Their Virgin Secretary

Chapter Three

Belle had to force herself to breathe. God, she’d just made a complete and utter fool of herself. What had she been thinking? She’d blamed the alcohol, but that was a lie. She’d had exactly two glasses of wine all night long. The liquor hadn’t muddled her brain or turned her into an emotional mess. No, the wedding had done that. Not the canine vows, but watching Kinley with her men, the Lennox brothers with their shared wife, not to mention the close-knit James gang and the royals doting on their pretty bride. Seeing all the love in the room and realizing that none of it was for her had driven pain into her heart.

Her plan to snare their attention tonight had utterly failed. She’d chosen her clothes so carefully, selecting a dress she hoped played well against her cool skin tone and a cut that hugged her curves. Hoping they’d finally see her as a woman—their woman—she had bought a pair of black-and-white Pradas that set her budget back by months. She’d nearly succumbed to the urge to take Kinley’s advice and tell them what she wanted, especially when she had been on the dance floor with Eric…but she’d lost her nerve. If they knew what she wanted, would they simply pity her or laugh outright?

As the evening had dragged on and several single beauties eyed her bosses, Belle hadn’t been able to watch. She couldn’t stand the thought of seeing them hook up for the night. No, she didn’t think they’d noticed any other woman, much less tried to get anyone’s attention, but men that hot didn’t have to. Before the end of the party, some thin thing would wink their way, and the three of them would probably disappear with her. And Belle knew her heart would break.

She strode down the hall toward her room. She was stuck being something between a little sister and an employee to them. They’d never pretended to want more. They hadn’t promised her a thing. She was going to owe Eric an apology in the morning. They were the best bosses anyone would have, but she’d complained. Not surprising that he’d misunderstood. He must think the worst of her, and she couldn’t blame him. The thought only made her tears come harder.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Kellan. Even without turning around, she knew it. His voice stopped her in her tracks.

Belle couldn’t look at him while she had tears in her eyes. Thank god for waterproof mascara, but he would still be able to tell she was crying. Without a doubt, that would raise questions. He’d bark them, and she didn’t have the heart or the energy to answer.

“I’m tired, Kell,” she said without facing him. “It’s been a long day. I’m going to my room. I’ll be ready for the meeting in the morning.”

Please let him go away. Please. Please.

No such luck. He moved silently, but she felt the moment he entered her space. “Look at me.”

It took everything she had not to obey him and turn around. When he used that voice on her, she wanted to so badly. In fact, when he spoke to her like that, she’d do just about anything to please him. Belle closed her eyes and dredged up the strength to refuse him. “Please, Kell. I just want to go to bed.”

“What did Eric say to you? Turn around, look at me, and tell me what happened so I can fix it.”

Crap, he wouldn’t go away. She should have known it. If she started down the hall, he would just follow her. He was a dog with a bone, especially when he got his inner Dom rolling. She should be happy she was dealing with him alone and not the whole trio. They were all lawyers and damn good at interrogation.

She took a long breath and prayed she didn’t look as bad as she feared. Letting out a breath and trying to hide her defeated expression, she turned. Her heart fell when she saw Eric and Tate storming out of the ballroom in her direction. The doors shut behind them, muffling the music. The hallway fell something too close to silent.

“Tell me now what he said to you.” Kellan scowled fiercely. His expression probably should have sent her running for cover, but she knew he would never hurt her physically. Emotionally, he was napalm.

“Nothing. Eric didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just tired and cranky.” She sighed and hoped she could escape this without fighting the three of them. Or them fighting each other. The guys were so close, but when they threw down, their arguments were legendary. “I’m the one who said something. Can we just let it lie?”

“She’s going to quit.” Eric took his place on one side of Kellan. Tate stood like a sentry at the other.

Kellan’s gloriously blue eyes flared. “Quit?”

Tate shook his head and stepped forward. “Why would you do that? What did we do?”

Annabelle wished she’d never opened her big mouth. “It’s nothing any of you did. I want to be an interior designer. It’s what I studied in college, but I spoke too soon. I’m not quitting tomorrow. It’s something I plan to do down the road. I just thought you all should know.”

There. She could try to play it off as something eventual, not pressing. But now that it seemed obvious they were more concerned about her professionally than romantically, she’d have to leave soon.

“If that’s the case, why are you crying?” Kellan thrust an arm out, stopping Tate from coming forward.

She wished she was one of those women who could turn her emotions on and off, but she’d never been good at hiding what she was feeling. Right now, that was a profound sadness that they would never be hers. “I just got emotional about the wedding.”

“About the dog wedding?” Kellan asked, his voice flat.

“Yes, it was beautiful in its own way,” she insisted, hoping he’d leave it be.

Kell held her stare, his eyes narrowing. “That’s lie number one. I’ll keep track, Belle, and you should expect punishment if you continue.”

Punishment? As she sniffled past her surprise, she studied them. They stood around her in a semicircle, Kell in the middle, while Eric and Tate moved closer to flank her. All three men wore stern expressions, and she had a little flash of instinctive fear. Suddenly, she was struck by how alone she was with them and how big they loomed. She wasn’t some petite pixie, but at the moment, these men made her feel like a rabbit surrounded by hungry lions.

What the hell was that stare about? She didn’t know, but they damn sure weren’t looking at her like she was some sort of wayward employee anymore.

She took a step back. “I just had too much to drink. You know how whiny girls can get when they’re drunk.”

Kellan shook his head. “That’s lie number two. I watched you all night. You had exactly two glasses of Chardonnay and you ate all of your dinner. You also had several glasses of water. You’re digging yourself a hole, love.”

Belle tried to take a step back from the displeased Dom. Suddenly, Tate hovered behind her, cutting off her escape route. The heat of his body blanketed her, sending shivers up her spine. How had he sneaked around her without her noticing?

“That’s more than enough in a two-hour period to counter the effects of alcohol,” Tate added. “Given your body weight and normal intake of eight ounces a day, you shouldn’t be feeling even a light buzz. I’m sure you’re below the legal limit, so you’re perfectly capable of speaking rationally and making decisions.”

She had a glass of wine every night when she got home from work. Just one glass, but that was probably enough to ensure that two in one evening wouldn’t have much of an effect on her. “How do you know what my normal intake is?”

He shrugged. “I think you mentioned it once or twice.”

Tate never thought—he knew. Her earlier fear that they were indifferent faded, now morphing into confusion. How did Tate know her habits at home?

She turned back to Kellan. “You were too busy to keep tabs on me all night, so you don’t really know what I drank.”

“Wrong. I’m never too busy to watch you. I also tipped one of the waiters to keep an eye on you,” Kellan explained without a bit of shame. “You had one glass with Kinley before the wedding and one during the reception. Everything else has been water.”

They could have knocked her over with a feather. “You really did watch me.”

“I do it all the time. You just don’t notice. But I make sure you stay safe and out of trouble. I’ll keep doing it. And you will not be allowed to quit,” Kellan insisted.

Not allowed? She glared at Kell, then sent a sharp, questioning glance Eric’s way. He alone hadn’t given any indication that he spied on her. “And what about you? You been keeping track of who I talk to and dance with, maybe?”

The sexiest smile curled his lips up. “No, honey, that’s Tate’s thing. I’ve just been watching your ass. Have I ever told you how much I fucking love your ass? It looks amazing in that dress.”

Belle dropped her jaw and couldn’t seem to pick it up, even as heat spiked through her. Had Eric really just said that? What the hell? Maybe she’d had way more to drink than she thought and this was some sort of alcoholic haze. She shook her head, too confused and emotional for this bizarre conversation.

“Every man in the damn room has been watching her ass,” Tate complained.

“No, they weren’t,” she insisted. “None of you are making sense right now. Maybe you’re the ones who had too much to drink. Let’s just call it a night. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She turned and ran straight into Tate’s massive body. He was right at six foot five, every inch of him pure muscle. She had to strain to look up at him.

“You think we’re going to sit down over breakfast and have a company meeting on appropriate protocol when the secretary threatens to run away?” Tate challenged with a biting smile. “Maybe draft a flow chart?”

He looked younger than the other two, though she knew he’d been born just a few months after Eric. Somehow he managed to look both boyishly handsome and sexy as hell in his suit. For the longest time, she’d wondered what he looked like out of those tailored suits.

“Tate…” She sighed. “Can you let me pass?”

As an answer, he grabbed her shoulders to hold her captive. “Or I could write a manual. You know how much I like documentation. One of the first things I would do is prohibit that dress in public. Your breasts look gorgeous, by the way. All the men were looking at those, too. And the chick from the bar who plays for the other team. I know that should piss me off, too, but I find it oddly hot.”

Belle rolled her eyes. She wasn’t even sure what he was trying to say. “I’m not in the mood to fulfill your girl-on-girl fantasies, Tate. Good night.”

She tried to walk past him and head for the elevators. Eric stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “Not quite yet. The girl-on-girl thing isn’t his biggest fantasy. That’s taking you to bed, which I totally support if I can join in. But don’t let him write a process manual on how to deal with you unless you want him to tell you what to wear. He’s insanely possessive. Now me personally, I don’t care how many men look at you as long as they don’t fucking touch. That should be rule number one in the manual.”

“And right under that, I’ll make sure there’s a section on proper discipline just for you.” Kellan brushed against her, murmuring in her ear.

She shivered, totally surrounded by them, trapped. If she moved an inch in any direction, she would be pressing her body against one of them. Damn if that wasn’t igniting her libido. “What game are you guys playing?”

She wished the question hadn’t come out so breathy and sultry. She’d meant to convey disinterest or at least take the reins on this runaway conversation, but no. Inside, she was melting, her female parts threatening to take over and encouraging her to let her bosses do their worst. Belle tried to remind herself that she wanted a relationship with them, and if she let them simply take her to bed, it would likely only be for one night.

True, but at least then she’d know what it felt like to be in the middle of all that masculine beauty. She would experience for a short time what it meant to be theirs.

“We’re done playing games, Belle,” Tate vowed solemnly.

“Speak for yourself.” Kellan’s words rumbled low, his breath hot against her neck. How close was he? “I’ve got some games to play with her.”

Dirty games. Sexy games. She knew what he meant—to dominate her. Again, not for more than a night, but at least she would know how the flat of Master Kellan’s hand on her ass stung, the way that dark voice commanded her to do things she’d only ever fantasized about.

“I don’t understand.” Her mind raced. Her blood hummed. She wanted this so badly, but she knew exactly what a one-night stand with them would mean. She would be devastated if she woke up in their bed tomorrow morning and they again treated her like a kid sister. After that, she wouldn’t be able to work with them. “This has gotten out of hand and gone too far.”

“It’s going where it should have in the first place.” Eric touched her first, just a brush of his hand on her shoulder. Nothing overwhelming, but she shivered at the heat flashing through her. “Straight to you with the three of us. We’ll take it slow if you need, Belle. But we want you.”

Really? They wanted her? After a year of almost no hint of any desire on their part, this revelation blew her mind. Unless seeing wedding guests group off to get it on had an effect on them too… She shook her head again. The alcohol might not have affected her judgment, but the arousal they coaxed from her damn sure had.

“We always have,” Kellan said. “But you should know that I’ll be a lousy boyfriend. I shudder at the word. I’m not built for the whole commitment thing, but I want you right now. I’ll be good to you in bed.”

Because some woman had damaged him. She was pretty sure it was his ex-wife, but she hadn’t pried.

“Boyfriend?” Didn’t they just want to sleep with her tonight?

“I’ll be a good boyfriend, but I’ll want a lot of sex,” Tate said. “The average person has it one hundred three times a year, which is one point nine eight times per week. That’s not enough.”

“But we don’t have to work that out tonight,” Eric insisted, glaring at Tate. “Let us take you to bed and show you all the affection and pleasure we can offer you. We’ll satisfy you so completely that you won’t want to walk away tomorrow.”

Belle heard the speech, but it didn’t make any sense. “I don’t think the question is whether I’ll walk away. Isn’t that what you usually do the morning after?”

Eric looked stunned. “You think this is just a fuck for us?”

Wasn’t it? “I don’t know. You tell me.”

“We want a relationship.” Tate’s expression was so earnest, it stunned Annabelle. “The average male is age—”

“No numbers,” Kell cut in. “You agreed.”

Tate clapped his mouth shut for a moment, then apparently decided he had something else to say. “This is more than sex for me. Way more.”

“Exactly,” Eric added.

Amazing. She looked at Kell expectantly. If he didn’t think he’d be much of a boyfriend, where did he stand on this relationship business?

“You’re a remarkable woman,” he murmured. “There’s no way I could use and discard you.”

“I don’t understand.” They’d kept their distance for over a year. “What changed?”

“In some ways, everything,” Eric said. “But in other ways, nothing at all. We don’t want to let you go, Belle. We’ve always wanted you, but what would you have done if we’d asked you out your first day at the office? Or the second? Or even a month after you’d come to work for us?”

She winced. Okay, so she’d been a bit scared of them in the beginning. After the way her last boss had treated her, who could blame her? The thought of working for three big, gorgeous men had terrified her. After they’d offered her the job, she’d thought of turning them down, but she’d desperately needed the income. She had been living paycheck to paycheck. Her mom didn’t have extra funds to help her get back on her feet, and Belle refused to be a burden.

“I might have been a little…intimidated at first.”

“A little? You wore turtlenecks in August.” Tate’s face softened. “We all knew you were scared of us, so we did our best to make you feel comfortable. We fell into a pattern of keeping our distance. You should know I wanted to offer you my penis the minute I saw you.”

“Tate!” Eric barked at him.

She heard Kellan sigh, but Tate’s ridiculous honesty broke the tension. Belle laughed at the mental image those words painted and relaxed into him, leaning on his big body for strength. She imagined Tate wrapping a red bow on his penis and gifting it to her like most men would a dozen roses. She giggled even more.

He bent and curled his thick arms around her tentatively, like he was terrified she would balk. He wasn’t lying. The rapid beat of his heart gave his feelings away. This big, gorgeous, unbelievably gifted man wanted her. As he urged her against his body, he nestled close to her in a sweet hug, and she felt every inch of what he planned on offering her brush against her stomach.

Whoa. That was not some small penis. Tate was built on big lines—everywhere.

“I would miss you so much if you left, Belle. I understand you want a career that makes you happier, but please don’t leave altogether.” He sighed as if a profound worry had just settled on his shoulders.

Belle clutched him both to give him comfort and for her own strength. Despite his facts and percentages and sometimes slightly abrasive nature, he had a big heart. “I don’t want to leave you guys. And you’re right that I would have run. I was more afraid of my previous boss than I let on. I joke about it now, but he was aggressive.”

“We sat down that week you first came to work for us and talked about your skittishness,” Eric admitted. “We were all interested in you, but suspected that something or someone had you spooked. On top of that, we worried our lifestyle would be difficult to explain. You wouldn’t be the first woman who didn’t get it.”

She couldn’t imagine anyone turning them down. “You can’t possibly have a problem finding dates.”

Tate shook his head. “Dates, no. Relationships, absolutely. Most women don’t want to deal with three men. You would think it’s the demanding sex that would give them pause. But no. It’s often the laundry. Accordingly, I began doing my own.”

“You’re determined to be an idiot, aren’t you?” Kellan asked, shaking his head.

“He’s fine.” Belle had to defend Tate all the time. No, he wasn’t smooth, but he meant well.

The laundry hadn’t really occurred to her. But the sex had. Sex with all three of these men had been the cornerstone of her fantasies for a year. When she tried to picture the reality, however, she shied away. Could she even keep up with them? What would they say if they knew she was a virgin?

“Do you want this?” Eric’s mouth descended to her shoulder, where the straps of her dress met warm flesh. Heat flashed through her when he ran his lips across her skin. “Us?”

Belle wanted them more than her next breath, but she felt pretty sure it was a bad idea. How could an office romance between four people really work? Kinley held such a relationship together, but they didn’t sign her paychecks and all of her men were committed. In love. Was Kellan just planning on being around for the bedroom stuff? Would he ever want anything from her beyond a screw and some dictation? Was she about to become their favorite booty call?

On the other hand, did any of that matter when her whole body felt lit from the inside out with anticipation? When they were giving her a golden opportunity to have her first experience with the men she loved? She’d never felt this way, never had pure arousal running through her veins like the sweetest wine. Besides, if she turned them down tonight, would this opportunity ever come again? Or would this unprecedented honesty be smothered if they donned the polite, politically correct business masks they’d been wearing for over a year?

“I want this.” Her voice shook.

“Then come up to our suite.” Kellan stepped to her side and held out his hand, his blue eyes somehow full of pride and hot promises. “I know that took courage. Let us reward you.”

A deep breath rattled through Belle’s chest and she dredged up the courage to slide her fingers across the masculine heat of his callused palm. Finally they touched not as colleagues, but as lovers.

Belle squeezed his hand. Kellan wasn’t a pampered boy who’d never done a lick of hard work in his life, and his hands proved it. They were big hands that could shelter and protect, hands that could offer such pleasure.

As he led her toward the elevator, Tate and Eric flanking them, peace washed through her. This was right. She was ready.

* * * *

Tate dragged in a long breath and briefly wondered if his cock could saw through his pants. Of course, it wouldn’t happen. Physics made that outcome impossible, but his cock throbbed against the cotton of his boxers, insisting it wanted out—and inside Belle.

She’d said yes. He stepped into the small, elegantly decorated elevator and turned to watch her enter behind him. Eric put a hand out, making sure the door didn’t close on her. Damn it. He should have done that. Sometimes social niceties eluded him, but he vowed to make a study of them because Belle deserved a gentleman.

In fact, she made him want to be a better man. He’d watched his parents push each other to publish more, to excel in their fields. The almost palpable jealousy between them had pervaded their home as though they’d bred competition into the walls. His mother and father had always been rivals of a sort, even taking small delight in the other’s failure. They’d trained him to measure himself against his brothers and only be satisfied when he was on top.

Tate didn’t want to compete with Belle. He wanted to make her happy and swore he’d do everything possible to make that happen. Still, doubt niggled. He wanted a future with her so badly. But what if he said the wrong thing? What if she didn’t care for him the way she did Eric and Kell? Or what if all she wanted from him was sex? It wouldn’t be the first time a female had slotted him in the awkward idiot category and shunned him once they climbed out of bed.

God, he hated feeling so vulnerable.

“Hey.” Belle’s voice brought him out of his thoughts as the elevator doors closed, cocooning the four of them alone.

Tate swallowed hard, nerves getting the best of him. “I’m not smooth, Belle.” He couldn’t give her what Eric and Kellan could. He stood a better chance at crafting an argument to win over the Supreme Court than being anything beyond a liability at a simple dinner party. He’d learned that his genius didn’t buy him love.

She stared up at him, cupping his face in a way that made him feel adored. “I don’t need smooth, babe. Will you kiss me? I’m nervous, but I think I’d be much calmer if you kissed me.”

A happy shudder went through his body. She wanted him to put his lips on hers. Still, he hesitated. Should he have the first kiss? He’d shared women with his best friends before but nothing with this much gravity, nothing he’d intended to last. But Belle was the one.

Eric nodded his way, which set him at ease.

Kell stepped behind her with a wry smile. “I think we would all be a little less nervous if you kissed her, big guy. Let’s see if you can do it without your penis poking out of your pants.”

Crap, could everyone see his erection? On the other hand, if Eric and Kell didn’t have massive hard-ons, Tate would eat his latest case file.

“I’ll try,” he joked. “No promises.”

Then he turned his attention back to Belle, who looked up at him with both a radiant smile and a silent pleading on her delicate face. She wanted him to kiss her. Eric and Kell were okay with him claiming her lips first. If Tate had his way, they would share thousands of kisses during their lives together. But he still wanted their first to be special.

Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he lowered his mouth to the dusky peach pout of her lips, losing himself in their softness as he poured every ounce of longing he felt into that kiss. The minute his mouth fused to hers, rightness pounded his brain, seared through his body.

Belle responded instantly, both with him and there for him. She kissed with her whole being, giving him a soft little moan and leaning into him like he was a lifeline. His self-consciousness melted away. Suddenly, he didn’t feel awkward trying to express his feelings because he didn’t have to talk. He could simply show her with his mouth and hands and cock. Yeah, he wasn’t awkward with those.

Tate had practiced sex with the same vigor he’d put into his studies. After his first experience, his libido had skyrocketed, sure. But he’d applied himself because he’d been determined to be good in bed. Thanks to his decadent youth, sexual confidence wasn’t a problem now. He planned to employ every bit of that knowledge to please Belle, to stroke her warm mocha skin and penetrate her sweet pussy until he gave her so much ecstasy she’d never want to leave. All the women in the past who had used him for sex no longer mattered. Only the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with did.

He stroked his tongue over that plump bottom lip he loved. In fact, her lush mouth had incited more than one fantasy. Over and over, he’d imagined how she would look on her knees with those sensual lips parted and taking his cock deep. Even the thought incited him to urge her lips apart and demand entry. A spike of pure desire filled Tate’s cock. He needed more of her. He’d waited over a year just to touch her. And damn it, if he was already forty-two percent of the way through his life expectancy, he refused to let another moment slip past before he claimed her.

Belle’s mouth flowered under his. He breathed a sigh of relief at her utter welcome and kissed her deeper, clutching the back of her dress with his fists and dragging her against him. In turn, she wrapped her arms around his waist and tilted her head back, offering even more of her lips. He plunged back into the sweet heat of her mouth. Her velvet tongue stroked against his. Their dance during the reception had been slightly awkward, but this moment shimmered with sheer perfection.

Where he’d been cautious on the dance floor, he now took full possession. She followed his every move, conforming to him like a leaf in the wind. He repositioned her mouth for optimal penetration, brushing a hand down her spine and settling a palm against the small of her back to meld their hips together.

His cock pressed against her belly, urgent and hot. Tate worried she’d back away, but instead, she held him tighter and caressed her way up his shoulders, as though memorizing his every muscle. Then she found his hair. He wore it too short for her to sink her fingers into, but she curled them against his scalp—a silent plea for him to come even closer.

No way would he turn that down.

The kiss turned carnal. He stopped thinking as heat sizzled through his body and need took over.

With their mouths still crushed together, he lifted her against him. Even in heels, she was comparatively petite. He lifted her up with the ease of a man who worked out hard seven days a week. He backed her against the wall of the elevator and pressed his chest to hers.

“Do you know what I want to do to you?” He whispered the words against her lips as he notched his cock against her hot center.

“I have a good idea.” Her voice trembled.

As he stared into the sincerity of her dark eyes, Tate had no doubt she wanted this. By the end of the night, he’d prove that her trust wasn’t misplaced and that he would never let her go.

“I want to eat every bit of your pussy while you wrap your beautiful legs around my head. I’ve dreamed of tasting you so damn long and hard that I won’t ever get the flavor of your arousal off my tongue.”

She drew in a shocked little gasp, searching his gaze as if seeking the truth. “Y-you want to do that to me?”

“More than I want my next breath.” He needed to make her understand how gorgeous she was. He’d seen her self-doubt at times. Was she attractive? Was she too curvy? Tate didn’t want her to have any doubt that she was perfect.

“I want to do that, too.” Eric hovered beside them, closing in, watching with hazel eyes.

Kellan stood at the door as it opened with a ding. “We all want it, Belle. We all want you. Pick her up, big guy. I’m worried you’ll perform some act of public indecency in the middle of the hall if I don’t herd you two into the suite. Control is going to be the word of the night.”

Control, huh? Kell was far too in love with the word, but at least tonight he was right. Tate knew he’d need every ounce of it he possessed not to toss her up against a wall and fuck her. He wanted to give her everything he’d promised, all the pleasure he’d learned to bestow over the years.

Eric held the elevator door open as Kellan strode out, his keycard in hand to get the suite open so they could take their princess into the castle.

Tate swept Belle up into his arms, holding her against his chest and carrying her like a bride. He loved the weight of her in his arms and the way she clung to him. From now on, she didn’t have to walk anywhere. He’d just carry her.

As they neared the threshold, Tate wanted to get one thing straight. “Belle, what are you going to do with us tonight?”

He hoped she had the right answer. If not, that would suck because he didn’t want her to remember this night for any reason except that it was their first together. But if she answered with “go to bed” or “fuck,” Tate knew he’d be forced to stop everything and explain his expectations of their future more clearly, then let the chips fall.

Serenity made her glow as she settled into his arms as though having him carry her delighted her. “Make love.”

That was the answer he’d been dying for. “Yes. We’re going to make love. You’ll see this can work. Everything will fall into place as long as we let it.”

They could worry about her career later. He would give her all the encouragement he could as long she stayed close. They could even deal with changing residences if she lived with them. He and Eric had bought their current house with her in mind about six months back, but they could always sell it and find another if that made Belle happy.

He started down the hall, wearing a big smile. Tonight, everything would change. He and his friends would do whatever necessary to erase the memory of every other man from Belle’s memory bank. After tonight, she’d have no more room in her head—or her heart—for any men except them.

Kellan held the doors to the suite open as Tate swept her inside. He didn’t like the grim lines on Kell’s face. Clearly, his pal was still worried, but that would change after this night, too. Belle and her giving nature would melt that sheet of ice around his heart. And he’d help however he could because she deserved the family she wanted.

It would work. It had to because Tate knew he would break if it didn’t.