Devin and the Playboy

by Kastil Eavenshade

  Chapter Thirteen

  “No, you listen to me.” Stephan paced in front of Jack’s desk. “The one main reason you married her was to have children and you’ve yet to attempt that. Not to mention that the one chance you could have given an heir, you nearly poisoned her.”

  “We both know that was the best course.” Jack adjusted his tie. “I’ve kept my sister at bay about it so what’s the matter?”

  “But you haven’t.” Stephan tossed a few papers on the desk. “Devin’s call logs. Ina’s been calling her once a week. Want to guess what the topic of discussion probably is?”

  Jack visibly paled. “She wouldn’t dare.” He rifled through the file drawer in his desk. “My contract with Devin states that she can’t discuss our intimate life with anyone in an unfavorable light.” He took a sizeable binder out and placed it on the desk.

  “Like your bitch of a sister cares.” Stephan’s hand slammed down on the binder. “Your contract states that you were to have your child within three years of the marriage. Remember? We calculated that Ina would hold off any coup until then because her oldest child doesn’t turn eighteen until then. Care to guess how much time has passed since you got married?”

  “There’s something in here for a contingency, I’m sure.”

  Bold laughter exploded from his lips as Stephan shook his head. “The only contingency you made was to make sure Devin didn’t ruin your reputation. You’ve left absolutely nothing to stop Ina from taking everything we’ve made of this division, leaving us with what, exactly? The European fiasco she’s molded to send her children to prestigious schools around the world?”

  “You have to help me, Stephan.” Jack swept Stephan’s hand off the binder and opened it. His fingers furiously whipped through page after page. “You have to let her tempt you. Break the contract so I can keep Ina at bay for just a few more years.”

  “What?”

  “I want you to fuck my wife and video tape it. It’s the only way.” Jack rubbed his jaw and stood. His eyes sparkled with a hint of madness. He couldn’t mean what he was saying.

  “That won’t stop Ina.” Not one protest would form on his lips. Devin aroused him like none of his previous partners yet part of him stilled at acting on his internal impulse. How long had it been since he had a lover of his own? When Jack’s sex life dried up, any opportunity Stephan had disappeared as well. The business and keeping Devin on track had consumed them both.

  “It will stop her.” Jack thrust his hands in his pockets. “If you’re worried about Devin living on the streets, I won’t let it happen no matter what that contract says. I’m not a monster.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, Mr. Monterey. Maybe someday you won’t like the taste of lying.” He didn’t wait for a response from his boss. For the first time in his long career underneath Jack Monterey, Stephan’s limit had been reached. How dare he use him as a pawn to stall Ina’s power move? If he’d take care of his wife, Devin would be with child easily. Every inch of Monterey was virile, even for his age. The man was a stallion in need of a good stable to breed but only one filly suited him. Devin.

  “Asshole,” Stephan muttered as he jabbed his finger for the elevator. As he entered, Jack squeezed in after him and jabbed the close button before hitting the stop. The elevator froze between two floors, trapping them both.

  “I don’t know what to do, Stephan. Please help me. After everything we’ve been through. You know why I can’t bring myself to continue this sham of a marriage. I love Devin. I always have, but not in the way she needs to be loved. I just can’t.”

  “And why is that, Jack?” Stephan leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

  “You know damn well why.”

  “Do I? I’m really not sure anymore.”

  With a growl, Jack pinned Stephan in the corner. The glare in his eyes flashed with anger just before his lips crashed into his. Jack’s tongue sought solace within and Stephan almost resisted until his body betrayed him. He kissed Jack back, demanding and wanting.

  “I’ve missed this, Stephan.” Jack’s hand ground against his crotch. “God, I want to fuck you again.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

  “I got to pick Devin up from the spa.” Jack didn’t believe his words as he thrust against the wanting hand.

  “We have time. Back at the house, like old times. I need to feel my cock inside you.”

  Stephan kissed him again before pushing him away. After a slow breath, he pushed the button to get the elevator going again. “This one last time and then you need to confess everything to Devin.”

  “Yes, everything. I promise.”

  Stephan straightened his suit and wiped the remains of their passion from his lips. His cock, thankfully, had calmed a little as the doors opened. He and Jack talked business as they headed for the car like nothing had ever happened. Shame clouded his mind as he realized one of the reasons he didn’t care for Devin’s treatment was that his relationship with Jack had also suffered these past two years. They’d kept the secret of their love in the dark because of what his sister would do if she found out the eldest Monterey enjoyed fucking men. The masculine world they had immersed themselves in would dissolve.

  His thoughts were still reeling even as they reached the house and Jack ushered him into the bedroom. Naked and exposed, Stephan yielded to his lover.

  ****

  Devin paced the waiting area of the spa. Stephan was never late picking her up. After last night’s activities, she and he had spoken most of the morning. He refused her apologies and promised to talk to Jack on her behalf. Fear that his boldness might have cost him his job, she turned to the receptionist.

  “I know this isn’t policy, but could you call me a cab? I forgot my phone and I’m afraid something’s happened. Stephan is never late.”

  “Of course, Mrs. Monterey.”

  “Thank you.” At least she’d picked a light yellow sundress with a scarf and hat to match. Most of the photographers looked for her now iconic pink attire. She’s made sure to bring a change of clothes for after her session to break out of that mold.

  “He’s arrived and I’ve taken care of the fare, Mrs. Monterey.”

  “Thank you, again.” She rushed out and got in the cab. Without a word, he sped away toward home. Dread covered her like slick oil. Could something have happened to Jack? She cursed herself for forgetting her phone at her apartment and was half-tempted to go there first, but something drove her to go home. There, she could call the office on a direct line for any news of her husband or Stephan.

  After fishing a twenty out of her purse, she handed to the cab driver. “Thank you for getting me here safely.”

  “Have a good day, ma’am. Thanks.”

  She rushed in the front door. “Jack?” Her voice echoed in the great expanse. She took off her heels and ran up the steps to their private area. As she swung the door to the bedroom wide, she stopped dead in her tracks to the passionate moans of her husband.

  And Stephan in his embrace. Both of them glanced toward the door in shock. Her jaw slack, she ran. Her scarf fluttered off as she raced down the stairs to the front door. When she swung it wide, she realized she was stuck. The cab was gone and no one lived for miles away. She collapsed onto the marble steps, sobbing. No wonder he hadn’t touched her since the honeymoon or had shown affection in public around Stephan. She never felt so used in all her life. Contract or not, she wanted out. To live under the same roof with someone who lied about loving her in any fashion burned her very soul. No one would ever love someone like her.

  “Devin,” Jack called to her softly.

  “Leave me alone. Just call me a cab and I never want to see you again.” She refused to turn around.

  “Please let me explain.” He touched her shoulder and she jerked away.

  Bolting into the drive, she whirled around. “I don’t need to have what I saw explained to me, Jack. I’m quite aware of what it was.” Stephan appeared in the doorway, just as disheveled as J
ack. “I get it. You can fuck whatever you want but me? Yeah, I get a different fucking over. I want out!” She screamed the last part, sobbing. The ache within her heart told her she had fallen for Jack Monterey and his charms. He’d broken and shattered her like every other woman in his life, except in her case, she’d been stupid enough to take his offer in contract form.

  “Did you ever love me?”

  His eyebrows pinched and through her own tears, she noted the redness in his blue eyes. “Yes. I never meant to hurt you. Please come inside.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because you deserve the truth. Once I’ve told you everything,” he said and sighed, “you can leave if you want to. I don’t blame you, I blame myself for not treating you like you should be.”

  Devin stared at them both. Stephan refused to meet her gaze but Jack’s remorse was genuine. Curse the man, but he could never truly hide his emotions from her. Regardless of what he had to say, she would leave this world behind and never let another man break her heart again.

  “Okay.” She ascended the front steps but shied away from his touch. Stephan, for his part, backed away. To her dismay, they both accompanied her into the sitting room. She sat opposite, allowing the two lovers to sit next to each other. Neither seemed brave enough to start the conversation. Devin wiped away her tears and summoned her courage.

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “Since before Stephan became an employee. We attended college together and, well, he dropped out when someone threatened to tell my family.” He grabbed Stephan’s hand. “We found each other again five years later.”

  “So your family knows?”

  Jack straightened. “No, absolutely not. It would ruin the family name. That’s why I asked you to marry me as a cover.” The last of his words trailed off.

  “I might not have read the contract at first but I know it quite well now. How exactly were you going to have children if you weren’t going to touch me beyond the honeymoon?” She crossed her legs, trying to stave off the growing anger. “How could you fuck me so passionately and then flip a switch and not touch me for over two years?”

  “Ah, well.” Jack flushed. “That was Stephan. I’ve never actually been with a woman. Stephan, um, isn’t as selective as I am with the sex of his partner.”

  Devin shot up. “What?” She nearly fainted as stars danced before her eyes. Now she understood the reason for the near darkness any time she had sex and Jack’s reluctance to allow her to touch him intimately. “So, what? You tricked me? Was that to have an easy out? Maybe I should have fucked you back in my apartment. It’s not like you never did it before.”

  “What?”

  Devin pressed his fingers to her temple as the blood sped through her veins. “I tried to seduce him, Jack. You didn’t want me except as eye candy on your arm. I can’t live this way. How dare you deceive me like that?” She whirled on him and slapped his cheek.

  “I deserve whatever you want to do to me.” Jack hung his head.

  “Don’t you get it, Jack? You made me special. You made me feel like I could be so much more. It was all a lie.” She removed the diamond earrings and threw them at him. The rings, she threw at Stephan. “I hope you are happy together. You deserve each other.”

  As she tried to storm out, Jack grabbed her by the wrist. “Please, Devin. I never meant to hurt you. I am guilty of everything you say and more.”

  When she tried to yank her hand free, he tightened his grip.

  “If my sister finds out, I will lose everything.”

  “Maybe you should. Maybe that’s what you deserve.” Devin sucked in a breath when she heard the sound of her cell phone ringing. She thought she’d left it at the apartment. Stephan stood and fished it out of his pocket. He held it up and her shoulders slumped. Ina was calling again. Reluctantly, she took the phone.

  “Hello?” Devin glanced toward Jack. At least he’d released the death grip on her arm.

  “Ring, ring, whore.” Ina wasn’t pulling any punches. “My brother is truly stupid and since my father seems to be in town, I’m changing the time and venue. How about that nice restaurant on the second floor of my brother’s first hotel venture? Tomorrow at noon. You know the one. Oh, and tell Jack to come packing papers to turn his share over to my son on his eighteenth birthday. I’m sure my father won’t like the fact his son married someone who’s probably fucked the entire population of New York.”

  The phone dropped from Devin’s hands. “It’s over, Jack. There’s no way we can salvage this now. Ina knows who I am. She found those papers you kept.”

  “Impossible.”

  Devin laughed, if just to stop the tears. “Well, she knows regardless and expects me to tell you to sign your part of the company to her son.”

  “I won’t allow it.”

  “She’s going to tell your father. What choice do we have? Maybe you can make a deal take the Europe division.”

  “If I lose everything I built here, I won’t have what I need to make sure that you never have to sell your body again. I won’t allow you to go back to that lifestyle.” He pulled her close and Devin didn’t resist. “I do love you, I just can’t give you what you ask of me in the bedroom.”

  “Then I’ll leave and you’ll go to Europe with Stephan to live happily ever after.”

  “Ina will destroy the charities I’ve worked hard to build for this city. I will never allow that to happen either.” He kissed her lightly on the brow. “I know about your mother, Devin. I was there in the shelter with my father when I saw you taking care of her. I never forgot about you after that. I made it my mission to help not only you but others less fortunate. If I give up this empire I built, I can’t do that anymore.”

  Her breath caught and she stilled in his arms. The memory used to drive her to get out of the slums. The sight of some neatly dressed, fresh-out-of-college kid and his father touring the shelter like they were sizing it up to build condos. She had misread him back then. Did Jack Monterey deserve another chance?

  “Please give me another chance. We can find a way.”

  All she could lose was everything she knew but that would happen even if she didn’t fight back. “Okay.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Alone and in one of the guest rooms, Devin watched the sun rise through the cracks in the deep-blue curtains. She refused to sleep in the same bed as Jack. Stephan, for his part, decided to leave the house entirely, at least for the night.

  Snug under the duvet, she almost didn’t hear the door to her room open. Bolting up, she relaxed at the sight of Jack. His suit was pressed and void of a usual tie. He held a garment bag and a pair of red shoes in his hand.

  “Sorry to disturb you, but it’s almost noon.” He laid the bag on the chair near the armoire. “I took one last liberty to buy you an outfit befitting of your personality.” He unzipped the bag and brought out a beautiful red blazer with a matching pencil skirt. The blouse to go with it was white and low cut.

  “Not pink?”

  “We both know you indulged me with that fetish. Red is your color. It always has been.” He turned to leave.

  “Don’t go.” Devin slipped out of the covers, naked. “Help me dress? Please?”

  “Absolutely.” Jack handed her a laced white bra, helping to fasten it. “How do you woman deal with these things?”

  “Lots of practice.” She slid the matching panties on and donned the blouse.

  “Well, that’s definitely Stephan’s department. I’m surprised he settled with me with all the girls that fawned over him in college.” He straightened the collar of her blouse.

  “He’s not gone, is he? I hate for you … I mean … I—”

  “We need a little time is all. Ina won’t keep him on should things not go as I have them planned.”

  “Quite a mess.” She cleared her throat. “I should pretty up my face.”

  “No, not today.” He raised her chin with a finger. “You are perfect the way you are.”


  “Says my gay husband.”

  He kissed her on the lips lightly. “Says your gay husband. The only thing I regret out of this is that contract. I’m going to burn it all when we get back.”

  She hooked her arm in his and they quietly went down the stairs. Through the limo ride to downtown and the elevator to the restaurant, they didn’t utter another word. No one else was seated at the tables. Far in the corner, a woman who had to be Jack’s sister waited with a glass of red wine in her hand. Her expression soured as they approached.

  “You seem to have forgotten something, Jack, or did your whore of a wife not inform you of the details of this meeting?”

  Jack pulled out Devin’s chair and pushed it in for her. “I would caution you on using such language when to referring to my wife, Ina.”

  “Please, once Father finds out this was a sham marriage to keep your stakes, it’s really not going to matter.” She downed the glass and signaled for another. She straightened up and smiled devilishly. “And here he is.” She waved like a school girl. On the table, she drummed the manila envelope Devin recognized as the document that Jack kept at the office on her background. The seal had been ripped open.

  Jack turned and adjusted his jacket as his father approached. The suit he wore was of a caliber that Devin saw Jack wear. Cut in a more European style, it hugged his body like seal skin. For a man twenty-five years older than Jack, he could pass as quite younger. No wonder she never realized how old Jack was until he revealed he was forty-five. His father smiled and embraced his son. When Ina got up to receive the same, the hug didn’t seem as eager by the patriarch of the family.

  “I don’t have time but for a latte. Your mother plans to be in Iceland for the sunrise.” He paused, glancing at Devin. “Is this the woman you were referring to, Ina?”