Page 55 of His Captor

Mace seemed to feel what I was feeling and want what I wanted. He felt warmer as I pressed against him, and the way his eyes went heavy-lidded as our mouths drew closer and closer together was?—

A knock at the door, followed by, “Hey, Hayden, it’s me. Mind if I come in?” in Simon’s voice had me nearly jumping out of my skin.

A second later, the electronic lock whirred and Simon stepped into the apartment, a grocery bag in one arm. Simon immediately jumped and a small pack of my favorite, flavored chips spilled out of the bag onto the floor.

“Oh!” Simon said, flushing as he shut the door behind him. “I didn’t realize you had company.”

I’d forgotten to tell Simon Mace was temporarily living with me. I’d definitely forgotten to tell him that I was thinking of taking up Mace’s not so temporary offer to live in the penthouse with him.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Simon asked, carrying the bag to the kitchen counter.

“No, not at all,” I said, pushing to sit upright, though it was more of an effort than I wanted it to be. And not because of Junior. “Mace and I were just about to have crazy, kinky, pregnancy sex.”

My words had exactly the effect I’d wanted. Simon turned bright pink and looked mortified. Mace rubbed a hand across his face, like he was trying to hide his mortification. Simon and Mace were a lot alike that way. They both got embarrassed easily.

It actually didn’t surprise me all that much that I’d found a mate who was a lot like my older brother.

Whoa. Itdidsurprise me that I casually assumed Mace was my mate without even batting an eyelash.

I covered my excited reaction by scooting forward and, after a little rocking, pushed myself to stand. “What did you bring me?” I asked, wandering over to see what Simon was unloading from the bag.

Mace got up and moved to test the changing table again, but I had the feeling he was only doing it so he could face away from Simon until a little something in his jeans calmed down. Well, a not so little something.

“Just a few supplies,” Simon said, doing his best to pretend everything was normal. “And some information.”

“Information?” I brightened as I picked up a canister of the kind of cocoa I liked.

“About the lawsuit,” Simon said.

“What lawsuit?” Mace asked, twisting to face us with a look of alarm.

I was willing to bet he thought Simon knew something about the mess he was facing, but Simon said, “I’ve been trying to convince Hayden to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against his former employers, the Goulding Group.”

“I told him I don’t want to, but Simon works for our parents’ law firm, and you know how people get when they’re in that sort of environment for too long.”

“Your parents are lawyers? What sort of law firm is it?” Mace asked, walking over to the counter to join us.

I didn’t know if he was just making casual conversation, but before Simon could answer, inspiration struck and I blurted, “What do you know about breech of contract lawsuits when two corporate entities part ways?”

“Hayden,” Mace warned me.

It was too late, though. Simon was the sharpest person I knew, and he immediately guessed something was going on. “Are you having trouble with your former business partner?” he asked, then added, “Hayden tells me everything. Well, almost everything.” He arched one eyebrow at me, eyeing Mace sideways.

Mace stood where he was, visibly hesitating for a moment. He had absolutely no obligation to share any of his business with my brother. At the same time, I felt a sliver of hope from him, like he wanted a fresh perspective on the situation, and like he wanted to be honest with someone he knew was important to me.

The fact that I could sense all that was pretty heady.

“I don’t know if it’s so much a legal matter as it is personal,” he said at last. “Colin, my ex business partner, thinks I pulled the rug out from under him when I dissolved our partnership. Now he’s out for revenge, and he’s teamed up with some pretty shady people to get it.”

“Victory Holdings,” I blurted. Mace frowned at me, but I continued with, “You ever heard of them?”

Simon’s eyes had gone wide, and he said, “Yes,” emphatically. “They’re a shell corporation for a family of investors who don’t have a scruple between them.”

Both Mace and I reacted with shock, gaping at Simon.

“How do you know?” I asked.

Simon turned serious. “Dad defended a client who they sued last year.”

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