Sophie Oak - Siren Beloved

“I want waffles and chicken strips and French fries and chocolate cake and gummy bears.” Olivia was shouting out her order in her usual style. And the waitress was smiling down at her, because no one could resist her smile.

“Not happening, baby girl,” Sam said with a hand on his daughter’s head. “She’ll have a kid’s waffle and a nice big bowl of fruit.”

Jack, Sam, Abby, and the kids had taken a table next to the Dawson brothers, who had made a little station of their table. A pretty brunette waitress was kneeling down next to Josh’s highchair, obviously absorbed with the kids.

One of the Dawson brothers stood and held out a hand. She thought it was Ben. He seemed the friendlier of the two. “Lexi, it’s so good to meet you. We weren’t allowed to be formally introduced before, but believe me, I noticed how lovely you are.”

“Who pays your check?” Aidan asked the question on a low growl.

Ben Dawson’s lips turned up, showing off his movie star quality smile. Dark, thick hair and crystal blue eyes made him one hot Dom. And yet he had nothing on her men. “That would be Mr. Lodge, though I have to admit, we’re unbelievably wealthy all on our own. We do the Scooby Doo thing because it’s fun, and it gets us into The Club. We love spanking pretty little subs. I watched your spanking the other day, Lexi. You took it with such grace.”

“Shut that shit down now, Aidan,” Jack advised. “Otherwise, you’ll deal with it forever. I still have to warn Leo that I intend to kill his ass every time I go into The Club.”

Aidan reached out and grabbed Ben’s shirt, pulling him close. “She belongs to me and Lucas. If you have a problem with that, we can solve it right now, out in the back. Many an ass has been kicked in the back of this diner.”

Lucas leaned over to talk to Chase, who had an amused look on his handsome face. “I won’t do anything so forward. My partner is the aggressive one. I’ll wait. I’ll ruin you financially, and then when you think I’ve forgotten you, I’ll be that dark figure in an alley you see just before you get your throat slit.”

“Lucas!” Lexi was shocked at how dark his voice had gone.

Chase rolled his eyes. “God, I hate switches. They know all the tricks.”

Jack looked up, a paternally proud look in his eyes. “I taught him well.”

Ben sat back down and took on a distinctly professional air. “Fine. The girl is off-limits. You can’t blame us. She doesn’t have a collar.”

“Pretend it’s there.” Aidan held out a chair for Lexi.

“You are both Neanderthals,” Lexi groused as she sat down and picked up the menu.

“Get used to it, baby,” her mother said, grinning at her from her seat. “You’ll find that’s the way men get when they’re damn serious. It doesn’t matter. Dom, switch, sub.”

“Well, I’m not a sub when it comes to my woman getting hit on,” Sam said, a primness to his tone. “My fists work just as well as Jack’s.”

“Hi.” The waitress who had just taken her mom’s order turned to Lexi. Her eyes widened as she took in Lucas. The pretty, slender brunette flushed. “Hi. Can I get you anything? Anything at all?”

“He’s taken, Mandy,” Aidan said with a laugh. “I can see I have to deal with a lot of this. Men, women, even my damn dog has taken to my subs.”

Lucas winked, and Mandy looked back and forth, her lips going up in a giggle. She took the orders and bounced off.

“She’ll gossip, you know,” Lucas said with a little frown. “This is a small town. It could cause trouble for you.”

“It will cause trouble,” Lexi corrected. Her mother had grown up in a small town, lived there now. Only her husbands’ money granted her any acceptance, and Lexi had heard they still called her “That Woman” behind her back. Maybe Aidan didn’t know what he was in for.

“I don’t think Aidan cares,” a new voice said. Lexi looked up and saw a cowboy with a pleasant smile standing by Aidan. Aidan stood and shook hands with the man.

“Lexi, Lucas, this is Dwight Creely,” Aidan introduced the man who stood a few inches shorter than him, but was thickly muscled. He had a quiet air about him. He shook Lucas’s hand and tipped his hat at her. After all the introductions were made, he sat down.

“I’m Aidan’s foreman. He asked me to come to this meeting. I take care of the security for the ranch,” Dwight explained.

Ben Dawson sat forward. “You were also in the Army with Aidan, right?”

Dwight stilled, and then the smile was back. “Yes, I was.”

“Interesting,” Chase added, his hands flying across the keyboard of his computer.

“Not really. That was a long time ago,” Aidan said, shifting uncomfortably, his hand going to the small of his back.

Without even thinking about it, Lexi reached out and massaged the spot.

Aidan’s whole face softened. “Thank you, angel.”

Lexi stroked, telling herself she’d do it for anyone.

Ben and Chase started in on their report. They had found out all of the usual stuff. Her job was boring, and no one would want to kill her over it. Most of her close friends were at The Club. They were almost all submissives, and even their Doms liked Lexi. They couldn’t find a single person who she hadn’t done something nice for. She was known for having a sarcastic mouth and a ridiculously warm heart. Her neighbor had been so upset about the shooting that she’d cried. Lexi took Mrs. Darren, an elderly widower, to her frequent doctor appointments.

“I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill my daughter,” Abby said, leaning across to pat Lexi’s shoulder.

She gave Aidan’s back one last squeeze. The muscles had stopped seizing. “I don’t know, Momma, that jackass last year seemed very determined.”

Lucas’s face went stark white. “Could this be about me?”

Ben stared for a moment, and Lexi could practically see his brain working. “I considered it. I haven’t discarded the idea yet, but I don’t think so. Your legal work revolves around your brother’s business and Mr. Lodge’s investments. You acquired several companies for Mr. Lodge recently. I’m exploring the possibility that one of the former owners could be upset.”

“I also checked into your brother, Aidan,” Chase stated bluntly.

Lexi watched as Aidan tensed again. “He was here last night. He called me from the house phone.”

“At what time?” Chase asked.

“Before the scene at The Club.”

Ben and his brother looked at each other. They seemed to have a whole conversation through a series of small facial movements. Finally Ben, who seemed to take the lead most of the time, turned back. “It would be tight, but he could have made it. The two of you fought over the terms of your father’s will?”

Lexi couldn’t imagine it was Bo. He’d been a sweet kid when she’d known him. Even today, he’d treated her little sister with kindness.

Aidan’s hands folded together, and he seemed to be squeezing them tight. “He was unhappy when he realized Dad had left the ranch to me. Bo felt like he deserved it. I never really wanted to ranch when I was younger. I wanted to be a musician. Then I went into the Army and lost a couple of fingers in a fire fight. My hands don’t work the way they used to.”

Ben leaned forward. “So why did your father leave you the ranch?”

Dwight snorted. “Because he had a brain in his head. Bo couldn’t find his ass with a GPS locator.”

“Don’t. He’s just a kid,” Aidan protested.

“He’s twenty-two, Aidan,” Dwight shot back. “He needs to grow up. He needs to get a job.”

“He has a job,” Aidan insisted.

“I’d like to talk about what happened to your squad.” Chase Dawson said the words smoothly, but they dropped with a thud as both Aidan and Dwight paled.