Texas Sirens Book 4
By Lexi Blake writing as Sophie Oak
Coming July 17, 2018
Aidan O’Malley left his fiancée, Lexi Moore, and their best friend, Lucas Cameron, after a night of passion left him shaken to his core. Years later, Aidan is back and he knows what he wants. He wants Lucas and Lexi forever.
Lucas has always been in love with Lexi, but he knows they need something more. They need the perfect Dom to complete their family. He never expected Aidan would be the Dom of their dreams.
Lexi is hiding a secret. She knows she’s drowning and the time has come to heal, but her anger at Aidan holds her back from moving on with Lucas.
When Lexi’s life is in danger, Aidan knows he’ll do anything to win them back—and keep them alive.
* * * *
Lucas turned in his seat and faced the only woman he’d ever really loved. She’d been his friend, his heart and soul, his whole world since the day he’d met her, but he wasn’t that for her. Her whole world had walked out the door when Aidan O’Malley left.
“I love you, Lucas Cameron.”
His heart almost stopped. How long had he wanted those words? She’d never said I love you, not once. He’d waited to hear those words forever, but now he could hear the “but” somewhere in there like a little jolt of poison waiting to kill his happiness. “You know I love you, Lexi. I’ve said it every day for the past couple of years. I’ve asked you to move in with me. I’ve asked you to marry me.”
“But you won’t sleep with me.”
It was the only thing he’d withheld. It had been easier when she was in Austin. He’d known her for years, been in love with her for that whole time, but they’d gone their separate ways while she finished school and he started a career. He’d thought he would never have her, thought she was out of his reach. She’d been ready to get married and have a happy life in Austin with her fiancé, Aidan. He’d been the one to screw that up. Yes, it had been much simpler when all he had were phone calls and texts and long instant messenger chats on the computer.
When Lexi moved to Dallas, his life had become a testament to the power of patience. She slept at his place more often than not. He took her to The Club. He’d introduced her to the lifestyle. He’d given her more orgasms than he could count but taken none for himself because he refused to be her rebound man. He wanted more. He wanted forever.
“Marry me and we’ll talk about it.” He wasn’t going to let her use him for sex.
She laughed. “God, you are just like your brother. Except I think he’s smarter than you.”
Jack went home every night to two subs who loved him and each other more than life itself. Jack had two gorgeous kids. Jack had a job that meant the world to him. Damn straight Jack was smarter than he was. “He got all the brains.”
She reached up to touch his hair. “Not all of them. Lucas, I did something really stupid last night, and I hurt some people I care about. I don’t want to do that anymore. I need a solution, and it’s not going to come with you compromising. You’ve done enough of that for me.”
He felt like she’d just kicked him in the stomach. This was the moment he’d been dreading for the last three years. She didn’t need him anymore. That was why she was willing to say I love you. It was a goodbye gift of sorts. She would steep it in all kinds of bullshit about how this was for him, but she was leaving. He didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. He kind of wished she would get it over with now that the moment was here.
“I love you, Lucas. I won’t stop saying it. I’ve been selfish to hold it back. Selfish and afraid. I know if I had an ounce of sense, I would take what you’re offering and run with it, but I think we would end up unhappy.”
Bitterness welled. He’d done everything he could to prove how much he loved her. Why couldn’t he be enough? “Yeah, unhappy. Really, I’m thrilled with the fact that you’re breaking up with me. That’s going to make me really fucking happy.”
“Babe, what are you talking about?” Lexi put her hands on the sides of his head and forced him to look at her. “I am not breaking up with you. I could never do that. Ever. I need you, but I think we both need something more. I think we need to find a Dom. Even if it’s just for play, we need to admit that you’re missing something you crave. Come on, let’s see how things go with this Master A person. Maybe he has something he can teach us. I want what my mom has, and I can have that with you. But we need to move on. Aidan left us.”
His heart ached, but he wasn’t about to show it to her. He needed to be strong. “Aidan was never with me.”
“Oh, my memory says differently. I remember a night when he was with you, and it was a beautiful thing.”
Lucas couldn’t remember it that way. “Damn it, he left you because of that night.”
Her lips curled up in a sad smile. “Because he couldn’t handle it. And he left us. That’s the way I’ve come to think of it. It wasn’t anything you did. He enjoyed what we did that night, and my only regret was that I didn’t get to have you. Aidan was far too busy playing the Dom to let us be together. It was an amazing, beautiful night and I won’t let Aidan’s cowardice taint it anymore. I want to move past Aidan. I have to. It’s killing me.”
A kernel of hope lit inside Lucas. He pulled her into his arms, loving the feel of her against his chest. This was where he lived. “All right. We’ll move past him. I love you, Lexi. I’ll never love another human being the way I love you.”
It was an easy thing to say since he’d only really loved once before, and Aidan was gone from him as surely as he’d walked out on Lexi. Aidan had left them alone and adrift. She was right. It was time to put the pieces back together.
“We’ll meet this Master A, and then maybe we can decide what we want to do from there,” he conceded. “But I still want to marry you.”
She snuggled close to him. “And I still want to have wanton, disgusting, uncommitted sex with you.”
He groaned. “You are so frustrating.”
“I know.” Her arms tightened around him. “You’re right about the sex thing, Lucas. I want it to be special. I want it to be right.”
He would make it right. And poor Master A had no idea what was coming for him.