“It wasn’t much of a marriage.”
Janine shrugged, those intelligent eyes pinning Shelley. “Yet you picked your marriage over Leo.”
Shelley felt her eyes roll. God, she was so tired of this. “Yes, I chose my drug-dealing, blackmailing, cheating husband over Leo. You know why? Because I loved it so much when he fucked every meth head in town, and I was thrilled when he used my business as a front for his crimes. Oh, and I couldn’t resist the way he’d blackmailed me into our marriage. All of that was just too much to walk away from.”
Janine nodded sagely. “Ah. So he threatened Leo, and you were protecting him.”
Well, at least Janine got it. “Yes.”
The blonde woman sighed. “And then Leo did his whole overanalyzing intellectual thing. I can see just how that went. He couldn’t believe you would think he needed protection so he decided you had used and discarded him. God, he can be such a drama queen. See, this is why Wolf is easier. Wolf would have just grunted and not stopped following you around. So, has he totally screwed this thing up with you, or does he still have a shot?”
“Wolf? Well, I’m not happy about the plug, but I have to admit, I’m crazy about him.”
Janine shook her head. “No, honey. I was talking about Leo. Has Leo completely fucked this up or can I talk you into giving him another chance?”
Shelley had to take a little breath and another sip of her drink. God, hadn’t she spent every moment of every day for the last year wishing that Leo wanted another chance? But he’d shut that down. “He doesn’t want a second chance.”
“He can say that all he wants, but I watched him last night. I’ve talked to him. He’s never gotten over you. When I left him, he barely skipped a smile. He was joking with my new boyfriend at the lawyer’s as we filed for divorce.”
“Leo’s pretty resilient.”
“Not for the last fourteen months. He’s changed. He’s been quiet and withdrawn. He hasn’t spent time with friends. He’s stopped flirting. Do you understand how deeply worried that makes me? Leo loves to flirt. And he hasn’t flirted. Not since the day he met you.” Janine leaned against the wall, her arms crossing. “He knew he’d found the one. And now you’re with Wolf, and I worry that if you sleep with Wolf, you won’t ever give Leo another chance. And Wolf works fast.”
“Yes, yes, he does.” He’d worked fast, and he hadn’t been alone.
Janine’s face fell. “Well, then, I guess that’s that. I can’t really see Leo breaking up something good for his brother. You’re going to laugh at this, but I was actually going to try to convince you to tempt Leo into a ménage. I really think he would thrive in that type of relationship. But he would have to be there in the beginning. I don’t think his pride would allow anything less.”
Shelley stared down at the floor. She wasn’t sure she should say a thing. It hadn’t meant anything. Leo had said it himself. It had been sex and adrenaline. When she’d woken up, he’d been gone, and he’d seemed a bit distant all morning long.
Janine reached out, taking her hand. “I wish you all the best with Wolf. He really is a great guy.”
“How would I do it?”
Janine stopped. “What do you mean?”
“How would I convince him to stay?”
“I don’t think it will work now, Shelley. He’s possessive, and he has his own odd code. If you’re sleeping with his brother, he won’t break up that relationship, and I doubt even if you walked out on Wolf that he would consider it. Certainly not anytime soon. And Wolf seems to really like you.”
Shelley was just going to have to say it. “Let me make this plain, I have absolutely no desire to walk out on Wolf. And Leo might not work as fast as his brother, but they have their timing down, if you know what I mean.”
A blank face stared back at her. “I do not.”
How did she put this? There was no Miss Manners for conversation openers about ménage relationships. She stuttered, the words dropping from her mouth in a staccato. “Leo and Wolf and I, well, there was an incident. Some men tried to hurt me. Wolf took care of it, but we were all very emotional.”
Janine’s eyes widened. “Oh, you slept with them both. Together?”
Shelley nodded. “I did. But this morning, Leo was a little distant. I don’t think he’s ever going to forgive me for sending him away. I think he’s trying to get me out of his system. I’ve thought about this all morning. I’m crazy about Wolf. I think I’m really falling for that man, but can I really have a relationship with him if Leo walks away? I’ve tried to cut Leo out of my heart, but it doesn’t work. How am I going to go to Christmas dinner and look across the table at Leo’s new girlfriend?”
Janine relaxed a bit, her shoulders coming down and a little satisfied smile crossing her face. “Honey, that’s not going to be a problem. He hasn’t even had a collared sub in years. Leo’s been solitary, even when he was married. You’re the first woman I’ve seen him get animated about. If you want Leo, you have to have a soft touch. Let Wolf work on him. Be the woman he fell in love with. He’ll come back. Hell, if he’s shared a woman with his brother, he’s much further down the road than I would have imagined. Be patient with him. And I know I’m the ex, but you can always call me. I know what it’s like to love Leo.”
A little kernel of hope kindled in her chest. What if she didn’t have to let Leo go? What if she could have them both?
“And if you ever want to tell me just how big Wolf is, I will listen. I really will. God, that man is hot.”
Finn Taylor walked up. Shelley had seen him with Dani earlier, laughing and caressing her big belly. His humor was gone now, replaced with a grim fierceness. Lucas O’Malley was at his side, the downturn of his lips telling Shelley that something terrible had happened.
A million horrible scenarios played through her brain. “What’s happened? Leo? Wolf?”
God, someone was trying to kill her. What if they’d gotten her men instead? Her heart threatened to crack.
“They’re fine, Shelley,” Finn said. “But they want you back up in Leo’s condo. We’re going to take you there and stay until they can come up.”
“What’s going on?”
Lucas sighed, a low tired sound. “Leo’s past is catching up to him. And it looks like you’re in the line of fire.”
Shelley thought about those enigmatic words as she walked out of the penthouse.
Wolf felt the tension in the room, and he couldn’t blame the little sub for cowering a bit. The room was thick with testosterone, and she was the only sub there, surrounded by six big Doms, all of whom stared straight down at her.
Kitten’s eyes were wide. Her mouth was open. But Wolf wasn’t so sure anyone was home.
Of course, after seeing those damn pictures, Wolf had lost his appetite, if not the actual power of speech.
“Tell us what happened, Kitten,” Julian said, his voice a flat monotone. He leaned against the desk Kitten used. The folder with the photographs was right there by Julian’s fingertips, but they had been turned over.
Not that Wolf needed to see them again. He doubted he would ever get the images out of his mind.
A lovely woman with skin the color of rich sand, tied up in a beautiful, masterful tortoiseshell pattern of Shibari bondage. Her dark hair was spread on the mattress she’d been laid out on. A lovely scene, except for the blood and her unseeing eyes. Wolf’s stomach turned. Someone had brutalized the woman. Leo’s woman.
Leo stood away from the pack, his face a careful blank. Ada had died years before, but Wolf could plainly see those pictures had brought it all back for Leo.