TAKING OVER TROFIM (Dominion of Brothers series Book 4) (24 page)

“We saw something about that on the news. Calling them the cuff killer.” Walter’s recalled further details with a forlorn tone.

“Yeah, so he’s been buying up an assortment of different cuff keys like this one and giving them out in his self-defense classes.”

“Oh.” Both Walter and Ed spoke in unison with a clearer understanding of what had the man in bad sorts. “That’s smart.”

“So cupcake, you like cupcakes?” Ed chimed up to change the mood, while Walter held up a white box from the nearby bakery.

Katianna’s face lit up in response.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He shifted his focus to the grumpy man still behind the counter. “So Cap’t Gentry, any chance you’d let us take this pretty gal out by the picnic tables for a sweet treat.”

Katianna tried to hold back the laugh, chewing at her lips as she looked over her shoulder to the man who was clearly not amused with the suggestive statement coming even from friends. It was terribly funny for her, because she understood how both Diesel and Trenton took comments in a slightly different order than perhaps the one speaking them meant. They could take anything and make it naughty. She knew Walter and Ed were just clowning around, Diesel knew that too, but she also knew how his mind worked, and that it required him some internal translating to remind himself they were just being silly.

Ed and Walter were old farts. As far as they were concerned they could get away with it. And they were notorious for pushing every button they could along the way.

~~
“After fighting in a world war, and two more that were absolute rubbish only to get our retirement pension sloughed off by some pencil pushing, sniveling politician hardly out of his momma’s diapers; I figure I am entitled to a few years to be a pain in the ass
.” Ed would always say. ~~

And his sidekick, Walter, was always along for the ride. Like two boys running down the sidewalk with a stick rapping along the rails of the picket fences of the well to doers’ homes and maybe a game of kick the can— at two in the morning. That’s how Katianna saw them. She wasn’t sure what Diesel was thinking of them, then again as of late she didn’t think much beyond her and Paris consumed Diesel’s thoughts and he was beginning to get as possessive and introverted as Trenton.

She sucked in a deep breath that she was sure blossomed into a warm smile on her face for him, because even still she didn’t see him or Trenton as tyrants.
They loved her and she loved them just as much in return. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, on second thought she would. Paris needed to be here too.

“Fine. But—” he pointed out the door in a certain direction off to the right. “You take her to the one next to the stand of whispering pines where I can see you from here. Not the one over at the storm spill.” He glanced at her and nodded his approval. “Come right back though.”

“Promise.” She grinned then jumped over wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed him, then took off to take advantage of the playtime before anyone could have second thoughts about it.

Walter and Ed came fully prepared, laying out a white paper tablecloth, then set the box of pastries down in the center. Walter passed out two paper party plates and kept the third for himself while Ed laid custard éclairs topped with glazed kiwis and berries, one to each plate.

“Ah, see? Whoever it was that said diamonds were a girl’s best friend clearly never gave her one of these.” Ed pointed out Kat’s face which she was sure was lit up and wide eyed. Not to mention, which she would not, the images of having one devoured from her navel by her Dominus.

She quickly dragged a finger through the glaze and brought it up to her lips. A burst of sweet tartness hit her tongue and she let out a hum.

“Dig in, cupcake,” Walter cheered scooping up his own.

Kat was right there with them, doing her best to cram an end into her mouth without losing too much of the toppings.

It was fun, especially since it was the first time she’d been allowed to wander without an escort. Well sort of, since technically she was alone and she had a strong feeling that if she turned around and looked, Diesel would be right there watching from inside the gun shop.

“So how you been? We hadn’t seen you around much lately.”

Katianna licked the cream from her lips and swallowed. “I’m doing better.” She offered them a warm smile, “And I have been doing a lot of writing lately since I didn’t release anything new over the winter.”

“What about?” Walter asked.

Katianna just blushed.

“Oh. That kind of stuff.”

She nodded and grinned.

“So uh, me and Ed we was wondering. That Trenton fella you’re hooked up with. He’s not treating you bad is he?”

Kat looked at the surprised at the question, “No. He has never treated me bad.”

”Did you want to be with Diesel though?”

Kat felt nearly trapped by the question. She did and she knew one day she would be his too, but not until they decided. And she never spoke about it to anyone. “I love Deez, but I belong to Trenton.”

“Eh— uhm, belong?” Walter asked.

“Yes. I agree to be his Life Slave. And I belong to him now.” She ran her fingers over the silver and sapphire collar that remained locked around her neck. “This never comes off.”

Ed and Walter exchanged looks and it was becoming clear they didn’t understand. “I never did trust him much. But to take advantage of you like that and convince you to be his slave. It’s despicable.”

“I can’t believe Diesel stands for it.” Walter added.

“Nooo, I am with him by choice. He waited four years for me to make that decision, and granted it was scary at first, but it’s not at all what I feared it would be. Being with Trenton is like being wrapped up in joy. Only instead of a warm fuzzy blanket, it comes in the form of two strong arms, a possessive loving heart and four brothers.”

“But what about our buddy Diesel? He’s sweet on you too.”

“Yes, I know, and one day when they decide I am ready, I will be his too. But it’s a slow steady development. And perhaps some of that is for Trenton as well. Ever since the kidnapping.”

“Which is precisely why you shouldn’t be out here.” A gruff sounding voice spoke out behind her.

Katianna spun around surprised by her Dominus, but if her older friends thought she would be frightened of punishment they were shown far differently, because as soon as her eyes fell upon the man who loved her possessively, her face lit up, and she beamed at him with a bright smile.

“Now, don’t you go worrying about her. We may be old, but we haven’t forgotten how to treat a lady respectfully.”

Trenton nodded with a grin, “It’s not you I worry over, it’s everyone else in this city.” Trenton closed in and instantly Kat was climbing up into his arms as they closed around her and lifted her to wrap around him. “There’ll be no one to save them if anyone were to try to hurt you ever again.” He spoke directly to her as if it were a dark confession, one she didn’t doubt had deeper implications than what he said outwardly.

Katianna tried to soothe the worry lines from his face then leaned in and kissed him.

“Mind of I steal my Unicorn back?”

“Do we have a choice?” One laughed.

“No.” Trenton turned and started off, carrying Kat back inside but stopped and turned back to the two old men, “Say, don’t one of you have a son who works with the Attorney General?”

“Walker. He’s head of the Special Counsel Office. The Attorney General has a whole team of advisers, but when the AG is in a real pinch and doesn’t want to look bought, he turns to Walker who puts it all into perspective. Walker won’t let anything slip and it’s what he knows that cautious men in DC make their final decision based on.”

Trenton nodded.

“Why you ask?”

“Ever tell him about Diesel?”

“Well sure, we had to blame someone for the golf carts.”

Trenton let out a guarded laugh at that and then headed in with his prize still wrapped tightly in his arms.

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~  *  ~

Days went by and it seemed Trofim and Shay were hardly apart. Shay had all but moved in completely with Trofim, but on nights when he had graveyard shift in the ER backed up against clinic shifts or required lectures on the campus, it was all Shay could do just to make it safely to his efficiency apartment just a few blocks down from the hospital. The apartment, for all its worth, was hardly even that, but rather a minor step up from still being a dorm. The entire building in fact was young doctors and a few lawyers in the mix. In rooms with just enough space to sleep, study, and make coffee. It was all  he’d been able to afford with the little bit that his dad let him have, covering his student loans, books, and his lab fees along with the small intern wage he got. But at least here he wasn’t alone in that. Every doctor, nurse, and lawyer in the building was rowing the same boat with enough debt tied in student loans to keep them in the red for the first ten years of their career.

Shay had been late on a few payments over the past year and had been sent just as many warnings if he wanted to keep his credit in good standing for future medical training needs.

Every month since he’d blown the race in Boston back in the fall when he saw Trofim rowing with his brothers, Shay’s father had interrogated him about the whereabouts of Trofim and how Shay’s so called arranged relationship with Sarah was going. Any hesitation in his response and the money would come late. Which resulted in him having to hand over his entire paycheck towards his payments and then eating hospital food for all his meals so he could eat that week until his allowance did come. Trofim made an okay living at model, but not enough to support two people. Nor would Shay have it that way. He’d be damned before he allowed himself to become a financial burden to him.

Every shift, as Shay sat in his little cubical lab space with the supervising techs at the hospital, while forcing himself to endure yet another flavor lacked, low sodium something, he reminded himself:
just a little longer
.

Once he was able to complete his internship he could take his final national’s exam then begin his surgeons’ residency. His time in prison would all be over. He’d be able to draw a decent enough salary and walk away from everything else that his father touched. A darkness that would soon have no power over him.

And there was his wonderful Trofim.

If Trofim wasn’t there to tuck him into his bed and more importantly his arms in the morning, he was sure to be there to wake him in the evening with the most incredible kisses Shay could ever remember.

When he was with Trofim, the rest of the world didn’t exist. He had everything he ever wanted. He had no wants or complaints. People fought wars to find this kind of happiness. Shay had endured far worse to have his.

Shay broke away from his staring up at the blank ceiling of his dorm apartment and from the distant thoughts to look at more pleasant things in life. Namely Trofim, who had come over to sleep with him when Shay had called to let him know he wasn’t going to make it there.

He reached up and brushed the mop of black curls from his love’s sleeping face. He kissed him lightly, not wanting to rouse him back from the dream world just yet. Shay was content to just bask quietly in his bliss. Their legs still tangled into each other after their delirious love making. Even Trofim’s flaccid cock was draped over his own, like two lazy snakes. That little innuendo had him grinning ear to ear. His arm trapped under Trofim’s body fought to reach under the pillow, his fingers finding the small cord and he pressed the button on its end. The shutter from a camera set up on a tripod on the dresser at the foot of the bed clicked several times.

Trofim stirred and Shay quickly snapped a few more shots before they lost the naturalness of their entangled bodies.

“Now you take pictures?” The sleepy voice murmured from the confines of Shay’s chest and kissed him.

Shay nodded against his head happily.

Trofim’s head came up, his arms tightened around him and pressed their hips together. Even the minor friction of soft glans had Shay’s super sensitized cock flinching, and sending a sharp quiver over the rest of his body. “It didn’t occur to you to take some action shots?”

Shay snapped another shot just as Trofim’s tongue flicked out to lick at his chest and taste the saltiness that still lingered. “No, it didn’t, because I wanted this.” Shay leaned in and brushed his lips across Trofim’s brow and clicked another shot.

“Yeah?” Trofim’s hand reaching up behind Shay’s head, “Well, how about this?” Trofim pulled Shay to his mouth and kissed him with a deeper embrace, reenacting the tangled expression of their bodies with their tongues. Trofim’s fingers trailed back and forth across Shay’s neck and into his hair while their tongues waded over each other and over swelling lips.

Shay purred into his mouth.
Damn a man’s life could be sustained on Trofim’s kiss alone
. But that didn’t mean he refused when Trofim’s hand moved down his chest, to his waist, and then around, pulling their hips together. The surging connection had them both reacting instinctively, rocking their hardening cocks against each other.

“Take the damn picture.” Trofim let out a hungry growl, then smiled when he heard the next set of shutter clicks. They were moving for their next pose when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Shay growled into his lover’s mouth, “Ignore it.”

“Since when is anyone ever knocking on your door?”

“Exactly. That’s why I say ignore it.”

The knock came again. And again.

“Get the fuck on!” Shay shouted over his shoulder to the door across from the bed.

“
Shay
?” The female voice called from the other side.