by Avery Gale
Her eyes filled with defeat and tears flooded their pretty green depths. “I know you’re right. But I looked for so long before I found this job. And this is a guarantee that I’ll be done there. My brother is gonna rip me a new one and I don’t even know how things went from sugar to shit so fast….and I really hate to cry.”
“Well, sweetness, let’s get some rest and then we’ll tackle each of these problems one at a time. I think you’re going to find out that things will work out a lot better than you are expecting.” When Kent set her on her feet, Kyle stepped forward, pulled her against his chest, and held her tight for several seconds before leading her down the hall.
When she started to climb up on the bed, Kyle put his hand on her shoulder. “Strip, kitten. No clothes in bed for you…ever. We will always want you naked in our bed.” What he didn’t add was that if they collared her, she would be naked or nearly so much of the time. And she wouldn’t wear anything inside their home unless they specifically allowed it. Kyle watched as she hesitated for just a few seconds and then shrugged out of the shirt and climbed into bed. He wasn’t sure if she had really complied or if is she was simply too drained to argue the point, but he knew that time would tell.
Chapter Twelve
Chris Feldman stood across the street and watched as a man with sandy blonde hair carried out boxes from Tobi Strobel’s charred apartment. The man had spoken with everyone on the scene except him and the irony of that wasn’t wasted on Chris. He could hardly believe the bitch had led him on for months and then when he finally got her to go out with him, she acted like she was too fucking good to pay her way. He’d spent a small fortune scoring the tickets to the Snowball gala and hiring a limo, and she still hadn’t put out. Most of the women he knew would have been more than happy to “give back a little” for such a sweet ride.
Then she managed to get into the hottest BDSM club in the state just because she had a hissy in front of the owners’ mother—hell, the absurdity of that still chapped his ass. He didn’t know who the asshole was that was currently cleaning out her place, but he was betting he worked for the two rich boys that ran the club. If she thinks she can fuck those two and then come running back to me when they’re done with her without paying the piper, she’s in for a big surprise.
He continued to watch until the guy and the two that had shown up with the boxes had finally seemed satisfied that they had gotten everything and taken off. Following at a safe distance, he watched as they headed west and he was sure they were headed to The Prairie Winds Club until they took an exit and headed south. Fuck! He had not been able to make the lanes changes in time to exit and there wasn’t another one for three miles. They’d be long gone by the time he got back and now he didn’t know for sure where the bitch was.
****
Micah had known he was being watched almost from the minute he’d arrived on the scene and part of the reason he’d called Ash and Dex to bring boxes. Dex had snuck out the back door of the piece of shit building Tobi had lived in and scanned the perimeter with a pair of night-vision goggles. The asshole had been so easy to find it had almost been funny. But for him to think they wouldn’t notice him following them—well, that was just insulting. They’d lost him easily and then doubled back via back roads to the club.
Ash had helped him box up what was left of Tobi’s belongings and there hadn’t been much that was worth saving. She had a cedar chest that looked like it contained a few antique quilts and such, and Micah had been pleased to see that those seemed unharmed. The wooden box itself was damaged, but he hoped the club’s resident handyman, Don Reynolds, could restore it to a semblance of its former beauty. Micah had learned a long time ago that almost every personal possession could be replaced, but losing something that had sentimental value rather than monetary value was usually the most devastating. And in his opinion, the young woman that had stolen his bosses’ hearts had already seen more than her share of heartache.
Micah had done a quick check into Tobi’s background when he’d known she would be interviewing the West brothers. What he’d found had been pathetic, but probably all too common. It certainly was time for this young woman to catch a break. She had only been seven when her mother had died and by all accounts her father had been a mean drunk who was investigated numerous times for child abuse. Teachers and the parents of her friends had turned him in several times over the years, but Tobi had always denied the charges. Officials had noted after each of those interviews that she seemed more afraid of losing her only living parent than she did of his continued abuse.
Tobi’s brother was a decade older and had done little to protect his younger sister because he’d left for college a few months after their mother passed and had rarely returned home after that. The brother had become a successful attorney and had evidently called in a lot of favors to keep his father’s death in a barroom brawl last year out of the news. Even though Richard Strobel had married well, he still struggled to be accepted into the social circles that he aspired to. Rumors abounded that he was currently considering running for state office.
Tobi, on the other hand, seemed to be well liked by everyone who knew her. Her neighbors had described her as outgoing and genuine. They had been quick to point out that Tobi was the first one to volunteer to help if someone needed a helping hand and that she had often brought groceries to those less fortunate despite the fact she was obviously living well below the poverty line herself.
Breaking in to her employee record at the magazine where she worked hadn’t been difficult despite what he was sure the small publishing group believed were adequate safeguards. Her attendance record was nearly perfect and each of her performance reviews had been glowing, but she was still slated to be laid off at the end of the month even though it didn’t appear they’d bothered to tell her yet. And now the little subbie had lost most of her possessions at the hands of some jerk. His interview with Tobi’s neighbor, Gracie, had given him a name and not surprisingly, it had matched the black SUV sitting just down the street. Dex had found the guy almost immediately and when they’d run his license number and it came back registered to Chris Feldman, Micah hadn’t been surprised. His guess was that Feldman was probably trying to get her “down” enough that he could ride in on his white horse and be her knight in shining armor. Good luck with that, fucker. Even if things don’t work out with my bosses, I’ll help her stay away from you.
Micah had asked Ash and Dex to do a perimeter sweep before heading back to their cabin. It had only taken Micah a few minutes to set up some of the tables they kept in the shop for picnics and then spread Tobi’s meager possessions out so they could air out. Flipping on the massive overhead exhaust fans, Micah hoped he had managed to salvage enough that she wouldn’t feel as though everything she owned had been incinerated. Glancing at his watch, he winced knowing it was going to be a short night. He fired off a text to Don Reynolds about the cedar chest before shutting down the lights and locking up. Micah made his way down the short path to the cabin he used on the weekends and hoped he’d get at least a couple hours of sleep before he met with Kent and Kyle. He didn’t like driving into Austin after the club closed because at that time of day it seemed like the streets were filled with crazies. Everyone knew that the percentage of drunks behind the wheel was exponentially higher during the wee hours before dawn and Micah had lost too many friends to that particular brand of stupidity to take any chances.
So much of what he did was internet based or already involved travel that Micah was considering closing his small office in Austin and trying to find a place closer to Prairie Winds. The ranch the elder Wests had just purchased had a large building toward the front of the property, which would be perfect, and he planned to talk to Dean and Dell about that possibility soon. With Jax heading their way next week, it was time to start putting some things together. Stepping into the small cabin, Micah looked at the tiny kitchen and shook his head. Jax McDonald was barely going to fit in the small space and he was going
to curse like the sailor he was when he got a look at the kitchen here and at the one in Micah’s apartment in town.
Their SEAL team had teased Jax mercilessly about the fact his last name was indelibly linked to fast food, yet he hated it with a unique passion Micah figured was reserved for truly dedicated athletes. While Jax wasn’t the gourmet cook that Ash and Dex were, he was still extremely talented and Micah had always been amazed he could make healthy food seem so appealing. Micah was a stereotypical computer nerd, perfectly content to guzzle sludge that had been baking in the coffee maker for the past ten hours and surviving on nothing but greasy burgers with an occasional breakfast eaten out at the local Denny’s thrown in for good measure.
At six foot eleven, Jax was so tall his appearance alone was enough to intimidate most people. He was also built like a block of solid brick and mortar. He’d been a power lifter in high school and college and had been one of the few men who hadn’t struggled at all with the physical demands of BUDS. Every guy in their class had wanted on Jax’s team because the only thing more impressive than his physical strength was his ability to pull the best from everyone he worked with. The man always looked like he had a suntan and that along with his deep black hair and crystal blue eyes, the guy was a serious chic-magnet.
Micah and Jax had been swim buddies so they had become particularly close. It hadn’t taken them long to discover their mutual kinks and to make friends with Kyle and Kent West. When they had eventually learned the West’s parents were involved in a poly-relationship, they had barely let Kyle or Kent rest until they’d answered every conceivable question he and Jax had thrown their way. Kyle had finally thrown his hands in the air one night and declared the topic taboo. Then they’d laughed it off and invited Jax and Micah to join them after graduation when they traveled to Texas to spend some time with their family.
Just as Kyle and Kent had promised, their parents were open and straightforward and had patiently answered literally hundreds of questions he and Jax had shot out to them in an almost rapid-fire barrage. Micah didn’t think you would probably every get the West’s sons to admit how much they had both also learned during those discussions, but he hadn’t missed how attentively the brothers had listened as their parents had explained how difficult it was at times. Micah had found it particularly interesting that none of their challenges had been from the dynamics within the relationship. Every problem they’d encountered had been from the judgments of people outside their inner circle of contacts.
By the time Micah had showered and climbed into bed the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. As he settled back, he couldn’t help but think about the little balls-to-the-wall spitfire he’d met earlier this morning. Gracie Santos was approximately five foot four and her long black hair easily brushed the top of her lush ass. She wasn’t stick thin, but had large rounded breasts and an ass that look like it had been specifically made for paddling. And with her mouth, she is sure to get plenty of those. When she’d seen him speaking with the building super, Gracie had crowded in and started rapid-firing questions at him and crowding into his personal space until he’d finally wrapped his large hand around her wrist so she would stop shaking her finger at him. At his touch she had gone instantly silent and dropped her eyes. He’d felt her pulse start to gallop under his fingertips that were softly pressed against her pulse point. When he’d told her to look at him, Micah had watched her eyes go wide and realized the zing of electricity he’d felt when his work-roughened fingers had first brushed over her smooth skin had not been one-sided. The tip of her pink tongue darted out to paint her rose colored lips and it had taken every bit of the control he had learned as a Dom not to push her against the wall in the small hallway and plunder her mouth.
He had calmly explained to her that Tobi was fine and that he’d be packing up her belongings and taking them to her. When she had volunteered to help, Micah had been grateful for several reasons. First of all, she seemed to be a friend of Tobi’s so she was familiar with the lay out of the tiny apartment and knew where to find the most important items quickly. It had also given him a chance to find out about the man Gracie knew had been causing Tobi problems. But most importantly, it had given him a chance to spend more time with her. Each moment had convinced him further that she was very likely the woman he and Jax had dreamed of finding and sharing.
While Gracie had been in Tobi’s bathroom packing up her medicine cabinet, Micah had programmed his number into her phone and then quickly dialed it so he’d have her number. He’d pointed out his number to her and asked her to call him if she had any questions or concerns. When he had expressed a concern that Feldman might be a threat to her he’d seen the fear flash in her eyes and had known immediately that she was already afraid of the man who had likely set tonight’s blaze. When he asked her if Feldman had already been a problem for her, Micah had seen her eyes darting from side-to-side as if she was afraid the man was watching before she’d quickly nodded.
Laying back and trying to figure out a strategy to introduce Gracie to Jax, Micah found himself lost in the erotic pictures flashing through his mind of her naked flesh pressed in between the two of them. The fantasy became so hot he could barely resist the temptation to take himself in hand and relieve the raging hard-on he’d had since meeting her. Reaching for his phone, Micah typed in two quick messages. The first was to Gracie reminding her to feel free to call him day or night if she had any problems with Feldman. The second to Jax…I think I’ve found her.
Chapter Thirteen
Tobi had spent the entire week dealing with a thousand questions from a hundred different people. Each one of them had asked her if she knew of anyone who might want to hurt her and by Friday she was starting to feel like she should be looking over her shoulder at every turn.
Just as everyone had expected, Tobi had shown up at work on Monday morning and was told she was being laid off due to the economic downturn.
When she’d called Kyle to tell him the news, the only thing he’d said was “Are you okay, kitten?” She knew he had been worried about her when he’d left her off for work and she doubted he’d gone far. Only because you and Kent prepared me for this and I know I won’t be sleeping on the street. The small guest cottage they’d given her was perfect and they’d assured her it was hers for as long as she needed it.
Taking a deep breath, Tobi answered, “Yes…well, I will be as soon as I get out of here.” Chris Feldman had been in the meeting when she arrived at Austin Gardens and Homes, but he’d been standing in the hallway as she’d carried out the small box of personal items she’d cleared out of her desk. As she’d made her way down the hallway to the elevators that would take her to the exit, she had to pass by his office and he’d made sure he was leaning against the doorframe. Leaning probably wasn’t a very good description considering the man was almost as round as he was tall and his body completely filled the doorway.
“Gosh, do I smell smoke?” His leering and menacing laugh sent a chill up Tobi’s spine.
“I doubt it, I haven’t even been back to my apartment. But it’s very interesting you would know about that when I didn’t tell anyone here at work. I’ll make sure to share that with the investigators I’m speaking with later today.” Tobi knew she shouldn’t provoke him, but he was such an ass that it was difficult to resist.
“Be careful, Tobi. That was an awful accident and I’d hate to see anything happen to that hot little number that lives across the hall from you. On the other hand—where is she moving when that rat hole you lived in closes later this month? Maybe she’d like to hear about my rent to own plan.” His thinly veiled threat against Gracie terrified Tobi, because she wasn’t sure Gracie would be able to control her temper enough to walk away from a fight with the man she already despised. Gracie was fiercely loyal and she hated Chris because of the hell he’d put Tobi through, evidently he figured out how close they were.
Tobi worked hard to school her expression and simply kept walking without respon
ding to his comment. Kyle had picked her up less than five minutes later. He’d walked into the lobby as if he’d owned the place, set the box she’d been carrying on the floor, and then pulled her into his arms. Tobi hadn’t realized how tightly she was wound until she’d felt his strength surround her and that was when the tears started to fall. She cried silently for several minutes and he simply held her until the storm had passed.
Kyle always smelled like fresh air and sunshine along with a hint of cologne that was like a whispered promise of wicked nights, and just breathing him in calmed her. When she finally pulled back a bit, he kissed her forehead. “Come on, kitten. Let’s go before I strip you and fuck you right here. Even though I know we’d both feel better, I’m pretty sure the lady at the reception desk wouldn’t be impressed.”
Tobi giggled, “Irene? Are you kidding? She’d have a video posted to You Tube by the time we pulled out of the parking lot.” Waving to the elderly woman who’d been one of the few people in the building who had befriended her, she let Kyle lead her from the building.
After he’d settled her in his truck and fastened her safety belt, Kyle had brushed a kiss over her lips, “That place is now history, kitten. I don’t want you worrying about that job anymore, do you understand? I want you to put it out of your mind and focus on your future, because that is where Kent and I are.” His words had been the perfect end to a job she hadn’t ever been that fond of anyway so she simply nodded her head in agreement.
Either Kyle or Kent had accompanied her to every appointment she’d had during the rest of the week concerning the fire. She’d talked to so many detectives their faces were starting to blur together and none of them had appeared terribly interested in helping her until Kent had pulled one of the more blatantly disinterested men out into the hall. The man had sulked down the hall and returned with a tall blond man with deep blue eyes. He smiled warmly at Kent as he approached and it was obvious the two men knew each other.
