“You can’t tell anyone. Not even Cordelia and Ivy.”
“Fuck.” The muttered response was so unlike Jacob, Killian wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly at first. “They’re gonna kill me if they ever find out.”
“If that day ever comes, I’ll do my best to mitigate the damage. And if I can’t, well, I’ll owe you two.”
“It’s all right. I can handle them if it comes to that.”
Brave, brave boy. Killian didn’t have a submissive bone in his body, and he still wasn’t willing to go toe to toe with Cordelia Summers. “Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly and we can all pretend this never happened.”
“Yeah.” Jacob opened his mouth, then closed it again, clearly wanting to say more but unsure of himself.
“Go ahead. Ask me whatever you want.”
“You’re really not going to tell Braden?”
And the guilt talons were back. “If there was anything to tell him, that would be between Braden and me.”
“I know, it’s just, he’s like your best friend.”
“He is, and I value my friendships very dearly. And I would do anything to protect those friendships.”
“Yeah. Okay. I understand.”
“Good boy.” Clapping Jacob on the shoulder, Killian gave him a comforting squeeze. “We should get you back to your women before Cordelia decides to hunt us down.”
A grin stretched across Jacob’s face. “Could be fun. She’s really beautiful when she’s riled.”
“You are a much braver man than I, Jacob Redding.”
With his hand still on Jacob’s shoulder, he nudged the boy back toward the ballroom. Cordelia’s glittering gaze locked on them the moment they entered, like a wolf scenting her mate, and she tracked them the entire way back to their table.
“Everything all right?”
On her other side, Ivy rolled her eyes. “Oh my god, Dee, stop being such a worrywart. Jacob isn’t a child and Killian isn’t a serial killer. Chill.”
Slowly, so slowly it made Killian wince, Cordelia turned to face her other sub. “Excuse me, little girl? Did you just tell me to chill?”
Red bloomed on Ivy’s cheeks, but she jerked her head up, clearly not ready to give in. “I did, yes. Jacob and Killian have been hanging out for months now, and Killian is basically Braden’s best friend. At some point you have to admit he’s not the dangerous criminal you’ve made him out to be in your head.”
“As much as I appreciate your faith in me, sweet Ivy, I am far more dangerous than your rightfully overprotective Daddy could ever imagine. But Jacob has always been and will always be safe with me. You both have my word.”
“See?” Eyes lighting with triumph, Ivy waved a hand in his general direction. “We have his word. That’s like, worth its weight in gold in mob circles.”
“Perhaps,” Cordelia ceded, her voice sharp and clipped. “But tell me to chill again where our boy is concerned and we’re going to have a serious problem. Understood?”
Ivy’s smile was sheepish. “Yes, Daddy. Sorry.”
“Good girl. Now.” Cordelia shifted her attention back to Jacob, with a flick of a glance to Killian. “What was that all about?”
“Boy stuff,” Jacob said with a flash of a grin. “Seriously, Dee, it wasn’t anything bad, Killian just wanted to ask me something.”
“Something he couldn’t ask with an audience?”
“Cordelia.”
At Ivy’s exasperated tone, Cordelia narrowed her eyes. “What? It’s a valid question and they’re being cagey.”
“They are not being cagey, Dee. It was a private conversation. We have them all the time with our friends and we don’t tell Jacob about them.”
