“He’s right.” Scott took a sip of his iced tea. “We need to stick to the plan or she runs back to Texas and right into the crosshairs of whoever is using her to get to us.”
“Exactly,” Eric agreed. Mesmerized by every bite Megan took, he thought of about a dozen other things he wanted to do for her. Many of them had to do with seducing her out of her clothes. Who could blame him? She was gorgeous. Her body was a sheer delight for the eyes. But it was so much more than a one-time fling with her. His mind was turning over and over. Her need was so present and tangible to him, not just about money, of which clearly she had little if any, but also about trust. As a Dom familiar with teaching subs and new Doms about the life, he’d helped many find deeper and deeper levels of true intimacy. Trust meant something. Earning it meant even more.
Megan’s suffering called to him like a siren’s song. His urgency to comfort her, pleasure her, to give her all she needed was pounding inside him, inside his veins, inside his chest, pushing him to act. Sex with her was a part of it, but only a part. Trust. That was the crux of the matter and would take time. There was only one way to protect her from whoever was behind the attacks and also get to work on earning her trust—the plan Scott had laid out back in the courtroom.
“What damn offer are you talking about, guys?” Phoebe’s irritation was growing. “Ethel assigned her to me. Unless you drop the case, my obligation is to her, not you. I know we’re friends but I’m bound to keep her best interests in mind. Understand?”
Bound? God, he loved that word. Being a Dom was elementary to his character. The lifestyle gave order to a world that often hadn’t made sense to him. Eric let his mind draw up an image of a naked Megan tied up in his favorite braided nylon rope. The red and black two-color combination would look so beautiful against her pale skin.
“We want to offer her a job,” Eric said, keeping his eyes not on Phoebe but on her. “She becomes our personal assistant for three months.”
“Make it six, bro,” Scott interjected.
His brother was onto something. “A year is better.” That should be enough time to win her over.
Scott smiled. “I’m all in with you on that one.”
Phoebe stepped off the stool and stood in the aisle, blocking his view of Megan. “A year working for TBK? You’ll drop the lawsuit?”
“Yes.”
“You came up with this plan before you believed she was innocent, right?” she asked.
Eric nodded, shifting slightly so he could see past Phoebe to Megan. He didn’t want her out of his sight.
Phoebe looked skeptical. “Neither of you answered my question about this danger thing. Enlighten me.”
Scott filled her in on what Dylan had found about the digital breadcrumbs that led to her IP, to her house in Dallas. Someone was using Megan to get to the back doors Kip had left at TBK. Once they got what they wanted, she would be the one holding the bag. Most likely it was Kip’s Chinese buddies behind it, and that could only mean she was on the radar of some deadly people.
“When she agrees to be our personal assistant for a year,” Scott explained, “we can keep an eye on her.”
“The deal is twenty-four seven, Phoebe,” he added.
“Purely professional?” She held up her hand. “Don’t answer that. I know you. She says ‘no’ to an invitation to your bedroom, you’ll accept that. You want to keep her close, to protect her. I get it. Every unattached man in Destiny is ready to play white knight for a woman in trouble.” Phoebe sighed and glanced for a microsecond at Jason. Apparently, she still had it bad for him, too. “What happens when the real criminal is brought to justice? What then? You send her on her way back to Texas?”
He couldn’t imagine letting Megan go, but what choice did he and Scott have? She wasn’t from Destiny. She didn’t know their ways. Most outsiders thought that a family consisted of one man and one woman. More than one man sharing one woman was unthinkable. But he and Scott had grown up expecting the same kind of life their parents had shown them. Two dads and one amazing mom.
“What would you have us do?” he asked.
Phoebe shook her head. “Don’t break her heart, guys. Please. She’s a frail little thing.”
“We won’t.” Scott spoke first. “I’m already gone on her, and by the way Eric is acting, it’s clear, so is he.”
“Fine. But I’m going to recommend she holds for a three-month contract, not twelve.”
“Why?” Eric moved his attention to Phoebe. “Have you not heard a single word we’ve said?”
“I have, but you two need to get off your asses and help her. Three months is more than enough time to figure out who is behind the hacking.”
Eric’s gut tightened. “It took Dylan nearly a year to discover what he did, and you expect us to finish the job in three months.”
“Actually, I hope sooner. I agree, she needs help and protection. If the Knight brothers want to give it to her, then I’m all for it.”
“Glad to know you’re on our side on this one,” he said.
“I’m not. I’m on Megan’s side. That’s all.” Phoebe looked like an overprotective sister. “You wrap this up, guys. Three months is more than enough time to get the bad guy. And if she falls in love with you and you do send her back to Texas, she has more of a chance of healing from the end of a ninety-day fling. Longer, I’m not so sure.”
“Is this about Jason and you or about Megan?” Scott asked. He was always the open book.