Sophie Oak - Siren in Bloom

Wolf tried to focus on the small necklace. There was a circlet of white gold and through it came two tails, each with another circlet. Three circles connected. Wolf had seen it and thought about how he and Leo wouldn’t be getting close again without Shelley. Three circles, the two lower ones flowing from the one in the middle. Shelley was the sun, and he and Leo were the planets that worshipped and orbited around her.

He sighed and placed it back on the velvet display case. He couldn’t waste that much money on something that wouldn’t mean a thing after tonight.

“She’s in love with Leo.”

Logan’s brows came together. “Okay. I thought we knew that. I don’t see the problem.”

Of course Logan didn’t see the problem. In Bliss, it would be a simple thing. Wolf would just go after her until she loved him, too. Hell, it was practically expected in Bliss. If someone told a Bliss woman she had to pick between two men she wanted, she just might start shooting. But he wasn’t in Bliss.

“Leo won’t share.”

Logan gasped. “Shit. Wow. Does your mom know?”

Crap . He missed Jamie sometimes. James was the more mature of Wolf’s best friends. “I’m not calling my mom in. Shelley loves him. Leo loves her. There’s no place for me. I’m going to do the only thing I can do. I’m going to hand her over to my brother and wish them well.”

It made his heart ache. He’d fallen for her completely. She was the sunshine he’d been missing for most of his life. He even loved the bratty way she tried to manipulate him. He didn’t want perfection from her. He wanted her beautiful body and the sassy, loving soul that went with it.

But those belonged to his brother, and he owed Leo a lot, too. He couldn’t take away a woman his brother loved. He’d made his play, and he’d lost.

“Fuck, man. I don’t like the sound of that.” Logan crossed his arms over his chest. “Shouldn’t you, like, beat the shit out of him until he sees things your way?”

“That wouldn’t work with Leo. He’s smaller than me, but he’s mean in a fight. And he’s a stubborn asshole. And he’s my brother. I don’t think he’s ever really been in love before. I can’t take it away from him. I love her. I really do, but it can’t work like this. If I press my claim, it’s only going to make her miserable. And in the end, she’ll pick him and then I won’t have a relationship with either of them. I need to bow out gracefully. I need to make a good show.”

“That sucks, man.”

Yep. Logan was succinct. Wolf raised a hand, and the clerk came over quickly. “I need to see something different. Do you have something more like a lock with one key?”

“Absolutely, sir. I’ll bring you several to choose from.” He swept away the necklace Wolf had chosen. It was gone like the future he’d briefly had.

“You’re going to hand her over tonight, aren’t you?” Logan asked.

Wolf nodded. “I’m going to pretend like it was my plan all along. Like this was my gift.”

Logan looked at the tags on the jewelry surrounding them. “It’s a pretty fucking expensive gift.”

Yes, it was. In more terms than just money. It was going to cost him a piece of his soul. And he would pay it. He would pay it because his brother had never faltered. Leo had been the one to make sure he’d eaten breakfast and gotten to school. Leo had sat up with him explaining homework and reading to him when their mother had to work late. It was a debt Wolf could never really repay.

He selected a pretty lock with a small key. It was gold and would look lovely against Shelley’s skin. Leo would hold the key. Wolf would be the kinky brother who had once played into his sister-in-law’s fantasy. After a while, they wouldn’t think about him at all. He would just be part of the family. Neither one would know that he would love her until the day he died.

“I’ll take this one,” Wolf said.

“You’re a better man than me,” Logan said as the clerk placed his selection in its blue box and got it ready to go.

“I don’t know about that. I’m just doing what I have to do.”

Logan looked at him seriously. “Come to New York with me. I have a friend I’m going to see. He’s kind of a crazy billionaire. You know that search engine everyone uses? Yeah, he invented that. His granddad kept a summer cabin in Bliss, and he came up every year from June to late August. We called ourselves summer brothers. Come with me, man. His place is incredible from what I hear.”

“You’re leaving The Club?” He handed his bank card to the clerk. “Logan, you’ve had two sessions with Leo.”

Logan shrugged. “He’s good. I’m totally fixed. I haven’t tried to kill anyone in like a week. Haven’t even wanted to. I just needed to be away from Bliss. I’m staying for another day or two and then I’m headed to Manhattan. Seth can get me a job. He can get you a job, too. Come on, man. Let’s try the city out.”

Wolf was pretty sure that was a bad idea. No matter how calm Logan seemed now, it was still there, simmering under the surface. But he hadn’t shown a single crack last night during the scenes. Wolf knew Leo had been watching Logan for a reaction.

But no one had set up a scene that played on Logan’s trauma.

It was a horrible thing to do, but if Logan was really fine, then what Wolf had in mind wouldn’t faze him.

“I’ll think about it,” Wolf told Logan. “Hell, I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

But if he had his way, Logan wasn’t going to New York. He would stay and let Leo help him. All Wolf needed was a little help from some new friends. When he had a chance, he called Jack Barnes and gave the cowboy the game plan.

Tonight he would help all the people he cared about.

And then he could walk away with a clear conscience and a heavy heart.

Leo looked out over the dungeon. A sense of peace had settled over him. He could do it. He could share Shelley with his brother because it was what she needed.

And also because she’d threatened to kick his ass if he didn’t. It totally made his decision easier.

“Is he here yet?” Shelley asked, her eyes trailing around the large space.

“I don’t see him. Don’t worry, baby, he’ll be here. He’s not going to miss a chance to beat your ass after the stunt you pulled today.” He felt unreasonably cheerful. He still had a whole fuckload of problems to deal with. Someone was trying to kill his girl. Holder was hiding something. Logan was going to walk. Yeah, his life was complicated, but he was getting some tonight.

“That is so comforting, Leo.” Shelley frowned up at him. She was dressed in exactly what Wolf had left for her—very little. Her breasts were pressed together in a black leather corset that offered them up like a tempting fruit. Her hot ass was covered in a barely there thong, and those curvy legs flowed down into a pair of four-inch stilettos she hadn’t stopped complaining about since the minute she’d forced her feet into them.

Yes. Despite the shit storm they were in, his world felt pretty fucking perfect. Even his sense of humor was coming back. “It wasn’t meant to be comforting, baby. It was meant to let you know just how much trouble that hot ass is in. Damn, you look fine tonight. Did I mention how fine you look?”

She bit back a smile and went up on her tiptoes. Those ridiculously high heels put her closer to his height. “You might have mentioned it a time or two.” She pouted a little and batted those lashes at him. “Do we really have to do this public punishment thing? Wouldn’t it be more intimate to just go back to our place and make love? I can make both my Masters very happy. I can prove what a sweet sub I can be.”