Daddies Brat

Erik

Warren checks his watch for the tenth time in ten minutes. I know he’s putting off leaving to the last minute and the reason for that is in the next room. Naked with our best friend.

Fucking Daemon. Lucky bastard.

“Will you stop drilling holes through the door with your eyes already and focus? We have to meet with our clients in an hour and you haven’t even looked at their counterproposal.”

I shoot Warren a scowl. “Not my fault. I planned on using the hours of boring flight time I was to have on my hands. Your fault I didn’t have a spare minute to myself. Besides, what could they possibly have said in the proposal that would be any different from all the other fuckers scared someone will hack into their databases? They want the full package, us to train their cyber department and do it all on the cheap. Same game, different people.”

“You’re starting to sound like Daemon. And no one considers ninety-eight million dollars on the cheap.”

“I know, damn it.” I rub a hand over my head, feeling jetlag pull at me.

“I’m just as irritated. I get it.”

“Yeah,” I grunt. “But are we forgetting something? We don’t exactly have the upper hand. Just our solid reputation and these people don’t give a shit about that. They asked us to solve a problem and we couldn’t figure the incomplete virus out.”

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes. It’s our job to show them why we’re at the top of our league-complete code or not. Stop thinking with the wrong head and focus.”

“Pot meet kettle.”

“Fuck you. Drink your coffee already and shut up.” If there’s one thing the oldest of the three of us is good at it’s barking commands. Close runner-up is his coffee-making skills.

He pushes a mug into my hands and I take it.

We landed two hours ago and just settled Jemma in the penthouse suite overlooking the vast majority of Paris. The Eiffel Tower a beauty in the distance.

I can’t seem to draw the energy I need for the day given I’m working with about two hours of sleep, not nearly enough caffeine, and in need of a shower. The idea of joining Jemma in hers and forgetting about today’s planned meetings is tempting. But Warren would have a damn heart attack since it took us close to six months to set these meets up in the first place. A few acronymed agencies want to hire us for the cyber-security sectors. It means a shit ton of money and not a soul on this planet says no to green. Not when we take it and build schools, teach more people and invest in scholarships for the coming generations behind us. A philosophy the three of us pride ourselves on and why we like teaching.

It was Daemon’s idea to begin with. Use our smarts to give back.

I gave them six months at first. That’s all I was willing to do. Stepping into another classroom was the last damn thing I wanted to do but a week after our initial lectures we all discovered the hidden gem hiding out in the back of our classrooms. We asked around about the girl who never missed a class and always had the answers when we called on her. No one knew much. Even her file is desert dry. Born and raised in the same Connecticut town as Westmoore. Parents not listed. Next of kin a brother out in Boise.

And that’s it. Odd, if you ask me, but lots of people don’t have the family the three of us do. Warren is the oldest of six. I’m the youngest of three at thirty-six years old. Daemon is a natural loner as a single child, but somehow our motley crew makes a good team.

We all agreed from the start we wouldn’t make any advances on her. And when we did, it would be together. This isn’t the first time we’ve taken a lover together. Only the last one we thought would be The One. Turns out all our instincts were off about her. Way off. Zira liked to play house but when it came down to it, the idea of living with three men freaked her out. The second things between the four of us turned serious, she bolted. And into another man’s arms. Daemon took it the hardest since the poor bastard told her he loved her first.

Warren pops another pot of coffee on and I savor the last drops in my cup impatiently. Jetlag and fabulous sex have my system needing a boost. “Things never turn out like we plan, do they?”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Warren huffs. “Any regrets?”

I roll the stiffness from my shoulders. Stupid question. “Nope, but we did kidnap a student and then hauled her off to Europe. So now what? What’s our plan?”

“Keep her happy. Show her some sights, don’t let her pick up a book. That girl works too damn hard for being so damn young.”

I nod.

Warren has been leaning on the counter, sleeves rolled up and his usual scowl in place. He pushes up with a snort. “That said, you think she can help with the code?”

Showing her the black-market virus wasn’t part of the plan, but it seemed like the natural thing to do at the time. Thankfully the guys didn’t hold it against me and played along. They must have seen how freaked out she was getting.

“I saw an opportunity to get her to come along rather than really kidnapping her.”

“Smooth. You sure we should trust the bear in there who grunts rather than speaks to be alone with someone as sweet as Jemma? He might scare her.”

“She’ll be fine. Daemon might be less than polished, but he’s not a brute. Just terribly frank.”

“Which scares the shit out of me.” I don’t need to say what we are both thinking. “We should have drawn straws or something to decide who got to stay with her.”

“Real mature.”

Warren places another mug of coffee in front of me and I hit it back like Johnny Walker on New Year’s Eve. Another wave of caffeine jolts through my system and wards off sleep for the moment.

“Honestly our plan was to seduce her over the holidays. None of us said we would whisk her off to another country. This is new territory for all of us.”

Hearing Warren admit to flying by the seat of his pants has me stopping cold, mug halfway to my lips.

“We all agreed if we saw a chance, we would take it. Don’t let it eat you up that there’s not a script for the next part. That New Year’s party wasn’t planned either and it went rather well, don’t ya think? I had no idea she would be there.”

Warren is quiet, lost in his head. Probably mapping out everything we have to do down to the time we eat dinner and dessert. I grin to myself. Maybe Jemma will help loosen him up. Ever since I’ve known the man, he has been wound tight. Controlling, most people say. Most days I agree. But after getting to know him I realize it goes deeper than control. His family depends on him and he takes that shit seriously.

I peer into my empty coffee cup and move it aside. I take the laptop and fire it up. Maybe I can read that counter-proposal in fifteen minutes. But the screen opens up to where we left it on the flight over.

I scroll, my eyes going wide the longer I look.

“Holy shit. She did it.”

“What?” Warren spins the computer around.

“Found the missing section of code. She solved the problem.”

“Let me see again.” I flip the laptop around and point to the section of code. “Here you see that? Fuck, that’s sexy as hell.”

Warren’s eyes are as wide as mine. “When did she have time?”

“I guess while we snored our asses off she got up.”

I lean my elbows on the counter. “Is it wrong to get a hard-on for someone’s brain?”

Warren whips his head back and forth. “Nope.” Jemma

To my right I watch the snow drift by. In the shower. Actually, the entire wall is glass and gives a breathtaking view of Paris.

From the open door of the bathroom to my left I spy a set of clothes spread out on the bed for me as I step out of the shower. It’s all so surreal.

The location, the company. This hotel suite.

It’s the middle of winter in freaking Paris. And I’m here. Holy crap! Part of me wants to squeal with glee at ticking something off my wish list. But I keep it cool and take the towel Daemon hands me. Or at least I try.

He puts a hand on my shoulder and turns me around. Warmth engulfs me when he wraps one fluffy towel around my shoulders so large it hangs past my knees while taking another to dry my hair.

He’s in no hurry it seems. He makes sure to soak up the extra water from each section and then sets to work on my body just as methodically. I moan a little in appreciation. It’s like drying with clouds.

While I might come from money my parents never saw the need to go all out and spend on frivolous things like decadent towels and trips abroad. And now that I’m on my own, well, let’s just say I can’t exactly eat plane tickets or towels.

Daemon kneels in front of me, taking a foot to rest on his knee. With more gentleness than I expect he dries my leg, foot and each toe.

I take him in as he silently cares for me. He’s so handsome. Not in the polished, I’m a billionaire and I want you to know it way. There’s not a flaunting, flamboyant bone in his body. Not Daemon. He’s more the rough around the edges, quiet type who’d rather show by action than talk about it, I’m quickly learning.

He has a rugged build and stands a couple of inches taller than the other two. I’ve only known him as a professor who is distant, direct and always in teacher mode. Except for the few times our gazes locked over the podium. In those stolen moments my imagination always took over.

He moves me to the bedroom featuring a huge four-poster bed pushed up against a window showcasing the Eiffel tower. Stunning.

Daemon doesn’t rush me. Together we stand there for long minutes taking it in. Me in a towel and him in the same pair of slacks from yesterday.

He wraps his arms around me and I settle my back against his chest, my head on his shoulder.

“You’ll find everything you need on the bed or in the closet. I hope you don’t mind, but I picked out something I thought you might like.” He nods toward the bed. “If you don’t like it, check the closet. There’s more for you.”

I turn in his arms and flutter my lashes open. This all feels like a dream. One I hope I never wake from. “I’m sure what you picked is fine.” His presence is comforting and I realize for the first time in a while I’m not worrying over something.

He places a kiss on my forehead and I realize there’s something different about him too. The hard edginess to his eyes is gone and, dear God. I think he actually looks happy. The scowl I’ve forever associated with him is gone.

“I’m going to shower while you get ready. Then we’ll eat. Come in if you need anything. There’s makeup, lip gloss…”

He trails off with a shrug and I can tell he’s nervous. Daemon Preston is nervous to be alone with me.

I smile and I guess he sees my confusion. He rubs at a pinch between my brows. “We called ahead. Had a personal shopper drop off items for you.”

Well, at least that answers one of my curiosities.

He taps my nose and then turns, leaving me alone.

I make quick work of pulling on the panty and bra set the color of fresh snow. Next the pair of jeans with fashionably placed rips. Sweet Jesus… how did I know they would fit like a glove? I’m quickly learning these men never do anything halfway.

The white sweater slides on just as easily. Cashmere. I truly am in heaven.

A pair of knee-high boots are leaning against the bed and I pull those on next. By the time I get to my hair and makeup Daemon is already out of the shower and pulling on a pair of black slacks.

I watch shamelessly through the mirror. It gives me a perfect view of every inch of his body rippling and bunching as he dresses.

His dark eyes find mine in the mirror. “You keep looking at me like that and I’ll forget about taking you sightseeing, breakfast… everything. And show you other things instead.”

I blush. Yep! After all he’s seen and tasted of me I still blush.

I stare at him for a moment weighing my options. He prowls across the room shirt hanging open, all those abs on display for me to drool over.