23. Kat

Chapter 23

B y the time we changed and headed back downstairs, Alex wasn't the only one waiting for us. Addison had me braid her hair so that we matched in as many ways as we could. I didn’t think it was possible, but I think she stole my heart even more.

Addison holds my hand as we walk down the stairs, a huge smile on her face. I hear voices, but the second we round the corner into the living room, everyone is quiet, and I almost stumble over my feet when five sets of eyes turn toward us.

Shit.

Oliver clears his throat, and it seems to do the trick.

“Daddy!!” Addison drops my hand before takingoff toward Nathan, and Alex quickly takes that as a sign to fill her spot.

Addison does a twirl, showing him her dress as she tells him all about our day as his eyes continue to bore into me as if he could undress me if he just stares hard enough.

“Mommy and me have matching dresses and hair,” she proclaims loudly, and I watch Nathan’s face carefully as that word leaves her mouth.

I half expect him to be upset despite what he said the other day. I wouldn’t blame him; honestly, we might have an agreement for sex, but I’m her nanny, and he doesn’t really know me.

His eyes narrow, and I bite down on my lip, unsure what to do or say as I fight against the urge to look away.

“A Princess and a Queen.” Nathan’s voice is deep and husky, and while it could have been taken as a joke, his eyes tell me it’s anything but. “You both look beautiful, honey,” he says, bending down to scoop her up, as his eyes roam over me.

“We had the best day!”

“Next time, I’ll have to go with you two and make sure we get some more stuff. You guys only have like five bags,” Desmond says, raising a brow at my bags that still sit where I left them. I’d honestly forgotten about them when Addison pulled me upstairs.

Vincent barks a laugh, pulling their attention to him. I scrunch up my face, knowing what's coming even before he says it.

“Good luck with that. She refused Nate’s card today. I doubt she’s going to let you buy her anything, either.”

Nathan’s jaw ticks at the news, and I give Vincent the stink eye, knowing I’m going to hear about that later.

Asshole couldn’t just keep that to himself.

“That’s…different,” Oliver says, almost more to himself than to us, but I hear him nonetheless. I’m not sure it was meant to be taken as a compliment, but considering I know the type of people who usually try to get close to them, I’m going to take it as one.

“We’ll see about that,” Desmond growls with a smile, and I get the feeling he’s going to take this as a personal challenge.

Crap.

Since we were gone, Dale had cooked dinner, and from Desmond's reaction, I’m going to assume it’s one of his favorites. Just one bite is all it takes for me to see why.

“Oh, wow!” I hadn’t asked what it was because it looked and smelled delicious, so I really didn’t care. I’m not picky. The flavor is out of this world. The cheese, the BBQ chicken and the crunch of the bread all go together so well that I’m sad I’ve never tried it before.

“So good, right?” Desmond says, winking at me before he takes another bite and fucking groans. He’s eating, but my god, if I didn’t know better, I’d have said he was fucking. It’s the same damn noise he makes when he comes.

Dinner is mostly quiet, with everyone focused on eating rather than talking. While I might enjoy cooking, I can see how having a chef can be nice, too. It’s a great way to try new things and a nice thing to have in your back pocket should the day get away from you like it did for me today.

After dinner, I excuse myself, grabbing my bags from the foyer and taking them upstairs to put away before showering. I’d made sure to pick up a few pairs of pajama pants as well, in case I ever needed to leave my room at night. They are baggy and super soft, making them perfect to slip over my boy shorts.

My phone vibrates on my bedside table, and I scoop it up to check it before I crawl into bed.

Could I see you for a moment in my office?

Dread washes over me as I once again worry he’s going to fire me.

Stop it.

Could he fire me? Yes, of course. But honestly, if he didn’t fire me for sleeping with his brother and son, I can’t imagine he would have much of another reason, too.

Of course. I’ll be right there.

Taking a deep breath, I pull on my pajama pants and thank the heavens I bought them before heading to his office. Even knowing he probably won’t be firing me, I can’t help but feel anxious, both because this feels formal and because of the last time I was here…which was the opposite of formal.

After a moment's hesitation, I knock, waiting for him to call out for me before I enter. Just like last time, he sits behind his desk, looking every bit the billionaire businessman he is, though this time, Alex is nowhere in sight.

Nobody is.

It’s just me and him, and I’m not sure if that’s better or worse.

With slow steps, I make my way to his desk. Unsure if I should sit or not, I decide to remain standing. He tracks my movement from the moment I open the door, and by the time I reach his desk, I’m fidgeting with no hope of stopping. I’m not used to being the center of attention. Hell, for a long time, I could hardly hold my own fiancé's attention. I’d always thought myself mundane and boring, nothing special or eye-catching.

But now…

Now I have not one but three men who look at me like I’m not only worth seeing, but like I’m the best damn thing they’ve ever seen. They could have their choice of women, yet somehow, they picked me. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m here and available or not, but I’m not going to look too closely at it right now.

“Hello, my Queen,” he purrs as a smirk curves his lips.

Oh, no. There is no way he can call me that, joke or not. His presence is enough to have me hot and bothered, but if he keeps calling me that, I’m going to walk around permanently wet.

“I wanted to talk to you about today at the mall,” he says, suddenly serious again.

Damn it, Vincent.

“It’s come to my attention that while we have talked about how we share and you have agreed to that, you seem to be unaware of what comes with this agreement.”

He looks at me as if waiting for me to disagree, but I can’t because I honestly have no idea.

“We’ll start with this.” He tosses something onto the desk that slides across, almost falling off before it stops right in front of me. “This is yours. It’s to be used when you take Addison out, when you're hungry, when you buy clothes, or anything else you might need. Think of it as a business card.”

For all of two seconds, I’m ready to agree.

“Wait, my clothes aren’t a business expense.”

A smile curves his lips as he pushes up from his chair and makes his way around his desk to stand in front of me.

“See, that’s where you're wrong.” He hooks his finger under my chin, craning my head up so that our eyes meet. “You agreed to let us share you, and that means you are ours, to spoil, to protect, to fuck…” he trails off, his eyes burning into mine as if waiting for me to disagree.

I want to. Fuck, I want to so badly, but I can’t bring myself to do it with him looking at me like that.

“You're now my queen, and I have every intention of treating you as such. Addison will learn by example exactly how she should be treated.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat that feels as if it’s choking me as the need to argue with him presses me hard.

After a moment, he nods, seemingly happy with my silence. He lets my chin drop before scooping the card up from the desk to hold out for me to see.

It’s a black card, the same as the one Vincent offered me at the mall today, but with one major difference. It has my name on it.

“I assume you know what this is.”

I chuckle, shaking my head at his question. I might live under a rock, but who doesn’t know what a black card is? Everyone in movies has them, but from what I know, they’re a lot harder to get than the movies make it seem. Carter came from a wealthy family and was still denied one, much to his annoyance.

“Good, then I trust you understand the limit does not exist. If you want it, it’s yours.”

He tucks the card into my pajama pants pocket before reaching into his own to pull something else out.

“No!” I cringe as my voice comes out harsher than I’d intended. “No, thank you.” I try again, holding up my hands to stop him from giving me whatever that is as I take a step back.

His eyes narrow as he watches me, but he doesn’t let me get far before he reaches out, pulling me back to him.

He doesn’t say a word, and I don’t either, unsure what to say. I know he’s not Carter, even just our brief time together has shown me that. But for some reason, I can’t get past this feeling, this fear of being owned.

“Why?” he asks, his words impassive and his face unreadable, but I swear I see the hint of a spark in his eyes as he assesses me.

Licking my lips, I stand tall. He might be my boss, but that's it. He doesn't own me. He arches a brow at me, but I don’t have an answer, at least not a good one.

Instead, I drop my gaze to my feet.

“Katherine…”

I know what he wants, yet I can’t seem to do it. Shame turns my stomach, knowing he doesn’t deserve this. That he deserves better than me.

Once again, he lifts my chin, and the barest hint of a smile curves his lips.

He leans down until we're only a breath away. I hardly dare to breathe as my heart beats at triple its usual speed.

“I'm not sure who he is or what he did to you, but I assure you when I give you something, it’s yours,” he says, his voice low but harsh, and I know he means it.

He isn’t Carter; I know that, but accepting things is a slippery slope.

I open my mouth, ready to insist, but he cocks a brow, and I swallow it down.

“A real man doesn’t need to own his woman with possessions and buy her affection. A real man owns his woman by being what they need, their support and love, even when things aren’t pretty.”

Nathan holds out the box, and I glance down at it, seeing the words Tiffany my mind is a tangled mess from how this conversation just went from zero to one hundred so quickly.

I can’t keep the shock off my face as his words finally sink in, and I watch as his lips turn up in one of his rare smiles and know he was waiting for me to understand.

Did he just imply that we’re a thing, like a couple? No, there’s no way he meant it like that… But then again, what else could he have meant?

Well, honestly, there’s probably about one hundred other things he could have meant, but I don’t get to overthink it for long.

“That will be all. Have a good night, Katherine,” he says, dropping his hold on me and pulling himself up to his full height, brushing non-existent wrinkles from his suit jacket.

“I—I” I try to say something, but it’s as if he stole my ability to function properly when he trapped me in those icy eyes. Snapping my mouth closed, I drop my eyes to the floor as I feel my face heat with embarrassment.

“Take the necklace,” he says, holding the box to me.

With a shaky hand, I reach out, my fingers closing around the box as I take it before quickly turning to leave.

I’ve embarrassed myself enough for one night. I need to get out of here before I do something stupid like open my mouth and demand he tell me if that’s what he meant or not.

That would be bad.

“I had it made just for you,” he says, as my fingers close around the doorknob, and I freeze.

This man is going to be the death of me.

I leave and hurry back to my room, not wanting to run into anyone else. I’ve had more than enough attention for the night. It’s not until I make it back into my room, the door closed and locked behind me, that I feel as though I can breathe again.

I told myself I would never be at the mercy of a man again after Carter, and while I still don’t want that, I can’t help but feel like this isn’t the same. But honestly, I’m not sure I can trust my judgment right now. Am I thinking with my brain, or is it clouded by their sexy as fuck bodies and the way they undo me?

No, that’s not fair.

I know they’re different. They’ve done nothing but prove that since I met them. Alex and Desmond were gentlemen at the club when we met, and they made sure I wanted them before we did anything. The misunderstanding the next morning was completely on me, and even that, they took in stride.

Nathan was a gentleman, too. He offered me a job and a place to stay because of my relationship with Addison, and while he didn’t have to, he came to my rescue when I had nobody else to call.

The box weighs heavily in my hand as I make my way back to my bed, and I realize I’ve yet to open it.

I have no idea what’s inside.

It’s a beautiful blue color with a white bow. With a simple tug, the ribbon comes free, and I pull the top from the bottom easily.

Oh my god…

I stand beside the bed with the box sitting on it as I stare at the piece of jewelry inside of it.

I should not have taken this. His comment about having it custom-made was a red flag all by itself, but somehow, I hadn’t expected this. I don’t know a lot about jewelry. I’ve had a few expensive pieces from Carter that I was supposed to wear when we went out, but I’d left all that behind. I get the feeling I could have brought it all, and it wouldn’t be half the cost of this necklace because one thing I do know is Nathan doesn’t do anything in halves.

This most likely means that the red gems in this necklace are rubies, and I highly doubt they're fake.

It’s made of rose gold links, the rubies evenly spaced along and held in round rose gold settings.

I stare at it for way too long, debating bringing it back to him or not, but I know he won’t take it. Finally, I give in and accept that I’ve taken it, so now it’s mine, and make my way to the bathroom to admire it.

My fingers shake as I attempt to fasten the clasp, and after a few tries, I manage to get it on. The red gems catch the light beautifully. It’s elegant and eye-catching and takes my breath away.

Nathan’s words ring through my head as I let my fingers trail over the cool gems that rest on my throat.

‘When I own you, there will be no question of if you want it or not. You will be mine.’

If only he knew how much that was already true, and not just with him.