by Lexi Blake
Cole turned and strode out of the bedroom, and Mason followed, trying to give a hundred different reasons he didn’t need a bodyguard.
Kitten stretched and found her own robe. There was no way Mason managed to talk the Master out of a bodyguard for him. He’d almost been murdered twice. He’d also tried to sneak away without telling anyone. Master Cole wouldn’t take any chances. She wiggled her toes in the thick carpet. Alive. She felt ridiculously alive.
Kitten walked out of the bedroom. Her bedroom. The one she shared with her Masters. She’d always had her own room. From the time she’d been a baby. Even those first few months in college, she hadn’t had a roommate. Her parents hadn’t wanted her to leave their home so she’d driven an hour to and from the school. She’d come home to the same room she’d been shoved in after she was born.
When she had a baby, she was going to keep him or her in her room for the first year or so. She wanted to breastfeed. Could she do that with nipple rings?
Kitten stopped. Holy crap. She wanted a baby. She wanted a couple of babies. She wanted a family. She wanted to be a mom and she wanted to have a place in the world. They were right. She was scared. Life was scary because it could go any way it wished. There wasn’t a guarantee that things would work out. In fact nothing in Kitten’s past had given her a single reason to believe that it would with the singular exception of faith. Faith that she would be okay. Faith that she would somehow be given the tools she needed.
She’d been given the kind people she’d needed to survive a lonely childhood. Several of the churches her father had forced her into had been filled with true love, and the people had offered it to her. She remembered one pastor who had taken her into his office and told her how she deserved love. He and his wife had been worried about her. They’d told her there was no such thing as normal and she should look for love anywhere and everywhere because love was love. In her darkest hours, she’d been given Nat and then Finn, who had taken her to Julian who had brought her to her Masters.
Maybe it was time to stop worrying. Maybe it was time to begin to believe the things she’d been told.
That she had worth. That she deserved love and affection.
She stepped out, perfectly ready to speak up for herself because she knew that if Ben and Chase had come, then Nat was here, too, and Nat was her safe place.
“If you didn’t want me to show up, maybe you should have answered your phone.” A gorgeous blonde woman was standing in the doorway, a black Chanel bag in her hand. She was roughly five foot six, and she got right in Cole’s space. She was vaguely familiar.
Cole was frowning at her. “Gemma, what the hell are you doing here? Shit. Is that Nate?”
Kitten looked out and sure enough, the sheriff of Bliss was opening a car door and stepping out. Nathan Wright was roughly six foot two and built on big lines, but the man who got out next was massive. Zane Hollister. He was Nate’s partner, which made Kitten wonder…
“Hey!” Callie Hollister-Wright bounced out of the SUV they’d been driving. “I hope you don’t mind. Our hotel turned out to be horrible. I couldn’t keep the twins there.”
Cole’s jaw dropped open as the sheriff reached back and pulled a car seat out.
Babies. She loved babies. She hurried out to help.
As she passed Cole, Gemma patted him on the arm. “You should answer your damn phone.”
If he had, he would have known that chaos was on its way. Kitten was happy he didn’t because she loved a little chaos.
* * * *
When the hell had he lost control? Half an hour later, Cole stepped into the living room—the formerly quiet and peaceful living room. It was a place to have a quiet meeting or where he could envision Kitten doing what his mother had done in it, having tea or coffee with her friends, enjoying the peace of the day.
Now his antique, probably-cost-a-fortune coffee table was being used as a jungle gym.
And so was his submissive. Kitten was lying flat on her back on the floor, giggling as one of the Hollister-Wright twins climbed on top of her, pulling himself up, his chubby little legs shaking. There was a grin on the kid’s face as he drooled down at Kitten. She reached up and touched his face, a look of wonder in her eyes.
His heart seized. She was going to want kids.
“Uhm, this one smells to high heaven.” Mason was grinning as he held the other twin. “Do you want me to change him?”
Callie was on her feet in an instant. “Oh, no. Thank you so much, but I’ll handle it. You’ve done so much already. I can’t thank you enough for the gorgeously clean room. I’m not going to ask you to change a diaper.”
Mason shrugged as he handed over the kid. “Hey, I have a law degree. I’m an expert in shit.” He frowned. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t cuss around the kids.”
Callie was laughing as she grabbed her diaper bag. “No worries. Nate mostly speaks in four-letter words, and Zane isn’t far behind. It will be a miracle if their first word isn’t a doozy.” She smiled up at him. “It is so good to see you, Mason.”
“I’m sorry I missed your baby shower,” Mason replied with a wistful look on his face.
When he’d cut Mason out of his life, he’d cut him off from Bliss and their friends there. He hadn’t even thought about that. He hadn’t thought at all.
“Well, I’m glad someone got his head out of his backside long enough to know how stupid he’s been.” Callie sent Cole a prim look before turning. “Hey, Kitten, can you handle Zander while I change this one?”
Kitten winked up. “I can. They’re getting so big.”
Callie grinned. “Yes, they are. By the time Cole brings you to Bliss this winter, they’ll be giving the Farley brothers a run for their money on the troublemaking front. I’ll be back in a bit.” She stopped in front of Cole. “Thank you for letting us stay. Nate and Gemma have a presentation at the national conference. They got our reservations wrong and we ended up at some smoke-filled motel. I tried to let the boys play on the floor, but the carpet was filthy. So I do thank you for giving us a place to stay.”
Cole frowned. “I didn’t know I had a choice.”
“Cole!” Mason and Kitten both said his name at the same time.
It was good to know he had two consciences. “What I meant to say was, we’re happy to have you here.”
“We are,” Mason said with a stare that could have peeled paint off a wall. “Very happy. I’ll make sure Callie remembers where their room is.”
“I’m thrilled,” Kitten replied as she cuddled Zander close. The baby embraced her and giggled loudly.
Mason gave Kitten a wink as he followed Callie out into the hall.
Yes, Kitten liked babies and it seemed Mason did as well. They’d never talked about kids. He and Mason hadn’t talked about having a family—the traditional type with kiddos and diaper changes and parent-teacher meetings. How would that work? Which two would be the parents? Or would they be brave and walk in all three of them?
Did he have to give up having a family because he cared for two people? Callie seemed really happy, but then she lived in Bliss.
He could live in Bliss. If he could save Bliss.
Callie walked out, smiling and greeting Gemma as she walked in.
Blonde and pretty and kind of mean, Gemma stepped into his living room and softened the minute she caught sight of the baby. “Hey, kiddo. You doing better now that we left the whore house?” She grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t mention the plethora of hookers at our motel to Callie. There was a reason the floor was so damn dirty. I hope the boys don’t get some weird venereal disease.”
Cade Sinclair walked in after her, his eyes on his fiancée. “They’re fine, babe. Callie already bathed them. We’re the ones in trouble since we…”
Gemma turned on fiancé number one. “Cade, tact. Roberts doesn’t need to know everything.”
So they’d screwed the minute the motel doors had closed. He didn’t blame them. He would have done the same. If they’d allowed h
im to, he would have spent the rest of the day fucking the hell out of his subs. He wouldn’t have allowed them out of bed until none of them could move.
“Gemma, you want to explain what you’re doing here?” She’d been calling him. There was no question in his brain that this had to do with what she wanted from him. “I thought you were calling me because you wanted some sort of a donation.”
Gemma turned to him, her face scrunching up. “I don’t do the donation thing anymore. Nate made me do it once and I was awful at it. We actually came up at a negative number because Doc sued us for harassment.”
Cade grinned as he sat down next to Kitten and put a hand on Zander’s back. “She’s actually pretty terrible at soliciting.”
Jesse McCann was suddenly at the entryway. “She is and that’s funny since she’s a lawyer.” He winked his fiancée’s way. “The Brits call them solicitors. Like lawyers are hookers. I like it.”
Gemma sent him a look that could freeze water in a glance. “Thanks, babe. I love having years of my life compared to spending a couple of hours on my back. How about I finally get around to talking to the man I’ve been trying to get on the phone for four weeks?”
Cole sank back into one of his mother’s favorite chairs. There were two wingbacks and a pristinely cared for Victorian sofa. Cade and Jesse stood behind Gemma, lending her their support. “I really thought you were hitting me up for a donation. If you’re not, I sincerely apologize.”
“Yeah,” she said as she took a seat across from him. “Start apologizing. Like a lot.”
Cole simply sat and waited.
“You’re no fun.” Gemma crossed her legs.
Cade kissed the top of her head. “Hey, baby, while you’re dealing with all the technical stuff, I’m going to go check out the pool. I could use a little relaxation after that long drive and spending all night making sure the twins didn’t touch the ground. We took turns walking with them. If that’s okay with our host.”
Cole nodded. It had been a long time since he’d had friends out to the house. Since they were here, they might as well enjoy themselves. “There’s beer in the fridge and towels in the cabana. Kitten, would you please show our guests the amenities?”
Kitten rolled over and managed to get to her feet without ever setting the baby down. She cuddled him close. “Of course. Please come with me. I think Zander needs a change, too, so I’ll go and join Callie after I show Cade and the Master to the pool.”
Cade’s eyes widened. “I’m just Cade?”
Jesse gave his partner a slow smile. “The sub knows what she’s talking about.”
“I can spot a Master from a mile away.” She was grinning as she left the room, followed by Jesse and Cade.
Blessed quiet. He watched as Kitten bounced the baby on her hip. She was so animated and happy. He hadn’t thought about kids. He certainly hadn’t thought about Kitten wanting kids. She’d seemed so far from that.
She was different than he’d imagined. Stronger. More centered. She deserved to have what she wanted out of life, and he hadn’t missed the way Mason had lit up when he’d looked at those kids.
His subs might want babies down the line, children who would bind them together for all of time, kids who would have his or Mason’s DNA and Kitten’s. There was no contract between a parent and a child. There was just the lifelong commitment to love and protect. He couldn’t ease himself away from a child.
And he didn’t want to. He was suddenly incredibly aware that his contract with Kitten had an end date. Six months. She could walk away after six months. His verbal agreement with Mason was even shorter.
“I thought you and Mason had split up.” Gemma’s uncharacteristically somber voice brought him out of his thoughts.
He hated being put on the spot, but he was so curious about what she wanted with him. “We’ve recently gotten back together. Why are you here, Gemma?”
Gemma looked behind him and nodded. “Nice of you to join us, Nate.”
Nate Wright strode in wearing a Western shirt, jeans, and boots. He had close-cropped brown hair and a face that could have been cut from granite. He’d been a DEA agent and now served as the chief protector of Bliss. He was quick to write a ticket and he’d held the line against everything from biker gangs to the Russian mob. He took his town seriously.
Nate was going to hate him if he lost that piece of land and it became a massive mall. Something precious would have been lost and it would be on Cole.
He had to make it work. He had to find a way to save his damn company and get back ownership of that land.
“Cole.” Nate nodded his way as he passed a file folder to Gemma. “Here’s the info. Where’s the suspect?”
Gemma rolled her eyes. “He’s not a suspect. He never was. We wanted to talk to him, but had a hard time locating him. We actually came here to see if you knew where he was. Lucky for us, he was right here.”
Cole sat up straighter. Suspect? “Do you mean Mason? What the hell are you talking about? Look, I’m sorry I dodged your calls, but I would really like to know why you’re here.”
“Besides the fact that Callie can’t handle a little dirt?” Gemma asked.
Nate held up a hand. “When you have two kids, you won’t be distracted by sex. You walked in that nasty motel room and started doing it. Zane, Callie, and I had to deal with the boys and that meant actually looking at the room and not naked body parts. By the way, Cole, have I mentioned that I appreciate the fact that the Elk Creek Lodge has zero bedbugs.”
“Why are you here?” They were making him nervous. Did they already know about the corporate takeover?
Nate sank onto the couch. “Gemma gets bored. When she gets bored, she starts putting her nose into everyone’s business.”
“Gemma is good at her job and she manages to get everything done in a quarter of the time everyone else needs,” Gemma corrected.
Nate shrugged. “She does. She’s got a type A personality and way too much time on her hands. She actually made a database of aliens. She’s got it down to what kind of probes they use and the best place to shove the beet in order to take them out.”
“Hey, Mel takes me seriously when I tell him there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve cut down on alien involved 911 calls by twenty-five percent,” Gemma argued.
“And you’ve brought complaints against the department up by forty.” Nate sighed. “She can be aggressive. She’s also obsessed with cold cases, and that’s why we’re here. I needed to give her something to do so I opened our cold case files and let her have a look. Since Bliss was formed back in the sixties, we’ve had a handful of cases no one solved ranging from the time Hiram’s outhouse was torched in ’72 to the great toilet papering incident of last year. Seriously, Max couldn’t open the door. Someone shellacked that sucker shut.”
“It was Hal. He got sick of Max’s complaints.” Gemma crossed one leg over the other as she contemplated Cole. “And the burning of Hiram’s shitter was a complete accident. Stella was trying to sneak a smoke.”
“You didn’t have to confront her Agatha Christie style in her own diner,” Nate complained. “She paced and pointed and everything. She had Stella crying and offering to go to jail at the end of it.”
Gemma smiled and sighed as though she’d found the event satisfying. “I got her to confess, didn’t I? She even thanked me afterward because she said it haunted her because that outhouse had been in Hiram’s family for two generations. I say she was a hero because Hiram was forced to get indoor plumbing after that. And I’m a freaking rock star because I’ve taken those forty cold cases and solved all but three of them. I don’t think we’ll ever truly understand the great toilet explosion of aught three.”
They were starting to annoy him. “This is all terribly interesting, but how does it affect me?”
“Gemma doesn’t like the reports on Emily Yarborough’s accident,” Nate explained.
“Technically the incident wasn’t a crime. It was an accident. I happened to
find the files while I was looking up another case. They were a little sloppy, but you’ll have to forgive him. He was dealing with a lot at the time.” Gemma picked up the folder.
Nate’s jaw formed a grim line. “I was down a man. When I should have been dealing with the accident and reports, I had to handle the fallout from the Russian mob hitting town.”
He knew what had happened. It was the same incident that sent Logan to the hospital and eventually brought him to The Club. From what Cole understood, it had been chaos, but he’d been too caught up in his own misery.
“Why is Emily’s accident a cold case? A cold case implies wrongdoing.” He didn’t like the sound of that. The only other person involved was Mason. Did he need a lawyer?
“It wasn’t actually a cold case, but the file on Mason alerted me to Ms. Yarborough’s accident. You see there was a file on Mason, but Nate never made it formal. So there are a few things about that evening that disturb me and I would like to talk to Mason. He’s the only one who’s still alive. I have some questions about the party Ms. Yarborough attended. Jesse told me I should talk to you first because you’re his Master. Jesse takes that shit seriously.”
“Gemma,” Nate barked at his assistant.
“Stuff. He takes the BDSM stuff seriously,” she corrected.
“He’s going to spank you,” Nate warned.
A chill went up Cole’s spine. “What kind of questions? What do you think happened?”
“Were you aware that three days after the accident a man named George Nelson was busted in Creede for selling the drug gamma-hydroxybutyric acid?” Gemma asked.
Nate rolled his blue eyes. “She’s showing off. She practiced the pronunciation in the car. It’s GHB.”
Everything about this conversation put him on edge. “The date rape drug? What does a drug bust in Creede have to do with anything? Mason and Emily hadn’t left the lodge except for that party in the weeks prior to her accident. They certainly weren’t involved in drugs.”
“That’s not true,” Gemma said, a fire lighting her eyes. She seemed excited about whatever was in that file. “Not the drug part. I have no way of knowing that, but Mason did leave the lodge. Credit card records show Mason took the Benz in for service the day of the accident. But he didn’t go to Long-Haired Roger’s shop.”
