The blonde from last night stood in the doorway, her mouth open in horror. But that wasn’t the worst of it. She’d brought a friend or two. Lucas quickly cupped himself and dove for his pants.
“Is that who I think it is?” Lexi asked, trying to crane her head around.
Lucas looked at Aidan. He couldn’t help but laugh a little. His Dom was in some serious trouble.
“Alexis Ann Moore. What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” Abigail Barnes asked.
Lexi flushed a pretty red. “Hi, Mom.”
Chapter Eleven
Aidan was pretty sure that if looks could kill, he would be dead six ways from Sunday. He had faced down some rough motherfuckers in his life, but he would rather be back in Iraq than standing in front of Abigail Barnes. Unfortunately, she was currently pacing in his living room.
He scrubbed his hair with his hand as he looked into the living room from the kitchen. He knew exactly what Lexi’s mom was seeing, a weathered house in need of money and attention, neither of which he had a great deal to spare. His father had damn near run the ranch into the ground with his stubborn refusal to try anything new. Jack Barnes had offered Aidan a way to keep the ranch that had been in his family for four generations, but it wouldn’t start to pay for a while. Abby wasn’t his biggest fan, and seeing the home he could offer her daughter hadn’t helped.
While Abby Barnes paced, Sam Fleetwood sat on Aidan’s easy chair with a sleeping toddler on his chest. Jack Barnes stared a hole through his wife from the worn-out couch. It was obvious there was some dissension amongst the Barnes-Fleetwood clan.
At least Aidan was clean now. And dressed. Somehow he figured Abby seeing the other thing he could offer her daughter hadn’t helped her opinion of him, either.
“Mrs. Barnes,” he began, wishing like hell that Lucas and Lexi had finished cleaning up first. But nope, they had retreated into the master bedroom and hadn’t shown up again. He’d been forced to shower in the tiny guest bathroom, shut out once again. “Can I offer you a drink?”
Hazel eyes turned to him, narrowed in irritation. “You can explain to me what sort of game you’re playing with my daughter, and don’t you even try to give me the ‘we’re just playing at D/s’ explanation. You were engaged to her. You can’t waltz back into her life and experiment on her.”
“It’s not a game, Mrs. Barnes,” he replied. “It’s serious.”
“It can’t be too serious since you have a fiancée.”
He had to stop himself from putting his fist through a wall. He was going to have to deal with Karen. “I do not have a fiancée. I haven’t touched that woman in years, since long before I met Lexi.”
Sam perked up. “I told you she had that crazy-stalker-thing going on. I know how it feels, brother. One day I’ll tell you all about Melissa Paul.”
“This is different, Sam,” Abby insisted.
“Really? How?” Jack asked, his mouth a flat line.
Abby turned that look on her husband. “It’s different because this is my daughter. You stay out of it, too. You’ve done enough damage, Jack.”
A single eyebrow arched up. “Sam, that’s another five.”
Sam closed his eyes and patted the toddler’s back, rocking in the easy chair. “I gave up writing down her punishments back in Waco. Let’s all agree it’s going to be a weekend project.”
Jack stood. “I’m sorry, Aidan. I sat her down and explained what was going on, but she’s being entirely unreasonable. I couldn’t stop her from coming out here.”
He had always known he would have to jump this hurdle in the end. Of course, he hadn’t expected it to happen this damn soon. And certainly not when he was five minutes from heaven. Lexi had agreed to let him make love to her. Oh, she had called it sex, but he would be making love. If Karen hadn’t noticed the Barnes-Fleetwood family asking for directions and decided it was a perfect way to see him again, he would be balls deep inside Lexi and one step closer to getting her back.
At least Karen had run off in tears. It had been suitably dramatic. She’d cursed Lexi’s name and completely ignored the fact that Lucas was there. Maybe she would finally get the picture.
Jack stared out the window, his eyes widening. “Um, I think I better go save your brother. He offered to show our daughter around. She’s trying to ride your dog. I don’t see your brother. I hope she hasn’t killed him. Or tied him up. We all know you have a lot of rope around here.”
Jack took off running, the front door slamming behind him. Sam kept up his rocking, and Abby closed in on Aidan. Apparently Olivia Barnes-Fleetwood wreaking havoc wasn’t anything new.
“My husband might think you have good intentions, but I don’t care. I was there after you dumped my daughter,” Abby said. “I remember how hurt she was. She wouldn’t even come home for nearly six months. She was devastated. Did you dump her for that blonde bimbo?”
“No, Momma,” Lexi said, walking somberly into the room. Aidan wanted to scream his frustration. While they had been in the barn, she’d been alive again. Now she was shut down. “He didn’t leave me for Karen. Karen was his high school girlfriend. He didn’t exactly dump me.”
“What?” Abby asked.
Now Sam’s eyes were open, and he watched the scene in front of him.
Lucas walked into the room looking like he’d never gotten caught with his pants off. Lucas was smooth as silk. It intimidated Aidan sometimes. Lucas always seemed to know what to say, to do, in order to make things run like clockwork. Aidan fumbled so often.
“I’m afraid this is mostly my fault, Abby.” Lucas slid an arm around Lexi, giving her his support. “You see, Aidan asked Lexi to choose between him and me.”
Sam snorted. “Didn’t look like she was choosing a while ago. And Aidan’s obviously bi. I believe I mentioned that back when I met him a few years ago. He was looking at Lucas back then, too. What’s up with all these guys not realizing they’re bisexual? Here’s the clue, buddy. When you’re around another dude and you get a hard-on, you might be bi.”
“Sam!” Abby turned on her husband.
But Aidan actually didn’t mind. He laughed a little. So much of dealing with his sexuality had been wrapped in endless drama. It felt good to laugh about it. He did owe Abby an explanation. “I had never, um, loved a man before Lucas. I fought it for a long time. I thought that wanting Lucas made me gay. And I didn’t understand how I could want Lucas when I loved Lexi the way I did.”
“And being around her family made you believe that wasn’t a workable relationship?” There was no mistaking the offended air pouring off of Abby. Aidan knew her story. She’d been surrounded by small town judgment all her life. “I will admit that I wondered if you left Lexi because you disapproved of her mother’s lifestyle.”
“No.” He said it, but it rang untrue. He had worried about it. Damn it, he had to be honest. “Yes, Mrs. Barnes. It’s why I never invited you to meet my father or even told him more than the fact that you were married to Jack Barnes. I never mentioned Sam.”
Sam shook his head. “The best looking one is always the dirty little secret. Although I’m not little. I’m a big secret, if you know what I mean.”
“Sam,” Abby scolded him again, but her lips had curled up, and she shook her head with affection. She leaned over and brushed her lips against his. “I would never keep you a secret. I want the whole world to know about us. Jack feels the same way. It’s you and me and Jack forever.”
“I hope you still feel that way next weekend, baby.”
“I’m not afraid of Jack.” She stood back up and crossed her arms over her chest, going from adoring lover to pissed off momma in an instant. “So you’re telling me that now you’re fine with your sexuality—or are you trying to make Lexi choose again? I warn you, she will choose Lucas. Lucas is good for her.”
“No, he’s not. Not entirely,” Aidan said.
Lexi opened her mouth to speak, but Lucas’s hand came around, closing neatly over her lips.
“Agreed.”
Lucas was the only one who seemed completely at ease. “Lexi needs a firmer hand than I like to give. I greatly prefer to be the indulgent one. And I also like a nice discipline session from time to time. I’m a switch, but Lexi has never enjoyed playing the Domme. Though she does like to play the brat. You can lick my hand all you like. It’s not going to make me stop.”
“Don’t you dare bite him,” Aidan barked, anticipating her next move.
Lucas pulled his hand back.
Lexi shook her head. “You wouldn’t take it from me, babe. I get that we need a Dom.”
“Well, it doesn’t have to be him.” Abby reached out and took her daughter’s hand. “Come on, we’re going home. Lucas, you can come with us, but I’m not terribly happy with you, either. You let this happen.”
Lucas stepped out from behind Lexi, his face going hard. “Be as unhappy with me as you like, Abby, but Lexi and I made this decision together. We decided to come out here, and we’re staying out here. And I might be a switch, but I top your daughter, and I expect you to respect that.”
“Mom, I’m not going anywhere,” Lexi said, holding on to her mother’s hand.
Abby didn’t give up easily. “We can protect you better at home. Julian has those new guys Ian trained investigating the situation. They’re going to work with police and figure out who’s after Lexi. I talked to Ian today. We had a long discussion on the way here. They’re busy but he can spare Alex McKay, too. Jack can hire extra security if we need to.”
“And so can Aidan and I,” Lucas replied. He looked over at Aidan, his green eyes clearly expecting something more from him.
“We can,” Aidan said, stepping up. He squared his shoulders. Abby Barnes might be his future mother-in-law, but on this he wasn’t going to indulge her. He didn’t have the money, but he could borrow it. He had things he could sell if he had to. He would go bankrupt if it meant Lexi was safe. “Lucas can look into it this afternoon. We chose to come out here because it’s isolated, and everyone notices a stranger. I have a security system, but more importantly, I will die before I allow anything to happen to Lexi, and I know Lucas feels the same.”
“Damn straight.” Lucas relaxed back a bit, seemingly happy to let him take the lead. “Besides, we don’t have to worry about Olivia and Josh out here. At least we didn’t until you brought them with you. Out here we only have to worry about Bo and some ranch hands.”
“And Karen,” Lexi sniped. “She seems to love it out here.”
The brat was back. Aidan replied with a sharp edge. This was a conversation for private. “Alexis, I did not invite her.”
Lexi shrugged. “Just so you know, if someone takes another shot at me, I’m ducking behind her.”
He smiled. He did love the brat. “You do that, baby.”
Lucas’s phone rang. He answered it as Jack opened the door. A small red-haired girl ran in. Olivia was wearing overalls and bright pink cowboy boots. Ike followed behind her, his tongue lolling out.
“Daddy, Momma! I made a friend. His name is Ike, and he ain’t got no tail because they chopped it off, but Aidan didn’t chop it off. Tourists chopped it off. But then Aidan went and fought the tourists. I hope we don’t get no tourists here. We would have to hide all the dogs.”
Abby laughed for a moment, but then got on one knee so she was talking on her daughter’s level. “First off, young lady, the dog doesn’t have a tail, and you hope we don’t get any tourists here.”
Jack put a hand on his daughter’s head. “She spends a lot of time with ranch hands.”
Abby glowed as she looked at her daughter, the dissension of before vanishing. “And I believe it’s ‘terrorists,’ though I doubt they chopped off that poor dog’s tail. I believe it’s the culture in some parts of the world. Even here in the States, for some breeds, it’s considered common.”
“It would terrify me if someone tried to chop off my tail,” Sam replied.
Bo was standing in the doorway. His face was red, and he was out of breath. “I’m never having kids. My heart can’t take it. She never stops. Never.”
Aidan took a long look at his brother. Was Lucas right? Was Bo putting on an act? Why would he tell a little girl that terrorists cut off a dog’s tail, but his brother had fought them? Since the day Aidan came back and announced that he was going after Lucas and Lexi, Bo had acted like he had a disease. Maybe he needed time—or some kindness.
Lucas hung up his phone. “I hate to break up this intriguing political discussion, but the Dawson brothers are waiting for us in town. They want to talk to all three of us about the case. They’re at some place called Patty Cake’s.”
Aidan knew it well. “It’s a diner. Is there a reason they won’t come out here?”
Lucas shook his head. “Apparently they don’t believe in places without Wi-Fi.”
Patty Cake’s was the only place in town for wireless Internet. It looked like they were headed into Deer Run. Aidan hoped Deer Run was ready for them.
* * * *
Lexi perked up as Aidan pulled into the parking lot of Patty Cake’s Diner and Pie House. The afternoon was not going the way she’d expected. What had she been thinking? If her mother hadn’t interrupted them, she would have let Aidan climb up on that table and fuck her senseless.
But it was only sex, that mocking inner voice said. You only want the sex.
She didn’t want anything else. She didn’t love the way it felt to be squeezed into the cab of Aidan’s truck. She didn’t adore how small she felt surrounded by Aidan and Lucas. She wasn’t even vaguely enamored of the idea of being their girl. Aidan had lost his chance when she’d lost their…
“Lexi?” Aidan looked down at her, concern in his brown eyes. “Are you all right? You don’t have to be here. I can handle this, and Lucas can take you home.”
Oh, she really didn’t like the way he said “home.” The thought of a home with Aidan and Lucas did nothing for her. The idea of taking Aidan’s ramshackle house and turning it into something they could be happy in—it did nothing for her. Who are you fooling? “No, I don’t want to go back to the ranch. I want to talk to them.”
Lucas opened his door and hopped out, turning to help her down. That was Lucas’s way. She had never, ever been allowed to let herself out of a car when Lucas was around. He treated her like she was precious. Lucas held his hand out, but his eyes fell. Lexi turned to see what had him upset. Aidan stood there, his hand out to help her down. He hesitated, pulling back as he obviously believed she would prefer Lucas. She looked back at Lucas, her heart a little torn. Sure Aidan had been an asshole, but she still felt his pain.
Lucas winked at her and walked away. The bastard left her with no choice but to take Aidan’s hand or get out on her own and look like a bitch. She could hurt Aidan. She could choose to scoot out and stand on her own two feet, proving she wanted nothing from him. She turned and let her hand find his. In the end, she couldn’t hurt him that way. He helped her from the truck and set her on her feet.
“You say the word and I’ll take you home, angel.”
“I’ll be fine.” She tried not to think about how nice it was to stand close to him. Lucas, that manipulative weasel, had moved in behind her, reminding her of how amazing it was to be surrounded by them. Lucas’s hands were on her hips while Aidan’s cupped her shoulders.
“Of course you will be. We’ll make sure of it, baby,” Lucas murmured in her ear.
“I want waffles, Momma!” Olivia ran by, her booted feet tearing up the sidewalk.
Her mom chased after, and Lexi couldn’t help but laugh. Her sister was an adorable ball of chaos. Jack walked by, cradling her baby brother, and she had to look away. Lucas’s hands tightened around her.
Aidan forced her face up. She feared he’d seen too much. “Are you all right?”
She could hide behind the whole “someone tried to shoot me” thing. “I’m nervous. Let’s go and get this over with.”
Aidan took her hand in his while Lucas took her other hand, wind
ing their fingers together. She couldn’t take it for anything but a promise. Those hands promised to stay with her, to protect and stand beside her. The only trouble was Aidan had promised that before.
She was so rattled by what had happened in that barn. She’d thought she could hold herself apart and enjoy the sex, but now she knew she’d never been that girl. She’d slept with one man in her whole life before today and that was Aidan. Making love with Lucas in front of him had felt so right. Having him there when Lucas finally took her had made it more emotional than she could have imagined. What the hell was she doing?
Aidan opened the door, and she was assaulted with the amazing smell of fried food. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t had lunch. She’d been far too busy being right and properly fucked by her men. Damn it. She couldn’t think of them that way.
“I want waffles and chicken strips and French fries and chocolate cake and gummy bears.” Olivia was shouting out her order in her usual style. And the waitress was smiling down at her because no one could resist her smile.
“Not happening, baby girl,” Sam said with a hand on his daughter’s head. “She’ll have a kid’s waffle and a nice big bowl of fruit.”
Jack, Sam, Abby, and the kids had taken a table next to the Dawson brothers, who had made a workstation of their table. A pretty brunette waitress was kneeling down next to Josh’s highchair, obviously absorbed with the kids.
One of the Dawson brothers stood and held out a hand. She thought it was Ben. He seemed the friendlier of the two. “Lexi, it’s so good to meet you. We weren’t allowed to be formally introduced before, but believe me, I noticed how lovely you are.”
“Who pays your check?” Aidan asked the question on a low growl.
Ben Dawson’s lips turned up, showing off his movie star quality smile. Dark, thick hair and crystal blue eyes made him one hot Dom. And yet he had nothing on her men. “For the time being we get our paycheck through McKay-Taggart, though if this works out we’ll work exclusively for Mr. Lodge. I have to admit, we’re unbelievably wealthy all on our own. Our father was a bastard and ran through wives like they were water, but he was good at making money. The trust fund is still quite healthy. We do the Scooby-Doo thing because it’s fun, and it gets us into The Club. Don’t tell Taggart but it’s much more luxurious than Sanctum. Someone should blow that place up and start over.”
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