BODYGUARD BROTHERS: A TWIN STEPBROTHER MENAGE ROMANCE

by Samantha Twinn

“I think we need to. I need to know if you’re okay with what happened last night.”

  He gets up and refills his cup, sitting back down and sipping as he considers his answer. “You know, I am. I thought I’d get up this morning and everything would awkward but…no. This is Victoria. We’ve shared everything all our lives and I’m willing to share her too.”

  I consider his words as I walk back to the stove and move the bacon back to finish cooking. I poke at with a spatula before turning back to Kieren.

  “I’m okay with it too.”

  “All I want is for her to be happy. And I know she’s just as important to you as she is to me,” he says.

  I pull a carton of eggs from the fridge start cracking them into a bowl. Kieren sits with his coffee, watching me.

  “Yeah,” I finally say, “I’m okay with it. I want her safe and she’s safest if she has us both.”

  “This is true.”

  “Hey, short stuff. Toast.” I toss a loaf of bread at Kieren’s head and he just catches it before it knocks into his cup. He gets up and slots bread into the toaster while I stir the eggs around in a frying pan. Kieren even goes so far as to pull plates and silverware out and sets the table.

  “One thing, though,” I say to him. I look over and he’s blowing on his fingers after pulling the bread out of the hot toaster.

  “What’s that?” he grouches, still cooling his fingers.

  “This has to stay a secret.”

  “This? Us and Victoria?”

  “Exactly. We don’t need word getting out that she’s with both us. Or one of us, even.”

  “You think it would be bad for her,” Kieren asks. I think he must still be half asleep if he hasn't grasped the ramifications of a leak.

  “I do. And we’re here to protect her, so just think of keeping this a secret as another component of that.” I slide a platter of eggs and bacon onto the table and snap my fingers at Kieren for the toast.

  He drops the plate next to platter and flops into his chair, huffing out a sigh. “I guess. Yeah, you’re right, it would be better for her if no one knew about us.”

  I can see by the look on his face he’s not happy about it. He probably thought we’d be…a couple...a trio...with Victoria. He was probably thinking about dinners out, concerts, maybe even us escorting down the red carpet. That’s not going to happen. We have to keep her safe and that means keeping our mouths shut.

  “Hey, good morning.”

  I look up and see Victoria standing shyly in the doorway. She’s got a thick, cotton robe wrapped around her and her damp hair is piled on top of her head. She’s looking sideways and biting at the inside of her cheek. Her cheeks are flushing a cherry red and I know she’s remembering last night. I walk to her and ease my fingers under her chin, pushing her face up until she’s looking at me.

  “Good morning,” I say and slant my lips over hers giving her a deep, lingering kiss.

  “Oh. Good morning,” she repeats huskily. I chuckle and nudge her toward the table, giving her a light smack on her ass.

  She slides into her seat and Kieren leans over to claim her lips in a kiss. She’s grinning when I place her coffee in front of her. We spend the next few minutes dishing out breakfast and talking softly with each other. It’s an almost perfect morning.

  We’re clearing the dishes from the table and loading up the dishwasher when my phone rings. I grab it off the counter and grimace when I see ABS across the top of the screen. I tap the button and put the phone to my ear.

  “Defender, Inc. How can I help you?” I listen to the person on the other end for a second. “This is him. How can I help you?”

  Kieren is giving me a questioning look from across the room but I wave him off and open the French doors, taking the phone to the patio.

  “Mr. Chase, we’d like to set up a meeting with you,” the voice on the phone is saying.

  “I don’t see any reason we’d need to have a meeting,” I retort.

  “Oh, I think we need to. It’s your client, your only client, Miss Chase.”

  “What do you want?” I snap.

  “Just a meeting, we have a few things I think we should discuss.”

  I don’t want to have anything to do with these weasels but the ways he’s talking and the fact he’s mentioned Victoria means that I will. “Fine.”

  Kieren and Victoria are peering out of the door at me as I pace around the patio. I listen to the meeting details, agree to the time and place and tap my phone off before I turn back to them.

  “Who was that?” Kieren asks.

  “Just some company business,” I say “I’ve got a meeting this afternoon so you’re on with Victoria.”

  “Okay, I got it covered.” He’s giving me a suspicious look but lets me walk past without pushing me about it. I only hope I can keep it together until I find out what ABS wants with us. And Victoria.

  It’s just past noon and I’m headed downtown in heavy traffic. I’m actually driving Victoria’s Mini because it'll be easier to find parking if I’m not in the SUV. And I don’t want Kieren taking her out in the Jag anymore. In fact, the keys are in my pocket.

  I circle the block until I see a spot open up and I slide the little car in with no problems. ABS’s offices are located on the fifteenth floor of a twenty-story building. I walk through the double glass doors and debate taking the stairs as I wait for the elevator. Just as I’m about to head for the stairwell, the elevator doors slide open with a hiss. I step inside and punch at the button to take me up.

  I use the reflective interior of the elevator to make sure my tie is straight and my suit is wrinkle-free. I unbutton my jacket and slide my sunglasses out of the interior pocket, slipping them on right before the door opens. It’s a little pretentious to wear them inside but ABS are all about pretention.

  Their lobby is glass and marble and Lucite. Even the reception desk is see-through. A receptionist with a sharp black bob greets me and points me toward one of the uncomfortably trendy chairs on the wall. I sigh and settle down to wait. I school myself into stillness. I don’t want to look fidgety to my adversaries.

  Finally, I look up to see Dean Falwell striding down the corridor, his shiny shoes sounding like gunshots on the marble floor.

  “Antony! Thanks for coming.” He extends his hand and gives me an overly solicitous shake. “This way, my man? Can we get you anything? Coffee? Water?”

  I shake my head no and let him lead me down the bright hallway and into a rear office. Instead of modern and marble, this one is a gentlemen’s lounge in dark woods and leather. He points to a chair in front of the large desk and helps himself to some sort of pressed juice in a glass bottle from the nearby mini-fridge before taking his own seat. He takes the time to savor a few sips of his drink before turning his shark-like smile to me.

  I’m ready to get this over with. “Why did you want a meeting, Dean?”

  “You always did get right down to business. Okay, we’ll get straight to it. First, I’d like to congratulate you on keeping Miss Chase alive. That was a nasty bit of business with that stalker. Guy had a gun, didn’t he?”

  “He did.” I don’t want to give him any more than he already knows.

  “Well, you boys did a good job with that. Just wanted you to know that.” Dean sips at his juice again. It’s disgusting looking, with chunks of I don’t know what floating in the bottle.

  “Thank you,” I say shortly.

  “But, technically, Victoria being your client is a huge conflict of interest for your company.”

  “Come again.”

  “She’s family, Antony. I think we both know if it came down to protecting her or an innocent by-stander that you’d put someone else’s life in jeopardy to save hers.”

  “I don’t see what that’s got to do with…”

  “I’m just saying, in terms of license renewal, a conflict of interest could be an issue for you boys.” He gives me snaky grin.

  “I can’t believe you’re trying to do this.
You’ve poached every single client we’ve had and now you’re trying to take Victoria, too. It’s not going to happen.”

  “I’m just trying to help you out. We can take over her contract. We’ll have someone on her 24/7. She’ll be safe and your company can avoid any ethics violations. It’s a win for everyone.”

  “It’s a win for you,” I snap.

  “It’s a way for you to avoid any appearance of misconduct. We can even take on you and your brother as contractors. Come work for us. Not as Miss Chase’s guards, of course.”

  “I don’t know what you’re up to but it’s not happening. Victoria is our client and she’s going to remain our client. There’s no misconduct on anyone’s part.” A small part of my brain flashes back to last night.

  “I really do wish you’d reconsider, Antony.” Dean is far too jovial for my comfort.

  “And I really do wish you’d go fuck yourself.” I barrel out of the chair and stalk toward the door. I’ve just put my hand on the knob when Dean’s voice stops me.

  “Well, I do wish you and Defender, Inc. the best of luck. You let ABS know if anything changes. We’ll be glad to step in when you need us.”

  I fling open his door and head for the elevator. The black-haired receptionist gives me a hollow ‘have a nice day’ as I pass her. As the elevator carries me back to the lobby, my gut sinks.

  Dean was suspiciously unperturbed by my refusal and downright affable in his offer to dismantle my company. Something is going on with ABS and I just wish I knew what. Whatever it is, I get the feeling that it isn’t over yet.

  Back in Victoria’s Mini, I call up Kieren.

  “What’s up? What kind of meeting could ABS possibly want to have with you?” Kieren’s perturbed at being left out of the meeting.

  “What they want is Victoria. They offered to take over her contract. Said that her being our client was a conflict of interest.”

  “Those sons of bitches!”

  “There’s more. Dean Falwell is up to something. He was way too happy when I told him to go fuck himself.”

  “He’s just to use to hearing that from the Chase brother’s by now. It’s our standard exit line when it comes to him.”

  “I’m telling you, Kieren, something is going on. That man has something up his sleeve. We need to find out what it is before it comes crashing down around our ears.”

  “Why don’t we talk about this more when you get home?”

  “Yeah, okay. What’s Victoria doing?”

  “Looking over some scripts. Should we tell her?”

  “No. We shouldn't. She doesn’t need something else to worry about. I don’t want her thinking that anything that’s happening to our company is her fault. Keep her out of this.”

  “Got it. See you at home.”

  I tab off the phone and steer the little car toward the Hollywood Hills. There’s something going on but right now, I’m going home to Victoria.

  12

  KIEREN

  It’s nice to have the afternoon to spend with Victoria. We stay in while Antony goes to the meeting with ABS. After being a little shy and awkward this morning, Victoria is back to her bubbly self. She’s making popcorn while I search through Netflix to find a decent movie to watch. She comes back in with a bowl full of buttery popcorn and plops onto the sofa, stretching out with her feet in my lap. She tosses a piece of popcorn and laughs when I miss and it lands on my chest.

  The crackle of the gate intercom interrupts the quiet, drowsy afternoon. Victoria groans when I shift her feet and reach over to answer.

  “Yeah, what is it?” I ask the guard.

  “Mail’s been delivered, Mr. Chase.”

  I look at Victoria. “You wanna get that?”

  “Nuh uh, I’m not moving. You go get it.”

  Shrugging, I stand up and stretch. “I could use some movement. Come with me.” I grab her ankle and tug like I’m going to pull her off the sofa. “Quit being a slug,” I laugh.

  “Ugh, leave me alone.” She giggles and kicks her feet at me. “I’m not moving.”

  “Fine.” I drop her foot. “You know, this kind of attitude isn’t going to get you anywhere in life.”

  She pelts me with handful of popcorn.

  I chuckle and duck out the door. Then I pop my head back around the edge. “I’m not cleaning that up, Lady Victoria.” I duck as another handful comes soaring my way.

  I make my way down the drive and collect the bundle of mail from the guard. We have a small chat about the upcoming schedule before I start back toward the house. I flip through the mail, checking for anything that looks strange or out of place. Everything looks good today.

  Inside, Victoria is picking up the scattered popcorn. I smirk at her and grab a handful of her ass when she bends over to fish a few pieces from underneath the table. When she looks back over her shoulder at me, her mouth pulled into an inviting smile, my cock twitches and I have to stop myself from yanking down her shorts and ramming it into her tight, warm body.

  “Here.” I hand her the stack of mail and flop onto the sofa, picking up the remote and starting my Netflix search again.

  She flips through the stack, dropping a few pieces into a nearby waste basket before opening an official looking envelope. I give up on Netflix and starting searching other channels, stopping on the Travel Channel. Tropical, sun-drenched beaches with white, sparkling sand flash across the screen. The water is a clear turquoise and you can see the bottom of the ocean floor.

  “We should go somewhere like that.” I point the remote at the TV.

  “Hmm.” She’s not paying any attention to me, her eyes moving rapidly across the paper in her hand.

  “A tropical getaway, just the three of us. Like that place that we went to when you graduated. I’ll be your personal cabana boy.”

  “Sure…” her voice trails off and she flips the paper over to read the back.

  “Hey, what is it?” I stand up and peer down at the paper.

  “Um, it’s my royalty and payment statement from Samson’s office.”

  “What’s wrong? Too much money?” I tease.

  “Exactly the opposite.” She hands me the papers and I scan them, my eyes going back to the bottom line.

  “That doesn’t look…is this seriously all you’ve made for the quarter?” It’s barely a few thousand dollars and while I’ve never asked how much she makes the amount seems low for the number of appearances she’s been making lately.

  “I don’t…something about that doesn’t seem right,” she muses. “It’s not like I need the money or anything but it still doesn’t seem like enough. With my appearances and royalty fees that amount should be well into five figures.” She chews at the inside of her cheek as she studies the paper again. “There must be some mistake, I’ll just call Samson and get this cleared up.”

  My stomach is sinking as she fishes her phone from the between the sofa cushions and brings up Samson’s number. I go read over the paper line by line as she stands there with the phone to her ear, her face going cloudy the longer it rings. Finally, I hear her leaving a message telling Samson to call her back.

  Dropping her phone to the table, she starts to pace, circling the living room as she worries her lip between her teeth. She stops in front of me and crosses her arms over her chest. “What do you think?” she asks me.

  I don’t want to give her my honest answer. Hollywood is full of sleazy scam artists looking to make an easy buck of some unsuspecting sucker. Not that I think Victoria is a sucker but Samson has always struck me as being slightly sleazy.

  “I don’t know,” I finally say, “what does your gut tell you?”

  She walks up and down the room a few more times before she starts to fuss around the room, picking up the popcorn bowl and straightening the cushions on the sofa.

  “I think it’s just a mistake is all. Samson is an old family friend. He was dad’s manager for almost twenty years.”

  “That’s what you think?”

  “J
ust a mix-up,” she says again. “Or maybe the studios pushing back against my contract. You know, they want the talent but they don’t always want to pay. Happens all the time.” She turns and heads back toward the kitchen with the bowl.

  I follow behind her. If Samson is up to something shady with Victoria, Antony and I will make him wish he’d never heard of the Carter/Chase family.

  She’s standing at the counter, peering out the window and across the backyard, the look on her face distant and pinched. She’s trying to work through what the statement from her manager really means and I can see she’s fighting to not the see the worst. I’m reaching for her when my phone buzzes. Cursing softly, I pull it out and check the screen. When Antony’s number flashes up I immediately answer it.

  Antony is agitated by the meeting with ABS. He’s sure Dean has something up his sleeve. And he wants to take Victoria’s contract away from us. I wander to the patio, watching Victoria through the kitchen window. She’s bustling around, worry etched across her face. She keeps glancing outside, searching for me.

  We finish our call and I walk back in to find Victoria opening a bottle of wine. I take the bottle opener from her and pop the cork out of the bottle, pouring her a healthy glug into a waiting glass.

  “Something going with Antony?” she asks.

  “Nothing to worry about, he’s on his way back, he should be here shortly.” I hand her the glass.

  As she sips at the golden liquid, I wrap my arms around her waist and nuzzle into her neck, pleased at the shivers that erupt across her shoulders and down her arms.

  “Hey, so back to that beach vacation…” I shift to another subject, trying to take her mind off Samson and Antony’s ABS meeting.

  “Oh yeah,” she turns in my arms, “I'll definitely be up for some beach fun.” She presses her body into mine so that I know exactly what kind of fun she’s talking about.

  Skimming my hands down her body, I grasp her firm ass and pull her into me, pressing her hips into mine, letting her feel what she does to me. I bend and nip at the edges of her ear with my teeth. Her skin pebbles instantly and she shivers against me.

  “We need to make sure we find somewhere remote. Maybe a private island. So you can walk around completely naked and ready.” I sink my teeth in the delicious column of her neck.