1
Los Angeles
That bastard.
Sometimes Cole wondered if his life wouldn’t have been better if he’d smothered that asshole in his sleep. He’d thought about it often enough. Especially the time he’d stolen his prized baseball, signed by Nolan Ryan.
He didn’t care if the jerkwad had only been six. Nobody touched Cole Saxon’s shit. That included his little brother. Actually, especially him. But this time, he’d gone too far.
Joel wasn’t getting his hands on them.
Julian and Keira were Cole’s. Sure, he thought it was weird he liked them both. That wasn’t normal, was it? And they were already married, he’d be the third wheel. The interloper.
Then there was the fact he’d never been with a man before. Never even felt attracted to another dude. He couldn’t understand his interest in this man. But he knew it was returned. From both of them.
Julian was one of his project managers. Keira was his personal assistant. They were always professional at work. Except when they’d all shared a kiss after the Christmas work party. His father had always hated putting on work parties for the staff. Hated paying for them, detested having to speak to his employees. Cole had changed that. But maybe now he understood the downside. Alcohol and repressed need were not a good mix.
After that kiss, though, he’d pulled away. Put things back on a strictly professional level. He didn’t need to get into an emotional entanglement. With a married couple. Who worked for him. And who, right now, were at his brother’s BDSM club.
He was going to fucking kill Joel. Who the hell did he think he was? Keira and Julian didn’t belong in his fucking sex club. That little asshole just wanted them because Cole did.
Cole knew he should never have let himself feel anything for them. It didn’t pay to let anyone close. He’d made enemies over the years and they wouldn’t hesitate to use Keira and Julian against him if they knew they meant something to him.
You can protect them. Make sure that doesn’t happen. Guard them like the jewels they are.
Not that he’d tell Julian he was a jewel. His project manager had a definite alpha side. Not as alpha as Cole. Then again, few people were. According to Joel, he was a possessive, dictatorial, control freak.
Yep—and proud of it.
He should have done something about his brother a long time ago. He’d barely worked a day in the company Cole was now running, yet he’d fucking inherited half of it. He refused to contribute, never came to board meetings, it seemed all he wanted to do was fuck around all day—literally.
That damn sex club of Joel’s had the board members in an uproar. Cole was facing challenges to his authority on all sides. From his brother, from his board, and now it felt like Keira and Julian were challenging him too. Daring him.
Perhaps they thought he wouldn’t answer the challenge. Wouldn’t give them exactly what they were asking for by doing this. Perhaps they thought he wasn’t dominant enough to bring them to heel.
Wait. Bring them to heel? Had he just thought that? That wasn’t what he wanted, right? Sure, he liked to be in control. Of everything. All the time. But that didn’t mean he wanted a relationship where he was the top, right?
Or did he?
Fuck. His brother was messing with his fucking mind! He turned his car into a VIP parking space at the back of his brothers BDSM club. He didn’t intend to be there long. He was just going to go in there, grab Julian and Keira, and leave.
Hopefully, without seeing his asshole brother, who hadn’t bothered to come to the board meeting, which had kept Cole at work for hours after everyone else had left. He hadn’t had dinner. A headache thumped at his temples and he wished he’d kept Keira there late rather than letting her go.
He’d thought she’d head home for a quiet dinner with Julian. Maybe watch some television, drink a hot chocolate, and go to bed. Or perhaps go out for dinner and a drink. How many times had t
hey dragged him out of the office to take him to some dingy bar he wouldn’t otherwise have been seen in? And yet those were some of his best memories. Spending time doing normal things with them. That’s what he wanted for Julian and Keira. A normal, safe life.
Sounds rather boring.
But instead, he got a call from an associate that he and his brother shared, one who was a member of his brother’s club, who told him that he’d just seen his little PA looking rather delectable in a corset and short skirt at the club.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Maybe that’s why they were there at the club. They were bored and looking to spice up their lives. He got that. He was going to suggest to them that they take a trip. Perhaps head off to the Maldives. Although he’d have to research the safest countries to visit. In fact, perhaps it would be best if they stayed stateside and rented an RV. Except, he didn’t trust all the other drivers on the road. And an RV wouldn’t be that secure. No, that wouldn’t work either.
He could offer them his home in the Hamptons. Yes, that was better. He’d provide security, and they could have a nice, safe vacation on him.
Okay, he needed to stop. They needed to stop. They shouldn’t be here at Joel’s club. It wasn’t for normal people. It was a place for deviants. They were going to get hurt, and it was Joel’s fault.
As soon as he got them home, with a stern warning never to return, he’d be coming back to have words with his brother. He could come at Cole all he liked but he needed to keep away from Julian and Keira.
That was why caring about people was a weakness. It was what his father had drilled into him for years. Never care. Never love.
And why he’d ripped away everyone Cole had ever shown an interest in. Friends, girlfriends, he hadn’t even been allowed a freaking gerbil, for fuck’s sake. Well, dear old dad had certainly succeeded in keeping Cole from loving his brother. He’d pitted them against one another. Now, he only saw Joel as competition.
His father had turned him into a cold businessman. Except Cole had a weakness. Something his father would have been ashamed of. Shame curled in a tight ball in his stomach, because his feelings were wrong. They were forbidden. Keira and Julian were off-limits.
But just because he couldn’t have them didn’t mean Joel could.
Yep, dear old Dad had done his job well—he hated his fucking brother.
“Do you really think we belong here?”
Julian stared down at his curvy, sweet wife with an indulgent smile. Her voice was hushed, a little wary but also tinged with excitement. He got it. He felt the same way. There was a touch of the forbidden about being in this club. But also, a feeling of coming home. As though this were something they’d been missing in their lives.
“We’ve been through all the training, kitten,” he told her gently, patting the hand that she’d slid through his elbow. They’d been there several times for training sessions, so they knew the place well. However, those sessions were held when the club was closed, and there was an entirely different vibe tonight. Electricity sparked through the air.
A whip cracked, Keira jumped, and he placed his arm around her waist. She was wearing a black corset that accentuated her hourglass figure. That tiny waist, those glorious hips, and her sumptuous breasts. Her creamy mounds were currently trying to escape the top of the cups. She’d worried about them popping out when she’d put the outfit on at home.
He’d told her he’d certainly enjoy it if they did. She’d blushed prettily, and he’d had to lean in and kiss her rosebud mouth. As well as the corset, she was wearing a short leather skirt. Also, black. He didn’t like it. Black didn’t suit her pale coloring, but that wasn’t the reason he didn’t like her wearing it. She wore it because she thought it was slimming. She thought she had a body to be ashamed of, when that was the furthest thing from the truth. Her body was simply to die for. Curves in all the right places. But no matter how many times he told and showed her, she still suffered from self-doubt.
He’d slowly been building her self-confidence since they’d begun dating four years ago. Although they’d known each other for far longer, growing up in the same small town. He was proud of her for taking a risk on revealing clothing when she was usually fond of long-sleeved shirts and ankle-length skirts, so he tried not to say too much about the color.
“Cole wouldn’t like us being here.” Keira nibbled on her lower lip worriedly.
A surge of anger filled him and he stood up straighter. He had a large build. A wide chest, arms and thighs thick with muscle. Cole was slimmer but still muscular. However, he carried around an aura of strength and control that made people stop and stare at him. It made them listen to him, obey him. They’d never even considered bringing anyone else into their relationship until they met Cole.
“Cole has no say in what we do.”
Sadness crossed Keira’s face before she plastered on a fake smile. “I know. We’re in charge of our future, and I just know this is where we’re meant to be. I have a good feeling. And you know my intuition is never wrong.”
Her intuition was pretty much always wrong. If Keira thought you should turn left, then generally you needed to go right. She’d gotten a good feeling about the house they’d bought six months ago; they currently had a rat infestation in the roof, a foundation issue that was going to cost thousands to fix, and there was this strange smell that came and went that they couldn’t find the source of. And then there was the ghost . . .
But he just gave her a smile and squeezed her ass. Her eyes went soft with love. Keira loved having her ass touched, squeezed, smacked, and fucked. His cock went hard at the thought of taking her ass tonight. But he knew she wasn’t ready for sex in the club yet. He’d have to wait until they got home. Ah, well, the sacrifices he made.