Theirs to Treasure (Beyond Monogamy Book 1) (10 page)

“Dad, Aiden’s a former football player. He doesn’t court more danger than I have hanging over my head. I don’t understand what all this fuss is about. If you’re upset with me not having my guards, fine, I’ll bring them along next time. I have some things to finish before I come home.”

“This isn’t about Mr. Dalton,” he snapped. “If you don’t get Mr. Knight to bring you home now I’ll send Jake for you.”

She leaned against the corner of her bed. “Dad, tell me what this is about.”

“One of Kain Fitzgerald’s clients—”

“I thought he only did sports law?”

“He does. He defended a baseball player three years ago who was on trial for killing his mistress when he learned she was pregnant. He was convicted and he blamed Kain for his conviction.”

“He’s still behind bars though, right?”

“No, and that’s why you need to come home. He was released Friday after new evidence came to light a few months ago, and now he’s out for revenge.”

“A few months ago?” She scooted along the mattress to lean against the headboard and pulled her legs against her chest.

“It took time for the system to work and for him to be released. He never killed the mistress. It was his wife who did. When the police arrested her she confessed, she still had the clothes she wore that night covered in blood.”

“Fine, so he’s out, why would that put me in any more danger than usual?”

“Because he’s coming after Kain, the man he thinks sealed his fate and caused him to spend over three years in prison. I don’t want to see you get hurt because of this, now please come home.”

“Dad, I love you, and thank you for looking out for me. I can’t leave right now. There are some things I need to take care of first, but I’ll be home later today.” When Dad started to interrupt her, she added, “I need to hear Kain’s side of things before I’ll even consider coming home. If these are the men I’m supposed to spend my life with, then we need to be straight with each other. I can’t run off scared.”

“Paris, you are too hard headed like your mother. Do you at least have your weapon?”

“I never leave home without it, especially when I don’t take my guards. You and Dad taught me well, I can protect myself. Plus, I’ll be with Aiden, Cody, and Kain until we leave. Don’t worry.” She reached to the end of the bed where her laptop bag was and grabbed her pistol. She hadn’t planned to need it but if a situation arose it would do her no good in the bedroom.

“I always worry about my little girl. Text me when you leave and we’ll have guards waiting for you when you touch down. I love you, sweetie.”

“I will, and I love you too, Dad.” She didn’t bother to tell him that she wasn’t his little girl any longer because she’d always be that to him. No matter how old she got it would remain the same.

She ended the call and slid her phone into the pocket of her jeans before undoing her belt to add her gun. With it firmly in place, she took a deep breath and headed back to the kitchen where the men waited. She’d find out the full story before she made any decisions.

The moment she stepped into the kitchen Aiden rose from the table from where the three men were chatting and came to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder
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“Everything okay? Something wrong at home?”

“Home?” She looked up at him and his words finally registered. “No…no, they’re fine.”

“Then what is it?” His furrowed brow showed his concern.

“I spoke with my father, Mathew, and he mentioned something.” She leaned into Aiden’s embrace. “Kain, is there something you need to tell me?”

“What do you mean?” He set his coffee aside and turned toward her, the question clear in his gaze.

“The baseball player you defended when he was on trial for murder.”

“Kings? What about him? You’re angry I defended that guy? I was only second chair and that was because he demanded it, his career was on trial as much as he was.”

“I don’t care you defended him. I care that he’s out and after revenge….that you didn’t mention it.”

“Kain?” Aiden’s voice held a touch of anger.

“He’s out of prison? How?” Kain just stared at her as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Dad said there was new evidence that came to light. It was his wife who killed the mistress, not him. Damn it, when the police arrested her, she confessed and everything.”

“What about the other charges? He still should be doing time even if new evidence came to light.” Kain ran a hand over his face, now ghostly pale.

“Maybe you should start at the beginning.” She pressed closer to Aiden, needing to feel him against her.

He slid his hand down her waist, bumping into the butt of the gun. He leaned closer and lowered his voice just above a whisper. “We’d protect you.”

“What?” Cody took his gaze off Kain and glanced toward them.

She lifted the side of her shirt to show the gun and holster. “Dad asked me if I had my weapon in case things went bad. Having it in my laptop bag won’t help me or any of us.”

“We don’t carry them on us but there are weapons stashed around the house in case of emergencies,” Aiden reassured her. “Living this far out of town we have to rely on the county police and depending on where they are the response time can be lengthy.”

“You can’t count on anyone but yourself,” Cody chimed in. “Home defense is a must here. I’m not talking about crime, or the fact that Aiden’s business deals can sometimes bring trouble, or that Kain’s clients have the potential to bring even more problems. I’m also talking about wild animals.”

“I hate that you’re scared because of me.” Kain frowned at her.

She wanted to go to him, to ease the worry from his face, but Aiden held tight to her.

“Kain, I think it’s time for you to tell all of us what happened with that trial. Cody and I were in New York when it was going on, so we only know a little more than Paris.”

“You already know he was accused of murdering his mistress. When we went to trial, it seemed like an easy case to win. The evidence was flimsy. They had his fingerprints and DNA from the scene but he admitted being there that night. He went to talk to her about the baby and what they were going to do. He even mentioned to her about leaving his wife to be with her and the child. One thing lead to another and they ended up in bed. It was a little after two when he said he left her townhouse and returned home. Only he never arrived home.”

“Where was he?” Cody pressed.

“According to him, he went to their downtown condo. He said he needed time to think, to clear this head. The security guard didn’t remember him coming in but he could have taken the elevator from the owners’ garage, which is what he claimed. Anyway, the biggest fault to the case was Kings didn’t have an alibi. If he’d have gone home his security would have recorded him coming in.”

“Okay, so he was falsely convicted. Why does he want revenge on you?” She ran her hand over Aiden’s as he held her tight against his chest.

“He wanted to take the stand, to tell the jury where he was and how he couldn’t have killed her because he loved her. They were going to get married once he left his wife.” Kain grabbed his coffee cup and just stared into it. “The other lawyer and I discussed it. We felt his credibility was shot because he was cheating on his wife. To get up on the stand and announce he was going to leave his wife for her would have made things worse. It would have also brought in other evidence that we worked hard to keep out. Including one domestic abuse charge his wife filed and then later dropped with the explanation that she made it up to get back at him. Whether he abused her or not, I don’t know, but I know bringing it in would have cost us the case.”

“You lost anyway.” She didn’t mean for it to be rude but she had to point out the obvious.

He nodded. “When we had to decide if he was going to take the stand we didn’t think we’d lose. We thought it was in the bag.”

“He’s pissed because you wouldn’t let him take the stand?” Cody raised an eyebrow.

“He could have gone against the advice of his lawyers but he chose to agree with us and we wrapped up the case. He’s pissed at me because he needs someone to blame. One thing about Kings is he never took responsibility for anything his whole life.” Kain stood from the table. “I’ll tell you one thing, he won’t harm you…any of you. I’ll damn well see to that.”

The next few weeks went by without any sign of Kings or any problems for that matter. It had become routine for Cody to arrive on Thursday to fetch her and she had spent every weekend with them. They had used the time in the plane to get to know each other better, and he was even teaching her how to fly. She was on the right track if she wanted to get her private pilot’s license and he promised to help her with the rest of the requirements.

The only thing that hadn’t happened over the last couple of weeks concerned London. She still hadn’t found the right moment to tell him who she was spending all her time with. First their lunch was canceled by unexpected work on his end, and then she was busy with Mom or her own clients. She had even interviewed two possible assistants but neither of them were the perfect fit.

Instead of worrying about business or her brother, she moved away from the window and glanced back to where Aiden was wrapping up a business call. He tapped his lap and she went to him. She curled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, careful not to jar his headset.

“Very well.” Aiden wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her tight against his body. “Yes, I’ll have my lawyer draw up the contract and send it to you. It should be in your email by tomorrow, end of the business day.” He paused as the person he was talking to said something. “Yes. I look forward to doing business with you.”

He pulled the headset off and nuzzled her neck. “My beautiful…” He kissed his way down the curve of her neck to her collarbone. “So sweet.”

She arched into his touches, wanting things to go further. Affection and sweet caresses was as far as things had gone, and she was growing impatient. She wanted each of them. Her body ached for their touch.

“Aiden…” Her voice cracked as he dragged his teeth over the fleshy part of her shoulder. “I want you.”

“You have me. All of me.” His words were muffled as he worked his way back up her shoulder and neck.

“I want you in a way a woman wants a man.” Suddenly uneasy, she wasn’t sure how to tell him she wanted sex with him. “I want you naked.”

He stopped mid-kiss and pulled back to look at her. “My beautiful woman, I’ve wanted you every moment since you walked into my life.”

“Then why—”

“Have I waited so long?” He ran his hand up her back. “You deserved to be courted like a woman of your stature. The fancy dinners, parties, and everything else we can give you. Sadly, with this crap with Kings, we’ve been unable to do all the things I’ve wanted to do with you. I kept hoping it would go away so we could take you out on the town and show you a good time.”

“I don’t need that. Actually, I’m not sure that’s my style. I don’t mind occasionally, but all my life I’ve been a little sheltered, ditching the media and everything like that, so I’ve come to enjoy the quietness life has to offer. I couldn’t be happier here with you and the others.”

“You deserve so much more.” He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. “If you promise not to hold it against me when I drag you along to functions in the future, I’ll let you in on a secret.”

“What’s that?” She smirked.

“I prefer to be home instead of Mr. Social. I don’t mind family and friend events, but the functions where I have to be there for other reasons is a whole different ball game. Trust me, these will come up, but now I have a beautiful woman for my arm.”

“These events…they’ll be business related or because of your career? How are you planning to handle that with our relationship?” She leaned back so she could get a better look at him. “With my family business and my position within the company, there’s no way we’ll be able to keep the relationship between the four of us quiet, even if you wanted to. Not to mention, I don’t want to live a life of secrets, not with all my parents have gone through for our lifestyle.”

“Wow, beautiful. I never had any intention to do any such thing. The media will get hold of this soon enough, actually I’m surprised they haven’t already. When they do, we’ll face it like we should.”

“How’s that?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Head on with a news conference. It will give us a chance to clear things up from the start and then the media won’t be able to run wild with their stories. As you said, with your family being so public about it, plus Kain and my business dealings, we’re in the public eye, so we can’t hide this.”

“What about Cody? Is he ready for that? How will he feel if the parents stop bringing their children to his riding school?”

“He’ll deal with it. All of us know what we’re risking, but it’s what we want. I hope you’re not worrying that if our businesses dries up from this that we’ll be out on the street.”

She shook her head. “You already told me you’re fine financially and that wasn’t even a concern. I don’t give a shit about the money. Cody does it because he loves it. It gives him something to replace the land his mother gambled away. Will my Cody still be the same without it?”

“We’ll be fine because we have each other. He realizes what bigots some people can be. A few years ago, he lost a few of his students because their parents heard the three of us were sleeping together. He dealt just fine just as he will if anything happens now. Don’t worry about any of this.”

“How can I not? It reminds me our time is limited before the media finds out. How we’ve gone this long I don’t know.”

“How about I take your mind off it?” Without waiting for an answer, he pressed his lips to hers. Slipping his tongue between her lips, he devoured her, tugging her shirt up as he went. Breaking the kiss, he pulled her pale blue sweater over her head.

“I thought you had work?”

“Don’t think, just feel.” He kissed along her jawline until he reached the sweet spot below her ear. Grazing his teeth over the area, he blew his cool breath against her flushed skin. “Work can wait, this can’t. I’ve wanted to have my way with you since you first stepped into this office.”

“Office sex…” She moaned in pleasure as he nibbled and kissed his way down to her breasts. “How often I’ve thought of this.”

He slid his hand around her body, quickly finding the clasp of her bra and unhooking it. The material slid down her arms, revealing her perky breasts, making his shaft strain against his slacks and press against her thigh.

Claiming her nipple with his teeth, he gently tugged, making it hard before moving over to the next one. Without breaking contact he reached behind her, gathering the papers and slipping them into a drawer. “We should be doing this in the bedroom.”

“I have no doubt there will be plenty of time for the bedroom later. Right now, I want you here. You look so in control and demanding behind your desk. I want this to be where we first make love. After all the hours we’ve spent in here together, it’s a special place for both of us.”

“Beautiful, your wish is my command. I still think you deserve better.”

She leaned closer, pressing her naked chest against him. “I’ve always wanted to make love on a desk. It makes me feel like a naughty girl.”

“Let’s check this one off your list and then you can tell me all the other places where you’ve wanted to make love.” He picked her up and placed her on the edge of the desk, slipping his fingers under the material of her black dress slacks to slide them down her thighs.

“It might be a long list.” She teased, working her fingers down the line of his shirt buttons.

“There are three of us and we have the rest of our lives to make sure every one of your dreams come true.” He lowered her pants enough to see she was naked under them. “Oh woman, you’re going to be the death of me.”

She watched as his already hardened shaft bobbed against the fabric of his slacks, demanding freedom. “I could lie and tell you I forgot my panties at home but I think you’d prefer the truth. I’ve been wanting the three of you for long enough, I didn’t want anything to stand in the way when things got to this level.” She let her heels fall to the floor just seconds before he got her pants low enough that he could let go and they’d fall away.

“You should have worn a dress then.” He smirked as she pulled the dress shirt off him and tossed it onto the chair behind him.

“Off with these pants. I want you as naked as I am.”

He unzipped his slacks, letting them fall down his legs before kicking out of them and his dress shoes. “Is that better, beautiful?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. He crushed his mouth to hers, and slid his hand between her legs. Unerringly finding her core, he thrust his fingers into her as she moaned around his unrelenting kiss. He held her captive against his body, teasing her clit with his thumb. Fierce desire rose within her.

“Aiden, I want you,” she murmured against his mouth, holding onto him as wild delight rushed through her.

His teeth grazed her lower lip and he pulled his hand away. She cried out in frustration, her climax halted, but he ignored her demands.

Without waiting he adjusted his angle, gliding his shaft over her opening, pulling a moan from her. Slowly he glided the length of him in, just a little at first, her nails digging into his back as he worked his way inside her tight passage. Halfway in he stopped and slid out, even as she clung to him trying to force him to stay.

Once he was out, he gripped her hips and slammed his length into her, filling her completely. He didn’t give her time to catch her breath as he began rocking their bodies back and forth, each thrust gaining momentum.

He left her mouth and kissed a path to her neck. She was torn between leaning back to grab the edge of the desk so he could claim her nipples again with his mouth, or pressing herself tighter against him with each thrust.

She didn’t have to decide, he decided for her. “Lean back. I want to watch your breasts bounce as I take you.”

She leaned back, grabbing the edge of the desk, her body arched toward him. With every thrust her breasts bounced with appreciation, calling to him. Without losing his rhythm, he dipped his head and drew his tongue along each nipple, blowing gently on them.

“Aiden,” she cried out, her release within reach.

With one last tug on her nipple he let it slide free from his mouth, then placed his hands on her hips again, gaining more control as his pace sped and her climax began to peak
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Tension had her muscles constricting around him as her orgasm neared. She leaned into him, digging her nails into his shoulders she held on to him, every pump of his hips sending pulses of pleasure exploding through her. She came apart at the seams, her inner muscles clenching to him as he continued to drive into her.

Her moans echoed off the walls as her world exploded, and his name tore from her tips. He pushed into her again before his own ecstasy had him exploding within her. His moans mixed with hers.

“Wow.” Her voice was low as she tried to regain her breath.

He laid his head in the crook of her shoulder. “I love you, Paris.”

She had waited so long to hear those three little words because she had known for the last several weeks that she had fallen in love with them. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”

A knock on the door interrupted him before she could suggest a second round. “Damn, just when I thought I had you all to myself.”

“One moment,” he called out. Then he slipped out of her, grabbed his slacks from the floor and pulled them back into place.

“I’ll just slip into the bathroom and get dressed.” She smirked before she gathered her clothes and took her escape.

As she closed the bathroom door she heard him say, “Come in.”

She leaned against the bathroom counter, her face flushed, and her body relaxed. She quickly slipped into her clothes while Kain’s deep voice drifted through the door. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to fix it, before she felt presentable enough to open the door.

She found Aiden, his dress shirt still open with Kain reclining in one of the chairs across from the desk, a knowing grin on his face. Sometime throughout the day his cowboy hat had been tossed aside leaving his hair slightly flattened to his head.

“Well, darling…” Kain called to her and patted his lap. “Here I thought I’d be the first one to take you to bed.”

She sauntered toward him. “Why’s that?”

He pulled her down into his lap, leaving her legs hanging over the side of the chair. “Well, when you arrived you thought Aiden was a ladies’ man and I figured Cody would be too shy to advance without you leading the way. So, I thought it would be me.”

“I don’t think of him as a ladies’ man, and Cody’s not shy with me any longer.” She rested her head against his chest. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance.”

“Now?”

“Eager, my sweet cowboy?” She rubbed her hand up his chest, wishing she could slip it under the polo pullover he wore.

Aiden stood before them, buttoning his shirt. “I hate to damper this but there’s someone waiting for a legal contract from you. Have you had time to look over the file yet?”

“I have and that’s what I tossed onto your desk when I came in. Now, darling, how about we leave Aiden to work.”

“What did you have in mind?” She stood but kept her hand in his.

“Come upstairs and we’ll see what trouble we can get into.”