Page 78 of The More the Merrier

“Did you find them?”

No! Blaze too? There was no coming back from this.

Then she heard the chuckle and lifted her head to find Blaze admiring her backside.

“Dare I ask?” he directed his question to Ati, or rather, Atticus.

“She needed to know what happens to Little girls who lie to Daddy.”

Claire groaned and hid her face back in her arms on the couch.

“Now if you two don’t mind. Please leave and give us some privacy.”

She heard Gregor leaving; she knew it was his feet stomping on the cabin floor. Blaze followed him out the door leaving the cabin in uncomfortable silence. Claire was surprised they listened to Atticus. He must have more pull than she gave him credit for, but she wouldn’t make that mistake again. No way. The moment she was back in her room, she planned on checking out and disappearing.

Ati lifted her from her position and placed her on his knee. She yelped as her heated backside connected with the roughness of his jeans.

“Listen to me, sweet girl. I know you want to run away and hide.”

How did he know that? Were dominant men endowed with Jedi mind tricks?

“I could have told you who I was, but it only would have made you back off from me, and I wanted the chance to get to know you without your walls up. I also wanted you to get to know me without the label of who I am.”

Claire wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Did his confession change anything? She understood exactly what Atticus meant, hadn’t she done the very same thing last night? Kept her mask on and allowed a perfect stranger to take her to a private room where she indulged one fantasy after another.

“Yes, I want to run. I’m mortified and don’t understand how I could possibly work with men who saw me butt naked and… you know… know the things we did. Doesn’t that get in the way of work relationships? I mean Blaze didn’t encourage or discourage interoffice relationships, but I never indulged, so this is all new to me.”

She found Atticus angling his head and kissing her tenderly. When he pulled away, his eyes were filled with passion and love, but how could that be? They’d only just met.

“I asked you to trust me and that I would fix the situation did I not?”

“I guess so.”

“Claire, this is already working out exactly as it should.”

“It is?” Although she didn’t believe a word of it, his tone made her feel hope that somehow maybe it all would work out in the end, and she could stay here. Despite her need to get away from what was uncomfortable, she felt so at home in his arms.

“It is time to return to the sleighs and get ready for your big night. Stand up now and let Daddy help you dress.”

Claire stood and allowed Atticus to fuss about them as he put her back together. Inwardly, Claire sighed with contentment. She really could get used to this. Outwardly, she remained impassive, quiet, unsure of how to proceed, and no longer knowing what was the right thing to do.

When he was ready, they left the little cabin and despite feeling unclear about the future, a sense of calm had overcome Claire, like regardless of the outcome, she would be okay.

Chapter 10

Atticus

Things were going according to plan to get Claire and Gregor together. Being the puppet master behind the scenes was something Atticus had specialized in since his days in Greece. Where he was from was not one of those destination locations, the Greece of your dreams with whitewashed villas stacked up a beautiful mountainside overlooking a pretty blue ocean.

His parents had fled a poorer area that was rife with crime where Atticus had gotten into some trouble. He had to hand it to his parents; they had done whatever they could to save their only child from a life of crime. But it hadn’t ended up well, not for them. Atticus sighed, pushing the past where it belonged, in the past.

He’d practically grown up with the James family who had treated him as a son from the very beginning. If not for them… He shuddered, thinking about where he may have ended up. Enough of that, Atticus chided himself, it was time to create the future. The one he and Gregor had been talking about since college when they fell into bed with the same woman. Falling was not exactly accurate, the puppet master knew Gregor was interested but wouldn’t make the first move. Atticus had taken the woman upstairs, knowing Gregor would come looking for him. That night was a changing point in their friendship.

Neither one of them was interested in having their relationship change because of a woman but wished instead to remain best friends with one woman who kept them happy in and out of the sack.

They learned early on their strengths and weaknesses. Gregor was too grouchy to sustain a relationship on his own and would override just about any woman who tried to change that. Whereas Atticus liked to assume the role of caregiver, taking care of broken things like himself who, also like him, could be cultivated and supported to their personal best.

The conversation regarding their mutual Little hadn’t been discussed since their last disaster, but they would be approaching their mid-thirties soon and both men needed more in their lives, something to live for beyond work and fun times. With Gregor sinking deeper into work and escapism, no time could be better than now.

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