Bound by Love's Gravity (4 page)

“Why don’t you just let us take Sarah?” Deke demanded to know, his booming voice immediately capturing Adam’s attention. “We’re perfectly capable of taking care of her and keeping her safe. It’s not like we’re kidnapping her. We’re taking her to Kinky for God’s sake.”

The dark edge slipping into Deke’s voice was dangerous. His partner was close to losing his infamous control. If Adam didn’t do something, hell would rain down all around them, and the flames would consume everyone.

“Deke,” Adam said warningly as he touched his partner’s arm. “Back off.”

Deke shook off Adam’s hand. “No,” he growled with an ominous glower at Landon. “I want to know why the
fuck
the two men I considered my family think we can’t protect Sarah.”

Landon snorted. “But who’s going to protect her from the two of you? If I recall, the big, bad wolf ate Little Red Riding Hood.”

Deke’s frown deepened. “She doesn’t need protection from me or Adam. We care about her.”

Landon rolled his eyes. He patted Deke’s shoulder, the condescending nature noticeable, and said, “Sure you do. You care about my sister so much that you refuse to publicly claim her. Everyone knows that you’re panting after her. Hell, you two glower at every man who so much as looks at her. But you won’t man up and say the words that will make her yours.”

Much as Adam hated to admit it, Landon was right. He and Deke were possessive of Sarah, very much so. Yet they didn’t have any real rights to her. She wasn’t their sub. They hadn’t declared to anyone that she belonged to them. They hadn’t collared her or had her sign a contract. In reality, they’d done nothing a Dom would do to officially make a woman his sub.

“Is that what this is about?” Deke demanded to know. “You’re pissed that I won’t snap a collar around Sarah’s pretty neck? That’s insane. Most men wouldn’t want someone like me breathing the same air as their baby sister. But you? You want me to fuck her.”

Landon crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t be a crude son of a bitch. I didn’t say a word about fucking her. That’s none of my goddamn business. I just want you to claim her. You should have done it years ago. Maybe if you had, she wouldn’t have gone looking for another Dom. Maybe she wouldn’t have…”

Adam knew what Landon was getting at when he trailed off deliberately. If they’d claimed Sarah before she’d met Gavin, she wouldn’t have dated him, and he wouldn’t have had the chance to hurt her. But even more than that, she wouldn’t have spent the last year in a hell of her ex-boyfriend’s making. Adam hated to concede, but there was some truth to Landon’s statement.

Evidently, Deke realized what Landon meant, too, because he advanced on the tall blond man, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. From the looks of it, Deke was about to punch Landon. But Shane stopped him by stepping between him and Landon. “Be quiet,” he growled, spearing his husband with a stare that could have singed an ice cube. “This is none of your business.”

Rather than backing down, Landon glared right back at his Dom. “That’s where you’re wrong. Sarah is my business. I’m her brother. What are they?” He scoffed. “Nothing.” Dropping his hands to the side, Landon took an aggressive stance, visibly ready to spar with Deke. “They’re just domineering bodyguards who like to play stupid little games with my sister’s heart. I won’t stand for it anymore. She might be moving to Kinky, but they’re going to watch her from afar. No more treating her as their personal property.”

Out of nowhere, Sarah’s voice filtered through the air as she approached them. “I love you, Landon. More than you’ll ever know. But none of this is up to you. It’s my decision.”

Adam was surprised by the steel in Sarah’s tone. She was obviously not going to allow anyone to stand in the way of what she wanted. He wasn’t the only one who noticed her resolve. Both of the men who’d been bickering over Sarah stared at her with identical dumbfounded expressions. Standing by them, Shane sighed in apparent resignation.

But before any of the men could recover, Katie-Anne joined them. Stepping forward, she grabbed Landon’s hand and held it to her side. “It’s okay. Let her go.”

Landon frowned but said nothing.

Sarah jutted her chin out and said stubbornly, “I’m going to go with Deke and Adam—now.”

“Not yet,” Landon snapped as he reached for her arm. “We’re not done discussing this.”

Adam didn’t give Landon time to touch Sarah. He clamped his hand around his friend’s wrist and held him still. “Don’t touch her like this,” he gritted out. “I understand you’re upset that she’s moving away. But you need to trust her to make her own decisions. And you need to have a little faith in me and Deke. We aren’t going to let anything happen to her.”

“I’m not worried about her body,” Landon said, acceptance finally seeping into his voice. “I’m worried about her heart. And I’m fucking scared I’ll lose my brothers because of it. Please don’t make me hate you.”

Ah
. Adam got it. Landon wasn’t just being an overprotective bear. He was protecting his entire family—Sarah, Deke,
and
Adam.

Despite his irritation, Adam couldn’t resent Landon for his concerns. He didn’t entirely understand his friend’s fear because he and his six siblings had always stuck together. But he could understand that different childhoods had different effects on people. And he respected that.

Hoping to reassure Landon, Adam released his grip on Landon’s hand. “We won’t,” he said vehemently as he curled an arm around Sarah’s waist and pulled her into his side. She melted into him, and he couldn’t suppress the smug grin on his face. “We’d rather cut off our arms.”

“Are you satisfied?” Katie-Anne asked.

Landon nodded. “Yeah. I guess.”

“Good,” Katie-Anne murmured.

Extricating herself from Adam, Sarah embraced her brother. “I know what I’m doing, Landon. Trust me.”

Frowning, Landon closed his anguished eyes before re-opening them. “I trust you. And I trust them. I just don’t want to let you go.” He sighed. “I was being an ass. I’m sorry.”

Sarah visibly squeezed her brother tighter. “It’s okay. I know you don’t want to lose me. But I’ve been living in Kinky for months. This won’t be any different.”

“No,” Landon disagreed. “It
is
different. This time, it’s for forever.”

Letting her brother go reluctantly, Sarah returned to Adam’s side and took his hand in hers. Without looking at him, she said simply. “I hope so. I really do.”

Swallowing convulsively, Adam peeked over at Deke. He knew full well his partner wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Adam remembered what it had been like in college when they’d met. He couldn’t forget how hard he’d worked to win over the standoffish man who’d stolen his heart.

As inconspicuously as possible, Adam scrutinized his partner. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach this time he was facing an even bigger challenge. Deke would fight him harder than before. He’d already noticed it was happening. The closer Sarah got to the icy man, the more he pulled away—from both of them. But Adam wasn’t going to allow that any longer.

Once the dust settled from Sarah’s move to Kinky, Adam was going to take matters into his own hands. He was going to fight like hell for both of them. And one way or another, he was going to win.

A little over an hour later, Deke pulled his blue metallic Mercedes S600 in front of the five-story apartment building Sarah would be living in. He flipped off the engine then glared at the red brick dwelling with disgust.

He’d been dead set against her living in this piece-of-shit place. It wasn’t that the building was decrepit. It wasn’t. One glance at the pedestrian architecture could confirm that. And it wasn’t that the apartments inside were dingy. They weren’t. All he had to do was step into the interior of the clean but cramped space to prove that.

No, he hated this abominable hellhole because Sarah would be here—without him and Adam. He’d rather cut off his own balls with a rusty saw than admit he wanted Sarah around him as often as she could be. But it was the truth.

Despite his attempts to the contrary, Deke had gotten used to having her underfoot at The Edge. Now that she wasn’t going to be, he felt lost, lost in a way he hadn’t been in a long time. And he hated it. He despised weakness, and she was his Achilles’ heel.

But what could he really do? Sarah didn’t belong to him. Unless he collared her, he didn’t have the right to make any demands of her or her life. No matter how much he wanted to.

So instead, he would do the things he could. He’d protect her. He’d take care of her. And he’d be there if she ever needed him. Only he’d do it as far away as possible.

Deke tugged the keys out of the ignition. Silently, he got out of the car and shut the door behind him. He didn’t look in the backseat at Sarah or Adam. He didn’t have to. He’d watched them through the rearview mirror since they’d left Serenity. And he couldn’t stomach seeing the two of them together any longer.

Jealousy tormented Deke, tying him up in knots. His abhorrent envy tangled inside him and tightened to the point of pain. He knew that Adam would never cheat, just like he knew that his partner wasn’t trying to hurt him. Other than tender but fleeting touches and words of adoration, Adam was very careful about his interaction with Sarah. He’d done nothing out of line. Although, he didn’t have to. Sometimes, it wasn’t what someone said or did. It was what they felt in their hearts. And Adam’s big heart had fallen for Sarah—hard.

Just like yours has.
Quietly growling, Deke rejected his errant thought. He couldn’t love her. And he wouldn’t. He refused to. It was bad enough that he loved Adam. If he’d had a choice in the matter, he wouldn’t have loved anyone at all. But damn, that Adam was impossible not to love.

Like Sarah’s not? Bullshit. She’s the most lovable woman you’ve ever known.
Deke brushed off his thoughts a second time. He stalked around his car but didn’t make it all the way to the other side before he stopped, coming to a standstill by the trunk. His eyes wandered toward the man in the backseat, to the one man he couldn’t resist.

Deke had tried to stay out of Adam’s life. He’d tried damned hard, but he hadn’t had a chance against Adam. His stubborn partner hadn’t taken
no
for an answer. And Deke couldn’t fight Adam’s love any more than he could fight his next breath.

Looking back, Deke should have known the night he met Adam that he was well and truly fucked.

* * * *

Yale College, August 1995

Scanning the packed room, Deke searched for his five housemates. When he couldn’t find any of the assholes, he glared around at his surroundings in distaste. The living room in the fraternity house was trashed. There were cigarettes lying around, empty beer bottles littering the floor, and partygoers crowding every piece of furniture. And that didn’t include the goons chanting “Drink. Drink. Drink…” or the completely wasted freshman chugging from a keg.

Peeved, Deke shook his head. This night sucked horribly, and he blamed his housemates. They had dragged him to this party then dumped him, knowing how much he hated this kind of thing.

Deke rarely drank. He never smoked. So basically, unless he was spending time with a sorority girl or talking to one of the frat boys, he was bored out of his skull. Since he avoided touching the girls who graced this kind of party with their presence, and he didn’t talk to anyone he didn’t know personally, Deke avoided frat parties at all cost.
But not tonight. Damn it.

Swearing, Deke decided to get out of here. He couldn’t leave since he’d ridden over with Hale Mathis, but he could get some air. And he planned to—fast—before he lost his cool and exploded.

With a frustrated groan, Deke took one step toward the exit. But he came to a swift halt when someone unexpectedly touched his bare forearm. Expecting the sweaty hand to belong to one of his friends, Deke rounded on the unknown person. “You son of a—”

Deke stopped mid-curse when he spotted who’d touched him. It wasn’t one of his housemates. The fit guy in front of Deke was familiar, very much so, but he couldn’t place him. He knew he knew him. Only he didn’t know how.

Irritated his mind had gone blank, Deke raked his gaze over the
Beverly Hills, 90210
wannabe. He was good-looking but totally not Deke’s type. Men with primped hair and pretentious clothes did nothing for Deke or his libido. Even worse, his baby face made Deke feel like a cradle-robber. And shit, Deke was only twenty.

Dismissing the nameless guy as a possible hookup, Deke pilfered through his mind, trying to come up with something to say, some way to greet the guy who seemingly knew him, and hopefully get rid of him. But Deke had nothing. So rather than make an idiot out of himself, he remained silent, staring down at the slightly shorter guy intently.

“Hello, Deke. Don’t you remember me?” The way he phrased his question told Deke he couldn’t believe he didn’t recognize him.

Annoyed by the no-name jerk’s arrogance, Deke retorted, “No. Should I?”

The guy laughed. “You should. But I’m not
too
surprised that you forgot me. I was a couple of years behind you and Shane Jacobs at Trinity High School.”

Everything clicked, and Deke remembered. “Bradford.”