But they might be talked into monitoring more closely. Computers at libraries were notoriously out of date. They wouldn’t have camera functions he could turn on, but he could monitor them. It was a problem for tomorrow. Today, he had to deal with the security company and rearrange Serena’s schedule. If she didn’t get words on the page, she would feel crappy, and she had enough anxiety in her life right now. He’d had a little talk with her agent, who seemed to adore her. But Lara had made it clear that Serena’s work was what had gotten her through the hard times.
The times couldn’t seem much harder for her.
He thanked Brighton and promised to call if anything else broke.
He walked through the doors of the division and into the long hall. He had another problem. He was supposed to take Serena to Sanctum. That meant finding her proper clothes and preparing her. And prepping Jake to handle the situation, though he’d have to do that without Jake noticing it or he might get set on his ass.
His world had become a delicate web he had to navigate with thought and care. But if he managed it, he just might get everything he’d wanted. And if he failed, he could lose it all. Ian would be pissed. Jake would be furious. Serena would just go away.
He walked out into the sunshine and caught sight of them. Serena sat at one of the outdoor tables, her hair shining in the sun. She threw back her head and laughed. And Jake. Fuck all, Jacob Dean was beaming at her. He turned slightly, and his eyes found Adam. He nodded for Adam to join them.
Serena followed Jake’s eyes and suddenly that smile lit up Adam’s whole world. She pushed her glasses up and and waved for him to come over. She pushed out the seat she’d saved for him.
He belonged there beside her.
He jogged across the street. Yep. It was a dangerous game he was playing, but if he won, he got a family out of it.
That was worth everything.
Chapter Nine
Two days later, Serena sat in her backyard, a mug of tea in her hand, her computer screen filled with words. It was barely five o’clock, but she’d doubled the word count she’d needed for the day.
It was simple. Adam had taken over everything else on the business end. He answered her e-mails, only forwarding the ones that needed her specific attention. He’d dealt with the security system and the plumber she’d had to call when the shower had conked out. He’d gone to the grocery store and stocked her kitchen. He’d sorted through her mail. All those little things that seemed to stop her in her tracks, Adam had taken over.
And Jake. Jake had become her shadow. It had been odd at first. He wouldn’t say anything, but she could feel him there. It occurred to her that his very presence should be a distraction, and yet she found herself feeling so safe that the words flowed. For the first time in months, she could really sink into her story. Her new series, Happiness, Montana, was flowing like nothing she’d ever written before.
“You have an hour, sweetheart.” Adam put a plate on the table. She glanced down. Sandwich.
“I ate lunch. Are you trying to make me fatter than I am?” Serena asked the question lightheartedly. Adam seemed to feed her something every hour or so.
Jake growled in the background.
“You’re pissing off the Dom, sweetheart.” Adam winked down at her, pushing the sandwich closer. “Don’t screw with him right now. He’s already getting in his Dom space for tonight.”
She caught her breath. Tonight. She was going into a club with them tonight. Just going into Club Sanctum would be an amazing thing, but going in with two hot Doms was more than she’d ever dreamed of.
They aren’t your Doms, Serena. Slow that shit down, girl. They’re being nice to you. They’re getting paid to take care of you. You better not get used to this treatment.
She looked back at Jake who sat in one of her delicate-looking lawn chairs. Well, his enormous body made them look delicate. He frowned her way.
“Don’t you forget it, Serena. I’m in charge tonight. I hear one word out of your mouth about your body fat and you’re going to get very familiar with spankings.”
He couldn’t possibly know that she’d already played that scene with him a hundred times in her mind over the last several days. In each and every fantasy, Jake had been behind her, that big hand of his meting out punishment while Adam stood in front of her, pressing his cock to her lips, demanding that she suck him. She would be caught between them. She would have to take that big dick into her mouth even as Jake slapped at her cheeks. Heat would flow. She would feel it in her pussy. Every smack of his hand would send her higher, but she couldn’t focus on it because she had to take care of Adam.
“Serena, dear, have we lost you?”
She flushed and couldn’t miss the knowing smiles that passed between her bodyguards. God, they knew exactly what she’d been thinking. She took a sip of her perfectly brewed Earl Grey and tried to salvage her dignity. “I promise to behave very well this evening, Sir.”
If Jake could find his Dom space, then maybe it was time to play the sub. She enjoyed the way Jake’s eyes narrowed and he shifted in his seat. Maybe the sub wasn’t without her power, too.
There was a little chime coming from Adam’s phone. Jake’s went off at the same time. .
“Who the fuck is that?” Jake asked, studying the screen of his phone.
Adam held his toward her. “Do you recognize this guy?”
Serena leaned over and looked at the screen. It was still hard for her to believe, but she now had a security system that fed directly into her bodyguards’ phones. Anytime the motion detectors caught anything bigger than a cat moving too close to her house, the security feed pinged their phones. It had made for some rough nights. Adam and Jake took turns sleeping in the room with her so she heard every time the system pinged. She’d never realized how many dogs ran around at night. And drunk teens. But she wasn’t surprised to discover Mrs. Renfroe from next door stole her newspaper. She’d enjoyed watching the woman nearly have a heart attack when Jake had caught her.
But this wasn’t a stray dog or a noisy neighbor.
“That’s Master Storm. What on earth is he doing here?” She stood up and started for the house.
Jake was in front of her before she could make the back door. “Don’t you dare.”
He was a huge hunk of muscle blocking her way. “Jake, I know this guy.”
“No, you don’t,” he insisted. “You’ve met him a couple of times. You don’t really know him. And he doesn’t have an appointment.”