Afterlife (18 page)

stripper to do a lap

dance on Nelson’s limp dick to prove

he actual y doesn’t

have bal s.”

Jon blinked, turned from the window.

“What?”

Matt Kensington arched a brow. The

CEO of Kensington

& Associates was on Jon’s office

couch. As he referenced

the open laptop next to him, he had a

long arm stretched

along the top cushions, the sole of

one polished shoe

braced under the coffee table. Matt

preferred the sofa for

their office meetings, as it

accommodated his tal , powerful

frame better, the legacy of a Texas

oilman father who’d

once been a professional footbal

player. While his

patriarch had given him the strong,

determined features

and broad shoulders, Matt’s beautiful

Italian mother showed

in the aristocratic sculpting of

cheekbones, the dark hair he

wore cropped short and the intense,

deep brown eyes

focused on Jon now. “Trying out

astral projection?” he

asked.

“Sorry.” Jon pushed it aside. “I think

Nelson’s stats on the

start-up—”

“Cut the bul . What’s going on?”

Jon gave him a tight smile. “I was

going to ask you the

same. You already know everything

we’ve been discussing,

backward and forward. You’re

babysitting me. Why?”

“I watch your back. Same as you

watch mine. It’s what we

do.” Matt kept that gaze pinned on

him. “Jon.”

He was the leader of their unique

alpha pack for a

reason. Jon lifted a shoulder. “She’s

divorced. Has been for

years.”

“I know. Dana fil ed us in last night

when we al met for

dinner. Al of us but you. Peter said he

figured you were

going after her, from the look he saw

in your eyes when

Dana told you.”

“Has he spil ed yet?”

Jon glanced toward the new voice.

Lucas had appeared

in his doorway, one shoulder against

the doorjamb. Matt’s

right hand and CFO was also an

amateur cyclist. It showed

in the roped strength of his body.

Because he was getting

ready for another of his marathons,

his sandy brown hair

was cropped short. The discipline

and focus in his silver-

gray gaze said he was ready for the

competition.

Jon wasn’t surprised at his timing.

He was just surprised

that Ben and Peter weren’t here with

him. The almost

psychic bond the five of them shared

was one he’d stopped

questioning a long time ago. He

turned back to the window.

“Should have known you’d be in on

this. I missed it. Missed

that she was fooling me.”

“Doesn’t al that karma and spiritual

bul shit you study say

that things happen for a reason?”

Lucas stepped farther

into the room, slid a hip on the top

edge of the sofa, close

to where Matt’s palm rested on it.

“Maybe you needed al

these months to get to know her a

little bit, to make the next

step easier. From what Dana said,

she’s a lady who’s been

burned badly. A lot like Savannah.”

He looked at Matt as he

referenced their boss’s wife, then

added, “She wasn’t as

easy to sweep off her feet as Cassie

was.”

“I’m going to tel Cass you said that

and watch her chew

you into little pieces.”

Despite the weight of his thoughts,

Jon’s lips curved in an

ironic smile as Peter’s voice reached

them, heralding his

arrival a few steps behind Lucas. It

was his first easy

feeling of the morning. “You al have

a bug in my office too?”

“Nope. We just know when you have

one up your ass.” As

Jon turned, he saw the former

National Guard captain, an

Afghanistan veteran, cross his

massive arms and lean in

the doorway Lucas had vacated.

The Knights of the Boardroom
. Jon

wasn’t sure if their

armor was as polished as the media’s

mawkish name for

them implied. They were more like a

wolf pack, bound by

primal instinct and animal intuition.

Al of them hardcore

sexual Dominants, with varying

styles. They were his

friends, but far more than that. Not

exactly brothers,

because siblings didn’t usual y share

the types of things

they did, but brethren, for certain.

The surface history was that they had

built K&A to

success together. When they went

into business deals

together, they were unbeatable.

However, what simmered

beneath the surface was that their

minds were remarkably

synchronized. They didn’t share the

same viewpoints, but

their viewpoints often hooked like

puzzle pieces. Though he

was the youngest next to Ben, he’d

identified the

inexplicable draw between them

first, helping forge that

bond years ago. It was more than the

sexual Dominance.

That was merely the base catalyst

that had opened their

eyes to other remarkable common

traits.

None of them had siblings, and they’d

al lost their

parents too young. More than once,

they’d pul ed each

other out of the fire of personal

tragedies. Like the psychic

connections of twins, they could

anticipate one another’s

needs over distances. Or across the

space between their

corner offices, like now. They knew

when one of them might

be in trouble, whether or not the

stubborn bastard was

wil ing to ask for help.

They shared the same moral code in

their professional

and personal lives, toward women

and each other. When

one of them found the woman he

wanted to make his

permanently—which, no surprise,

had happened to three of

them within the past couple of years

—they came together

the same way they did in business.

They used every

resource they had to close the deal.

From the moment the

claim was made and accepted, that

woman was part of al

of them. Theirs to pleasure, when her

Master offered the

privilege. To protect, even when he

didn’t. And to love, no

matter what. So the pack had

expanded. Where they’d

each had no immediate family, they

now had one that

commanded unshakable loyalty from

each of them.

Though the other four badgered him

mercilessly about

what they cal ed his New Age bul

shit observations, Jon

knew they didn’t necessarily disagree

with them. They’d

been born at different times, places

and circumstances, but

now it seemed inevitable that they’d

found each other. The

universe was like that.

“So what’s the main problem?” Matt

took the natural lead

as Jon settled on the edge of his desk,

trying to settle his

mind in the same way.

“My dick.”

It surprised them, he could tel . Of al

of them, he was the

one least likely to resort to crudity. “I

went there worked up,

because she’d kept me off her scent

al that time. But once I

was there…I wasn’t sure how far I’d

get with her. I was

trying to establish how deep her

submission ran.”

He paused, met Peter’s gaze. “Unlike

Savannah and

Cass, who real y didn’t recognize

their submission for what

it was, I think Rachel’s even more

hardcore than Dana.

She’s gone for years knowing it,

playing it out in her head

without doing anything about it. It’s

pretty obvious her

husband wasn’t a Dom, and al signs

suggest he didn’t

handle it wel . Though that can

happen, no fault to him, he

abused her trust, left her damaged.

Her confidence is for

shit and she’s way too fragile.

Whatever happened in her

marriage, he did a real number on

her.”

Matt and Ben already knew about the

Club More

incident, because he’d fil ed them in

as he told Leland he

would. But as he related the bare

bones of it, and some of

his other general impressions, he saw

the same hardness

enter Peter’s and Lucas’ expressions

that had entered

theirs. No man in this room would

tolerate a woman being

mistreated, emotional y or physical y.

Dana had picked on

them the most about it, cal ed them a

bunch of

overprotective sexist Neanderthals.

But there it was.

“I know her, but I know nothing about

her. She’s that

closed off. I wasn’t a complete idiot

this time. I cleared it

with Matt to have Shel ey keep an

eye on her, and she’l do

a discreet tail if she leaves to make

sure she’s okay until I

can go see her today.” He scowled,

shook his head. “I told

Rachel to come here, but I don’t

know if she wil . After I left,

it probably took al of thirty minutes

for her shields to go up

again.”

“So burn them down next time. Ashes

are a lot harder to

reassemble.”

Jon flashed a grim smile at Matt’s

flat comment. “That

worked for Savannah because she’s

as ruthless as you

are. Plus, at a subconscious level,

she already trusted you.

Rachel’s got a lot going on in her

head. She doesn’t trust

anyone, even herself. I won’t

completely kick the chair out

from under her until I’m certain she

knows that I’l be there to

catch her. I don’t want to make

what’s already damaged

worse.”

The men exchanged a significant

look, then Lucas

grinned. “The universe has aligned.

Scorpio is in Pisces, or

however the hel he’d say it. This is

the one for him.”

Jon’s brow rose. “What are you

talking about?”

“You know exactly what he’s talking

about.” Peter shook

his head. “You probably knew it the

second you found out

she wasn’t married.”

Matt nodded despite Jon’s bland

expression. “I’ve seen

that look twice before. The first time

was the night Lucas

threw down his poker chips and said

Cass would agree to

marry him in twenty-four hours.”

“Cocky bastard,” Peter snorted.

Lucas shrugged but memory gleamed

in his eye. “It

worked.”

“With considerable help. Shock-and-

awe tactics, bicycle

boy.”

Lucas bared his teeth as Matt shifted

his focus to Peter.

“You were the second time. When

you came back from

Afghanistan and found out Dana was

hurt and alone, you

didn’t even put down your duffle bag

before you were back

out the door.”

“Three times,” Jon amended,

conceding with a smile.

“The night you told us you were tired

of dicking around, that

you were going after Savannah with

the whole fucking

arsenal, quote, unquote.”

Matt inclined his head again, mouth

set in a determined

line. “Each of us may not know her

name, but the moment

she sets foot on our stage, we

recognize her right off. Your

whole life—every skil you’ve

learned, as a Dom and as a

member of this company—has

prepared you to go after

her. And you know exactly what kind

of assets you have at

your disposal.”

“A whole fucking arsenal,” Jon

muttered. “Speaking of

which, we’re one short.”

“I’m here.” Ben’s voice drifted

around the corner. “Too

much bal -and-chain testosterone in

that room. I’m staying

clear so I don’t get caught in the

epidemic. But if you need

the kind of help I’m better equipped

to provide than any of

the rest, you know where to find me.”

“He means his ego, which is the size

of Texas,” Lucas

put in.

“Not only my ego,” Ben rebounded.

Jon heard the snick

of a laptop closing and then Ben

appeared, flanking Peter.

His emerald green eyes, impeccably

tailored suit and

sharply styled black hair made him

every inch the legal pit

bul Matt paid him to be.

The surge of reassurance was

something Jon could

admit—at least to himself—he

needed. He had the head of

the pack, the calculations wizard, the

operations genius

and the cutthroat lawyer on his side.

And, from a woman’s

point of view, that was the least of

their combined gifts. As

Matt had pointed out, he had a unique

set of backup

resources, ones he had a feeling

would mesh wel with