“Something wrong?” Taggart asked, staring at him like he could read minds.
Charlotte took a deep breath. “Hey, Tim, can you come help me? I was going to make us some snacks.”
TJ sat up from where it had looked like he was napping. “Oh, I could eat. I’ll come help.”
Charlotte rumpled his hair like he was a kid she liked. From what Ben had been able to put together, she’d probably been doing it since TJ was a boy since she was his aunt.
They were all related, from what he’d learned. By blood or something else. Something that made Ben… He didn’t even know what to call it. When he thought about this team, some unnamed emotion welled inside him.
It might be longing.
“You stay here. I think your uncle is going to appreciate some backup,” she said.
Tim glanced his way as if to ask if it was okay to follow the gorgeous woman who also happened to be old enough to be his mom.
Ben nodded and the minute Tim was gone, TJ Taggart was in his place and Cooper McKay was taking the fourth seat, the one Charlotte had abandoned.
And here he was. Surrounded by wolves. Lying wolves.
There was a part of him that accepted and understood why they’d done it. And a boy part who wished she’d trusted him from the start.
“Dude, what is going on because the women are all texting and they are silent, and that is never a good sign,” Cooper announced. “When they go silent, you are in trouble.”
“I assume they’re on the group text,” TJ said solemnly. “The one that if a man sees it, he turns straight to stone.”
Ben was confused. “If you’re trying to say I did something to hurt Kenzie, I don’t know what it could be. I’ve been polite. I made sure she had what she needed. I thought I was saving her a seat until she didn’t show up.”
“And you didn’t go get her,” TJ said with a yawn.
“Rookie move,” Cooper agreed.
Yep. Definitely confused. “I’m supposed to go haul her back here with me?”
“Yes,” they said in unison.
“Look, you either go and get her and drag her back or you make a place for yourself,” Cooper explained.
“He has to do it a lot of nights,” TJ said with what seemed like a long-suffering sigh. “He ends up in bed with me most nights.”
“New friends, buddy,” Taggart complained.
“What is that supposed to mean?” He was deeply confused.
“She hasn’t talked to you about how Kala sometimes has bad dreams and tends to get in bed with Lou?” Cooper was the one who seemed caught off guard. Like he’d expected Ben to know. When Ben gave him nothing, he continued his explanation. “The first time she did it when she was sleeping with me, I followed her. She needs the comfort after one of those dreams, so I chose to simply slip in bed beside her. I think Kenz needs to know you’re willing to pick her up and carry her back to you.”
TJ nodded. “In this case, she’ll think it’s romantic.”
“What surprises me is that you told me off for letting her run wild, but you didn’t even slap her ass for that stunt she pulled today. She didn’t have cover when she ran for the trees. If Gabby had been aware of her perimeters, she would have taken Kenz out with one shot,” her father declared. “She wasn’t dressed for combat either, if you know what I mean. She should be wearing some damn panties. Combat panties, none of those thong things.” He looked around like checking if anyone could hear him. “What the hell does the word Dom mean to you, son? Because to my mind you’re acting like one of her damn high school boyfriends who let her walk all over them and do crazy shit that could kill her.”
Ben sat back flummoxed, but Taggart had asked the right question for the clarification he needed. “I thought we all did that thing where we’re the tops in the bedroom and our subs did what they wanted everywhere else. I do believe I got a lecture from the man who trained me on not taking more from my sub than she was willing to give, and then there was a bunch of conversations about honoring feminism and consent and stuff. Also, do you think I was fine with what happened today?” He was just getting going. Now that he thought about it, this was exactly the chance he’d been waiting for. “And while we’re on thesubject, this is all your fault. You could have shut this shit down a long time ago. She learned all of this from you and Charlotte. You know my sub might have done something dangerous today, but your wife came out when she knew there was a shooter, and she had a baby strapped to her chest.”
“How is Colton going to learn if we never put him in the line of fire? She was watching the security cams. Charlotte knew it was safe,” Big Tag shot back and then waved him off. “Did you decide to explore D/s and train because you figured out Kenzie was sexually submissive? Or because you wanted to understand my team so you can use us better?” Taggart asked.
He got the feeling if he lied, Taggart would know. “Can’t I have done both? I’m going to be honest, I didn’t start training after the Australia op. After that op, I believed Kara wasn’t a woman I could have real chemistry with since she was very aggressive and also obviously in love with Cooper.”
“Because she was Kala,” Cooper allowed. “And she is becoming more and more of a switch, but only in certain cases.”
“I do not need to hear this,” Taggart complained.
