by Ivy Layne
No one stopped me as I strode from the kitchen. I came up behind Aiden and laid my hand on his back, leaning into him as I rose up on my toes. “Take me home Aiden. Don’t fight with your cousin.”
Immediately he stopped yelling at Gage and turned to look down at me. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear he said quietly, “I won’t let him talk about you that way.”
“Do you agree with him? Do you think I’m a scheming whore out to take you for everything you have?” I asked, equally quietly.
“Of course, not,” Aiden spit out. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“No, don’t you be ridiculous. The only person I care about is you. You’re not going to change his mind tonight. And I don’t want our lovely evening to end like this. If you really want to fight, why don’t you take me home and kiss me in front of my brother? Then we can both watch his head explode before he tries to kill you.”
That surprised a laugh out of Aiden. He tugged on a strand of my hair, smiling down at me, the anger drained from his face, his eyes warm.
“Or maybe,” he said in a low rumble, “I’ll get us a hotel room and we can order up some chocolate cake. Eat it in bed.”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
Without another word to his gathered family, Aiden took my hand and pulled me to the garage.
As we drove out of Buckhead, Aiden said, “I don’t know why I thought it was such a good idea to have the whole family under one roof. I should kick them all out and then I can fuck you in every room of the house.”
Heat swept through me at the thought of breaking in Winters House, room by room. It was a huge house. That was a lot of sex. Sex with Aiden. I pressed my knees together and tried not to squirm in my seat.
“I’m sorry about my family. Was Charlie grilling you?”
“She was fine. More curious than anything.” I thought about the considering look in Annalise’s eyes. Charlie’s pointed questions. “They love you. They’re just looking out for you.”
Aiden grunted in the back of his throat. His aggravation made me smile. “They’re annoying. I have no idea where they got the idea that they can tell me what to do.”
At that, I burst out laughing. He sounded so disgruntled, like a petulant child. He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “What’s so funny?”
“You,” I managed through my giggles. “You’re so used to being the master of the universe, arranging everyone like pieces on a chess board, and you don’t know what to do when they won’t obey.”
“Hm. I don’t think I’m the master of the universe,” he argued, spurring another round of giggles.
“Right,” I said. “Sure you don’t. Didn’t you tell me you fired your own sister to keep her from working too much? Is that the only time you’ve made decisions for them without asking what they want?”
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing,” Aiden said. “I’m looking out for them. I’m the head of the family. It’s my job.”
“I know,” I said, reaching across the center console to rest my hand on his arm. He dropped his hand from the steering wheel and closed it over mine. “And now they’re looking out for you. They love you,” I said again. “They want to protect you.”
“From you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as if I was no threat.
“Well, you did marry Elizabeth,” I pointed out. “Maybe they’re just putting me through the wringer in self-defense. They don’t want to be stuck with Elizabeth 2.0.”
“There is that,” he agreed. “But you shouldn’t have to deal with Gage’s bad attitude, or the rest of them interrogating you.”
“Aiden, it’s fine. I appreciate you looking out for me. No one really has, you know. I’ve always only had Chase. It means a lot that you want to protect me from your family, but I don’t want you to. I have to win them over on my own.”
“You shouldn’t have to win them over at all.”
“No?” I tugged my hand from his and turned in my seat to face him. “Are we together? Or are we just having sex until we burn out?”
Aiden pulled to a stop in front of the attendant at the Hotel Intercontinental and raised a finger to tell him to wait. His eyes caught mine, dark and deadly serious. “We’re together. I’ve told you, this is more than sex.”
“Then you have to give them time, Aiden. You can’t make them like me. Either they will, or they won’t. And if we’re good together and you’re happy, they’ll see that. In the meantime, I can handle them. Even Gage.”
Aiden’s eyes warmed, and he leaned in to press his lips to mine.
“I don’t deserve you,” he said.
“Maybe not, but I’m not letting you go.”
“Works for me.”
He opened his door, signaling the attendant to open mine, and passed over the keys before we made our way to the front desk. A few minutes later we were cruising up in the elevator to the Ambassador’s Suite. Not long after that, the promised slice of chocolate cake arrived.
Aiden brought it straight to bed, though he didn’t bother with a fork. While I watched with wide eyes, naked beneath the smooth sheets, Aiden swiped one finger through the thick frosting, painted it across my nipple and sucked it off.
I didn’t end up getting much of the cake, but I got my fill of Aiden. And orgasms.
Chocolate, Aiden, and orgasms. I couldn’t imagine anything better. His family, my brother—none if it mattered. When I was with Aiden, everything else melted away until it was just us. Just Aiden and me. Exactly the way I wanted it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Aiden
I had too much work to worry about Evers’s phone call. The test would be done when it was done. Staring at the phone wouldn’t speed it up. I told myself that more than once, even though my heart jumped every time a call came through. The morning passed. Lunch came and went. I’d cleaned out Violet’s desk, and her little cactus sat beside my monitor, reminding me of her.
I needed another coffee. We’d stayed up half the night making use of the wide king bed in our hotel suite. Licking chocolate frosting off her smooth skin was just the beginning. Fucking her in Vegas had been one thing. That was a vacation, a few days away from our real lives.
Last night was real. Despite the friction caused by both of our families, nothing felt better than falling asleep with Violet in my arms. Soon enough I’d bring her home to Winters House and everything would be perfect. Soon enough.
I hated to admit she was right. I couldn’t command my family to accept her any more than she could force her brother to like me. They needed time and I’d have to be patient. I didn’t mind being patient if it would get me what I wanted in the end, but I didn’t like waiting for Violet. I wanted her to be mine. Full stop.
I wasn’t going to question it.
Was I moving fast? Absolutely.
Too fast? Hell, no.
Thinking of our suite at the Intercontinental, her promise to meet me there for dinner, our progress felt glacially slow. Once I’d decided Violet was mine, I didn’t want to wait. I didn’t want to sneak around.
Staying in a hotel to avoid our families left me feeling like a teenager. Fitting, since Violet gave me the refractory period of one. I was topped up on orgasms, but I could use a little more sleep.
I was about to get another cup of coffee when my phone rang. Squelching the leap in my chest at the sound, I picked it up. “Yes?”
“You sitting down?” Evers.
“Just tell me,” I said, not in the mood for him to yank my chain.
“We don’t have Anna Winters’s DNA, or William Davis’s. But based on the results from Anna’s children it looks like Chase Westbrook is Anna’s son.”
I let out a long breath. I’d had a feeling. I’d been almost positive. But thinking and knowing were two very different things.
“You there?” Evers said.
“I’m here. Just…thinking.”
“It’s a lot to work out,” Evers said, “but just remember, this doesn
’t change anything. He’s Anna’s son, but that doesn’t mean you can trust him. Or his sister. Just go slowly—”
“Evers, shut up. I don’t know if I can trust Chase, but I do know I can trust Violet. And you’re wrong, this changes everything. For all of us.”
“It doesn’t have to,” Evers argued and then let out a defeated sigh. “But you’re going to do what you’re going to do. I’ve known you too long to think differently. I’ll send over the paperwork so you and Gage have it. When I’m done I’ll send over my report on the Westbrooks.”
“Anything interesting I don’t know about?” I asked, hating myself for the small niggle of doubt hiding under my question.
“Not yet. The parents are a little weird. Word is they never talk about their children. Cut them off and forgot about them. Cold.”
“That was the impression I got from Violet. They had their children’s futures planned and when Chase, and then Violet, didn’t fall in line they erased them.” I changed the subject. I hated thinking about Violet’s parents. “Have you figured out how they crossed paths with your father?”
“Not yet. I can’t find any trace of paperwork on Chase’s adoption. If you can, if things go well, see if he has it, or knows where to find it. Anything in writing would help.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I promised. “I’ll keep you posted. Don’t worry about sending the papers over, we’ll swing by and grab the report.”
I hung up and swiveled in my desk chair, staring out the window of my office. What were the chances Anna’s son just happened to own a company we’d acquired? The odds seemed right up there with winning the lottery. The unusual happened every day. This could be a lucky coincidence. Or it might be more.
I wanted to trust Violet. I did trust Violet. At the very least I trusted her motives, if not every decision she’d made, but Chase…he was a wildcard. Picking up my phone I dialed Gage. When he answered I said, “I need you in my office.”
“On my way.”
Gage had barely cleared my door when he caught the look on my face. “Evers called.”
“Just got off the phone with him,” I confirmed.
“And it’s true? He’s ours?”
“He is. Can you take a break? We need to go talk to him.”
“He’s due here in two hours,” Gage said.
“I don’t want to do this here. I’ll call Violet and see if they’re home. Better to do this on their turf, where they’re comfortable.”
“Where they’re comfortable?”
“This is going to come as a shock,” I said, thinking of Violet. “After their parents kicked them out, all they’ve had is each other. Now, all of a sudden, Chase is going to have a whole new family. And Violet still only has Chase. I don’t want to throw this at her in my office. I want her to feel safe.”
Gage hitched up his shoulder with impatience. “This isn’t about your girlfriend.”
“It’s not only about her,” I agreed. “It’s about all of us.”
“Call her. I’ll rearrange my schedule. Meet you at the elevators.”
Violet answered her phone with a relaxed, “Hey, how’s your day?”
When I asked if we could move our meeting from Gage’s office in two hours to their condo now, she agreed but her relaxed tone shifted to cautious curiosity.
We needed to get this out in the open. Chase had a right to know who he was. I still felt like I was holding a grenade and someone had pulled the pin before I was ready to throw.
We stopped by the Sinclair Security offices to grab a copy of the file with the DNA results. Nothing much in the report made sense to me. I was a businessman, not a geneticist, but I understood the summary on the first page. 98% chance subject A is a sibling to sample subjects.
Violet opened the door when we knocked and immediately looked past me to Gage. I didn’t need eyes in the back of my head to know Gage was glaring at her. Again. The moment her eyes met his, her periwinkle gaze shifted to a chilly lavender and her chin went up half an inch.
She led us to the living room where Chase waited on a couch. “Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Arsenic?” This last she directed at Gage. Chase watched the interplay and smirked.
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Gage said.
The second he laid eyes on Chase Westbrook, he forgot his animosity toward Violet. He couldn’t stop staring at the half-brother he’d never met. Violet looked between Gage and her brother, concern clouding her expression.
“Why did we move the meeting here?” she asked me. “Wouldn’t it be easier to talk about CD4 at the office?”
“It would,” I agreed, “but this isn’t about the company. This is personal.”
“I don’t understand,” Violet said, taking a seat beside Chase. Chase rested his ankle on his knee and looked from me to Gage.
“I do,” he said. “When did you figure it out? Before or after you stole my company?” His fingers tapped on the top of his thigh, and he watched us with cool, assessing eyes.
Vance’s eyes. Anna’s eyes.
I said, “We didn’t steal your company,” at the same time Gage said, “After.”
I shot a quelling look at Gage, and as usual, he ignored me. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and said, “We didn’t steal your company. I thought Aiden covered that yesterday.”
“That’s the story he’s selling,” Chase said.
“It’s the truth,” Gage shot back. “What I want to know is, how long have you known? Did you know when you relocated to Atlanta?”
“I’ve known since I was seventeen,” Chase said evenly.
Violet swiveled on the couch to face him. “Will someone please tell me what you’re talking about? Know what?”
Chase looked at her and his face softened. Reaching out, he closed his fingers over her forearm. “Vivi, it’s complicated.”
“It’s not that complicated,” Gage cut in. “My mother got pregnant in college. She gave up the baby for adoption. That baby is your brother. We didn’t know until a few months ago and we’ve been looking for him ever since.”
“That’s not possible. Chase isn’t adopted.” Violet scowled at Gage, clearly suspecting he was up to something. Her angry gaze faltered as she looked to me, waiting for me to set him straight. I handed her the file.
With trembling hands, she opened it, her eye skimming the first page. Gently, I said, “Chase is subject A. I stole his comb yesterday and we tested his DNA.”
“Yesterday?” Her voice was faint. “But that’s too fast. You can’t have a DNA test done that quickly. There must be a mistake.”
“There’s no mistake,” Gage said, leaning forward to pull the file from her hands. “We’ll get you a copy of the test results, but there’s no question. Chase is my brother.”
“Half-brother,” Chase shot back, resting his hand on Violet’s back.
She shrugged it off. “You knew?” Violet whispered, staring at Chase, her eyes shadowed, wounded. “You never said anything. Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Vivi, it’s not a big deal.” He tried to take her hand, but she pulled back.
“How can you say that? Of course, it’s a big deal. Is that why we moved here?”
Chase shrugged a shoulder and finally started to look uncomfortable. “Maybe. I was curious, okay? And we were done with St. Louis. I never planned to contact them.” Looking at us he said again, “I never planned to contact you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Aiden
“Why not?” Gage demanded. “We’re your family.”
Chase’s laugh was brittle enough to hurt my ears. Even Violet flinched at the sound.
“You’re not my family. I don’t have a family, except for Vivi.”
“You’re my half-brother,” Gage pressed. “You have a sister.” A quick glance at Violet and he clarified, “Another sister. Two more brothers, aside from me, and four cousins.”
“I don’t have any cousins,” C
hase said. “And I don’t need you. Your mother threw me out like yesterday’s trash. She had the perfect life all lined up, and I was in the way, so she got rid of me. Went on to marry your father and raise the perfect little family.”
“Chase.” Violet pressed her lips together and reached for her brother’s hand, squeezing his fingers in hers.
“No, Vivi. I never planned to contact them. We don’t need them.”
“Then why did you mention Winters, Inc. to Harrison? Back when he first approached, you told him you weren’t selling and then somehow Winters, Inc. came up. At the time I thought it was because CD4 would fit with their portfolio, but that wasn’t it, was it?”
“It was a stupid idea. Clearly.” Chase shot me a furious look. “If I’d never mentioned Winters, Inc. to Harrison, none of this would have happened. I’d still have my company. Vivi wouldn’t have met you. One moment of weakness and everything went sideways.”
“Fine,” Violet said, squeezing her brother’s fingers again. “It didn’t turn out the way you planned. But they’re here now. They wanted to find you. Doesn’t that mean something?”
“I don’t see why it has to mean anything” Chase shot back. “It’s biology. That’s all. She wasn’t my mother. She got rid of me. Why should I care about her real kids?”
“Chase, she’s not here. She made her choices, and she can’t explain them. She’s gone. But you have a brother sitting right in front of you. Don’t throw that away because you’re angry at a dead woman.”
“Vivi, you don’t understand,” he started.
Violet interrupted and went on, “I don’t. I don’t know how you feel right now because I’ve never been in this situation. But Mom and Dad—” she bit her bottom lip and looked up at the ceiling. I saw with a jolt of alarm the shimmer of tears in her eyes. “Mom and Dad threw you out, threw us both out, because we weren’t what they wanted. We weren’t what they planned for. It was wrong. And it was cruel. Don’t do that. You’re better than that. Better than them. I’m not saying you have to love him.”