Dread settled in his stomach. For the first time since he’d discovered the evidence, he found himself not so jazzed about locating the youngest LeBreck.
Brynn shivered as Reid sidled up next to her and slipped a hand around her waist. “Y’all okay with moving this to private quarters?”
She nodded, relieved to know they’d at least be alone if she freaked out. “Yes, sir.”
Jace smiled. “Lead the way, brother.”
Reid guided her through the crowd and toward a back door. A noticeable tension rolled off his stance, his jaw steadily clenching and unclenching. She glanced back at Grant and quickly shifted her eyes downward when she saw the owner’s gaze hadn’t left them. She tilted her head toward Reid’s ear. “Is everything okay? Did Grant say something?”
He pulled her tighter against him. “Everything’s fine, sugar. He said you were a born sub. Doesn’t suspect anything.”
Her shoulders drooped in relief. Guess she’d been convincing. Not that she’d had to act. Reid and Jace had brought her past the edge of conscious control. Never had she felt so purely carnal, so worshipped and desired. And there was more to come.
Her knees wobbled at the thought. She’d managed to avoid a panic attack so far, but she feared the boys weren’t going to leave the toys in the cabin unused. If she could stay focused on the pleasure, on the fact that these two men wouldn’t harm her, maybe she could get past the whole thing altogether. Conquer the panic, the flashbacks, the nightmares.
The three of them walked in silence through the quiet night. Without the pounding music and flashing lights, their triad suddenly seemed all the more intimate—Reid with his arm around her, Jace on the other side, clasping her hand. A little current of warmth, having nothing to do with sex, moved through her. She bit her lip. Stop it. This wasn’t real. This was an act—a means to an end. When the sun rose three days from now, life would go back to normal. She couldn’t let herself forget that.r: Roni Loren
With a heavy sigh, he climbed out of the truck and shut the door. “Everything alright, Aunt Ros?”
“We need to talk to you. Inside. Now.”
Shit. We.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and slinked inside the house, feeling like he was fourteen again. He squinted in the bright lights of the pristine kitchen. His uncle was perched on a stool next to the marble island, sipping a glass of amber-colored alcohol and his aunt was standing next to him, arms crossed over her chest and lips pressed in a hard line.
“Nice night, Reid?” she asked, her tone cutting.
He leaned against the counter, his gaze hopping back and forth between the two of them. “It was… fine. What’s going on?”
She grabbed a sheet of paper off the island and flipped it over. She jabbed a finger at it. “How could you do this to us?”
He took the few steps forward to grab the page. Fuck. The photo from the lake again—only this time with no message.
“Aunt Ros, I—”
“No!” she said, smacking her hand hard against the countertop. “I don’t want to hear it. I told you to stay away from her, that you’d only get yourself in trouble. Get us in trouble.” She shook her head, her body visibly quivering with her anger. “Do you know what people will say if they find out that our son—that he does this to women? We’re running on a family values platform, Reid!”
He bit his lip, letting her get her tirade out, his cheeks burning with shame.
His uncle put a hand on Ros’s shoulder. “Reid, it’s not just the campaign. We’re worried about you. These are very dangerous waters considering your history. Did Ms. LeBreck consent to this, uh, activity?”
Reid jaw fell open. “Hold up. You think I raped her?”
Patrick’s gaze dropped to his glass. “We just want to know what we’re dealing with here.”
“Of course not! Oh, my God, you guys really think I’m that screwed up, don’t you?”
Neither his aunt or uncle met his eyes.
“Unbelievable.” He raked his hands through his hair. “She’s my girlfriend, all right?”
His aunt cringed, as if him dating someone outside their social circle was just as egregious as committing a rape would’ve been.
“Well, this has to end immediately,” she said, her words clipped. “Whoever left this picture is probably building a blackmail case and doesn’t need any more ammunition. For heaven’s sake, the girl herself may have told someone to follow you two and grab a picture so she could make a little money off your relationship herself.”
“Don’t you dare throw accusations at her,” he said, his voice rising. “She’s not interested in my money.”
She scoffed. “Don’t be so naive. Everyone’s interested in money.”