Just For You, Sir (Doms of Decadence) (16 page)

“Derrick, that nursery puts us to shame.”

Jacey raised her head as Derrick’s handsome brother-in-law s
tepped into the living room, his arm around his pretty wife, Holly.

Somehow, they weren’t quite what she’d expected. She’d had a picture in her mind of Holly being tall, slim and dressed in designer clothes with perfect make-up and hair.

Instead, she was quite normal looking. Her long, dark hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. She wore casual black pants and a pink shirt. Jacey knew Holly had injured her leg in a car accident, but she couldn’t detect a limp.

Her husband, Brax, was
gorgeous. He had that whole cowboy thing going on, even though Derrick said he was in construction. His gray gaze didn’t miss much, but his eyes were warm when he looked at his wife.

Derrick walked into the room behind them
. Brax led Holly over to the sofa opposite the one Jacey was sitting on.

“I just asked the lady in the store to give me the
best of everything that I needed,” Derrick said as he poured sparkling water into wine glasses and handed one first to Holly then to Jacey. As her fingers brushed his, she shivered.

Things had been strained between them since her refusal to tell him anything about Stephan.

Telling him would only place him in danger. He would insist on doing something about it and that would bring him into Stephan’s line of fire.

W
hat if Stephan does find me, what then?

She pushed away the disturbing thought, tuning in to the conversation as Holly told Derrick off for buying all th
e nursery gear. Brax watched on with amusement, taking the beer Derrick offered him.

Derrick then sat next to her on sofa. She smiled over at him.

“So how did the two of you meet?” Holly asked in a friendly voice.

“Oh, well, we actually met when Cece had crashed her car a few weeks ago
,” Jacey replied.

“Oh.” Holly’s eyes widened as she stared over at Derrick and Jacey frowned slightly in puzzlement at her reaction. Was there something significant about Cece’s accident?

Derrick reached over and grabbed her free hand and gave it a squeeze. “I told Holly about meeting this amazing woman at Cece’s accident and how I couldn’t get her out of my head.”

“Oh.” Jacey blushed at the idea that he’d wanted her even then.

“I advised him to try and find you. I’ve never seen Derrick so taken with anyone,” Holly told her. “I’m glad he found you.”

“Thanks.”

Jacey started to relax. She’d been nervous about meeting Holly and Brax, scared about what they might think about her, but so far things were going pretty smoothly.

“So, Jacey, where do you work?”

“Umm, well, I just got laid off, unfortunately.”

“Oh no, that’s terrible,” Holly said. “The economy is terrible at the moment. I can’t imagine how hard it must be searching for a new job.”

“Jacey’s not worrying about that at the moment,” Derrick interjected. “She’s been ill. So she’s taking it easy and just concentrating on looking after herself and her baby.”

“Oh, you have a child?”

“No, umm, I’m pregnant.” She could kick Derrick. She shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. What would they think of her now?

“How far along are you? Is it yours?” She directed the last question to Derrick.

Derrick let out a snort of laughter. “I’d have to be a pretty fast worker. Jacey is about fourteen weeks now and her ex is the biological father.”

“
Wow, seriously. I’m in shock,” Holly said. “This seemed to happen very quickly. And you don’t even look like you’re showing; while here I am at eleven weeks, already bulging out of my clothes like a fat piggy.”

“Holly,” Brax reprimanded sharply, while Derrick frowned at his sister-in-law.

Brax gently grabbed his wife chin, turning her so she was looking at him. “We’ve talked about you putting yourself down like this before,” he said in a soft voice that was nevertheless filled with command.

“Sorry, Sir,” she whispered.
Jacey sucked in a deep breath. Brax was a Dom, she was sure of it. She stared at Holly, the other woman certainly seemed happy enough. Even now, with all of Brax’s focus on her as he reprimanded her, she looked back at him with love.

“Good girl.” He kissed her cheek.

“I actually wish I was showing a bit more,” Jacey told Holly.

“Guess we always want what we don’t have, huh?” Holly said, leaning against Brax.

“So you see, you needn’t scold me for buying so much stuff,” Derrick said. “There will be two babies to use it all.” He placed a hand over Jacey’s stomach and she stiffened in surprise at his touch.

“I’m not sure whether just replicating the nursery in another room wouldn’t be better though, because we’ll probably want this baby’s nursery a bit closer to our room, won’t we?” he asked Jacey.

She opened and closed her mouth. “Umm.”

“Wait, our room?
You mean, Jacey lives here? With you?” Holly looked at them in shock.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But you two barely know each other.”

“Holly,” Brax said in a low, warning voice.

“Wait, so she doesn’t have a job, she’s pregnant with someone else’s child and she’s living with you? Derrick, do you know what you’re doing? Have you made her sign an agreement?”

“Holly!” Brax warned in a sharper tone. “That’s enough. This is Derrick’s life, it
’s up to him how he wants to live it.”

“But
−”

“But nothing. I think you owe Derrick and Jacey an apology, don’t you?”

Holly just glared at him.

“No, she doesn’t.
At least, not to me.” Jacey sat forward. “Holly, maybe you and I could talk in private for a moment.”

Jacey hated confrontation, she’d normally run in the other direction, happy to let someone else deal with the issue. But
she needed to convince Holly that she had Derrick’s best interests in mind.

“Fine.”

Holly stood and followed Jacey out of the room.

Jacey led
them out onto the deck. “Look, Holly, I know what you must be thinking. I’d be thinking the exact same thing if I were in your shoes. You love Derrick and you want to protect him. Well, so do I.”

She took a deep breath and looked out over the grounds. “Believe it or not I tried to leave. I told Derrick that I didn’t want to take advantage of him.
Derrick wouldn’t even consider it. I had my mind made up, and in the space of ten minutes, he had me promising to stay here and let him look after me.”

Holly snorted. Jacey turned to look at her, thinking the other woman thought she was lying. “I really did.”

“Oh, you probably did. I know what Derrick’s like. He’s nearly as bad as Brax in the bossy male department.”

Actually, Jacey thought Derrick probably had Brax beat in that
department. But she didn’t want to argue with Holly.

“
I promise you I would sign whatever Derrick wanted me to, Holly. I know you don’t know me, but the very last thing I want is take advantage of Derrick. He’s, well, he’s very important to me.”

“I love him like a brother,” Holly said. “I
won’t allow you to use him.”

Jacey smiled wryly. “Do you really think
Derrick would let anyone take advantage of him?”

Holly relaxed slightl
y. “No.”

“I know we’ve only known each other a short time and I really have nothing to offer him, but I love him. I’ll protect him the best way I know how, even from me, if necessary.”

Holly sighed, but nodded. “You seem pretty cool. But hurt him and I’ll hurt you, understand?”

Jace
y nodded, knowing she’d do no less for a brother she loved.

As the women walked back inside, they heard voices from the front part of the house.

“That’s Ava, Roarke and Sam,” Holly said, moving swiftly toward the voices. Jacey followed more slowly.

These were
close friends of Derrick’s and she owed it to him to get to know them, but Jacey was wary of others.

Derrick had to
ld her that the three of them were in a relationship together. Sam and Ava were submissives, Roarke their Dom. She’d been a bit shocked. But it wasn’t like she hadn’t read a few ménage romances. All purchased in secret, of course. Her parents and Stephan wouldn’t have approved of her reading material.

S
he believed everyone should be free to live their life as they wished so long as they weren’t hurting anyone else. As long as Roarke wasn’t abusing his two submissives she had no issue with their unusual relationship.

She stood back a bit while everyone greeted each other
.

“Holly, it’s great to see you!”
A gorgeous man, with white-blond hair and amazingly blue eyes took Holly into his arms, giving her a huge hug.

“How are you,
Holly?” A dark-haired man asked in a deep voice, pulling Holly from the blond man’s embrace. The blond man placed his arm around a tiny woman standing next to him who had to be Ava.

The
dark-haired man had to be Roarke; there was an air of authority surrounding him that was unmistakable. He looked down at Holly, running a finger down her cheek. “You look pale. Are you feeling all right?”

Without waiting for an answer, he raised his head and looked over at Brax.

“Is she okay? Is she getting plenty of rest?”

“Sheesh, Roarke, you’re as bad as these two. Don’t go giving
Brax any more ammunition. He’s already trying to put me to bed every two minutes. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Has the morning sickness stopped?”
Ava asked, placing her hand on Holly’s arm with concern.

Holly blew out a breath. “I wish it was just morning sickness. It goes
on all day. But at least I seem to have stopped throwing up. How about you, Jacey? Please tell me the morning sickness gets better as you get further along.”

Everyone’s attention turned to her and
Jacey resisted the urge to run and hide.

“I was actually pretty lucky
,” she replied. “I only had a few weeks of feeling sick.”

“I think
dinner is nearly ready,” Derrick interjected. “Why don’t we move into the dining room and I’ll make the necessary introductions.”

The dining room
was rather grand with a large, oak table dominating the space. Beautiful artworks adorned the walls and an amazing chandelier sat over the table.

Derrick held out the chair to his right and helped her sit.

“Roarke, Sam and Ava, this is Jacey. Jacey, next to you is Roarke.” The dark-haired man nodded to her. “Beside him is Ava.” The petite woman sent her a friendly smile. “And last but not least is Sam.”

“Hiya,
sweetheart,” Sam said. “So you’re preggers as well?”

“Sam!” Ava scolded, whacking his arm. “I’m sorry, Jacey. You get used to him after a while.”

“He grows on you,” Roarke commented.

“Rather like an annoying kid brother you can’t get rid of,” Holly added.

“My heart is breaking,” Sam said playfully, placing a hand over his heart as he slumped in his chair. “See the abuse I have to put up with, Jacey? I don’t know why I’m friends with these people.”

“Because no one else would have you,” Holly told him with a grin.

Everyone chuckled as Sam shook his head, a wounded look on his face. Just like that the ice was broken and conversation continued. Jacey soon found herself relaxing.

After dinner, she was feeling tired but happy. The men wandered outside to have a cigar. The women moved into the living room.

“So are you and Brax in the city for long, Holly?” Ava asked as they all sat.

Holly shook her head. “We have to go back Sunday night. We
mainly came to see Derrick. Brax and I have some things to do tomorrow. But I also need to do a bit of shopping. My boobs are spilling out of all my bras and I need some bigger clothes.” She sighed.

So did Jacey. She’d taken to wearing Derrick’s t-shirts because they were loose and comfortable but her jeans were getting tight and uncomfortable.

“I’ll come with you and help. We can make a girls day of it. Jacey, you’ll come too, won’t you?”

“Umm, well, I’m not sure. Derrick might
−”

“Oh, Derrick won’t mind if you come along with us,” Ava said with a wave of her hand. “I’ll have
Roarke’s driver, Max, take us. That way the men can’t complain about the two of you wearing yourselves out. I’ll book us in for massages, manicures and facials. It will be great.”

“Can
you get us appointments at such short notice?” Jacey asked.

“Oh,
no problem, I’ll get Sam to book us. He can charm anyone into anything.”

Of that Jacey had no doubt.