by Sophie Oak
Her nose turned up as though it had just caught a whiff of something vile. “You’re that Lexi person?”
Oh, she was going to be trouble. First, Lexi didn’t honestly believe that this woman was engaged to Aidan. Aidan had been a rat bastard, but he’d never lied to her. He wouldn’t have come after her and Lucas if he had a fiancée tucked away somewhere. “Yep, that’s me.”
“What are you doing here?”
Dani stepped up. “Lexi is a member of this club. Her stepfather is the largest independent rancher in the state of Texas. And she’s here because Aidan brought her here. Aidan is upstairs with my husband. He should be down in a minute. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to see you.”
That overly painted mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. “Well, he doesn’t know I’m here. I thought I would surprise him.”
She tapped her foot, and it finally clicked. Karen Wilcox. Aidan’s high school girlfriend. Lexi hadn’t had the privilege of meeting her. She and Aidan had only gone to Deer Run a few times. From what she could remember, Karen had been married to someone significantly older than she was.
“I think he’ll be surprised,” Lexi allowed. She was pretty sure he’d be pissed. A little kernel of evil joy lit inside her. She pulled out her cell phone. “Why don’t we give him a call?”
She dialed Lucas’s number. He answered immediately, his voice low as though he didn’t want to disrupt what was going on. “Lexi? Are you all right?”
“I am more than fine, babe. I’m down in the lobby talking to Aidan’s fiancée.”
“What?” Lucas practically screamed over the phone. “We’ll be down there in a minute.”
Lexi closed the phone and felt a smile split her face. “He’ll be down in a minute.”
Dani turned back to the concierge, shaking her head. “Paul, I think we’re going to need someone from the staff to go grab Mr. O’Malley’s and Mr. Cameron’s bags. Just give them to the valet. I don’t think Lexi is going to want to miss this.”
“Not for anything.”
“He dumped you,” Karen said. Her perfectly manicured nails curled around her purse. “He called off your wedding.”
“Yep,” Lexi agreed. “Which begs the question of why he’s dragging my ass back home to Deer Run when he has such a lovely fiancé waiting for him?”
Dani leaned over. “Does she come with a superhot, somewhat submissive, bi guy?”
“What is that? Is that some city talk?” Karen huffed a bit as though that was the worst thing she could think of. “It doesn’t matter. I just want to know what you’re doing with my fiancé.”
“Well, let’s see, he’s spanked me, forced me to undress in front of an audience, shoved a plug up my ass, followed me home, and now he’s kidnapping me.”
“Drama queen,” Dani said with a little grin.
Karen actually took a step back. “Aidan would never do that. He’s a former soldier. He served his country.”
“And soldiers don’t like to spank girls?” Lexi wondered just how sheltered Karen’s life had been. She turned to Dani. “And I had to take that plug out myself. I hope he doesn’t expect to see that one again.”
The doors to the elevator slid open, and the former soldier they were talking about stalked out. “What are you doing here, Karen? How did you even find out where I was?”
Karen’s whole demeanor changed. One minute she was the queen bee bitch of the world, and the next, she’d softened. “Well, I wanted to see you. It’s been a week since you came and saw me.”
Aidan’s face bunched up in confusion. “I came out to your place because I was dropping off a check for the charity dinner. I wasn’t seeing you.”
Karen moved closer to Aidan. Her voice was all breathy and pouty. It made Lexi want to gag just a little. “Well, we can fix that. Dwight let it slip where you were, and I tracked you down. What kind of place is this? Are you okay here? This woman is making all sorts of accusations about you.”
His head shook, and Lexi could have sworn he smiled a bit. “Yes, I’m sure she did. Lucas, will you escort Lexi down to the truck? We’re done here. Ben and Chase can come out to the ranch if they need anything else. I’ll deal with this one.”
Lucas seemed perfectly satisfied to take her by the arm and start to lead her away. Lexi wasn’t happy though. “Hey, I was enjoying that.”
Lucas slipped his fingers through hers. He leaned over and kissed her firmly on the lips. “Yes, I know. Now stop causing trouble, or we’ll both get spanked again.”
“Unfair! I’m not the one who hid my identity. And that whole shooting thing was not my fault.” She was arguing, but she didn’t put any heat behind it. Despite what she said, she really did feel safer now that they were leaving town. Someone had shot at her. She was putting on a brave front, but she was scared. And she couldn’t go to her mom’s place. She wouldn’t put her sister and brother in harm’s way.
And she could find out why Aidan was back. That was the worst reason of all to want to go.
“And the drinking?”
Lexi shrugged. She had no excuse for that. She leaned into Lucas’s strength. As they walked away, it struck her that Karen smelled like she smoked.
Maybe Deer Run wouldn’t be so safe. Either way, she was going to find out.
Chapter Nine
Lucas pushed through the double doors of the ranch house with a slightly reinvigorated lease on life. Lexi was sleeping peacefully in the ridiculously oversized bed Aidan had set up in the master bedroom. Lucas had never been to Aidan’s Central Texas ranch, and last night’s 4:00 a.m. arrival hadn’t told him much. However, he seriously doubted that the master bedroom had been in this elegant and oversized condition when Aidan’s father was alive. As far as Lucas knew, the elder O’Malley hadn’t been a ladies’ man, so he doubted he had required a custom-made bed with a delicate white quilt and three dressers. That room had been remodeled to fit a ménage.
Aidan was thinking positively.
Aidan would need a dose of positivity after the way his night had ended. Aidan had been mulishly quiet during the long drive from Dallas to the ranch. He had apparently had some form of conversation with the woman named Karen. When Lucas had asked about her, Aidan had simply said that she wasn’t his fiancée or his girlfriend, and Lucas wasn’t to worry about her.
But Karen had that look, that psycho “I’ll cut you” look under all the sugary sweetness she’d laid on Aidan. Lucas knew the type all too well. One of those had tried to kill Lexi just a year ago. Lucas wasn’t taking any chances. He’d already texted the Dawson brothers with Karen Wilcox’s name. It was a long shot. She hadn’t seemed to know Lexi was involved with Aidan, but Lucas couldn’t leave that stone unturned.
Lucas shook off the thought and started to look around for a coffee mug. His Lexi was a bit of a nightmare before she had her coffee. He often just set the coffee down in front of her, shook her gently awake, and ran before she was in angry badger mode.
The kitchen looked worn, with old appliances and faded curtains. Now that Lucas really looked around, the whole place had a slightly dilapidated air to it as though it had once been prosperous, but those days were now gone. It surprised him because the bedroom he and Lexi had been taken to last night had been polished to perfection.
“If you’re looking for the mugs, they’re in the cupboard on the left.”
Lucas turned and smiled at the slightly younger man who could only be Aidan’s brother, Bo. He was the spitting image of Aidan from four years before. “Thank you. I’m Lucas.”
“Yeah, I know who you are. You’re my brother’s…buddy.”
And he knew about Lucas’s relationship with Aidan. That one word “buddy” held an edge of distaste. Some of Lucas’s friendliness was whisked away. Lucas poured Lexi’s coffee in the mug. “I was at one point. Not so sure about now. Thank you for your help.”
He turned to go back toward the room he and Lexi had stayed in the night before.
“Wait.”
“Is Lexi all right?” Bo asked, staring down at his feet.
Lucas sighed. Well, naturally. Lexi was stunning, with raven black hair and a figure that harkened back to a fifties pin-up. He knew she was always worried about her weight, but she was utterly perfect in his mind. Soft and sweet and so fuckable he was getting hard just thinking about her. It wasn’t a surprise that Aidan’s baby brother had a thing for Lexi. He would have been a teen when they had been engaged. “She’s fine, but we all need to watch out for her. If you notice anyone odd hanging around, let me or Aidan know.”
“Yeah, okay. I was real upset to hear someone tried to hurt her,” Bo said. He paused, a flush heating his face. “So you’re my brother’s boyfriend?”
Lucas answered because the question had been asked with a modicum of civility. “No. I was your brother’s failed experiment. Now we’re involved in a short-term D/s relationship which means that for the time being, as long as it pleases me, I will do as he says.”
Bo’s eyes were back up and there was an unmistakable note of confusion in them. Lucas wondered exactly what Aidan had told him about their relationship. “But you slept with Lexi last night. Aidan slept in the guest bedroom.”
“He did, indeed. Lexi isn’t terribly happy with Aidan right now. We’ll see. I have some plans that might bring her around.” Now that he’d started down the path that led he and Lexi into a permanent sexual relationship, he was impatient. He’d play a very long game with her. Being with Lexi forever was far more important than immediate gratification, but now that the finish line was in sight, he was anxious. The D/s relationship they were exploring gave him exactly what he needed to move this along. And he knew he was fooling himself. Short-term wasn’t what he was interested in with Aidan.
Bo’s head shook. “I don’t understand a lick of this. If some guy was coming after my girl, I would kick his ass, not try to come up with a way to get her into bed with him.”
“Oh, my plan doesn’t involve a bed at all, so don’t worry about it.”
“What’s going on in here?” Aidan’s big, beautiful form suddenly filled the doorway. He walked in from the back porch into the kitchen. He wore a pair of faded Levi’s, cowboy boots, and a T-shirt that was already drenched in sweat and clinging to his chest. A cowboy hat sat on top of his head. His brown eyes shifted suspiciously from his brother to Lucas and back.
“Not a thing,” Lucas said, watching the way Bo suddenly puffed up the minute his brother walked in the room. His demeanor went from slightly unsure to arrogant in a heartbeat. Bo’s face tightened, and his lips became slightly cruel.
“I was just talking to your little butt buddy here. I think I’ll go into town, be around some real men.” Bo turned on his boot heels and started toward the front door.
Aidan’s face hardened, and he started to go after Bo.
“I would prefer you didn’t, Sir.” Lucas kept his voice even and quiet, not argumentative. He really was making a request.
Aidan stopped, his hand on the door. “He’s being an ass, and I won’t allow it. He won’t insult you or Lexi in my home.”
There really was something about another person protecting him that just got Lucas’s juices flowing. Perhaps it was his crappy childhood, but Lucas was well aware he was a sucker for a protective man or woman. Lexi had made him her slave the day she defended him to some of the nastier people of her mother’s hometown. Of course, his crappy childhood had taught him other things, too. “First, it’s his home, too. And second, I seriously doubt Bo would ever hurt Lexi. He cares about her. Now, I’m another story.”
“He’s being a small-minded, homophobic little prick, and I won’t stand for it.”
Sometimes siblings couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Lucas’s own siblings saw him as a waste of flesh. Of course, his father had done nothing to help. But Lucas knew what it was like to want an older sibling’s attention. “No, Sir, he’s being your little brother. Tell me something, Aidan. Were the two of you close when you were younger?”
Aidan’s head came up, turning to Lucas. “Yes. We were really close. That’s what makes me crazy. We had to survive our father. He was remote and unapproachable and exacting. We were never quite good enough for him. He was really hard on Bo. I had to take care of him, especially when Dad got to drinking.”
“Yes, and then you left him to go to college, and then the Army, and now you’re back and in control of the ranch with not one, but two potential lovers. He doesn’t understand where his brother went,” Lucas explained. “He misses his brother. You might consider not being so hard on him.”
“Lucas, you can’t expect me to just let that go.”
“It was merely an observation.” Lucas started back out the door.
“Wait. I’ll think about what you said.” Aidan stood close. Lucas could feel the heat from his body, but he couldn’t give in to it. “Can you come out and help me in the barn? My foreman hasn’t come in to work, and obviously Bo isn’t going to be helpful. I need an extra set of hands.”
Ranch work. Yeah, he knew a little bit about that. Some hard physical labor might calm his cock down. Between cuddling with Lexi and being so close to Aidan, he was pretty damn frustrated. He held up the coffee mug. “I can do that. Let me feed the beast, and then I’ll go with you.”
Aidan’s lips quirked up as he looked at the mug in Lucas’s hands. “Be quick. She’s deadly before she has her coffee.”
Lucas’s heart seized a little. This was what he wanted. He wanted the camaraderie of a threesome. He was self-aware enough to know that he wanted to have his cake and eat it, too. There was a component of getting everything he wanted sexually in there, but it went beyond that. He wanted to not be alone. Even in a traditional relationship, there was a certain amount of loneliness. If he married Lexi, no one else would know what it meant to be her husband. Oh, but if they had Aidan, he would always be there, backing Lucas up and laughing over all of Lexi’s adorable quirks. When she confused him, he could lean on Aidan. When she was hurting, they could surround her.
“Lucas?” Aidan’s hand came out as though he realized Lucas was getting emotional.
Lucas stepped back. He couldn’t. Not yet. Sex was fine, but he wasn’t ready for that true, pure intimacy that came with comforting another human being. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”
He didn’t miss the way Aidan’s face fell.
* * * *
Aidan wanted to scream. Every time he thought he was getting close to making a breakthrough, Lucas pulled away. As for Lexi, well, she’d made herself plain the night before when he’d shown them to the room he’d renovated with every bit of savings he had. He’d taken the master bedroom and turned it into something comfortable for them.
And Lexi had slammed the door in his face.
“You can make me come out here, but you can’t make me sleep with you,” she had said.
He hadn’t expected to, but it rankled that Lucas was on the other side of that door and he wasn’t. Would they have sex now that he’d gotten them together? Aidan was well aware that they hadn’t had intercourse. Would they use the big bed he’d had made for the three of them to remedy that little problem?
Jealousy had burned through his gut. He wanted to be with them. He had to be patient. Lucas was the smartest man he knew, and Lucas had been patient. It was time to take a cue from him.
Aidan watched Lucas walk away and promised himself he wouldn’t fuck up again. He’d lost them once because he’d been an idiot who couldn’t handle his own emotions. He’d been a slave to convention and terrified of
what his father would have thought. His father, who had never once said he loved him. His father, who had told Aidan that playing the guitar was for wimps and real men ranched or went into the Army.
Patience. He had to believe he could win them back. Bringing them out here was the first step. He just wished he had a nicer place to bring them to. Lucas had grown up rich, and Lexi’s stepfather was one of the wealthiest men in Texas. The ranch was falling apart around him. The land itself was worth a fortune, and he had a fine herd, but Aidan was putting almost everything he had into changing his practices so he could go organic. He had gone into business with Barnes-Fleetwood, but it wouldn’t pay for a couple of years. What could he really offer them?
The back door banged open, and Dwight came in. “Hey, nice to have you back, buddy. I thought you were staying in Dallas for a while.”
“My plans changed. I brought Lucas and Lexi back here.”
Dwight’s eyes widened, and he whistled through his teeth. “I hope Deer Run is ready for that.”
“I don’t care if they are or not.” The town could go to hell for all Aidan cared. This town was one of the reasons he’d walked out on the best thing he’d ever had. It was important to fit in. Small towns thrived on community, and flaunting one’s individuality didn’t work. He’d been horrified at the thought of bringing Lucas home with him, horrified that someone might find out he wasn’t “normal.” Normality could rot. Aidan wanted love.
Dwight put a hand on his back. “Well, I’ll stand behind you. You know I got your back.”
Aidan smiled. Dwight had proven a dependable friend. It was strange. They hadn’t really been close until that terrible day when Aidan had almost died in the sand, the sound of gunfire and barking dog filling his senses, the thought of Lexi and Lucas the only thing he could cling to. Since that day, Dwight had been by his side. Sometimes Aidan worried it was all survivor guilt that made Dwight follow him back to Deer Run. They were the only two of their squad to survive that terrible day.