Chapter Thirteen

Tyler sure is a strange one, Blake told himself for the umpteenth time as he neared the office building he shared with his brothers. Tyler had phoned him an hour earlier, cursing him out like wildfire, calling him all sorts of names, and that wasn’t at all like the guy. Blake was amazed not to feel more irritated about it.

Tyler was their peacemaker, the one who never lost his cool. From a few of the things his brother had growled at him, Blake had no doubt that Tyler had been to see Jewell and that she had told him everything. Instead of being pissed off about it, Blake was happy to see, or at least suspect, that she hadn’t lost all her fight. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Tyler’s being so protective of Jewell, but Blake also knew that Tyler would never try to overstep his bounds with her. The brothers never poached on each other’s territory, though they weren’t beyond pretending to do so.

As he neared the executive offices, he wondered what Tyler would say. The funny thing was that if Blake would listen to anyone other than Max, it would be to one of his brothers, and especially to Tyler, since Tyler was always the voice of reason when anger seemed to consume Blake to the depths of his soul — if he even had a soul. But Tyler sure as hell hadn’t been the voice of reason an hour ago. He’d been too busy yelling.

Blake walked to his own office and decided to wait there for a while before buzzing his brother. It was such a rarity to find Tyler in a bad mood that Blake couldn’t help but add fuel to the fire. Granted, that move might come back to bite him in the ass, but he couldn’t help himself. A man had to do what a man had to do!

After about ten minutes, his intercom sounded and he had no doubt it was Tyler. Tyler had most likely told the security staff to notify him the minute Blake entered the building.

“Yes, Tyler?” Blake said in a chipper tone.

Tyler replied gruffly. “We’re supposed to be meeting, Blake.”

Blake leaned back. “I’m sitting here waiting for you, bro.”

The line disconnected and Blake could practically hear his little brother’s chair hit the wall as Tyler jumped up and stomped out of the office he had down at the end of the hall.

Blake schooled his expression and watched as his door was thrust open and Tyler came storming into the room.

“I’ve known you to do some pretty dumb-ass things in your lifetime, Blake, but this has got to be a new low for you.”

No word of greeting.

“It’s been a few days, brother,” Blake told him with a smile. “It’s good to see you too.”

“Don’t try to play games with me, Blake. I’m not one of the boneheads you employ, the yes-men who bow and scrape to you to keep from pissing you off.” Tyler looked ready to throw a punch as he leaned across Blake’s desk and glared at him.

Blake just laughed. His brother would get to the point eventually.

“Do you like being feared?” Tyler asked him.

This question actually took Blake by surprise, and he lost just a trace of his grin. “Yes,” he said, but was that still as true today as it had been a year ago — heck, even a few months ago? He honestly didn’t know. Didn’t inspiring fear equal power? That’s what he’d always thought, anyway.

“And do you like scaring women and little children?”

“I’m not trying to scare Jewell.” Blake was quickly growing weary of this line of questioning.

“Whether you’re trying or not, you have her scared, alone, and desperate,” Tyler said. Some of the anger drained from him now, and he moved back and sat down. He wasn’t looking away, but he seemed more than a bit sad that his brother would have done such a thing.

It shamed Blake more than he would ever admit. “I’m good to Jewell,” he said in his own defense.

“If she’s only with you out of fear, that’s not being good to her, Blake. You have to earn someone’s love and trust, not demand it of them.”

“I don’t need her love or her trust. I just need her.” Blake wasn’t willing to delve into his emotions even with himself, let alone with his brother. This wasn’t going to turn into a bonding moment for the two of them where they could hug, say I love you, man, and sing campfire songs.

“Let her go if you can’t possibly give her your heart,” Tyler told him. “Give her back her brother — you know you have the power to do it — and let her go.”

“Things are complicated here — more complicated than you can imagine. And I can’t let her go.”

“Then I’ll step in and help her,” Tyler said. “Nothing complicated about that.”

That threat came as another shock. Blake stared at his brother, wondering whether he’d been wrong to think Tyler would never mess with his own brother’s woman. But the look on Tyler’s face wasn’t love; it was compassion and generosity. He’d come across a woman who needed protection, and he felt compelled to give it to her. It was just who Tyler was.

“This isn’t your business, Tyler.”

Tyler was about to say something, but his mouth closed and he leaned back, his brows wrinkled, and his eyes flew up as if in shock. The way he was giving his brother the eye made Blake want to turn away — no way he wanted to be analyzed.

“You’re not saying … Do you love her, Blake?”

“No!” Blake practically shouted that monosyllable before he could calm himself down. “No, I don’t love her. I just don’t want to let her go yet. I have my reasons.”

“And you’ll use a child to bribe her to stay with you, even when she can’t stand the sight of you?” Tyler said.

That hit Blake below the belt.

“I can promise you that she wants me just as much as I want her.”

“That isn’t the impression that I got from her today. She seemed depressed, defeated, and out of options. Do you really want her to be with you because you’re her last resort?”

Blake sat back and thought about his time with Jewell, and the months of agony without her. Yes, their time together had been short, but during their time apart he’d thought of no woman but her. Yes, he’d had the opportunity to replace her immediately, but he hadn’t felt even a twinge of desire to do so. A week after that, he’d been stunned that he still felt the same way.

After three months, he’d decided to do something about the situation. If she was still on his mind, he’d told himself, he had to see this through to the end. And that’s what was happening now.

“She and I will marry, Tyler. It’s not as if that has to lock us together for life. But if I marry her, she’ll easily get custody of her brother, and she’ll be tied to me for as long as I see fit.” Blake spoke with just enough arrogance to piss his brother off all over again.

But just when he thought Tyler was going to come unglued, his brother amazed him by cracking a smile.

“You’re nothing but show right now — do you know that?” Tyler said, and laughed.

That laugh got underneath Blake’s skin far more than the lecture his brother had been giving him did.

“What in the hell are you talking about now, Tyler?”

“You won’t admit it — hard to believe! — but you have to know that you actually care about this woman. Are you afraid of telling me how you feel, or are you afraid to tell her?”

“I’m afraid of no one,” Blake thundered. Fear wasn’t an emotion he ever felt.

“Why not just date the woman properly, then, instead of continually buying her and making her feel cheap?”

Sheesh. Now his brother was channeling his driver Max. “Jewell’s the one who put herself into this situation,” Blake told his brother. “She chose to join an escort service.”

“No she didn’t. You know perfectly well that she had no choice. She’d do anything for her brother, just as I’d do anything it took for you or Byron.”

“And I’ll do anything to be with her.” Blake didn’t realize how much that revealed to his savvy brother.

“What does that mean?” Tyler asked him “You’ll do anything to have sex with her?”

“I shouldn’t say this even to you, but the sex is incredible. It’s more than sex. It’s something so powerful you couldn’t possibly comprehend it, little brother.”

“Just because it’s great sex and more doesn’t mean you have the right to take it when it’s not offered freely.”

“Believe me when I say that our sex life is no hardship on her,” Blake said smugly.

“You’re demanding marriage, Blake. Great sex will fade, and then you’ll find yourself living with a woman who resents you.”

“I don’t think so. I’ve been with a lot of women in my lifetime and I’ve never had a connection like the one I share with Jewell. She knows this, too — she’s just fighting her feelings.”

“Do you really believe the shit that you’re spouting?” Tyler asked.

“I believe that we’re meant to be together.” Blake wanted to show that he wasn’t trying to hurt Jewell, that he did feel something, even if he was unsure of exactly what that was. In fact, he was trying to help her and himself both. But he wasn’t sure how to make his brother understand that.

Tyler rolled his eyes. “I’ll be watching you, Blake.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Blake said, and he stood up.

Tyler rose as well and Blake walked around his desk.

“Don’t screw this up,” Tyler said.

“We’ve always trusted each other, Tyler. Don’t lose your faith in me now.” Blake shook his brother’s hand.

Tyler stepped back and looked at Blake again, making him feel as if he were underneath a microscope, and then, without another word, Tyler left the office.

Blake sat back down and turned his chair away from his open door.

Closing his eyes, he thought about the previous night with Jewell. It was perfect, as usual, but it wasn’t enough, even though they’d made love for hours on end. With her it was never enough.

He shifted in his seat and groaned as his body hardened. He could practically smell her, taste her on his tongue. Only this woman had ever been able to make him hard with just a single thought. That wasn’t something to let go of.

But what if Jewell really was afraid of him? No, that wasn’t possible. He was demanding, to be sure, and he expected a certain amount of respect from her, but he was also willing to offer her everything she could ever desire. They had something, and she knew it. She didn’t fear him — that was impossible. She just wanted to establish her independence.

He’d give Jewell a couple of days to think about what she wanted. That would do her some good. And he would once again be back on top. He wouldn’t let this visit with Tyler sway him. Jewell was his — and his alone.