“In more ways than one,” A.J. said with a snort. “They weren’t exactly expecting a child like me. A career cop and a housekeeper? Nobody expected a Mensa baby, that’s for sure.”
“A.J.’s one smart cookie,” Ryder snickered. “Genius boy over here decided to go into law enforcement like his old man instead of trying to be a lawyer or a doctor. Although he seems to have wised up now, what with him owning his own IT company.”
“That right?” Lyss said with obvious interest.
A.J. nodded reluctantly. “Yeah. I went into the FBI after graduating from MIT. But I left them about six months ago. Moved here and started my company. We’re doing great so far.”
“Damn straight,” Ryder said. A.J. glanced over and saw him grinning down at Lyss. “He’s working with Street Smartz, now. We’re gonna have a fantastic security system built by him, from what I understand. I got a text from Amber while we were driving back here. She’s crazy excited. You impress her, A.J. Not that that surprises me.”
Damn it, he could not stop blushing when Ryder complimented him. Hoping his ears weren’t burning brighter than his cheeks, he finished cutting the last few biscuits and transferred them to the baking sheet. Then he turned to Lyss with a raised eyebrow.
“Do I need to turn the oven on?”
“Nope. Just slide them on in there. Hit the button for the timer, too.”
He did as ordered, then crossed over to the fridge to put the butter away. There was a bottle of chardonnay resting on the bottom shelf. “Would you like some wine, Lyss?” he asked, looking at her over the refrigerator door. “If you show me where the glasses are, I can get you one.”
Ryder silently opened a cabinet and handed him three empty glasses. A.J. poured and walked over to hand Lyss her glass.
She took it from his fingers, a bemused little smile on her face. “You are a sweetheart, you know that? I’m surprised any woman would let you go.”
A.J. flinched back, spilling a few drops of wine from his own glass. Ryder cursed and stepped forward immediately, reaching out a hand to steady A.J.
“Shit, honey, I’m sorry,” Lyss said earnestly, hopping to her feet with a look of true concern. “I didn’t mean to say something insensitive like that. My brain forgets to put the lock on my mouth when I’m tired. Please don’t be offended.”
A.J. shook his head, backing away from both of them until his butt hit the opposite counter. He crossed one arm over his chest, resting his wineglass against his abdomen. “It’s nothing, Lyss. I know you didn’t mean any harm.”
“Yeah, well I’d sure as shit like to do some ‘harm’ right now,” Ryder growled, amber eyes glowing with ire. “What the hell happened between you and your wife, A.J.? What the hell did she do to you that you flinch every time the bitch gets brought up?”
“Ryder!” Lyss admonished. “Don’t be rude. A.J. doesn’t have to tell us a damn thing if he doesn’t want to.”
Ryder opened his mouth, but A.J. cut him off. “No, it’s okay. Really. And she didn’t do anything to me, Ryder. I was the one who fucked everything up. Nothing that happened was her fault.”
“Is that right?” Ryder said with a sardonic twist to his lips.
“What happened?” Lyss asked quietly.
A.J. sighed deeply. “A big fat fuck-up, that’s what. I ruined her life, plain and simple. And I’ll always regret it.”
Chapter 10
“Here,” Lyss said, rising from her stool, “let’s have a seat on the couch. The biscuits’ll take a while.”
She led the way into the living room, trusting Ryder to herd their conflicted guest into the room with them, mostly so she could have a moment to clear her expression. A.J. was so much more than Ryder had led her to believe. Okay, yeah, eight years were bound to change a person. But Ryder had made it seem like A.J. was this light, happy soul, a bright younger man who was a tad naïve but worldly enough to recognize the attraction between the three of them.
He was…and he wasn’t. A.J. was no longer the sweet college kid Ryder had known. He’d had his heart ripped out. That much was obvious, just from looking into his eyes. What the hell happened to him? How could he have changed so much in so few years? Here she’d been expecting someone who was, if not immediately cognizant of the possibility of a threesome, at least capable of recognizing the attraction. Yet A.J. seemed frightened of the whole concept, achingly aware of the possibility yet absolutely terrified of it.
It made no sense. Someone had to have hurt him, and deeply. Well, hopefully he’d tell them a few things now. Certainly nothing else could be discussed until they figured out what was going on with him.
Even if Lyss was dying to discuss those “other” things.
Lord have mercy, A.J. was hotter than the sun beating down on a black Cadillac. His face and body actually reminded her of Allen, come to think of it. Physical perfection, right down to the chiseled jaw and mouth-watering physique. Except for the blue eyes and lighter skin tone, the two men could have been brothers. And yet, there was so much more than just his incredible looks. The soul she could sense behind those tortured blue eyes called to her.
Her inner doubts disappeared the moment she saw him standing next to Ryder in their living room. The instantaneous attraction she felt erased even the remotest possibility that she might get jealous of A.J. or resent him being with Ryder. Everything in her wanted to take the man in her arms—or, better yet, bring him to his knees. She wanted to claim him, own him, in a way she hadn’t felt since she claimed her very first submissive. It was a heady feeling, addictive, something she knew she would crave from this moment forward. She wanted A.J. Wanted him as much as Ryder obviously still did. They needed to get the man into their bed, as soon as humanly possible.
Unfortunately, A.J. seemed to have enough doubts for ten people.
Settling on one end of the couch, Lyss patted the cushion next to her. “Come sit with me, A.J. You can tell us whatever you feel comfortable sharing, all right?”
“Or just tell us what makes you flinch,” Ryder growled, sitting on the coffee table in front of them. Lyss shot him a quelling look, which he answered with a raised eyebrow, his expression clearly asking if she was trying to challenge him. She suppressed a shiver, looking down and to one side, acknowledging his Dominance. Waiting until she saw his slight nod of acceptance out of the corner of her eye, Lyss drew her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her ankles, and focused on their guest.
A.J. approached slowly, carefully not looking her in the eye as he took his seat, making her fingers itch with the desire to lift his chin up. She squelched the urge, barely, and simply waited for A.J. to find his voice.
When he did, the flat, dead tone of it made her heart break. “This is going to sound terrible,” A.J. said, still not looking at either of them, “but I never should have married her.”
Neither she nor Ryder spoke. They waited.
A.J. heaved a sigh. “She and I were at MIT together. She started off as an engineering whiz, but after we met she changed her major to computer science like me. Her name is Marian. She was this little bitty thing, real pretty. Sweet, you know? I liked her, so I asked her out. We started dating and…”
When he trailed off, Lyss dared to reach out, caress his shoulder. “And?”
A.J. bit his lip, swallowing hard. “She told me she loved me. Like, right away. She said she’d never met anyone like me before, and she was certain we were meant to be together. It was…flattering, you know? And I did care for her quite a bit. I told myself that, eventually, I would love her the same way she loved me.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Lyss said, rubbing his biceps. “I take it that it never happened?”
A.J. shook his head. “No. And if things had been different, we probably would have just broken up. But then…” He paused, squeezing his eyes shut. “Then she told me she was pregnant.”
Ryder sucked in a sharp breath, sitting straight. “Wait, you have a kid?”
“Let him tell it, R
yder,” Lyss said softly.
Ryder settled, scowling. “Fine.”
A.J. gave them both a sour half-smile. “Yes, Ryder, I have a kid. When Marian told me she was pregnant, I wanted to do the right thing. So I asked her to marry me. We just did a quick thing down at the courthouse. Tyler was born about seven months later.”
“Tyler,” Lyss said, smiling. “I like that name. How old is he now?”
“He’s four. Almost five.” A.J.’s voice was back to dead and broken. “For a while after he was born, things between Marian and me were better. It got easier. I still didn’t love her the way she wanted me to, but it didn’t matter—we had Tyler. But then things just…I don’t know. Started to fall apart.”
“How?” Ryder asked.
A.J. shrugged. “Marian…turned bitter. She knew. She knew I didn’t love her the same way. And it killed her a little more every day. I tried. You have to believe me, I tried so hard. But I just…didn’t love her that way. She was Tyler’s mom. That’s all she was. And after a while, I think knowing that killed her spirit.”
“A.J.…” Lyss began.
He cut her off. “She started drinking. To kill the pain, I think. Got really bad. Then it was fights. Fights every day, about every tiny little thing. We’d go through periods where she wouldn’t talk to me, wouldn’t sleep in bed with me. Nothing I did worked. It just kept getting worse. She’d start screaming at me, saying I was trying to hurt her on purpose. Eventually, she accused me of cheating on her. I wasn’t. But, it didn’t matter to her. She accused me of adultery and kicked me out.”
“Bitch,” Ryder growled.
A.J. just shrugged. “Yeah, well. Like I said, she had reason to be bitter. The divorce finally went through a little while ago. The judge awarded Marian full custody of Tyler, though. That part killed me. And I couldn’t stand having to see her every day, knowing she had my son but wouldn’t let me see him.”
Lyss cocked her head. “Why did you have to see her every day?”
“She was an undercover security guard at Quantico,” A.J. explained. “She worked the front desk as a receptionist, but she was also a trained agent. Marian was a screener—someone who would check I.D.’s, run fingerprints, and send out alerts and silent alarms when needed. She was also a pretty damn good shot, so she acted as back-up for the uniformed guards. You’d be surprised how many crazies try to get into the FBI training center. There are armed guards that are visible at all times, of course. But some of them thought they could intimidate the tiny woman at the front desk, get her to let them past the guards. Scared the crap out of them when she pulled out her Glock.” The last was said with a bitter smile.
“Ah,” Lyss said. “So you both worked at the same place, is that it? No choice but to pass through her domain every morning and every evening.”
“Yeah. It was bad enough, after the divorce. But then…Then Marian decided to go for the jugular. She spread some rumors about me. Rumors that eventually led them to let me go. Pink slip on my desk, walked out by security guards, the whole nine yards. It was a nightmare. I didn’t know what to do, after I lost my job on top of everything else. I called a friend of mine who lives here in Houston, and he suggested I move down. Said he’d help me get my own business set up. He’s also the one who set me up with Street Smartz.” He paused, looking at Ryder with a soft smile. “I didn’t know you lived here. Not until Maddox gave me your phone number. Talk about serendipity.”
“What about your son?” Ryder asked. He was still scowling.
A.J. shrugged. “The judge awarded her sole custody. Nothing I can do about that. She refused to let me see him. Used him as a way to torture me for hurting her so badly. Felt like ripping my heart out when I left him. But…there was nothing else I could do.”
“We’ll have to see about that,” Ryder grumbled. “Why would he give her sole custody?”
Oh, the look of tortured despair on A.J.’s face. “Look, can we not talk about that? Please? What’s done is done. I’d rather make tonight about you guys. Catching up with an old friend…and, hopefully, making a new one.” The last was said with a shy smile for Lyss.
This poor man was going to break her heart. Lyss smiled for him, patting his knee affectionately. “Never a doubt in my mind, sweetheart.” Although, she’d been hoping to become far more than friends, and sooner rather than later. But, one step at a time.
Ryder’s scowl was getting blacker by the minute. Obviously, he hated the thought of letting A.J. suffer. It was a tendency she liked to call his “Mr. Fix-It Nature.” Hoping to diffuse a potential argument, Lyss extended her leg and nudged Ryder’s knee with her big toe. “You know, you’re face is gonna stick like that if you keep it up.”
Ryder snorted out a laugh, glancing at her with a sardonic look, which she met with a cheeky wink. He rolled his eyes. “All right, fine. We’ll save that conversation for another night.” But he shot A.J. a smoldering look. “But we will pick it up again, A.J. Guarantee it.”
A.J. opened his mouth, but the oven dinged, cutting him off. Lyss sprang to her feet. “Ya’ll set the table. We can keep talking while we eat.”
Her men did as instructed while Lyss pulled the biscuits from the oven. “So what happened in your meeting with your captain, Ryder?” she said, hoping to steer the focus away from A.J. so he wouldn’t feel like they were examining his life under a microscope. They wanted to get to know the man, not make him feel like he was being interrogated. “How did it go?”
“Oh, that’s right,” A.J. said, taking the basket of biscuits from Lyss’s hand and gesturing for her to head for the table. “Maddox said that was the reason you couldn’t meet with me and Amber today. Is everything okay?”
Ryder shrugged. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Kind of crazy, honestly, but yeah, it should be fine once we work out the details.”
“Details for what?” Lyss said, meeting A.J.’s gaze before rolling her eyes. “Don’t keep us in suspense, Tex.” She started to head back into the kitchen, but A.J. shook his head, pulled out a chair for her, and wouldn’t do anything else until she sat down. He gave her a soft smile when she looked up at him questioningly, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he went to retrieve their wine glasses from the living room, handing Lyss hers with a wink.
Ryder started ladling dumplings into three large bowls while he spoke. “It was a meeting about Street Smartz, believe it or not. Cap wants me to visit the precincts that have shelters in their jurisdictions and set up some task forces that are devoted to helping those kids. Seems me and Shawn—and all the blues who have been helping us out—have come to the attention of City Hall. They want more HPD involvement with the program.”
A.J. brought her the first bowl of dumplings, setting it down before handing her a napkin. Then both men sat down on either side of her, and Ryder launched into a detailed play-by-play of his meeting while she and A.J. listened attentively. Ah, Lyss thought, good food, good conversation, and a pair of men at my beck and call. Talk about a great night.
They talked about Street Smartz for most of the evening after that, to Lyss’s relief. She’d been afraid Ryder would insist on grilling A.J. for details about his marriage, but her husband seemed content to let the topic drop—for the moment. Knowing him, he’d corner A.J. and get the full story out of him as soon as he could. But at least, for now, he was willing to let it go long enough that they could have a pleasant evening just getting to know each other more.
And as far as she was concerned, the more she learned about A.J., the better.
The man was a marvel. A true genius, with a knack for computers that went far beyond what could be expected from a college education. She listened, entranced, while he outlined his plan for the security systems for Street Smartz, watching the way his eyes lit up with every word he spoke. He had some amazing ideas—not that she understood a word of it, but they sounded damn good—and every time he talked about integrating systems or streamlining workflows, he got this little grin on his face that was so damn c
ute, she just wanted to squeeze him. It was obvious, more than obvious, that he loved what he did and took pride in his work.
He was like Ryder that way. Being a cop was Ryder’s whole life. Just as nursing was hers. Being a computer tech wasn’t just a job to him. Just as being a cop wasn’t just a job for Ryder, or being a nurse wasn’t just a job for her. A.J. had the same crazy work ethic as they did. Three equally passionate people.
Here’s to hoping we can extend that passion into other areas, too. Like, say, the bedroom. Lyss hid her smile behind her wine glass.
After dinner, they moved back into the living room, but the talk remained light. Lyss told a few stories about her crazy relatives—though she left out the reasons she’d had to leave them all behind. Ryder told some stories about his family, too, and A.J. shared a few anecdotes from his childhood. It was fun. Relaxed. Just three friends, getting to know each other better. They could probably have talked all night, if Lyss hadn’t yawned suddenly.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth. “It’s not the company, I promise.”
“No, I should get going, anyway,” A.J. said, jumping to his feet. “You’ve both had a long day, and I’ve kept you up long enough. But…thanks for this. For inviting me over, I mean.” His cheeks darkened with an obvious blush, his eyes on his shoes as he spoke. “I’ve had good time tonight. I’m really glad we got to do this.”
“We’ll be doing ‘this’ again,” Ryder assured him, rising to his feet. “Guarantee it. I told you, A.J., now that you’re back, I’m not letting you go again. You’re stuck with us, kid. One way or another.”
Lyss stood as well, carefully watching A.J.’s expression for any sign of discomfort, but gratefully found none. If anything, he looked excited—and surprised?—that they would want him to come back. Lord have mercy, this man was a puzzle. But not one she could delve into tonight, sadly. More’s the pity.
Saints United [For Love of Authority 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 12
