Ties That Bind (The Escort, #3)

by Kristen Strassel

  “Leah, you’re not supposed to see Jagger until you get to the altar! It’s bad luck!” her mom called out as Leah came around the back of the car. Fuck, she was beautiful. She wore a short, blue lacy dress with a satin bow tied above her belly. Her curls had been tamed, but her lips were rosy like I’d just kissed them.

  “That’s such crap, Ma.” She stopped short when she saw who surrounded me, scraping her teeth against her bottom lip before she broke into a smile.

  “This is Leah.” I held my breath.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Hatzidakis?” She didn’t even butcher the pronunciation, and it was that simple to win my mother over, who approached her immediately. “I’m so glad you came today. It means the world to both of us, even more so that you brought Jacob.” He returned her warm smile.

  This woman did not crumble under pressure. It was one of the reasons I’d fallen completely in love with her. “Did you know about this?” I whispered.

  She shook her head and mouthed no.

  “I’m Barbara Godfrey, Leah’s mom. I assume you’re Jagger’s parents?” She offered her hand to my mother and father. “Who’s this handsome young man?”

  “This is Jacob.” I thought I’d crumble with pride when he shook Leah’s mom’s hand.

  “Who’s the kid?” Leah’s dad asked.

  “Jagger’s son.” Leah beamed at me.

  He frowned. “I don’t remember you telling me that.”

  “Grampy, shush.” Raven shook her head at her grandfather.

  “So this was the plan.” Leah had relaxed. Her signature tone and ease that made everyone fall in love with her was back. “Raven was going to walk me down the path to meet up with the rest of you, but now that we’re all here, it seems a little silly to do it that way. Let’s all walk up together, and get married.” She beamed at me. “And then let’s head to the restaurant so we can really catch up. Sound good to everyone?”

  “Sounds perfect,” my mother said. She nodded to Jacob. “Why don’t you go with Jagger?”

  I had so much emotion Jacob wasn’t ready for yet. I was terrified of ruining this chance, and never seeing him again.

  Leah hugged him much more easily than I did. “I’m so happy you’re here,” she said.

  “I am too.” He smiled at me when he broke away from Leah, and hugged me. I couldn’t believe how good it felt to wrap my arms around my son for the very first time.

  “We have a lot of catching up to do,” I said only loudly enough for him to hear.

  He nodded against my shoulder. Maybe he needed me as much as I needed him.

  “Are you too old to hold my hand when we walk up the hill?” I asked. He shook his head. Leah sniffled beside me and I was so close to losing it. “Good. I hoped you’d say that. Come on, let’s do this.”

  With Jacob on one side of me and Leah on the other, we headed to the beach for the first time as a family. Leah wasn’t the only person I would promise forever to this day. Jacob, Violet, and Raven were in on the deal, too. Everyone who fucking mattered followed behind us and this time, I would make them proud.

  Thank you!

  The Escort series was born out of the most random conversation. My friend and fellow author asked me if I knew that a cover model was also a male escort. She pointed me to the evidence, the TV show Gigolos. After watching way too many episodes, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. How did these guys lead a normal life? Did they have anyone to come home to? Jagger Holiday was born. I’ve loved writing Jagger and Leah’s story, and even though I’m sad to see it come to an end, I thrilled I was able to give them both the happy ending they deserved.

  There could be more of this world—anyone want to hear from Shannon and Zach or Kari and Reno? Let me know!

  In the meantime, I’ve got more love where you least expect it. Have you met Gemma and Bret yet? Ninety days, five million dollars—-only one of the stepsiblings can have the money. Check out how this hate-hate relationship turns into something smoking hot. I’ve included a snippet for your reading pleasure.

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  Dirty Little Secret

  The clock was ticking. Less than ninety days. Five million dollars. One winner. My dad had concocted the reality show from Hell. But there was no camera crew, no confessional, and no actual competition. Just me versus Bret.

  No way was I letting him get that money. He’d blow it all on his stupid band, drugs, and sleazy sex. I wanted to use it to save animals. I was never one to whine about life being unfair, but this was an excellent example of just that.

  I joined Bret on the back deck. “Did you know about this before Mom read the will?” I asked. He’d stayed home tonight, probably too shell-shocked to go anywhere after that calamity. Unless he was in on the fix the whole time.

  “No. How would I have known about it? The lawyer had the will until today.” Bret curled his lip in disgust. We were polishing off the rest of the rum punch and probably shouldn’t be talking about this tonight. Or ever. It was ridiculous, and we were letting it have power over us.

  “Maybe Dad told you.” I wasn’t backing down from my conspiracy theory. “You’ve been awfully nice to me lately. And...” The way he’d touched me when he put the sunscreen on. I caught myself before I said that out loud, but shivered just thinking about it.

  He slammed his hand on the table. “And what? I’ve been nice to you because we’ve been going through some serious shit lately, and I thought maybe we could be adults and put our past behind us. Not because I was trying to scam Dad’s money out of you.” Bret scoffed, shaking his head. “But if that’s not what you want, fine with me. No love lost here, Gem. And you can kiss that money goodbye. I’ll wipe my ass with it before I let you have it.”

  I couldn’t see Bret anymore. There was just a black hole in the middle of my red-hot rage. “How can I just magically forget everything you’ve done to me? Like poof, it doesn’t exist anymore?”

  “What did I do to you?”

  “Let’s see. You fucked every one of my girlfriends. They’d come crying to me after they figured out you used them...” He’d string them along enough that they’d think he actually cared about them. Every time. The impact hurt like hell when they fell out of the clouds with no warning. I knew, because they landed on me.

  “We were having a good time.” The black hole shrugged. “Maybe they weren’t really your friends in the first place.”

  That comment wasn’t easy to ignore. “Whenever a guy was interested in me, you suddenly became their BFF, and they never talked to me again. I didn’t even have a boyfriend until college.” And then I tore a page out of Bret’s book and made up for lost time in a hurry. What can I say? I learned from the best.

  He leaned forward, smirking. “Did you ever consider maybe they were using you to get to me? That they never wanted you in the first place?”

  Oh, I was going to kill him. “So you’re gay now?”

  “I don’t limit myself, Gem.”

  I scoffed. “That’s for sure.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Don’t tell him about the videos. “Nothing.” I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Listen, Bret. I need that money. I’m over two hundred thousand dollars in debt from NYU, and I can’t get a job doing anything more than scooping up dog shit until I go to grad school, which is completely out of the question right now.”

  “I need it too. I’m an artist,” Bret said, completely straight faced.

  “You’re an asshole. I had to go to the food pantry before I left New York. Do you know how that feels?”

  “Yeah, actually. I do.”

  “Bullshit, rock star.” He’d been on tour for the better part of two years. He was really going to try to go toe to toe with me on this? No way.

  “The tour was for publicity. Do you know how expensive it is to bring a production of that sc
ale to another continent? The band gets paid last. After the crew, the record label, and the fucking accountants. If we get paid at all. There are days I don’t fucking eat.”

  “Don’t liquid diets count?”

  Bret grinned. “At least I own my choices. We all do what we need to do to get shit done.” His gaze fell back to its regularly scheduled programming. My cleavage. “Are those real?”

  He did not just ask me that. “What?”

  “Your tits.” Oh yes, he did.

  “Really? That’s all you can think about right now?” So typical Bret, to ask me if I had breast implants in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out argument. “And you haven’t stopped looking at them since you got here.”

  He shrugged. “You’ve got great tits.”

  “Of course they’re real. I don’t have any money to modify my body parts. And what’s wrong with you? You’re my stepbrother. I can’t believe you fucking said that.” If he only knew how I thought about him, he’d make my life a living hell.

  “Like I said before, all it means is that my dad married your mom. I never considered you my sister.”

  “Tell me about it.” I had to walk away from him. I didn’t want him to know how much it hurt that I couldn’t have him in any capacity. And even worse, that I wanted him any way I could have him. I leaned against the railing and watched the filter bubble in the pool.

  Bret followed me. No surprise, since he had no regard for boundaries. Or decency. Or anything else civilized people held dear. “I don’t know what you do with your money,” he said softly.

  I turned around to face him. I only came up to his shoulders. His T-shirt strained against his chest, and the heat radiating from his body in the night left dew on my skin. I lifted my chin. “How are we going to do this? We could split it down the middle. Fuck the lawyers. It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”

  Bret shook his head. “That’s no fun. And if Dad wanted that, he would’ve written it in the will that way. He chose this for a reason.”

  “Fine. Whatever. You’re flat broke. So am I. What do you propose?”

  “Exactly what Dad would want us to do. We’re going to work for it. Whoever needs it more gets the money. But whoever wins gets it because they proved they deserved it.”

  Fuck. It was like Dad was here, saying those words. It was exactly what he’d want. I’d always respected his work ethic, and it made me strive to be better. No matter what the sacrifice. If I wanted it that bad, I’d get it. But this was insane. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How are we going to do that?”

  “Let me untie your dress.” That tone was back—the low one that vibrated deep in my body.

  Holy shit.

  “What did you just say to me?” All my nerves instantly went into overdrive. My skin tingled like fireworks breaking in low clouds. I had no idea what the hell he was thinking. The tension between the two of us had been insane since he came home, but I thought it was just me, on edge about the videos. There was no fucking way I was going to do that. Bret lived in a fantasy land, in his tour bus bubble, and this was not how rational adults solved problems.

  No matter what Bret thought about our relationship, we were related. Sure, it was just by marriage, but we called the same man Dad. I looked up at Bret, gearing up to tell him exactly where to go, but I couldn’t say a word when I saw his eyes. Heavy lidded with lust, steely and determined. I knew one thing—Bret was willing to work for what he wanted, too.

  I understood why perfectly sane females turned into putty in his presence. Bret Starling was going to be the death of me.

  He took half a step closer. He knew he had me. “You say you’ve got the real deal going on under there? I want to see them.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  “And you’re pretty hot when you’re disgusted.” He grinned. “Show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ve seen your nipples a thousand times.” All I could think about was sucking on those silver rings. Damn it. There was no winning this argument.

  “That’s not what I’m talking about.” He looked down, his tongue playing with the inside of his bottom lip. Electricity danced in his eyes like a heartbeat.

  “I’ve seen that, too. You’ve got your shit all over the internet.” I scoffed, calling his bluff. It was the perfect chance to own up to watching those videos and keep the ball in my court. “Shouldn’t you leak a sex tape if you want to get famous and make money? Isn’t that how it’s done? You don’t make any money on Tumblr, dumbass.”

  Bret stepped even closer to me. “What did you think?” he asked, his voice husky.

  This close to him, I could hardly breathe. He looked down at me, lips parted, waiting for my answer. He managed to completely unravel me without actually doing anything. Besides pissing me off. “I couldn’t stop watching you,” I whispered.

  And there went my lady balls, rolling away from me, along with my self-control and any shred of decency. Right into the gutter, where they belonged.

  He leaned in, and I tried to prepare myself mentally for the kiss. This was insane. What was about to happen would change everything.

  Keep reading Dirty Little Secret!

  OTHER BOOKS BY KRISTEN STRASSEL

  BLOOD COURTESANS

  Wanted

  COLORADO SHIFTERS

  Lion and the Doe

  Doe and the Hunter

  Cougar and the Lion

  Doe and the Pride

  SAWTOOTH SHIFTERS

  Forever Home

  Rescue Me

  Protect Me

  Conquer Me

  Celebrate Me

  Shelter Me

  Complete Me

  THE NIGHT SONGS COLLECTION (Vampire Rock Star Romance)

  Because the Night

  Night Moves

  We Own the Night

  Silent Night

  CIRQUE MACABRE (Vampire Dark Fantasy—A Night Songs Spinoff Series)

  The Fire Dancer

  THE SPOTLIGHT SERIES (Rock/Country Star Contemporary Romance)

  Secondhand Heart

  The Trouble with Bree

  Too Many Reasons

  THE ESCORT SERIES (Contemporary Romance)

  No Strings Attached

  Wrapped Around My Finger

  Ties That Bind