I won’t be able to ignore my feelings if I’m watching her prance around in lace and silk. The only thing that will take my mind off her is work. So, I pull out a stack of contracts to go over. But first; a cold shower.
9
KIEREN
“We’re just not sure about it.”
I pull the phone away from my ear. “Fuck,” I mouth silently before bringing the phone back up.
“Mr. Bryant, your contract is up in a week. Defender, Inc. would like to ensure that there’s no break in service and that we’re able to continue to offer your company quality protection. I’d be happy to email the contract over right over…or I could bring it to you myself.” I try to keep my voice level and professional but the client on the phone is testing my patience.
“What about what happened with Victoria Chase?” he asks me.
“I’m not liberty to discuss other clients with you.” My voice goes hard. What the fuck is he insinuating? That we’re at fault for Victoria’s attacks? She didn’t even hire us until after her old bodyguards proved themselves ineffectual.
“Mr. Bryant,” I continue on, “you’ve been with us for a year now and over that time we’ve handled security for all your events. High profile events that we pulled off without a single security breach or problem. Our protocol is prevention and we feel that we’ve provided that for you.”
“I just feel that, given the circumstances, we’d be more comfortable going with a security company that had more…credibility,” the client says smoothly.
“Credibility?” I’m floored.
“Maybe integrity is a better word,” he says.
Oh, I smell Alpha Bravo Security all over this. “Mr. Bryant, have you spoken to any other firms recently? Because I can assure you…”
“Yes, we’ve had a consultation with another firm,” he interrupts. “I just really think we’d be better off going with a new firm. Defender, Inc. is having some growing pains and I just can’t put the safety of my customers and clients on the line so you can figure out what direction your company needs to take. I’m sorry, Mr. Chase, I’m not going to be renewing our contract with you.”
“Would you at least explain what you meant by ‘integrity’,” I ask.
“Have a nice day.” The line goes dead in my ear.
“Shit, shit, shit.” I throw my phone across the desk, watching as it skitters across the top and tumbles over the edge. I kick my chair back and round the desk, just missing the phone as it falls. It hits the floor with a sharp crack and when I pick it up the screen is a shattered mess, it looks like a piece of modern art.
I shrug. Oh well, time to buy another phone. Phones are frequently the victim of my sometimes volatile temper. Better than someone’s face.
Glancing at my watch I realize I’m due back at Victoria’s to relieve Antony from his shift. I lock up the office and slide into my Jag, hitting the freeway at well over the legal speed limit. I zip through traffic and consider the fact that Victoria is now our only client. While it’s not going to keep the bills paid, I really don’t mind that much. Would it really be so bad to be her permanent guardian? I think I could easily devote my life to being her knight in shining armor.
Wait, wait. If that’s what I really think then I’m in big, big trouble. We just lost another client to ABS and all I can think about is Victoria. I should be worried about establishing the company Antony and I are trying to build. My thoughts should be geared toward building a client roster and an impeccable reputation in the industry. Instead, all I want to do is get home to Victoria and find out how her day went. I flip on the satellite radio and turn the volume as loud as I can stand it. I hope the crunching guitars and wailing vocals of the heavy metal band pouring out of the speakers will push the thoughts of Victoria out of my mind.
I pull up to the bungalow, happy to see the gate guard doing his job properly. He peers into my window and waves me through. In my rearview mirror, I see him calling the intercom to the house and announcing my arrival. I pull up the drive and to the rear of the house.
Lights are on in the kitchen and blues music is pouring out of the open back door. I take the back steps two at a time and find Antony and Victoria at the kitchen table in the middle of what looks like drinks and dessert.
“Hey, thanks for waiting for me.” I scowl at the pair.
“I’m glad you’re home!” Victoria jumps out of her chair and runs over, wrapping her arms my neck and squeezing. “Sorry, we were hungry, but I saved you a plate.” She pushes me toward the table before she turns to the stove. She pulls open a warming drawer on her gigantic, fancy oven and pulls out a plate made up with a perfectly seared Kobe Delmonico steak and a fat baked potato glistening with butter. She adds a side salad, grabs an icy beer from the refrigerator, and deposits the meal in front of me with a smile. Is she kidding me with this? This is fucking amazing. This is what I want to come home to every single night of my life.
“This is perfect,” I tell her.
She beams.
I dig into the plate and watch as they finish what looks like a chocolate soufflé. “I know why you have to meet with your trainer so much now.” I wave my steak knife at the food.
Victoria throws her napkin at my head.
“So, how’d it go at the office,” Antony finally asks.
I sigh, taking a deep pull from my beer bottle before I answer. “We lost Bryant to ABS.”
Antony pushes his plate away and leans back, arms folded across his chest as he studies the wall over my head. I can see the thoughts running through his head and I don’t like where they’re going. Victoria manages to head him off before I have the chance to say anything.
“Oh well, easy come, easy go. Right? You guys have plenty of clients.” She sips at her glass of wine.
“Uh, well…” Antony trails off, his eyes begging me to field this one.
“Well, babe, we have ONE other client anyhow. The most important client. You. You’re now the proud owner of two, full-time body guards. Congratulations. It’s twins!”
Victoria’s face falls when she realizes she’s our one remaining client. I don’t want her pity, though. I reach across the table and grab her hand. “Honey, don’t worry about us. The business will be fine. We just have all our time to devote to you right now. We’ll figure out the rest later.”
“This is exactly where we need to be right now, Victoria. You’re our priority.” Antony gets up and moves behind Victoria, dropping a kiss onto the top of her head. She looks a little happier at our reassurances.
Glancing at the clock, I realize it’s gotten later than I thought it was. “Hey, don’t you have an interview to get to?” I ask Victoria.
“I almost forgot,” she squeals and bounces out of her chair. “I need to change.”
“Calm down,” I laugh at her. “Do what you need to do and we’ll be waiting. Your knights are here, never fear, Lady Victoria.”
Antony cuts his eyes at me.
We’re in the SUV and headed towards the studio. Victoria is in the backseat, touching up her make-up. She’s in an off the shoulder, white slinky dress that hugs every curve and dip of her body, and her curls are tumbling over her shoulders in ribbons of chocolate. She’s beautiful. She catches me watching her in the visor mirror and gives me a shy smile. “Do I look okay?” she asks.
“You look gorgeous, Lady Victoria.” I’m still staring at her when Antony clears his throat and I snap the visor shut.
We pull up to the news studio, Antony easing the car up next to the curb so I can get out and let Victoria out of the backseat. I pull open the door and take her hand, helping her to the sidewalk. That’s when I hear someone calling her name.
Victoria spots him at the same time I do. It’s Dennis. He’s haggard and disheveled. He looks like he hasn’t slept or showered in days and his clothes are hanging from his frame. His eyes have a wild look, unfocused and bleary. And there’s a gun hanging loosely from his fingers.
I shove Victoria behind me
as Antony barrels out of the SUV and plants himself between Dennis and us. He’s got the phone to one ear, his voice pitched low as he talks to cops and one hand is extended to Dennis, palm up in a stop motion. Dennis is slowly meandering toward us, repeating Victoria’s name over and over like a chant. He waves the gun and I feel Victoria stiffen behind me.
“Take her,” I say to Antony through gritted teeth. “Get her out of here.”
Antony eases around behind me as I step forward, keeping Victoria behind him and pushing her into the alcove where the studio door remains firmly locked. He presses at the call button, trying to attract the attention of someone inside.
I advance slowly on Dennis, keeping my body slightly turned and an eye on the gun. He’s swinging it around and I wonder if he realizes it’s in his hand. When he finally notices me, he stops his babbling and his eyes clear.
Oh, it’s the brother,” he sneers, his voice nasty with insinuation.
“Dennis, don’t even think about doing something you’re going to regret,” I say quietly.
His eyes dart to where Victoria is cowering behind Antony and then back to me. I drop my body into a modified fighter’s crouch, ready for him to make a move.
“You know, it’s your fucking fault,” he says, suddenly sounding lucid.
“I don’t what you’re talking about, Dennis. Would you like to talk to me? We could go get a drink, me and you, and talk about whatever you want.” I’m moving to the side, trying to draw his gaze away from Victoria.
“Tut tut,” he says, “you’re a tricky one. I don’t want to talk to you, I want to talk to her!” He howls and swings the gun toward Antony and Victoria.
I take him out at the knees. He’s an easy takedown, obviously weak from not taking care of himself. I pin him underneath me and grab at his gun hand, smacking his wrist on the curb until his fingers loosen and he drops the gun in the gutter. I roll him over and pin his wrists behind him and press one knee into the small of his back. I can’t do anything about his loud mouth, though.
He’s screaming and howling at Victoria, spit stringing from his mouth as he rants. “I love you, Victoria, just you. You need me. You need me! Nobody understands you like I do. I know why you act, I know you do it for your father. I love you. It’s supposed to be us!”
I resist the urge to cuff him across the temple and instead push his face into the pavement. He’s still spluttering.
“You and me, just you and me, Victoria. I know you. You love me. You’ll love me. I promise. You’re mine, you’re mine.” Dennis is whimpering now, pathetic and blubbering. And something snaps inside me when he calls Victoria his. I grab his greasy hair and snatch his head backward.
“You crazy fucking bastard,” I growl from between my teeth, “stay the fuck away from her. Keep your goddamned hands off my girl.” I shove his face back into the concrete, panting with the effort it’s taking me to restrain myself from strangling him.
Finally, the cops are there, pulling Dennis off the sidewalk, taking the gun into evidence and frisking him for more weapons. They cuff his hands behind him and begin to walk him to the police car. He’s still crying for Victoria.
She’s cowering behind Antony in the alcove, shivering and hiding her face. A crowd has gathered nearby now and I see phones out, recording every move we’ve made. Paparazzi has shown up too, with their long lenses and intrusive questions. Victoria ducks her head, shielding her face with her hands.
I put myself in front of Antony, another body between her and the growing crowd. I smack the intercom button. “Open the goddamned door, it’s Victoria Chase.”
A buzzer sounds and the lock pops on the door. I snatch it open and we hustle Victoria inside. When the door thunks shut, it cuts off the noise from the photographers and gawkers outside. Victoria is shaking and her face is white. I pull her into my arms, rubbing briskly at her arms and back.
“Sweetheart, it’s okay. We’ve got you, we’ve got you,” Antony is murmuring to her, stroking her hair.
She’s sandwiched between us in the bland studio hallway, her head on my chest, one hand reaching for Antony. I can feel when her breathing slows and her body relaxes. I know that she feels safe now.
“Ahem.” Someone down the hall clears their throat. I turn my head and see a tall, dark-haired woman in heavy tortoiseshell glasses walking toward us. She’s got a clipboard in one hand and a headset looped over her ear.
“I’m Julie, associate producer. We’re almost ready for Miss Chase.” Her eyes flit between the three of us, landing on Victoria’s hand where it’s linked with Antony’s. She smirks.
“We’ll be there in a minute,” I say.
She points to an open door. “Dressing room,” she says and heads back down the hallway.
Victoria peels herself away from us and gives a hiccupping giggle. “I must look horrible.” She’s patting at her hair and smoothing down her dress.
Antony checks the dressing room and I lead her in when he gives the all clear. Victoria drops into a chair in front of a light up vanity and Antony stations himself beside the door like a sentry. I drop onto a small leather sofa and scrub my knuckles across my eyes.
“We all okay here?” I finally ask.
“I’m fine…but…I saw the gun…and…” I see big tears welling up in Victoria’s eyes, turning them into shimmering blue pools.
Antony is kneeling beside her before I can move, taking her hands in his, kissing at the palms. “We’re okay. See. Nothing happened to us. We kept you safe and ourselves, too.”
She’s nodding, not trusting herself to talk. Finally, she takes a few deep breaths. “We’re all okay.”
“Now,” Antony is brisk and business-like again, “it’s almost time for you to go on. You going out looking like that?”
She smacks at him and he jumps back with a grin. “Brat.”
Antony takes his place by the door again and we watch as Victoria reapplies lipstick and wipes at the dark streaks trailing down her cheeks. When she’s finished, we open the door and escort down the hallway to the studio, turning her over to the stage manager and Julie. Canned applause echoes over the soundstage as she makes her way to the waiting host, and with a smile and cheek kiss, Victoria is on. Lit up and charming and utterly adorable.
I turn to Antony and he pulls me into a back-pounding hug. “Nice job out there,” he says gruffly.
“Yeah, you too,” I return.
I see his Adam’s apple bob but all he does is nod.
We watch a few more minutes of Victoria’s interview before I turn to Antony.
“We have to…”
“I know,” he says before I can finish. “We have to tell her.”
I nod once and cram my fists into the pockets of my jeans, rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet. “Both of us?”
“We both the feel the same way, so we have to tell her about both of us.”
“All right then.”
I turn back to the soundstage. Victoria is animated, hands fluttering and eyes flashing as she tells a story. The host is laughing and patting Victoria’s knee. She’s killing it. Finally, they’re wrapping up, more hugging and cheek kissing and the interview is over. Victoria looks over at us and gives a big grin and thumbs up as a sound guy comes over and starts unhooking her microphone.
“Think it’s going to change things?” I ask Antony.
“Yes, it is,” he responds.
“In a good way or a bad way?”
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out.”
And there she is, jumping up and down and hugging us, hyped from the earlier adrenaline and her excellent interview.
I catch her as she wiggles into my arms and I wonder if it’s worth the risk. If we tell her how we feel about her, it could end it all. We could wind up less than step-siblings, less than client and company, even. We could wind up strangers.
Still, I smile at her as we lead her back down the blank corridor toward the outside door. I let her chatter pour over me. I
have to know, though, if there’s a chance. I’ll take the risk.
10
VICTORIA
I’m in the backseat of the SUV with Kieren. I didn’t want to sit alone. I’ve kicked off my shoes and tucked my toes under the edge of his leg. He has one hand wrapped firmly around my ankle, his thumb tracing small circles across my instep. It’s tickly and warm and feels good. Too good.
It’s hushed in the SUV, just a low whir of tires on pavement and a murmuring from the radio. I was so hyped after the interview, surprised it went so smoothly after the drama of the incident with Dennis. But now, I have the time and quiet to let my mind wander and I’m not sure I like where it’s taking me.
The cops took Dennis away and now he isn’t a threat to me I have some time to think about the twins. I’ve never felt as safe as I did in the hallway with both of them wrapped around me. I knew that they'd risk their lives for me, that they'd do anything to protect me. Before, when I thought about being with them I was focused on the physicality of it. The intimacy and sex. The overwhelming craving that I feel when I think about their bodies and what they'd be capable of doing to mine. But after what happened today I have to face that it's more. This isn't just a craving for physical relief. I want both of them because of who they are and how they make me feel.
Safe.
Cherished.
Adored. It's in every conversation, every gentle touch and considerate gesture. This isn’t about a fantasy anymore. This is real, what I feel. I love them. I always have but I've pushed aside the warmth of that love as something brotherly rather romantic, writing it off as a girly crush or something that’s impossible to have. But now, I have to know if I can have it. I have to tell them, but it doesn't feel like an easy thing to confess.
By the way Kieren and Antony, you know all the years we've been step-siblings, well I've actually been thinking about jumping your bones. Have you been thinking about jumping mine?
God, just thinking about it is making me sweat and blush.
BODYGUARD BROTHERS: A TWIN STEPBROTHER MENAGE ROMANCE Page 7