by Scott, Talyn
“Were the phone calls to acquire a new home for Renee?”
“One of them, the others are for clothes and such for Tatum. The queen of our race can’t go around in a threadbare, discounted wardrobe. She needs a personal maid and personal guards.” Jayce rubbed his forehead. “The list is endless. I’m going to ask our physician to check her over, since I don’t know the extent of Troy’s abuse.”
“You’re leaving something out. Providing for Tatum should be a joy. However, you're exhausted, almost exasperated by it.
Jayce sensed Bren’s wolf pacing. “I’d rather talk about it tomorrow.”
“Is that a royal decree, or can I have some say in the matter?”
“You know that anything to do with what’s ours isn’t a royal decree. At least, I’m not insisting that it is.” He shifted on the leather and further loosened his shirt. “It’s not good, Bren.”
“Spill it.”
“Of course, she doesn’t know that I am aware of the sexual disregard Troy placed on her,” he started.
“Of course,” Bren clasped the arms of his chair, poised.
“Don’t get out of your seat, man. While still married, she had trouble with her internet connection and called for a technician. The trouble was interference from a live video feed that was constantly leaving her home.” Jayce met him, eye to eye.
“Live video feed,” Bren’s canines elongated. “The bastard,” his voice vibrated mid-transformation, “better not had put her on the internet.”
Jayce continued his stare, as he allowed Bren to come to terms with the hell that Tatum had suffered.
“Correct my misconception, anytime,” he graveled.
“I would if I could."
“Well, it seems I get the pleasure of killing him, after all,” he stood and paced. “I can’t believe she would stay in the same city as he.”
“Ready for more?” he questioned.
“There’s more?”
“He stacked bills in her name that were used to pamper his women.”
Bren laughed without humor. It was a dark laugh, which someone might hear, in a shadowed alley before ruthlessly slaughtered. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against one of the Mediterranean columns that separated the sitting area from the bed. The coolness soothed his angst. The guilt he had felt for years couldn’t compare to the savage treatment from her ex. “He’s a sick asshole,” he spat.
“You should have heard your future mother-n-law spouting excuses for him. If it weren’t for her outbursts, we wouldn’t have known the truth. It took that much prodding before she could put aside her humility and own up to her devastating marriage.”
“I sense her hunger.” Bren turned towards the bed, but she still slept.
“I know. I was going to feed her, but we were sidetracked.” He looked as guilty as he felt.
Bren gave him a censoring glare as he reached for the phone to check on dinner. “Not all meat, she doesn’t know, yet. Keep the house quiet, Lady Tatum is asleep. Yes, thank you…will do.”
“Charles congratulates you, Sire,” his lips twitched.
“He can congratulate us after the full moon.” Jayce looked worried.
“There’s no need to worry, as long as she doesn’t leave our sides. One or both of us have to stay with her at all times.”
He asked, “Suggestions?” It sounded easier than it was.
“Not a one.” Before he could crash in defeat, Bren spied the forgotten fur-lined cuffs tucked neatly under the bed.
“Umm.”
“Umm?”
“Make that one suggestion,” he smiled with enthusiasm.
Renee pulled in her drive. The front porch light, well, bulb, was on, and Sugar Baby was maddeningly barking. “What the hell,” she muttered as she pushed the key in the lock. A voice startled her, a familiar one.
“Hello, Renee.”
She stilled and turned to face her ex-brother n law, “Hey, loser.”
His smile was paper thin, “Hard feelings and all that?”
“Something like that. Hey, did you know that it’s late, and I need to sleep?” She hadn’t unlocked the door, and Sugar Baby was scratching on the other side.
“I just want to talk to her. In fact, I haven’t stopped at a hotel, yet. I drove straight from the airport, couldn’t wait.” His eyes fastened on hers.
“Mock sincerity touches my heart,” she chided. “It’s the two ships passing in the night thing, right? Or better yet, it’s the dickhead that deserves to have his prick shoved in the garbage disposal before Tatum flips on the switch,” she challenged.
He whistled low in his throat. “I guess you have my number.”
“Apparently, you don’t have mine. Why wouldn’t you call before you showed up at my door? Oh, let me guess,” she continued with faux sweetness. “You’re trying to get back in Tatum’s pants. You are twelve months too late, dude. Hell, you’re over a decade late.”
“I deserved that.”
“You need to get your dick on Viagra. After you get a massive erection, you need to pull it out of your selfish ass. Leave,” she turned away. She could unlock the door, since Sugar Baby was chomping on the inside. Renee could hear the drool slapping against the foyer tile. With a devilish smile, she grandly opened the door.
A ghost of a breeze hit her legs, and a thud hit the ground behind her. “Oh, no,” she put a thoughtful finger to her chin, “Sugar Baby, don’t bite his crotch.”
“Ugh, my what?”
Tatum was startled at the rage on Bren’s face. Even more startling, was the fact that Jayce let her go. Afraid, she stepped back to be near him. He was her only chance. However, his strong hand pushed her forward. She glanced sideways, and he laughed.
Chapter 7
Troy closed his legs and skated away from the Pit Bull. “I’m coming back, since she’s staying with you. I know damn well that she wouldn‘t be at your Mother‘s house.”
“Why didn’t you wait until tomorrow? Tatum was returning home, and you could have saved yourself the trouble of a flight.” Renee fought a grin as Sugar Baby stood between Troy and the house.
Good girl.
“She cancelled her flight, hours ago,” he stammered as he glanced at the dog. “I want her back, and I’m here to collect her.”
“Like a piece of furniture?” Renee’s expression lit. “Sales low?”
“What?”
“What?” She mocked. Not allowing him to see her steam, she stepped into the threshold. “I have no idea why Tatum cancelled her flight, she didn’t tell me. Even if she did, I wouldn’t tell you. So back off, go home, and soak your vile body in bleach.”
“You have that much hatred against me, after all of these years?”
“Yes,” she whistled for Sugar Baby and shut both inside.
Renee phoned Tatum. “Come on, pick up.” The phone continued to ring, as Renee reached in the fridge and pulled out ground, organic turkey for Sugar Baby’s reward. Although she was a true vegetarian, she had relented to feed her animals meat. Not that she hadn’t tried a purely vegetarian diet for them, she had, but those actions had swamped Renee with vet bills. Even though she was strictly a vegetarian, her animals were carnivores. Disgruntled, she searched her call list for Jayce’s number and hit send. He answered on the second ring, “Renee?” It was a question.
“Sorry to call you; I need Tatum.” A cat yelped, and Renee lifted her foot off its tail.
“She’s asleep, but if it’s urgent, I’ll wake her.” Jayce wasn’t going to keep Tatum from her family. Of course, he was not going to allow them to push her around any longer, either.
“Shit,” she had to concentrate on that one. “I guess it’s not urgent. But when she wakes up - no matter the time - please, have her call, okay?”
“I think you should talk to me.” Jayce’s voice held an edge of authority.
“Well, I don’t know what she’s told you, and I’m not sure what I can say. The situation is kind of…hairy,” she picked a f
ur ball off the linoleum and tossed it in the garbage.
“I can deal with hairy things.” Amusement hinted at his voice. “Talk to me.”
“You remember Troy?”
Jayce ground his molars, “Yup, went to school with him.” He married my mate, but hey, no grudges there.
“Well.”
“Well…” Amusement had faded into impatience. Jayce was going to reach his claws through the phone and pull it out of her.
“He was just here,” she bit her lip and padded the short hall to her bedroom.
“Just there?” He gestured for Bren to follow him out of the master suite. He placed her on speakerphone. “Bren is here. You're on speaker. Go, on. Troy was at your house.” Every muscle in Bren’s vast body went on lock down.
“Yeah, he’s a nut. He told me that he wanted her back, and he was going to collect her. Of course, that statement pissed me off. It’s as if she were an inanimate object that he had misplaced…twelve months ago.”
Bren cursed long and hard. “Did you feel threatened?”
“No, Bren. Don’t worry, your sister isn’t here,” she sighed, stripped and pulled her quilt down. The bed felt cold, yet comfy.
“I know where my sister is. At this moment, my concern is for your safety.”
She had never had a brother, yet Bren was always looking out for her. “I’m good, honestly. I don’t know what would have happened if Tatum were to be here, though. He was different.”
“Explain.”
“Just, tightly wound, as if he were concentrating on getting her and not making up with her. I’m not explaining it right,” she shook her head in the darkness. Troy was a man possessed, and it made no sense. He had treated Tatum badly, thrown her away and made her pay his wicked way. Renee cursed.
“Slow down. How would he know that she was staying with you?” Bren glanced at his watch; it was past midnight.
“He knew that she wouldn’t stay with Mom,” she clutched the blanket over her chest. “Some way, he knew that she cancelled her flight. I didn’t know she cancelled her flight. None of us did.”
“Tatum doesn’t know that she cancelled her flight.” Jayce answered, reluctantly.
Bren raised an eyebrow. “You cancelled her flight?”
“Damn straight,” he smirked.
“She doesn’t know?” Renee hissed. “You are dead, Jayce. Are you listening to me? You’re dead meat, my man.”
“I’ll deal with your sister, later. Think about this, Renee: Do you want her to leave?”
“No, but that’s her choice, not yours,” her voice was rising.
“Do you want her to deal with Troy any longer? I know what he did, you know. The video streaming, the scheming, and his cheating,” he continued. “Does she deserve to go back to a mediocre life where she works to pay his bills, his lover’s bills?” He couldn’t help it. He turned it all around on her. So help him, she was going to be on his side.
“I can’t believe she would tell you that.”
“She didn’t. By the way, gossiping at Sven’s is not a wise choice.”
“Double shit,” she bit a nail.
“Back to what’s important,” Bren interceded. “Troy is tracking Tatum. We don’t like that.”
“We?” Renee questioned.
“All of us, do you?”
“Of course not,” she sneered. “I’ll call Wilson’s firm Monday. He was supposed to set up an interview with a colleague for me. Of course, at the time, we didn’t know Tatum was staying. So, I was to discuss the financial mess that Troy had placed her in, and the attorney was to help Tatum pro bono.” Renee ran an index finger over Scoopy’s nose.
“Does Tatum know any of this?” Jayce relaxed his large frame against the wall. The servants were staying down stairs, and savory aromas were wafting from the kitchen.
“No,” she fought a yawn. “She doesn’t want to be embarrassed in front of Wilson and his associates. Tatum’s certain that the divorce has her locked into the payment of loans and bills.”
“How much did he stick her for?” Bren snatched the phone from Jayce’s hand.
“More than thirty thousand,” she winced in the pillow.
“Cancel the meeting,” he ordered, “the bills will be paid.”
She wondered, “How?”
“Tatum is my responsibility, now,” he answered matter of fact.
Renee sounded doubtful. “Does she know?”
“No, although, she will soon,” Bren ran his tapered fingers through his wavy locks. “If Troy comes back, or tries to call you, call the police and then me. Day or night, I want to hear from you.”
“Kay,” she yawned, again. “Take care of my sister. I want to hear from her tomorrow, but not before ten,” she giggled.
“Go to sleep, trouble maker.” Bren hit end.
Bren turned and faced an angry Jayce. The flush of red was rising from his neck and settling on his jaw line. “What a piece of shit. How is he tracking her? Obviously, he shouldn’t have the funds. He spent his time tricking her into paying bills that she didn’t incur.”
“Unless he used it to ground her, she would feel she had to stay in the marriage simply because of bills, and her inability to pay them.” Jayce was thoughtful. Tatum did not fall into the quitter category, and he admired her determination.
“Sounds as close to the truth as we’re going to get.” Bren nodded at Charles. He was entering the corridor with a covered cart. The food smelled delicious, and Charles looked pleased.
“Shall I set up, Sire?” He questioned Jayce.
“We’d better take it this time,” he replied. “Dismiss the staff for the night, my apologies for the late repast.” Jayce never took advantage of his staff, even though a midnight supper was not out of the ordinary.
“Very well, I will be at your service if anything else is required,” he bowed.
“Don’t forget that Lady Tatum will be up mid-morning. We’ll need breakfast around nine.”
“Excellent sir,” Charles backed away and left them to Tatum.
“I didn’t tell you.” Bren stopped. “She has a seafood allergy.”
Jayce wasn’t concerned, “When she was asleep in the limo, I nosed through her purse and phone. After we had arrived, I informed Charles, and he dumped what was in the kitchen.”
Bren felt the wash of relief. “I wouldn’t want to be caught this far away from the hospital if she were to have an attack.”
“Absolutely, let’s go,” he opened the door to a sleeping Tatum.
They both inhaled. “Music to my nose,” Bren chuckled and lifted the silver covers from their meal. “Salmon, prime rib, couscous, fruit, salad, and oh yeah, homemade bread,” He waggled his eyebrows when Tatum stirred. “At least, she won’t try to leave before she gets a taste of this. And since there’s no dessert on the tray, I call dibs.” Bren’s eyes narrowed on Tatum, precisely, between her thighs. The thin, silk sheet had caressed her in all the right places.
“We have to get her out of that dress.” Jayce pulled the tray to the bed and reached for cutlery. “I’m going to burn it the minute if leaves her body. What was Molly’s idea? If everyone laughs at the bridesmaids, then she looks better in her dress?”
“Who knows what that bitch is ever thinking?” Bren admonished. “However, I know what I’m thinking.” Bending forward, he traced the pad of his index finger across Tatum’s flushed cheek.
“Yeah,” Jayce was thinking the same thing.
“I’m thinking that we should start as we mean to go on.” Bren blinked slowly and admired the vision before him. He could never get enough of her: Her scent, her face, and that kick ass body. Reaching under the bed, he drew out the handcuffs and pitched them to Jayce. After hearing the satisfying click on the headboard, he settled next to her on the bed. Her warmth was heavenly, and it was just the beginning. Glancing at the tray, he pinched a watermelon chunk and brought it to his lips. After a good lick to establish his scent, he rubbed the melon across Tatum’s bottom
lip. “Wake up, Tatum.ght=
She blinked the sleep away and looked around.
Bren placed a thumb in the corner of her mouth and pried her lips apart. “Open for me.”
Tatum didn’t miss the innuendo or the complaints of her stomach. It had been hours since she had eaten. She bit the watermelon slice, and Bren pulled back, not willing to release it yet. “I can feed myself, thank you,” she attempted to brush at a dribble of juice, and he reached to stop her.
