“She says Mr. Snuggles is just gender confused.” Hannah loved that damn cat. Slade knew he was going to have to learn to love the little furball, too.
“Such a silly, sweet girl,” Gavin said, his gaze straying to the photos.
There it was, that smile—with a healthy hint of lust—that told Slade everything he needed to know.
“We have to protect her,” Slade pointed out.
“I have a plan, and I hope you’ll back me on it. It should keep Hannah safe and bring Dex back into the fold.”
There was nothing Slade wanted more than that. “I’m listening.” Gavin hesitated. “You heard Dex say that he would take Hannah with him when he left, Slade. I know how you feel about her. Maybe you need to talk to him. I don’t want Hannah coming between the two of you.”
And just like that, Slade’s c**k got hard. An image of Hannah between him and Dex assaulted his brain. She would be so small sandwiched by their bigger bodies. They would have to be careful, but they would get inside her, so deep that she wouldn’t know where they ended and she began.
“Oh, she’s going to be between us.”
Gavin flushed slightly. “That’s not fair to Hannah. She’s not some club bunny for the two of you to f**k and forget.”
Slade wasn’t going to take this crap from his brother. He would never play games with Hannah. He’d known from the moment he’d seen her that she was different. “Dex and I love Hannah. We’re not going to forget her; we’re going to build a life with her. This isn’t some one-night stand.”
“Are you both insane? No one will accept that kind of relationship here.”
“I’m not going to live my life by some societal dictate. And they will accept us. I have a billion-dollar trust fund. Let them talk all they like, but money opens doors. What would be unacceptable for a normal person is merely a quirk for the superrich.” It was a harsh reality.
Slade and Dex had talked this out, hashing out plans over months to get what they wanted and protect Hannah from nasty gossip at the same time. Now if Gavin would just get with the program, their lives could begin.
“That’s an argument for another time,” Gavin conceded. “Now, we have to figure out what to do with Hannah. I was thinking that, perhaps, she needs a small vacation.” Slade frowned. “There is no f**king way I’m letting her run off by herself.”
“Of course not. But maybe Alaska would be a good place for her now. You did say you have to go see to some trouble there. River Run is isolated, and we own the whole damn town. All three of us can take Hannah and hide out while the security team figures this out.” It took all Slade had not to fist pump in victory. “Perfect. When do we leave?” Gavin sat back in his chair. “Today. But I want to be clear. I’m only going to work things out with Dex. I’ll help with Hannah, if the need arises. But that’s it.” Slade wasn’t fooled. His older brother could lie to himself, but Slade knew the truth. Gavin could more easily monitor the situation from Dallas. Since Slade had always been the go-between for Gavin and Dex, it seemed obvious that Gavin was coming along because he wanted to repair the relationship with Dex…and because he couldn’t stand to let his two younger brothers have Hannah all to themselves.
Slade contained his excitement—barely. “Understood. I’ll make the arrangements. Then we can talk to Hannah.”
Gavin nodded as though happy with the decision. “Excellent. We’ll have to convince her to go, you know.”
Slade would have to convince her of more than just an impromptu trip to Alaska. He was going to have to persuade her—and everyone else—that this ménage relationship could work. To do that, he had to restore peace between Dex and Gavin. Then he had to talk Gavin into sharing Hannah with them. Hell, he also had to convince Hannah that taking on three passionate, dominant men would be a dandy idea.
“No problem, Gavin.” Slade sounded way more confident than he felt.
But as he walked out of Gavin’s office to start planning, he vowed to make it work.
* * * *
Dex parked his Harley about a block away from Hannah’s apartment and started walking.
His cell trilled, and he pulled it out of his pocket. Slade. Probably wanting to talk about Gavin.
Dex growled. He thought about ignoring it, but did what he always did when it came to Slade.
He gave in.
But that didn’t mean Dex had to be nice about it.
“What?”
“Well, I suppose I should be happy you’re using words and not just grunting.” Dex had no comeback for that. Grunting was a perfectly acceptable form of communication in his book. It got the job done. So did growling, snorting, and just flat planting his fist in another guy’s face. When he found whoever was stalking Hannah, he didn’t intend to give the f**ker a nice long lecture.
Slade’s sigh came across loud and clear. “Damn it, Dex. Where are you? You have to set aside this crap with Gavin and get your ass back to the office. Hannah’s in trouble.”
“I know that,” Dex practically yelled into the phone. “I’m going to her place. I want to see if I can figure out where the jerk has been hiding when he does his stalkarazzi thing.”