Oak, Sophie - Siren in Waiting [Texas Sirens 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (20 page)

Vanilla. Yes, it would have been vanilla. He would never have been trained to see the inherent beauty and value in someone like Bethany Hobbes. He would have ignored her like the rest of the town.

“I recently worked for your partner, Jack Barnes. I think he’ll vouch for my skill.”

Aidan snorted. “Partner? Don’t let Jack hear that. Let me tell you something, I might be a Dom, but my father-in-law scares the crap out of me. Julian softened up after marriage. Marriage and a family simply refined Jack Barnes’s talents for revenge. And he likes the hell out of you.”

At least someone did. Which begged the question. “But you don’t.”

Aidan’s mouth twisted slightly. “Jack doesn’t have our history with you. Or rather, your history with my brother. I don’t know what happened between the two of you. Bo is tight-lipped about a lot of things. I know you were a real good friend to him after I left for college. Our father was a bastard. You know that, right?”

Trev nodded. Conner O’Malley had been a mean drunk, and he’d liked setting his kids at each other’s throats to see who would win. “Bo mentioned it.”

“You were there for him all during your senior year. Why did you have to dump him?”

That was the pot calling the kettle black. “I went to college. The same one you went to.”

The slight stain on Aidan’s cheeks told Trev that Aidan wasn’t unaware of his own guilt. “Yeah, maybe that’s why I have trouble with you. You remind me of all the things I did wrong with Bo. How close were you? I remember him talking incessantly about you every time I managed to come home, and then one day, he just stopped. He wouldn’t even say your name. He said Mouse was the only true friend he had.”

“Beth.”

“His words, not mine.”

Trev had to shake his head. “I don’t know. I know that sounds horrible, but I don’t know what happened. I got involved in football, and I ignored him. He called, and when I was at home and sober, which wasn’t that often, I would talk to him. I liked Bo. I never had a little brother. I really liked him. And by my sophomore year, I was sober during the season, but the minute I wasn’t playing, I spent the time drunk or high. I didn’t talk to him much after that. I opted into the draft after my junior year. It was the last really great season I had. It was the last season I stayed sober. The rest is history. I signed one huge deal and threw it all away.”

Aidan sighed. “I’m worried about Bo. I don’t know what losing Beth is going to do to him. He might not admit it, but she’s been his anchor for years now. He’s really upset that you’re dating her. I think he’s going to be even more upset when he discovers you’ve begun a D/s relationship with her. I would assume you’ve done that. Or, are you aiming for vanilla?”

Aidan said the word “vanilla” with just a hint of disdain. Trev could reassure him on that point. “We haven’t formalized anything, and she’s going to require training, but she’s amenable to the lifestyle, thanks to your wife’s books.”

Aidan’s face suddenly turned youthful as he grinned. “Leo hates them. He thinks they make us all look like wimps. I like them. I like that all of Lexi’s stories have happy endings.” His face turned a little sad. “I know Bo made his own bed with that girl.”

“It wouldn’t have worked.” Trev knew it deep down, but it didn’t stop the guilt that formed a knot in his stomach. “Bo isn’t a Dom. If I had to guess, I would say he’s actually more submissive than anything else. He needs a strong woman in his life. He needs someone who will make decisions and allow him to be who he is.”

Aidan’s eyes became hooded. “A woman, or a man.”

Trev felt his brows rise. “You think he’s bisexual? I never got that off him. I always felt like he was looking for a big brother or a father figure, not a lover.”

“I didn’t say he was like me. I said that he could use a Dom. You know it doesn’t have to involve sex. I believe Bo really does care for Beth, and Beth cares for Bo. You wouldn’t be the first Dom to find himself in a ménage because his sub needs it.”

The words hit him like a lightning rod. Share Beth? Why the hell would he do that? Bo didn’t want him here. He sure as fuck wouldn’t want to share a woman with him. And he wasn’t staying. He wasn’t good for anyone.

“Just think about it,” Aidan said.

Trev didn’t want to think about it. He was already wondering if he wasn’t going to get Beth in trouble. Bo would be more trouble than Trev could handle. And it brought up a couple of questions. “You don’t even like me. Why the hell would you want me in a ménage with your brother?”

“It’s not that I don’t like you.” Aidan ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know you. I’m bringing you into my home, and that makes me nervous. But Julian assures me you’re a good Dom. I would do just about anything to help my brother. I hurt him in the past. I didn’t mean to, but I was just one more male authority figure who walked away and left him alone. He needs more than I can give him. I believe he would be happiest in a ménage with a strong Dom and another sub. Don’t worry about it, Trev. He won’t listen to me. He’s determined to have a white-picket-fence lifestyle. I think he’s still rebelling. Or he doesn’t want to go through what I’ve gone through. It’s hard to live the way we do, especially in a small town.” He slapped at the desk and got up. He held out a hand, and Trev took it. “Just do your job. We’ll get on just fine.”

Trev pushed himself up out of the chair, his heart still pounding. He couldn’t share Beth. He just couldn’t. He fucking needed her. He needed her right now.

“Thanks. I’ll take a couple of minutes and then go out and meet the men. Can you give me half an hour?” He didn’t want the fucking job. He wanted to walk away, but he couldn’t. His need to get drunk off his ass just kept rising with every damn word Aidan said.

“Sure. Take all the time you need. Will you think about what I said? Will you consider giving Bo a chance?” Aidan stared at him, his face a mask of blatant desire.

“I’ll consider it. But Bo hates me. I don’t know why, but I have to take that into consideration. He won’t go down easy.” Trev didn’t want him to go down at all. He wanted to be left alone with Beth.

Was he the best man for her? With all the baggage he carried?

Fuck. His cock didn’t care. He wasn’t sure who would win that battle.

Aidan nodded. “That’s all I can ask. Just think about it.”

Trev walked out of the office door and closed it.

Beth stood outside, her eyes grave. He took a step toward her. He knew he shouldn’t touch her feeling the way he did. Something ugly was inside him, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed her. He needed her right fucking now.

“Where’s the bathroom?” he heard himself say.

Beth took his hand and led him down the hall.

Chapter Nine

Trev closed the door behind them, locking it with a decisive click. The bathroom was small, but it would do.

He should walk away. He should get the hell out of Deer Run and find the first AA meeting he could, but he just knew that sitting and talking to twenty sad-sack people like himself wouldn’t give him half of what he needed. It wouldn’t burn away the pain and humiliation of the day the way dominating Beth could.

Fuck, he was already addicted to her.

“I want to see you. Take your clothes off.” He knew he didn’t sound gentle or kind. He sounded cold. Beth stared at him for a moment, but then seemed to come to some decision of her own. Her hands went to the buttons of her blouse. The minute her creamy skin began to appear, the violence and rage in Trev went down a notch.

He could handle this. He could manage to get through the afternoon without taking a drink. But he had to have her.

He leaned back against the door and finally let himself breathe. The interview with Aidan had his gut in knots, but watching Beth undress at his command settled something deep inside him.

She turned big, brown eyes up his way as she dropped her shirt and pulled at the latch of her bra. She struggled but got it undone. Her breasts bounced free. His cock hardened in his jeans. Despite the fact that he’d had her twice the night before, he was hungry for her.

“Are you sore, Beth?” If she was, he wouldn’t fuck her. He would find another way to slake his hunger.

Her lips curled up just the slightest bit. “Just a little. I’m fine.”

He didn’t touch her, yet her nipples tightened. Those nipples were so lovely to his eyes—brown and pink, and large. She probably thought they were too big, but all he could think about was getting them in his mouth.

“Tell me you want this.” He needed to hear the words. “This won’t be vanilla, darlin’. I have something inside me. I can dominate you, or I can go and find that bottle that always seems to call to me.”

Her eyes softened. She really did need a keeper. When he told her something that would send most women running for cover, she looked at him with her big doe eyes and brought her hand up to cup his face.

“Trev, I want this. I want you. I don’t care what happened before. I want the man you are now.”

He wasn’t sure the man he was now deserved her. “Bo wants you.”

He was pretty sure that had come out with all the jealousy of a five-year-old over his favorite toy.

She shook her head. “No. Not that way. If he does, it’s only because someone else looked at me. Bo can be like a dog with two bones. If you left, we would go right back to where we were before. I would be his friend.”

But she wanted more. She loved Bo. He could see that plainly on her face. She didn’t love Trev yet, but he could take her, brand her. He had a shot that Bo didn’t have. If he really wanted Beth, he could make her his. He could bind her sweet heart by taking her body and introducing her to his lifestyle.

Aidan’s words played through his brain.
Bo needs you, too.
He wasn’t going there. He didn’t have to share. He didn’t. He wouldn’t. He was going to keep her. Bo could find what he needed on his own.

“The pants, too. I want to see every inch of you.” He wanted to do more than see her. He already wanted to throw her down on her hands and knees and force his cock inside. But that would only soothe his aching cock. He needed more. He forced himself to be still.

Her hands went to the button on the top of her jeans. She trembled a little as she pushed the jeans off her hips, dragging the cotton panties she wore with them. She toed off her shoes and stood before him completely naked.

Her face was tight with anxiety. He didn’t want that.

“Are you scared?”

She shook her head. “Not in the way you think. I’m scared you’re going to wake up and realize you don’t want me. I’m scared you’re going to figure out that I’m not pretty like the other girls you’ve been with. I’m kind of fat.”

He wasn’t about to put up with that. Her training began now. “Lean over the tub and place your hands flat on the marble. You are not allowed to make a sound. Later you can cry all you like, but we’re not alone in this house. I’m going to spank you. You get ten every time you call yourself fat or make a disparaging statement about yourself. I won’t put up with it.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re going to spank me?”

“I am. Now do as I said, or I’ll up it to twenty. Right now, I’m using my hand. If you try my patience, we can move up to a paddle. I assure you Aidan has a few paddles around here. Maybe even a whip.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “But I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do that.”

“You didn’t know you shouldn’t think poorly of yourself? You didn’t realize I won’t let anyone talk bad about you?”

She stood a little taller, her shoulders setting back. She turned and grabbed the side of the big marble tub. She leaned over, and her round ass was in the air.

“Very good, love. That’s what I want. You’ll take your discipline quietly. Can you do that?”