I turn and groan out a sigh of frustration, but not before I peek at all the ingredients Aurora’s pulled from the pantry. Maybe she won’t give me the exact recipe, but I can figure it out. Surely.

“You’ll never guess it correctly, not without my help,” she singsongs as I snag a bottle of cold milk and leave the kitchen.

Diego growls something, and then I hear her squeal. Gross.

I’m not interested in watching any PDAs from the two of them. I’m focused on getting some PDAs with Bells. She finally agreed to let me take care of her. It’s been a fight over the past few days, but now she’s relenting.

Despite my failure at getting the recipe, I smile. Bells wants my help. That’s a win. One I’ll happily take.

Tiernan brushes past me in the hall, and I lift the cake high overhead so he doesn’t disturb it. “Hey, watch it.”

“Sorry man,” he calls as he moves by. “We had that thing in Frozen Falls. Which was fun, you know, taking out the trash, getting my hands dirty again. But Daphne’s got me all…” He shrugs and keeps walking.

I smirk. I know exactly how he feels. This all seems impossible. Four women show up here, and each one is custom-made for us. After years of keeping to ourselves and not saying so much as ‘boo’ to anyone in Frozen Falls, these angels arrive on our doorstep. My angel, in particular, is absolutely perfect for me in every way. I just have to prove I can be the man she needs.

Every moment I spend with her, it’s getting harder to keep my hands to myself, harder to resist the sultry way she licks her full lips. Damn, just thinking about it makes me so hard I worry she’ll notice the rod in my pants.

Calm it down. I take a deep breath. I’m not always great at relaxing, at chilling my blood during a conflict. Diego and Charles can do it just fine, and Tiernan? He runs toward the fight with a grin on his face. But I’m different. I think about what’s going to happen after. How many lives I can save after I’m finished snuffing out my enemies. After all, I’ve kicked plenty of ass, but my strength lies in helping my friends afterwards.

And now that I’ve found Bells? I want to give her every bit of help I can. If she’ll accept it.

I enter my bedroom and find her staring out the window. “Leonard?” I ask and bring the cake to her in bed.

“No. Well, maybe.” She squints a little. “I can’t tell.”

“Here.” I cut her a corner of the chocolatey slice and put it to her lips.

She opens for me.

I tell my cock to settle the fuck down as I place the food on her bubblegum tongue.

When she moans, I give up on trying to calm my hard-on. It’s here to stay.

“I can feed myself.” She reaches for the plate.

I dodge her attempt, then feed her another chunk. “I know you can, but I like doing this for you.”

“Why?” She chews and looks at me thoughtfully with her big brown eyes.

“I like you.” I shrug and lift the milk to her lips.

She drinks and settles back in bed. “You don’t know me.”

I know plenty. A quick assignment to my main data contact got me dossiers on each of the women. I skimmed the others, but I dug in with Bells. Her past. Her journey to the top right along with Aurora. She’s an amazing woman, but I want to hear her say it. “Well, I want to know you, so tell me about you. More cake?” I offer.

“Later.” She peers at me.

“All right.” I put the cake on the nightstand.

“Why are you so nice to me? Is this a trick? Am I being an idiot?”

“No. I thought we’d gotten past all that suspicion.” I shake my head. “You can trust me, okay?”

“I’m always suspicious, and trusting people isn’t my strong suit. In fact, the opposite is.”

“I’ve noticed.” I lean over on my elbow so my head is near her waist. It’s a struggle not to look at the rounded peaks of her breasts, but I manage to keep my gaze steady. “I just want to know who’s sleeping in my bed. Is that so wrong?”

She throws her hands up. “Fine. I’m from a shitty family, had a shitty life, and my friendship with Aurora is the only thing that saved me from a shitty future. I’m her manager because she’s been kind enough to let me tag along. I’ve traveled the world because of her. She’s my best friend, and I owe her everything.”

“Do you really see yourself that way?” I reach out for her hand.

She pulls it away.

Ouch. I sit up. “None of that’s true. Well, it sort of is and mostly isn’t.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Now you’re going to tell me about my life, is that it?”

“Yes, I guess I’ll have to.” I want her to see herself the way I do, and I’ll be damned if I let her go on thinking she’s just an afterthought of Aurora’s. “You did have shitty parents. I’ll grant you that. But Aurora isn’t the reason you’re the top talent manager in the business. Your brain and backbone got you there. You protect her and look out for your friends. You don’t let the label dictate her life or yours. You know now to negotiate, and above all, you always fight for your friends. You don’t let anyone down, no matter what.”

Her eyes widen. “How do you know all tha—”

“You should bathe.” I pop to my feet. “You’ll feel better afterwards. Doctor’s orders.” I’m not really a doctor, but I do need to distract her from the fact that I’ve studied her entire history like a damn stalker. “I’ll get it ready.” I stride into the bathroom and close the door behind me, then glare at myself in the mirror. Dude, way to almost blow it.

That’s the thing about Bells. She makes me forget myself, forget everything except my desire to learn about her on every level. I crave her, and I hope that soon she’ll let me show her just how much she means to me.

4

Bells

Bubbles surround me in the giant bathtub. I’ve seen a lot of nice bathrooms in my life. It’s one of the benefits of going on tour. Even so, I’m pretty sure this bathtub tops them all. I should be relaxing and enjoying one of the few moments I have alone, but I’m not.

I’m wound tight, and my whole body is aching now. I don’t even notice the pain from my back anymore because of the ache between my thighs. My body is so on edge. I need to get off. I lick my lips and wonder if I have time before Barrow comes back to check on me. This is one of the rare moments I’ve actually been alone.

Barrow follows me around everywhere I go. If someone comes to visit me, he hovers around the door itching to get back into the room. You’d think I was a glass doll. The way he handles me would make you think the smallest thing could break me into pieces. I give him a hard time about it, but secretly I enjoy it. No one’s ever thought I was delicate.

I part my legs easily in the tub. You could fit two more people in here if you wanted to. Unless they are Barrow’s size, then only one more. I chastise myself for allowing my mind to drift to thoughts of him. I’m going to get off, and I’m going to do it without thinking about Barrow. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.