by Lexi Blake
Kitten hadn’t come on to him in the beginning. Not like this. She’d told him how handsome he was and that he should be proud because working out had given him a lovely backside. Innocent. Sweet.
There was a wedding ring on this woman’s finger. He couldn’t abide that. It was one thing to have casual sex, but there was nothing casual about cheating. He knew he had an odd sex life, but he’d been completely committed to Cole and the women they brought into their lives. Still, he wasn’t the morality police. Not even close. “Well, I promise he’ll see me.”
“I don’t know about that.” Her fingers drummed along the desk and she gave him a flirty wink. “He’s kind of a recluse, to say the least. Do you really want to talk to him? He’s not that much fun. The boss is uptight, if you know what I mean.”
“I don’t.” Cole only seemed uptight. It was part of his personality. He could be closed off. He only opened up to his subs, and only when he trusted them completely.
Like he used to trust Mason.
The receptionist leaned forward. “It’s almost quitting time. Why don’t you come and have a drink with me? You can ditch the weird chick.”
He turned and sure enough, Kitten was doing something weird. She was on the edge of the couch sniffing the painting. She grinned as she looked back down at her friend.
“It does smell like vanilla. How interesting.” She clapped her hands together and jumped off the ten-thousand-dollar couch. Her shoes had been kicked off at some point. Yeah, she hadn’t gotten out in the real world very much, but then that was part of the fun. He got to show her new things and she embraced them all.
She made him feel young again.
When he looked back, the receptionist was rolling her eyes. “Classy, huh? So what do you say? Do you want to have that drink?”
Oh, he had a lot to say. He was surprised to find his inner predator. He was the guy who laughed off everything, the one who smoothed things over because it didn’t matter. Now it fucking mattered. He let his voice drop to what he knew damn well was a sexy growl. “Do you know what I’m going to do when I get alone in that room with your boss?”
She leaned forward, giving him a good view of the tops of her breasts. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to get on my knees and I’m going to suck him off. I’m going to take out his cock and then I’m going to put my mouth all over him, and my jaw is very likely going to be sore because it’s been a long time and he’s got such a big dick. I’m going to suck him until he comes and then I’ll drink that down and hope that it doesn’t take him long to get hard again so he can take my ass. That’s what I’m going to do. And then, if I’m lucky, I get to do it all over again with that gorgeous woman over there because we’re both insane about her.”
“The boss is not a flipping queer.” She rolled her eyes. “We all know he’s doing his assistant and has been for years.”
“Mason?”
Shit and balls. He turned and there was Cole. It was obvious he’d overheard everything. He damn near stared a hole through him.
He had to force his eyes to meet Cole’s. It was his instinct to drop to his damn knees and beg Cole’s forgiveness. He’d done something unthinkable. He’d fucking outed him to someone who didn’t know. “She was hitting on me. I thought she should know what interested me.” He shrugged. “Sorry about lying. Obviously, I’m not going to do any of those things to you. I got mad and you were the nearest target.”
Maybe he could save it. Maybe.
Cole frowned. “What else did she do? You’re typically discreet. Have the last few years changed you so much?” His eyes strayed to where Kitten was showing her new friend the bracelet on her wrist. “Ah, I see.”
What had he done? He couldn’t get kicked out at this point. “I’m sorry, Sir. I was rude and I said things I shouldn’t. I made it sound like I was going to do something I would, of course, never do. That you would never do.”
One dark brow rose. “Come here, Mason.”
He was using that voice, the one that got his cock hard and made him breathless. Fuck. He’d screwed everything up. Cole tended to be very discreet at the office. The lodge in Bliss was different, but he kept his private life private here in Dallas. Mason was fairly sure he was about to get kicked to the curb. Would he be allowed to say good-bye to her? He panicked at the thought. Not seeing Kitten would be as bad as not seeing Cole.
He shook off that thought because this wasn’t about Cole. All the time they were spending together was about his revenge. It sure as fuck wasn’t about getting back into Cole’s bed.
“Mason, I asked you to come here.”
They were standing in the middle of his reception room. At least it would be civilized this time. There was no more putting it off. Once again he’d been reckless and it would fucking cost him. He never learned. Not ever. He stepped in front of Cole and suddenly there was a hand on the back of his neck.
Warm and big, Cole’s hands were so big. Like the rest of the man, his hands were massive and seemed to send a shock of pleasure through Mason’s system. Cole stared at him for a moment and Mason was completely shocked when Cole lowered his mouth to his and their lips brushed together for the first time in years.
He was seventeen again. At first Cole had been the innocent one, the one who needed to be led, but the minute he found his feet, he’d been the leader. They hadn’t known what to call themselves then. Hadn’t understood that Cole was the top and Mason the bottom. It hadn’t mattered because that first kiss had been about something more.
Love. It had been the first time in his life that Mason felt like someone loved him.
His cock hardened painfully but then that seemed to be its constant state at this point.
Cole kept the kiss brief, a brushing of lips that seemed all the sweeter for the relief Mason felt.
Cole had never once kissed him in front of people at the office. Never. Now his blue eyes held Mason’s for a long moment. With his hand on the back of his neck and their bodies close together, it felt almost like communion, a sacred intimacy he’d missed for years.
“Are we kissing? Is it kissing time now?” Kitten was grinning beside them, her previous conversation apparently ditched in favor of watching them.
He looked at her, studying her face. There was no jealousy, only a happy curiosity there.
Cole leaned over and surprise, surprise, he kissed her, too. “It’s always kissing time when you’re around, pet.” He turned slightly and his eyes went arctic. “Ms. Calhoun, do I look like a man who shares?”
Her eyes went wide.
Mason cleared his throat, trying to point out the obvious.
Cole shrugged him off. “That doesn’t count. You’re both mine. I can do what I like with you. I’m certainly not going to allow Mason to run off into a broom closet with someone else. Not while he’s under contract to me.”
“Contract?” Ms. Calhoun’s head shook.
“I believe that is absolutely none of your business,” Cole said. “Haven, dear?”
The woman Kitten had been talking to had the biggest grin on her face. She was a dark-haired woman who looked to be somewhere in her early thirties. “Yes, Sir?”
“Would you mind taking Ms. Calhoun’s place? This isn’t the first time I’ve heard she’s hit on my guests. She’s fired and will be escorted from the building very soon. Unless you would rather hit on my subs.”
Haven shook her head and seemed amused by the situation. “I would never do that, Sir.” She sighed as she looked over at the receptionist. “Out, skank.”
“Haven.” Cole barked her name and she seemed to need no other explanation.
“Sorry,” she said, her eyes on the floor. Mason got the feeling she wasn’t really sorry. “It’s just she’s kind of horrifically awfully painfully mean to all the other women and we’re going to have a big old party to send her off. One that she’s not invited to.”
“You’ll hear from my lawyer. And I fully intend to out you for th
e pervert you are, Roberts. Don’t think I won’t.” The receptionist wasn’t waiting around for her escort. She grabbed her bag and strode from the room.
Cole stared after her, a quizzical look on his face. “Why does she think I care if she tells someone?”
Mason seemed to be the only one who realized there might be consequences. “You’ve always been circumspect at the office.”
“No, I’m not. I remember a time when I locked all the employees out of the great room at the lodge because we were celebrating your birthday. They knew what was going on. I actually found a couple of them listening outside the doors like five-year-olds.”
Kitten bounced on her toes. He’d noticed when she was truly happy she struggled to sit still. “That sounds like such fun!”
Mason kind of thought they were both missing the point. When the hell had he become the voice of reason? “That’s the lodge. This is the office. You know that place where you make a lot of money in a traditional way. Here you’ve always kept it hidden.”
Haven was giggling. “He doesn’t keep much hidden. Do you know how many subs from The Club he’s hired in the last few years? And a couple of Doms work for him, too. And Mistress Anne, but she scares the holy fuck out of me. I think she Tasers people who irritate her.”
“She’s the head of my security team,” Cole explained. “After…Well, in the last couple of years, I started hiring friends who needed jobs and were qualified. Don’t get me wrong. The board probably wouldn’t like it, but I’m still in charge here. I find it’s much easier to have employees who have Doms to take care of discipline problems. Honestly, the threat of a non-erotic spanking has handled many of my staff issues. It looks like we need to hire a receptionist.”
“I can do it.” Kitten held up her hand.
Kitten liked to answer the phone, put people on hold, and then sing pop songs as the waiting music. She’d done it several times on the house phone. She seemed to particularly like Katy Perry songs. Yeah, no. “I think we have plenty to work on back at the house, love. Your swimming lessons will take up some time.”
Cole sent him a grateful look. “Yes, I want you working with Mason. It’s why he’s here.”
Was it really? What the hell had that kiss meant?
“Come with me, you two. I have a few things to get through before we can leave. Do you mind waiting in my office?” He nodded toward the back of the building. Mason knew the way. “Kitten, pet, don’t forget your shoes.”
Because she would. Mason had taken to organizing her closet and ordering her to keep things in specific places because otherwise she couldn’t find a thing.
She ran back and hugged Haven before grabbing her shoes and rushing to slip her hand into Cole’s. He stopped and stared at her for a moment before squeezing her hand and looking back at Mason.
Thank you, he mouthed.
Mason nodded because he was pretty damn sure Kitten hadn’t been so openly affectionate before he’d come around.
Cole was getting everything he wanted. Again.
And Mason was going to make damn sure he got what he wanted this time. The trouble was his stupid-ass heart was starting to war with his head, and he wasn’t sure what he truly wanted anymore.
He followed, trying to tell himself that his heart didn’t matter. Not anymore.
Chapter Ten
What the hell had he done? The question was running through Cole’s head as he closed the door behind him, leaving Mason and Kitten in his office, though he didn’t want to. He wanted to close himself inside with them. Or even better, get the hell out of here and find someplace quiet where he could have a drink and let them undress him and then, oh, then, he would tie them up and work them over and worship those gorgeous bodies of theirs.
When he’d invited Mason in, he’d fooled himself into thinking it was all about Kitten and helping out an old friend. What bullshit.
He had to deal with the board again. They were rapidly becoming a pain in his ass. He didn’t even know what they wanted with him this time. They’d had a freaking meeting earlier in the day. He’d spent the last several years burying himself in work and now he was annoyed as hell at having to stay until five.
Because of them. As much as he wanted to deny it, his contract with Kitten hadn’t been working until Mason walked back through his doors. In the last several days, he’d become immersed in their lives, eager to get home and be with them. With Mason to smooth the way between him and Kitten, they were finally getting close. He was ready to move on to sex.
It was time to consider forgiving Mason. He’d changed. He was obviously not as reckless as he’d been.
Kitten liked having him around. That was another reason to think about it. Kitten and Mason seemed to bring out good traits in each other. Unlike other women who brought out the worst in Mason—either in his jealousy or his self-destructive tendencies.
Who the fuck was he kidding? He didn’t want Mason around to please Kitten. He just fucking wanted Mason. He wanted them both. It felt right. So fucking right.
“Why is Mason Scott here? And what is this I hear about you firing Alli Calhoun?” Lea strode down the corridor, a frown on her face and her ever-present cell in her hand. “I got a call from her. She’s threatening to sue. She says you created a hostile work environment.”
“Not for her. I fired her so she doesn’t have to worry about me being hostile.” He’d kind of already forgotten about her. Since he’d realized that the work environment was so much nicer when he was surrounded by lifestylers, he’d very quietly replaced the people in the office who left with subs and a few Doms. He would never fire someone just so he could replace them, but he had breathed a few sighs of relief. If only he could control the board as easily.
He rather thought the time was coming for Lea to find new worlds to explore. He’d been passive the last two years. Now he realized he’d been mourning Mason.
Not Emily. God, he hated it about himself, but it was true. The person he’d mourned those years had been Mason.
“Mason is here because I invited him.” It occurred to him that he really would rather be back in the office with Mason doing exactly what Mason had said he would do. He could close his eyes and let Mason suck him off. So much nicer than being here. “I fired Calhoun for unprofessional behavior. She was hitting on clients.”
“On who?” Her eyes narrowed. “Ah, I see. Is that what Mason told you? He’s gone for years and then two minutes after he’s back, suddenly the office is in an uproar. I have to call the lawyers about this.”
He was getting tired of defending himself. “Mason didn’t tell me anything. I overheard the conversation. I made the decision myself. If anyone is in an uproar, there’s a simple solution to that. They can let me know they want a pink slip and the problem is solved. I do mean anyone, Lea.”
She knew his business inside and out and anyone else he brought in would take years to get to her level, but he suddenly didn’t care anymore.
She seemed to understand she’d gone too far. “I’m sorry. It’s been a stressful day. I was surprised to see him here. It’s been a long time. Is he working for you again?”
Not in any way she would understand. “We’re talking again. It’s not about business so it doesn’t concern you in any way. Tell me what they want to talk to me about.”
She went a little pale. “The board wants to use the property in Colorado for the new mall project.”
“I already vetoed that.”
“They’re going to outvote you. They already did. They used a loophole in the company bylaws to do it. I’m worried that if you cause trouble now, they might get rid of you as CEO.”
“It’s my fucking company.” But he knew they could do it. It might be his company but his father had gone public. A little spark of panic threatened. “I want a shareholder’s report. I want to know each and every person who owns even a single share of stock in this company.”
“Already sent it to you. It’s sitting in your inbox.” She frowned
. “You’re not going to like it. The Holmes Corporation has been buying up your smaller investors. They’ve done it through shell corporations and subsidiaries and friendly companies. They could sell to the main company at any time. That’s why we haven’t caught it until now. Your personal stock is only forty. You’re still the majority holder, but you know that doesn’t mean a thing if they band together and vote you out. I think they’re moving, Cole.”
A takeover. He let it sink in for a moment. This company had been something his grandfather had built and had been passed down to him. This company had been his responsibility for most of his adult life. He’d given everything to it.
Hell, it might be a relief. Being booted out of his own company might not be so bad. He would make a shit ton of money in a buyout. He could move to the lodge and be an innkeeper full-time. He could take all that money and do what he should do—build resorts that respected the land around them, that gave back to the community. No stockholders. No board meetings. It would be him and Kitten and Mason making the decisions.
That was taking things a bit fast, but it was where his brain went.
Then his brain came to a squealing halt. If he was ousted, the corporation would get all that land in Bliss and they wouldn’t care that they would be protested. He had a sudden vision of being the one who caused it all to go away. He hadn’t thought that way in the beginning, but he’d seen the light. His original plan had been wrong. It was a massive plot of land. They would turn all that gorgeous nature into tacky malls and cheap housing. Hell, they could sell to industrial companies for all he knew. If he lost control of that land, everyone in Bliss would suffer, including his resort. Right now it overlooked gorgeous terrain. His grandfather’s legacy to him could be washed away and all because he hadn’t paid enough attention. He’d had his head in the sand. “How has this happened under my nose?”
Lea shrugged. “You haven’t been on your game for the last couple of months. You’ve been distracted. They’re starting to talk about it. Even here in the office.”