Julian backed away and headed towards the bathroom, uncertain if he wanted to hear any more. He wanted to storm into the living room and demand to know what the fuck Cole was up to.
Why would he be talking about an apartment and bank accounts for them? They had their own place. All right, so it was falling down around them, and they lacked the funds to fix it up. But they’d get there.
They didn’t need Cole’s charity.
Anger built in his stomach as he finished in the bathroom. But as he strode towards the living room, he heard quiet murmurs coming from the bedroom. He turned that way. He walked into the room and came to a sudden stop as he saw Cole lying on the bed, gently brushing Keira’s hair back from her face as he placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.
“Deep sleeper, isn’t she?” the other man shot him an amused look over his shoulder.
The rightness of it stabbed him in the gut. He liked this. This shared knowledge of their lover. But it seemed Cole was playing a game and hadn’t bothered to give them the rules.
“Yeah, she takes a while to wake up in the morning.”
“Julian, I don’t wanna get up yet. Tell Cole I’m gonna be late. Tell him eight is a stupid ass time to start work. Civilized time would be ten,” she mumbled as she rolled onto her back. The sheet dropped down to her waist, revealing her full, heavy breasts and delicious nipples.
Cole cupped her breast and leaning down, suckled on her nipple.
“Julian, that’s nice. We don’t have time, though, Cole’s a slave driver.”
“Hmm, seems it might be best if I left before she says something my ego can’t take.” Cole grinned up at him.
Fuck. How many times had he seen the man smile? Very rarely. And here he was, smiling like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I wish I had time to do something more, but I have to get going.” Cole stood and moved towards him. He’d already dressed in his shirt and pants, tucking them in neatly.
“We need to talk.” Julian forced himself to stand his ground. He wasn’t going to be swept under the other man’s spell again. Not like last night. He had the power to make Julian want to drop all his inhibitions, all his barriers, and just bask in the authority and sexuality that Cole wore like a second skin.
Cole reached out and cupped the side of Julian’s face. For a moment, he melted. His knees felt weak.
Fuck. The effect this man had on him.
“I know we do. I’ll be back later, okay? Then we’ll talk everything out.” Cole leaned forward and brushed their lips together. “Why don’t you go back to bed, get some rest?” He looked back at Keira. “Tell our girl I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye, but I didn’t want to wake her. Oh, and make sure she eats, yeah?”
Julian frowned, wanting to snap that he’d been taking care of Keira for years without his help. But then, he hadn’t known about that crazy juice diet she’d been on. Seemed he and Keira were gonna need to have a little chat.
“Cole, I heard you on the phone. Something about an apartment and bank accounts and contracts?”
Cole frowned then stepped closer to Julian. He ran his hand down Julian’s chest, circling his bare nipple. All he wore was a pair of boxers he’d dragged on after leaving bed. His cock hardened against the tight material as Cole ran his finger down Julian’s stomach.
“You were eavesdropping, hmm?” Cole asked as he grabbed hold of Julian’s cock, squeezing it.
Julian let out a quiet noise of pleasure, his eyes closing.
“Uh-uh, eyes on me,” Cole commanded.
He opened his eyes, staring into the other man’s gray gaze.
“I don’t know exactly what you heard, but you don’t need to worry. I’m going to take care of both of you. I promise. This wasn’t some one-night stand. You both mean something to me.”
Fuck. Those words. They filled some of the cracks in his soul he hadn’t been aware were there. Cracks that had appeared when he’d gone all distant on them after that kiss they’d shared.
Don’t hurt us again.
“Cole,” he said doubtfully, before hissing in pleasure as the other man released his hard, aching shaft from the tight confines of his boxers.
Cole glanced down at Julian’s hard-on as he ran his hand slowly up and down his dick. “There’s one thing I regret about last night.”
Julian stiffened. “What’s that?”
“That I didn’t get to take you,” Cole told him, dispersing any worry he had that Cole had doubts. “That I didn’t get to play more with you, feel your mouth around my dick.”
Julian’s breath sped up.
“Tonight, I’ll make up for that. There’s no rush. We’re going to have plenty of time to explore one another.”
He let go of Julian’s shaft and took a step back, looking the other man up and down.
“What are you doing?” Julian demanded.
“Oh, I’ve got to leave,” Cole replied with an evil grin. “You can think of this as a little taste of what’s to come.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. “You’re an asshole.”
“Most definitely,” Cole agreed easily. “I’ll see you both tonight. Think of me.”
Oh, he would. But it wouldn’t necessarily be fondly. That was for sure.
A feeling of dread filled him. He had this awful feeling that if he let Cole leave, he’d never see him again. Which was ridiculous. He’d be there later.
“Cole,” he called out as the other man turned away.
“Yeah?” Cole turned and Julian took a few seconds to memories his features. “Everything okay, Julian?”
“Of course. I’ll see you later.”
Later on, he’d wish he’d heeded his gut and done whatever it took to keep Cole with him. To hash everything out.
Then he might have had some idea of why the other man broke their hearts.
7
Haven—Three years later
Cole Saxon parked his car and stepped out slowly, taking everything in.
A tiny town in the middle of Texas wasn’t exactly where he’d ever thought his brother would end up. Then, again, it wasn’t like Joel needed to work for his money.
Easy, man. You’ve come to make amends. To apologize for being an asshole.
So maybe he actually needed to stop acting like an asshole. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded considering he’d been raised by a narcissist. If you could call it being raised.
He called it more of a trial by fire.
He studied the two-story building before him that housed Fet, his brother’s restaurant. He snorted. At least he hadn’t called it Joel’s. He didn’t understand why Joel had opened a restaurant. How was it even sustainable? Haven was a small town with a small population.
Not that it mattered. He wasn’t there to assess his brother’s business decisions. He was there to make things right between them. If that was even possible. He sighed. He didn’t expect a good reception, not after the last time he’d seen Joel. When he’d said things he had no business saying to anyone, let alone his own brother.
All his life, his father had pointed out all his shortcomings and how Joel always surpassed him. He’d pitted him against his brother, made him see Joel as competition. That, combined with Cole’s misguided belief that Joel was trying to sabotage his relationship with Keira and Julian, had caused him to spit some truly awful bile at his brother.
He wouldn’t blame him if he never forgave him. But he had to try.
He let out a breath, trying to calm his nerves. He wasn’t used to this feeling. Of being off balance. He’d thought it was best to go there, to a public place, rather than try to approach Joel at his home, or, hell, even worse, at his club.
Saxon’s.
He’d named his club after himself. That was Joel. He was unapologetic about what he believed in. Cole could admire that. Greatly. Even if he’d been blinded for years by his jealousy and idiotic beliefs about what his brother should be. About what he should do.
Yeah, appearing at Sa
xon’s wouldn’t be a good move. Not after the last time he’d turned up at a club of Joel’s.
This was different, though. He was here to say his peace and, maybe, right some old wrongs. If Joel would let him. Then he could move on to the second part of his plan.
To find the two people he’d lost and beg for their forgiveness.
Walking slowly forward, he looked around. He had to admit it was a nice-looking place. Clean, tidy, classy. It was early yet, so there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot.
He wasn’t sure if Joel would even be there. But at least he could get a feel for the place. Maybe figure out the best way to approach him.
Opening the door, he stepped inside and took everything in. Part of him hoped Joel was there, and he could get it over with. Part of him dreaded it.
His gaze roamed over to a waitress standing in front of one of the occupied tables, her back to him. Something stirred inside him at the sight of her, but he didn’t give it much attention. He was certain he didn’t know her. Why would he know anyone but Joel in this little out-of-the way town?
Then the waitress turned, and shock slammed into him as he stared into pale blue eyes in a too-thin face. He felt as though the shock wave had rocked him back, but when he glanced down at his feet, he saw he hadn’t moved.
It couldn’t be her.
There was no way she’d be there. It didn’t even look like her. Sure, the eyes were the same, but she was far thinner than Keira. Too thin. There was no way Julian would ever let Keira starve herself, which is what would have had to have happened for Keira to whittle down to this tiny woman who stood a few feet away.
Her blonde hair was lighter in color and far shorter than it had been. It was pulled back into a short ponytail, but his Keira had had hair nearly to her ass. Then he noticed the way she was looking back at him. As though she’d seen a ghost.
Keira.
What the fuck had happened to her? And where was Julian? Why wasn’t he taking care of her? Why had he let her starve herself and cut her hair and grow so fragile and brittle?
Then Keira turned, and he saw, too late, that Julian was closer than he’d realized. Another shock hit his system as he saw the large, muscular man stand. He seemed to be bigger than before. There was gray in his black hair. His clothes were slightly wrinkled, disheveled, as though he didn’t care about his appearance. Which wasn’t like Julian; he’d always been well-dressed and put together.
Cole’s gaze hit the other man’s eyes and he froze at the pure hatred shining through. His gut tightened.
“Julian.” His gaze shot back to Keira who had gone so pale he was afraid she was going to faint. “Keira.”
Fuck. This wasn’t what he’d expected. For once, he was at a loss for words, unable to figure out what to say. Why were they here? This wasn’t in the plan.
Then he didn’t have to think about what to say next, because Julian was in front of him, his fist pulled back. He let it fly.
Agony engulfed his cheek.
Then nothing.
Cole came awake with a groan. Pain throbbed in his face. What the hell had happened? Why was he lying on the ground?
And was that his brother leaning over him? A smile crossed Joel’s face.
“Well. This is a surprise. Hello, brother.”
8
Keira slammed her way through the kitchen, ignoring Renard’s startled shout of outrage as she nearly banged into him and ran out the back door. Well, it wasn’t precisely a run since her leg wasn’t up to more than a semi fast-paced walk.
She leaned against the railing and stared into the back gardens. Saxon had plans to get some seating out there, along with lighting for people to eat outside in the evening. But at the moment it was quiet and peaceful, which was just what she needed.
She tried to slow her breathing, to calm herself.
Then the door slammed behind, her and she turned, her weak leg giving out on her as she let out a cry of fear.
Julian froze for a few seconds then quickly leaped forward, grabbing her as she fell. She leaned into him, taking his scent into her lungs, letting his safety surround her.
“Jesus. Fuck. Sorry, Keira. Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Everything frightened her nowadays. She was a walking, talking ball of paranoia and false bravado. The mask she put on every day was barely hiding the cracks that ran deep into her soul. Cracks that she’d tried to patch and disguise, but she was beginning to think would never fully heal.
“It’s okay. I’m all right.” She leaned back and gave him one of her false smiles.
He frowned. Damn it. Julian always saw through her.
“Keira, you shouldn’t have run off without me.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, looking at their surroundings rather than down at her.
“I’m fine, Julian,” she reassured him. “I just needed some air after . . . after seeing . . .”
Cole.
Julian’s face tightened and his hands clamped down on her thin shoulders. She bit her lip in order to stop herself from showing a reaction. Julian would be devastated if he knew he’d hurt her. And she would do anything to protect him. He was obsessed with their physical protection, which is why he’d worked so hard to build his strength back up since they’d been here in Haven. While she remained fragile and useless. Paranoia had them both in it’s nasty, cloying grasp and she couldn’t see a way of fighting free.
“You still shouldn’t have left without me. It’s not safe out here.”
If it wasn’t safe here, under Saxon’s protection then where was it safe? She didn’t voice that question, though. She knew the answer. They weren’t safe anywhere.
That had been made abundantly clear.
“You punched him,” she said quietly. She’d been shocked when she’d seen Cole walk through the door of Fet. Unable to move, she could barely breathe, so she’d just stood there when Julian stormed over and punched him. When he’d slipped to the floor, she’d turned, needing to get out of there. To breathe.
“It’s his fault. It’s all his fault,” Julian seethed. Anger filled his face. Her breath caught. His fury was a living, breathing thing inside him. She knew he was struggling with their adjustment back into real life. Knew he couldn’t rest, was constantly on alert. But she’d never guessed at the depth of his rage.
And it seemed that anger had found itself a target. Cole.
“Julian, it’s not Cole’s fault we were . . . we were . . .” Held prisoner. Tortured. Starved.
No, that wasn’t on Cole.
It was on her.
She’d never trust her stupid instincts again. From now on, she didn’t deserve to make any decisions. She didn’t deserve Julian. She dropped her face, her guilt flooding her.
“It is Cole’s fault. If he hadn’t turned on us, if he hadn’t fucked us over after sleeping with us then we would never have met Vincento. That bastard would never have gotten his claws into us. It’s Cole’s fault. He fucking . . .” he trailed off.
She reached up and placed her hand behind his neck. He flinched slightly and her soul cried. Wept huge tears she could never set free.
Cole had rejected them. He’d made them think he cared about them. Hell, Julian had even overheard him talking about moving them into an apartment and opening a bank account for them. Not that either of them would have agreed to either of those things.
But how did a person go from that to less than twenty-four hours later telling them that what they’d done together had been a huge mistake and that he could no longer work closely with them. He’d offered them both jobs in a different city. In the end they’d gone their own way, finding jobs in San Antonio with another company.
When he’d talked to them, he’d been so cold, so detached. As though he hadn’t been tearing the two of them into pieces.
Still, what happened later wasn’t his fault. Cole might have torn out their hearts, but he hadn’t broken them.
“You can’t blame him. That’s not fair.
”
“How can you not blame him? He’s a selfish, narcissistic asshole.”
“Talking about me again?” They both stiffened. Julian turned and pushed her behind him. She stumbled on her weak leg but didn’t say anything; Julian was only thinking of her protection.
“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Renard,” Julian snarled.
She peered around the wide shoulders of her husband to look at Renard with a sigh. Great. The last thing they needed was the grouchy, sarcastic head chef poking his nose in their business. Renard was like gasoline on a fire.
“Watch how you talk to me,” Renard said in a low voice. She shivered at the firm tone he’d adopted. She’d figured Renard for a Dom even though she didn’t think he ever went to Saxon’s to play. Then, again, neither did she or Julian so how would she know.
“You have no voice in what I say or do.” Julian took a step towards him, his hands clenched into fists.
The door opened again, and she wilted with relief as Joel Saxon stepped out. His gaze swept over all of them. His calm, sure demeanor instantly soothed something inside her. It was like she could breathe a little easier when he was around. She didn’t feel any sort of spark between them. Which was good, considering he was in a relationship with one of the sweetest people Keira had ever met.
But she did feel safe with him close by. And not just physically safe. It was like she knew he could control any situation.
She’d felt that around Cole as well. He was used to taking control. His dominance was part of him, it never shut off, which was kind of intimidating and a turn-on all at once.
She wanted to ask if Cole was okay, but she didn’t want to upset Julian, so she kept quiet. She guessed he was or Joel wouldn’t be out there with them. Then again, the two brothers didn’t have the best relationship so, for all she knew, he could have left Cole lying on the floor of the restaurant. Actually, no, he wouldn’t have done that in front of his guests.
Cole's Mistake (Haven, Texas Book 8) Page 9