by M. S. Parker
She laughed and waved me away. “I’ll get out something for you to wear.”
Something ‘totally rad,’ I was sure.
Three
Jax Hunter
December 22nd, Present Day
Boston, Massachusetts
I couldn’t even remember what I’d been doing a year ago today. Mid-January, I’d left Boston to go to New York City on business, and my entire life had changed forever. I’d followed a mysterious blonde into a place called Club Privé, and while at the BDSM club, I’d decided to open a similar place here in Boston. That decision led me to checking out various properties for the club site, which had taken me to a run-down bar owned by the feistiest brunette I’d ever met, Syll Reeve. Now, less than a year later, she was Syll Hunter, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
So, yes, I remembered exactly where I’d been on January sixteenth, but had no idea what I’d been doing two days before Christmas Eve. This year, however, I had no doubt I’d remember everything.
“Mr. Hunter!” a tall, willowy red-head called out as she waved at me.
I went toward her, calling up her information in my head as I went. Justina Daniels, twenty-three, new bartender. I’d personally conducted the last interview after her background check had come back clean. She’d been overly excited about the prospect of participating in some of the more extreme aspects of Pothos, but she hadn’t expressed any concerns with the rules I’d set out from the start when it came to that aspect of their employment here. Employees had strict guidelines about how, when, and with whom they could indulge in any BDSM or other sexual encounters.
“How’s your shift going so far, Miss Daniels?” I asked once she was close enough to hear me without shouting.
“Great!” She beamed at me. “I’ve worked the whole week and every night is better than the last.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” I said as I resisted the urge to glance at my watch. I didn’t want to be rude to her, but I did have somewhere I needed to be. “How can I help you?”
“I heard the club is going to be open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”
I searched for annoyance in her expression but didn’t see any. “Yes, but I did the schedule differently. I promised time and a half for anyone who worked and then asked for volunteers, just like I did on Thanksgiving. If I hadn’t received enough, we would have closed, but I was able to make a full schedule.”
A lot of my employees had been surprised by my policy, but gratefully so. I remembered too many holidays where my grandfather had been too busy working to do more than put in an appearance, and after my grandmother was gone, he’d rarely even done that.
Syll, however, had been on the other end of things. Going two days without income had been rough on her. I paid well, but there were always extra bills to pay. We wanted to give our employees options.
“Are you going to be here?”
I managed to stifle both my sigh and my annoyance. Justina was hardly the first employee to try to charm me, and I doubted she’d be the last. Even after my looks went, I’d still have money, and there were plenty of women who cared more about that than anything else. Fortunately, my wife wasn’t like that.
Which was one of the biggest reasons why she was my wife.
“Miss Daniels, let me make this clear so there is no misunderstanding. I am happily married and have no desire to be unfaithful to my wife, who, incidentally, is also the owner of Pothos and your employer.”
Color flooded the young woman’s cheeks, but I didn’t let that stop me. She needed to hear everything laid out for her now, in no uncertain terms.
“As I mentioned in your final interview, all dating policies for employees are laid out in your handbook, as are the sorts of behaviors that result in disciplinary action. I will assume this conversation means you signed your contract without reading the section that states you will abide by all of the policies outlined in said handbook. Most employees do.”
I gave her a few seconds to squirm. And squirm she did. “I’m–”
Holding up a hand to stop her from saying anything more, I plowed on, “Everyone receives one free pass for a minor infraction regarding those rules. This is yours. I suggest you thoroughly read your handbook and make a list of anything that’s unclear so that it can be explained to you. If there are any policies that you feel are unfair or that you don’t believe you can follow, you’re welcome to quit at any time, though the NDA you signed will remain a legal and binding agreement, as stated in the contract you signed.”
I rattled off everything with barely a pause and watched Justina’s eyes grow bigger and bigger with every word. I’d given this speech a few times since the club’s opening in October, but only one person had quit, and that one hadn’t been a surprise.
That woman had flat-out told me that she couldn’t follow the rule regarding the prohibition of extra-marital affairs in the workplace. If a married couple wanted to play, that was fine, but no way in hell would I let my club get caught up in a shitstorm if married employees decided to use work as a dating service. If an employee wanted to have an affair with someone outside the club, that was their own business. They just couldn’t bring it in here.
“Oh, uh, I…I mean, that’s not…shit.” Face flaming almost as red as her hair, Justina spun around and hurried off, long legs wobbling on spikey heels.
“Boss, what are you still doing here?”
I turned toward Calvin Madden as he jogged up from his normal position at the door. He was the on-site manager tonight as well as the bouncer. He was a massive man, a former football player who’d retired after a third concussion had left him wondering if playing football was worth the risks. He’d actually been a member of security at Hunter Enterprises – the company my grandfather had more or less left to me – but when I’d asked if anyone was interested in moving to the club, Calvin had been the first volunteer.
Asking him to move to management had been a hunch on my part, but one that had paid off. Most people saw a big guy and immediately thought security, but I’d done my due diligence and found that he had a degree in office management. A conversation had revealed an interest in getting an MBA after his football career had ended, so we’d come to an agreement where he’d work in a management role while I paid for his degree, and in exchange, he’d be able to take over more of the day-to-day work at Pothos to allow my schedule to be freer. Once I made sure everything was on the right track.
“How long do you think it’ll take for you to remember that you can call me Jax instead of Boss?” I asked with a genuine smile.
He grinned at me, white teeth flashing against dark skin. “A little while longer, Boss.”
When his smile faded as quickly as it had appeared, I looked at him curiously. “Is something wrong?”
He lifted a broad shoulder. “Just wondering why you haven’t left for your trip with that gorgeous wife of yours.”
“I’m getting ready to leave right now,” I said, then frowned at the reason for my delay. “Justina Daniels just needed a reminder of what is and what isn’t appropriate at work.”
Calvin grimaced. “I had a feeling that was the case. She’s been overheard making comments about how attractive she finds you.”
“Keep an extra eye on her while I’m gone,” I said. “She might make a play for a couple of the other married guys. If she doesn’t, great, but she’s finished if she does. You can either take care of it yourself or let it sit until I get back.”
“I’ll take care of everything, Boss,” he assured me. “Now, you’d better get going or Mrs. Boss is gonna be pissed she had to do all the packing herself.”
I chuckled. “Yes, she will be.”
“Have a safe trip.”
“I will.” I gave him a short wave as I finally made it out the door. If Calvin ended up taking the responsibility of firing Justina if necessary, I’d make sure he received an additional bonus when I returned.
Not for the first time, I wondered if it was a
good idea for me to be leaving when things here were still so new. The club was doing extremely well, but I’d learned well under my grandfather. The first year was critical, and we weren’t even to the first six months.
I’d already committed to these plans, though, and I’d have three annoyed brothers and one furious wife if I tried to back out now. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes, content to let my driver do his thing. I enjoyed driving, but I’d be getting my fill of it tomorrow.
About a month ago, I’d received a letter from my grandfather’s estate regarding a cabin that none of us had known existed. It was in Hudson Valley, New York, about one hundred and sixty miles from here. Grandfather having something like that wasn’t actually that far outside how he did things. It wasn’t, however, under his name. It was under my grandmother’s.
I’d done some investigating, but it hadn’t been overly thorough, just enough to know that it was in good condition and big enough for my brothers, myself, and all of our wives. I couldn’t remember which of us had suggested we use it over Christmas before we decided what to do about the cabin, but however it’d happened, my wife and I would be heading up there tomorrow morning to meet with my brothers and my sisters-in-law.
The trip would be good for Syll and me. It’d been a while since we’d been able to spend much time just the two of us. Well, it wouldn’t only be us, but there wouldn’t be any work to distract us, nothing stressful occupying our minds.
As we pulled up in front of the Hunter family home, I let myself hope that this would let us all end the year on a good note and give us something to shoot for in the coming new year.
Four
Syll Reeve Hunter
December 23rd, Present Day
Hudson Valley, New York
With his expensively-cut sandy brown-hair and pale blue eyes, Jax Hunter looked every inch the classic Bostonian blue blood. All of the Hunter brothers were gorgeous – the sort of genes anyone would want in their family – but I wasn’t remotely attracted to the other three. I’d only ever had eyes for Jax, even when I’d been furious at him. At the beginning, that had been more often than not.
The memories made me smile. It was hard to believe it had been less than a year since he’d shown up at my bar with an offer to buy it. I’d closed the door in his face that day, with no idea that I’d just met the person who’d change my life forever. At the time, I’d been dating a total asshole and trying to pretend that he just needed some polish.
“We should be there soon.”
Jax’s statement startled me. The car hadn’t been completely silent, not with the Christmas music playing, but the only words Jax had said since we’d left Boston had been muttered curses at the worse-than-usual traffic to get out of the city. And that was saying something because, as much as I loved Boston, the traffic was horrendous.
“The roads don’t look too bad.” Even as I said it, I knew how inane it sounded.
“They’re not.”
And we were back to listening to Christmas music.
How had we gotten to this point?
We’d been married for only two and a half months and hadn’t even been together for a year. Sure, things between us had escalated quickly, but he’d told me that he wanted to be with me forever. He’d wanted a partner.
Except I hadn’t been feeling much like a partner recently.
When we’d opened Pothos in the place where my father’s bar had once stood, I’d assumed I’d be working side-by-side with my husband, and for a while, it had been exactly like that. Through the planning and building, we’d often stayed up late or got up early, eager to make our dream a reality. I’d been on his arm for our entire opening weekend.
But then things changed.
Instead of being side by side with Jax, hands-on managing the club we both owned, he’d relegated me to the office. Administrative work. Making the schedules. Payroll. Ordering supplies. Ensuring the place was up to code and up to our standards.
My interactions with the staff I helped hire had been limited to the occasional greeting in the hall or if they came into the office for something specific. Clubs didn’t run nine to five, but Jax wanted to have someone there during the day for deliveries and that sort of thing, so he had me working from eight until five, only there for an hour after the doors opened. Sometimes I stayed until six because that was when he came in, and if I left on time, I rarely saw him at home.
This wasn’t the life I’d agreed to, but I didn’t know how to tell Jax that without him thinking that he was my regret. I didn’t want to lose him, and I certainly didn’t want to hurt him. Just the thought of hurting him caused me pain, and I couldn’t even think about him not being mine anymore.
“The cabin is one of the largest in the area,” Jax said. “Four bedrooms, each with their own master bath, a half bath downstairs…”
I tuned him out as he gave me the same description that had come with the letter alerting us of the cabin’s existence. I wasn’t being rude. He’d said the exact same thing twice last night while we’d packed. It’d been pretty much the only thing he’d said.
Small talk.
Bullshit.
Where was the passionate man I’d verbally sparred with? The man I’d slapped shortly after our first kiss. The one whose voice could turn my insides to mush. The only man I’d ever let boss me around.
He was the man I wanted to have a family with, but that wasn’t a discussion I felt like I could approach right now. Talking about starting a family soon should have been easy to do. Instead, I didn’t know how to talk to him at all.
I’d done things with him that I’d never imagined, and I’d thought I could trust him with my life. I probably still could trust him with that, but I no longer knew if I could trust him with my heart.
“Here we are.”
Jax’s voice cut through my maudlin thoughts, and I scrambled to pull myself together. I couldn’t let him see what was going on in my head, not now. The brothers had only just mended things between them. This was their first Christmas without their grandfather and with each other. I couldn’t ruin that by bringing my concerns up to Jax, even if I did figure out how to express them.
“It looks like we’re the first ones,” I said with a smile. It didn’t feel natural, but I was glad that I could manage something so simple.
“I’m sure the others will be here soon.”
I couldn’t tell if he was glad about that or not. The worst part was, I knew that a couple months ago, he would’ve loved for us to have time to ourselves here, if for no other reason than to bend me over the first piece of furniture we saw and take me hard and fast.
My pussy throbbed at the thought of having him inside me for the first time in weeks, and I almost suggested the whole ‘bending me over the furniture’ scenario myself. One look at the distracted expression on his face killed that idea though. While I was thinking about how much I missed us making love, he was probably running through inventory in his head.
“I’m glad they cleaned the stoop off,” Jax said as he retrieved our suitcases from the trunk of the car. “I was assured that things would be spotless inside, but with last night’s fresh snowfall, I wasn’t sure they’d think to come up and clean off the outside.”
I watched him walk toward the door, and instead of appreciating the way his ass looked in his jeans, I was struggling to keep back the tears burning my eyes. I wanted to talk to my husband. Really talk to him. Not listen to him yammer on about asinine shit like this.
Fortunately, a distraction arrived in the form of one of my new brothers-in-law and his girlfriend. From here, I couldn’t tell which couple was in the gray Traverse, but I thought it might be Slade and Cheyenne since they were the only ones who needed room in their vehicle for someone besides the two of them, though not for this weekend. They didn’t technically have any kids, but Cheyenne’s little brother, Austin, had been raised by Cheyenne, and when Slade moved from Texas to Boston, he’d wanted them both to come with him. N
ow, the three of them were a family. Four, if I counted Estrada, another transplanted Texan who was practically Austin’s godmother. A ready-made family.
As I plastered my fake smile on again, I wondered if I’d ever have any of that for myself.
Five
Jax
December 23rd, Present Day
Hudson Valley, New York
I watched Blake throw another log into the fireplace and marveled at the fact that he was here. The youngest of us, he’d been the most distant over the years, dealing with the most guilt and grief over what had happened. He hadn’t only lost his parents and sister. Aimee had been his twin, and I knew he imagined what she might be like had she survived the car crash.
The next two years were going to be hard for him. He’d turn thirty – the same age our mother had been when she died – and then thirty-one – our father’s age when he died. Kids expected to outlive their parents, maybe even pass up the age they were when they died, but getting to that point when I wasn’t even middle-aged had really thrown me.
“Don’t think so hard, big brother. You’ll give yourself wrinkles.” Slade sat down next to me, baby blue eyes twinkling.
He looked the most like Mom except for his eyes. Those were Dad’s, same as the rest of us. But we never talked about who we resembled. We had a lot of those subjects. Maybe now that we’d solved the mystery behind the car crash that had taken our parents and sister, we could share things without it hurting as bad.
Just not right now.
“How’s Austin?” I asked. All of us had pretty much fallen in love with the kid from the moment Slade and Cheyenne had introduced us.
“Great.” Slade beamed. “We had our own Christmas celebration with him yesterday, and he was so excited about getting to have another Christmas that he could barely sleep last night.”
