“Why don’t we take a break for tonight and have some dinner?” Aaron says, drawing my attention to him. He tips his head toward the kitchen, and I hear the others getting dinner ready for everyone. We eat together most nights; having an unexpected guest won’t change that, even if we don’t have as many answers as I’d like.
“That’s a good idea.”
“We’ll let everyone know Jaclyn will be joining us,” Adrian says before he and Aaron leave us alone.
“Are you hungry, Jaclyn?” When we’re alone, I dip my face to look at her face. Her hair brushes against my cheek—it’s as soft as I expected. As I inhale her sweet floral scent, it makes me smile, realizing I picked the perfect nickname.
“No, not really. I can just go to my room.” No sooner do the words leave her mouth than her stomach growls, betraying the lie. Holding her close, I stand and slowly lower her to the floor, but don’t release her until I think she’s steady. Am I being over the top? Probably. Again, I don’t care. Something about this woman calls to my Daddy Dom side, something I’d given up finding years ago.
“Are you sure?” I tip her head up so she can see my smile.
She sighs. “Maybe I could eat a little. Who are the others? Your other brothers?”
“Yes, we meet here a few times a week for a family dinner. None of us actually lives in this house, though. I’ll explain after dinner. You’ve met Adrian and Aaron. Aaric and his wife, Hannah, and their baby girl, Adam and his wife Rebekah, and Asher and his wife Emma will be there, too.”
“They’re married? Three of them? Wow. Wait till my coworkers aka the gossipy lunch crowd finds out about this.”
“Nope, they won’t be finding out. If you haven’t figured it out already, we’re very private, and I intend to keep it that way. If the outside world hears about it, it will be when we decide to tell them.”
“I didn’t mean I’d tell them. I don’t gossip, just listen.” Her cheeks turn magenta again, and I grin.
“It’s okay, I’m not worried.” Because she’s never going back if I have my way, and I always get my way. “Let’s go eat before you starve to death.”
I take her hand in mine, fully expecting her to pull away. When she doesn’t, warmth spreads inside my chest.
“Are you sure I shouldn’t just go to my room? This is going to be awkward,” she whispers as we approach the kitchen and see the family setting out dinner. Since we still haven’t found the right dining room table, we always eat at the island. When we drew up plans for the house, we put in the huge island for this purpose. Eating together keeps us close. We eat in our own cabins sometimes, but usually we’re all gathered here—one large, boisterous bunch.
The open floor plan means she can see everyone, even if Jaclyn didn’t already hear them. My family isn’t quiet. Growing up, six boys were loud; six grown men are much noisier. Add in three chatty women and a baby, and it’s sometimes hard to follow any of the conversations. It’ll be interesting to see how Jaclyn handles herself with the rest of my family.
I trust Aaron or Adrian will warn the rest of the family not to confront Jaclyn, not that I’m really worried about it, except for Asher. He’s always the wildcard. Still, I won’t have her attacked. Even though she’s no longer shaking, I can sense her fear and uncertainty. I wish I could pull her back into my arms and hold her until she feels safe—until she knows she’ll never have to worry again, because I’m never letting her go.
four
Jaclyn
Growing up in foster care doesn’t prepare you for life. No one abused me; they mostly just ignored me, which is almost as bad, I guess. I quickly learned how to take care of myself. Relying on anyone else meant disappointment. It also taught me to be quiet and shrink into the background. Mostly, I kept to myself until I met Cheri in college. She’s my first real friend. I am who I am because of her. I swear she’s turned extracting me from my introverted shell into her life’s work—that and writing titillating books that make her lots of money. Yup, this is the newer, better version of me.
Andrew is practically dragging me into the kitchen. Not that I’m complaining about him holding my hand, just the dragging to meet his family part. My instinct is to pull away and run for the front door. But where would I go? I’m miles away from anywhere, and the only jungle I know is concrete. Spending the night in the woods with the beasties? Nope, not on my bingo card for this week—or ever.
What’s worse is I know they suspect me of whatever, but who knows what they think I did. My intent was to bring this to their attention, not to stir up trouble for anyone. Definitely not for me. Why didn’t anyone else find the addendum? I can’t stop thinking about it, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Being social or even explaining myself on top of that? I’ll fail every time. It’s another reason I chose contract law. I can sit in an office and not have to try cases—usually, anyway. There might be a time, but it won’t be for years since I’m a junior attorney on the team.
I should have tried harder to explain instead of panicking. I don’t know why I lost it. Before Andrew picked me up and sat me in his lap, I was a heartbeat away from a complete meltdown. Why did he pick me up? His gaze softened as he held me. For those few moments, I wasn’t afraid. Deep down, I know he’ll protect me, even if he doesn’t trust me yet. It’s comforting, or was until all the chatter stops, like everyone is suddenly holding their breath until they can figure out what will happen next. That stillness before the other shoe drops—and I’m the other shoe.
We stop near the end of the island, and eight sets of eyes focus me. Eight people who think I’m up to something. Not that Andrew has come right out and said it, but it was obvious from his questions, and in his and his brothers’ eyes.
I don’t blame them, not really. Explaining everything would have helped and probably fixed everything. If I had, maybe I’d be on my way to the airport instead of whatever this dumpster fire is. Too bad I can’t get away, even for five minutes, to call Cheri. She’d talk me off the ledge. Or threaten to show up with a shovel and some lime. Instead, I’m standing at the edge of the lion’s den, alone without reinforcements.
Andrew squeezes my hand, and I tip my head up at him—okay, so maybe I have some support here—the freaking giant standing by my side. I’ve never felt as tiny as I do right now. Every time he flexes, the white button-down pulls tightly across his chest, shoulders, and muscular arms. Speaking of arms. Sweet baby Jesus—can you say arm porn? Veiny forearms are such a turn-on.
Am I drooling? I slide my tongue out to check, and Andrew’s nostrils flare. Oh, man. Sucking in a breath, I pull my gaze away and turn toward the rest of the family. Not an ugly one among them. How is that even possible? They must have some excellent genes.
Damn, he’s totally drool-worthy from head to toe. But his eyes? Holy Mother of God, they’re the deepest sapphire blue I’ve ever seen—a person could get lost in them. Not me, but some other person. Someone else, more in his league. Because, fuck my life.
I spent the last few years researching companies I wanted to work for until I came across JNG. Until then, I had narrowed it down to five different corporations, but when I saw Andrew’s company photo, JNG moved to the top of the list.
Andrew Gallant has been my secret, or not-so-secret crush for years. Cheri knows, but not how bad it’s gotten. After she introduced me to DD/lg books, all my fantasies have been of Andrew in full Daddy Dom mode, though I have no idea if he even knows about that particular kink. Is it any wonder I’m totally tongue-tied in front of the man?
