Cole's Mistake (Haven, Texas 8)

Julian stiffened as Cole stuffed a napkin down Keira’s T-shirt. This had a surreal feel to it. Their first night in the club had been ruined, yet there they were with the man they were both interested in, and he wasn’t turning them away.

“I don’t think he’s playing at it,” Keira protested. “Joel takes it very seriously.”

Cole snorted. Julian knew they wouldn’t win this argument with him. There was a lot of old crap going on between the two brothers they knew nothing about. Even though he agreed with Keira that Joel took it all very seriously and professionally, nothing they said to Cole would change his mind overnight.

“Joel has never taken anything seriously,” he muttered. “He plays at life, leaving everyone else to do the heavy lifting. Never caring about anyone else.”

“He seemed to have love his sister,” Julian pointed out. “I don’t know him well, but I heard he was devastated by her death.”

Cole’s face tightened and he looked away. Julian and Keira glanced at each other, worried. Cole and Joel were half-brothers, sharing the same dad. Cole had grown up with their father, while Joel had lived with his mother and sister.

They both knew Joel didn’t do any work in the company, Cole ran everything. But, from what Keira had told Julian, Joel rarely even showed at board meetings. So, he guessed, he got where the other man was coming from, in part. But Cole hadn’t exactly shown much support for Joel either.

After tonight, he wondered if the two men could ever have a healthy relationship.

“Enough of my brother, I’ll deal with him later.”

“Deal with him?” Keira asked, between mouthfuls.

“I don’t like that he used the two of you to get to me.”

Julian met Keira’s gaze. That wasn’t the way it was at all.

“Joel wasn’t using us, Cole,” Julian said. “We wanted to be there. It was our choice. We enjoy that depraved shit.”

Cole was quiet for a long moment. “Like I said, I’m the sort of guy who likes to be in charge. In the bedroom and out. It’s my personality. I don’t switch it on and off. I don’t play at stuff. I don’t need to go to a club and parade my partner around as though they were a trophy. What goes on in the bedroom should stay there.”

That wasn’t the way things were at all. Julian glared at Cole. “I wasn’t parading Keira like some trophy.”

Cole blinked as though suddenly realizing they were there. Then he seemed to think about what he’d said. “I wasn’t talking about the two of you.”

“But we went to the club tonight,” Keira pointed out.

“We’ve been taking training sessions for weeks there,” Julian added.

Cole’s eyes flashed. “Because my brother talked you into it. Because you have needs that weren’t being met. But you no longer need my brother or the club because I’m here. If you need someone to take control, I can do that. That doesn’t mean I need you to fucking kneel at my feet or degrade you or whip you to get off.”

“It’s not like that,” Keira started to explain. “It’s all consensual. Nobody is being forced to do things they don’t want to do. Submitting to Julian, it fulfills something inside me. I can let go of everything and just be. I don’t have to think and worry, because he’s in charge. He doesn’t put me down or hurt me. He gives me what I need. We sat down and talked through both of our needs and limits before we did anything.”

Cole frowned, but he did look thoughtful. He tapped his fingers against his thigh. “I won’t go to a club.”

“We wouldn’t ask you to,” Julian told him. “This isn’t about forcing anyone to do things they’re not comfortable with.”

“I don’t want the two of you there without me.”

Keira looked over at him then shrugged. “I’m happy not to go to a club, Julian?”

He nodded. Were they negotiating here? Was this really happening? Cole was talking like he wanted a relationship with them.

“You’re not here with us because you want to get back at your brother, are you?” Julian asked as the thought occurred to him.

Were they just being used as pawns between the two men?

“What? Of course not,” Cole said quickly. “I’m here because I’ve fucking wanted the two of you in my bed almost since the first moment I met you.”

“Keira, maybe but what about me? What role do I play?” Julian asked.

Cole watched Julian. Were they really talking about this? Was he going to get both of them in his bed?