.

  Ash came back into the living room, carrying a glass of ice water with a sprig of mint in it. “Fancy,” I said to him, smiling approvingly. “When did you learn to do that?”

  “When I started living off on my own,” Ash said. “Touring with my band, enjoying some of the finer things in life…”

  I smiled proudly at him. Ash had grown up since the two years I’ve seen him. He was still the devastatingly handsome boy I knew from our teenage years, but now he was bigger, bulkier, more masculine. A lot more man than before.

  It made him so much more desirable.

  “Kaley,” he said so softly, his eyes were staring into mine with such longing.

  I knew if I didn’t do something, I would end up in his arms, being crushed to his chest with him kissing the life out of me. My God, how I wanted that, but I couldn’t.

  I took a sip from my glass and exclaimed happily, “It tastes as good as it looks, Ash. Did you add something besides the mint?”

  “Yes,” he said, “my finger. Swished it around and…”

  “Gross,” Seb and Thomas said.

  I laughed at the same time Ash burst out laughing.

  Seb and Thomas suddenly started laughing along with us until we were almost in tears.

  “It wasn’t that funny,” we heard a male voice said.

  Sutton. He was still standing by the door as though he was about to go out, but couldn’t. Sutton. He said he was going to bring me back to the manor only if he can stay close by to keep me safe. Would that mean he would be outside all night sleeping uncomfortably in his car then?

  Seb, Thomas, and Ash looked over at him with a look that clearly said they were wondering why he was still at the manor. “Is there anything we can help you with, Officer Sutton?” Seb asked, in a tone that clearly meant we were done for the day. Now leave.

  Sutton looked at me and said, “As a matter of fact, yes. I want you all to keep a close eye on Kaley. Make sure she’s safe. I’m entrusting her to you while she’s here so you better not do anything you’d regret to her. I’m close by no matter where you go. I’ll be watching you. All of you so you better behave.”

  Seb nodded. “Yes, Officer.”

  I got up from the sofa and walked over to Sutton, taking his hand in mine. “I’ll be alright,” I said. “These guys care for me. You can see that with your own eyes. You don’t have to stay.”

  “But what if the guys we talked about come sniffing around?” Sutton whispered.

  “Then we’ll be ready,” I said. “This is Keystone Manor. There are many secrets here, including passageways. If they come looking for us, we know where to go.”

  Sutton took a deep breath and said, “I’ll feel better if I’m close by.”

  I sighed and then leaned up to kiss him on his nose. He moved up slightly to have my lips kiss his mouth instead, and soon his mouth was devouring mine in a passionate kiss.

  Wow. The way his lips and mouth moved against mine made my toes curl and my core heat up with white hot fire.

  When we broke away, I was breathless, and the whole room was so quiet, I forgot the boys were there watching.

  With that, Sutton opened the door, and walked out. And then I shut and locked the door.

  Seb, Thomas, and Ash were staring hungrily at me, clearly aroused by the way Sutton was kissing me.

  I wanted the same thing they wanted, but I also wanted to play the game of Keystone’s will correctly. Not going to have romantic relations with any of them until the puzzle was solved. So moving on to solve the puzzle, we need the next step.

  “Guys,” I said brightly. “Look what I’ve got!”

  “What?” Seb and Thomas asked.

  “What, Babe,” Ash said coming over to me.

  I took out a small object hidden in my bra and held it up. “The key. The key hidden in the bottom of the pie tin of the keylime pie from Majestic Café.”

  “You’ve found it!” Thomas exclaimed.

  “Yes,” Ash said.

  “Excellent,” Seb grinned. “I knew you would.”

  “So guys,” I grinned. “Let’s call Sloane to give us the next part to the will.”

  Chapter 5

  Kaley

  Sloane was already on his way to meet up with us at the manor this afternoon.

  “Your timing is perfect,” he said to me over the phone. “I figure one of you would have solved the first part pretty quickly. Less than a day or so.”

  “Let’s just hope we can solve the rest fairly quickly too,” I said.

  “How’s it going living with the boys?” Sloane asked, detecting the sense of urgency in my voice.

  “You know,” I said, “I must have gotten used to living away at Harvard,” I said. “It takes getting used to.”

  “The boys acting up? How are they treating you?” Sloane asked.

  I laughed. “Actually, really well. Like a Queen,” I said. “They fixed up a room for me that was the most beautiful and luxurious room I’ve ever seen and even bought me an entire wardrobe, hand-selected by Thomas and Ash.”

  Sloane chuckled. “It’s about time they realize how to treat a lady.”

  “Well, there was once upon a time when they drove me out,” I said. “But it was a major misunderstanding that costed us two years. The boys and I haven’t kept in touch for two years before I received your letter for the reading of the will, Mr. Sloane.”

  “Unfortunately, they are learning their lessons the hard way. They need to learn how to appreciate what they have or they can lose it,” Mr. Sloane said.

  I thought he was talking about me, but he could be talking about the Keystone inheritance as well.

  “I’m almost at Keystone Manor,” Sloane said. “Be ready and alert to take notes for the next part of the will. Clay always tried to ease into things at the beginning by making things easier. Then, Wham! He would throw a curve ball at you. All these years being his friend and attorney, I’d learned that with Clay, things aren’t always what they appear.”

  “Thanks for the heads up,” I said.

  “You’ll need it. You’re at a disadvantage because you didn’t grow up with Clay, like the Keystones boys. His puzzles have a lot to do with the time he spent with them growing up. He really loved his boys, and part of the will was constructed so he could help them remember the fond memories they had with him as their father.”

  I gulped, holding back tears. I knew Seb was angry at his father, and so was Ash. Thomas didn’t exactly get along buddy to buddy with his father, too. In fact, they didn’t seem to know him or understand him at all. “Well, I hope the sons do come to appreciate everything he’s
done for them,” I said. “And that they do remember the fond memories they had with him.”

  “And that is why, Ms. Kaley, you are a vital part of all this.”

  “What?” I asked. “Why?”

  “You are close to the boys, but also can see things from Clay’s point of view. It makes you more objective. It also makes the boys rely on you more than they want. You, dear girl, are the key to making this all work.”