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.”

His fists balled. “Just because you judge people’s worth by their bank account doesn’t mean everyone else does.”

“Hey!” his uncle barked. “That’s enough. You’ve had your aunt in tears all night over this, and I will not have you sit here and insult her. This family has done a lot for you. You need to have respect for the people who care about you.”

Reid deflated, his uncle’s words dousing him like a bucket of ice water. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? To both of you. I didn’t mean for this to happen. But Brynn is leaving for Austin in a few weeks, so we’ll be out of sight soon. We’ll lay low until then.”

“We?” his aunt asked.

Reid sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Brynn doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to transfer down to UT with her if she’ll have me. I know you guys don’t approve of our relationship. But… I love the girl.”

His uncle downed the rest of his alcohol.

“Oh, the hell you will,” Ros said, angry tears brimming her lids. “You are staying right here. I will not have you chasing some tramp to some state school. You are our son now, and I will not stand by and watch while you throw your life away.”

Steam was ready to burst from his ears, but he kept his tone calm. “It’s not your decision. I’m an adult. My trust fund can pay my tuition wherever I want to go. And please don’t call Brynn names.”

“So that’s it?” she said, tears spilling over for real now. “You’re just going to leave the only family you have? The family who loves you. Your mother wanted you to be with us.”

He couldn’t recall ever seeing his aunt cry, and the show of emotion and mention of his mother tugged at his heart. Yes, they were the only family he had. But he sometimes forgot that he was the only child his aunt and uncle had ever had as well. Even though he’d come into their lives late in the game, they’d never treated him like anything but a son.

Fuck. He ran his hands over his face. “Look, I just need some time to think, all right? I love you guys, too, but Brynn is important to me. Why can’t I have a life with all of you?”

His uncle gave a world-weary sigh. “Because that’s not how the world works. Life is about the tough choices. And you need to make the right one for you, for this family, and for everyone’s future.”

His shoulders sank with the weight of his words. For the first time since he’d met Brynn, he wished she had the pedigree of someone like Vanessa. A girl who would be accepted into the fold with open arms. Life would be a hell of a lot easier.

But he couldn’t help who he loved.

Now he just had to figure out if love was enough.

FIFTEEN

now

Stupid. So fucking stupid. Reid had seen the wince cross Brynn’s face when he’d called her his girl. Here he was, preaching about leaving the past behind them, and he had to go and say something to remind her of it. The words had just rolled off his tongue before he could stop them. God, he was an idiot.

Sex. That’s what this was. A kinky, no-strings fuck. That’s why he’d invited Jace for a ménage. He had to make sure his own head didn’t get screwed up being one-on-one with Brynn again. But even knowing that it was for the best, Reid had still wanted to break Jace’s fingers the minute he’d touched Brynn. The girl had a way of crawling beneath Reid’s skin and flipping his “mine” switch, making him entertain bonehead ideas.

No more relationship shit. The entire four years with Vanessa had been a miserable, expensive mistake. He realized now that fighting his nature had been pointless. His dominant desires weren’t going to go away, so he had to accept he’d never be Mr. Ideal Husband for anyone. Long-term love wasn’t in the cards. Women wanted him—just not forever. Both girls he’d ever tried to do the commitment thing with—Brynn being one of them—had confirmed it.

Still confirmed it. Based on how Brynn had reacted to having both him and Jace touching her at the same time—the woman’s needs still erred on the “more the merrier” side. Which was fine. Once he’d shoved down the wave of possessiveness that had clouded the first few minutes of their encounter, he’d been able to enjoy watching Brynn writhe beneath both his and Jace’s attention, had been turned on by it. And he sure as hell was going to enjoy what they had planned next. But all it could be was a fuck. He couldn’t let old feelings and sentimentality blur that.

He didn’t make the same mistakes twice. Period. He tucked his hands in his pockets. “Jace, help her back into her clothes. We’re moving to my cabin.”

A few onlookers who had gathered at the nearby tables grumbled. Reid didn’t blame them. Brynn had put on quite a show. The woman had no idea how sexy her feisty submission was. His cock flexed in his pants at the memory of her keening orgasm. Hell, if he didn’t get her to his room soon, he was going to end up fucking her against the nearest wall. He inhaled a deep breath. Patience.

He had Brynn right where he needed her—humming from orgasm, but slightly unsatisfied. He knew as soon as she was sated, that relentless worry segment of her brain would kick back into gear and she’d revert to ice-queen status around him. Tonight he wanted to show her what could’ve been—what she lost when she went behind his back. Because he sure as hell knew what he’d lost.

As Jace was finishing up with Brynn, Grant strolled over to Reid. The owner had the easy gait of a cowboy, but the shrewd face of a businessman who missed nothing. Grant smiled at the scene, then turned his evaluating gaze on him. “You’re a natural dom. Why haven’t you applied for membership here before?”

Reid shrugged. “Married a girl who thought this kind of thing was sick and perverted.”

“Ah, but you’re no longer married?” He said it like a question, but Reid knew the man already had the answer. The background check to get in the place was more intrusive than a goddamned proctology exam.

“She cheated on me with the pastor at her church,” Reid said, his voice flat. “Said she’d found Jesus. Who knew he was hiding in that dickhead’s bedroom?”

Grant smirked. “Glad to see you have a sense of humor about it.”

Reid glanced back toward the couch and noticed Brynn was watching the two of them intently—probably hoping that she’d put on a sufficient display to put any possible suspicions the club owner might’ve had to rest. “It was only a matter of time. Neither of us could be what the other needed. It was as much my fault as it was hers.”

Grant clapped Reid on the back. “I’m sorry that’s what brought you here, but at least now you can indulge in what comes naturally to you. And what obviously comes naturally to her as well.” He nodded at Brynn. “Now, don’t let me hold you up any longer. Enjoy your evening. And make sure to let the staff know if you need any additional equipment in your room. Most requests can be accommodated here.”

He shook Grant’s hand. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Too bad he couldn’t request that Grant deliver his star witness to his doorstep. Now that would be first-class service.

Although if that happened tonight, Reid’s chance to touch Brynn again would be lost. The second she found out he was there to use her sister for Hank’s appeal, any truce they’d forged over the last few days would go up in flames. Brynn would officially hate him forever.

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.