“Did you get all that?” Aidan stared at him.
Yeah. The rules. He knew them by heart. Julian had drilled the rules into him every day of the last two years. They all came down to one edict—don’t fuck up. “Yes. I know what to do.”
“I think we can try putting you in charge for a while.” Aidan sat back, his voice softening a bit. “You know how to work a ranch, right? You haven’t forgotten?”
It wasn’t the kind of thing he could forget. It had been his whole childhood. If he’d followed in his father’s path, he might never have gotten into trouble. He would have been there when his mother had gotten sick. He would have made sure Shelley stayed the hell away from Bryce Hughes. He would have lived a quiet life.
Vanilla. Yes, it would have been vanilla. He would never have been trained to see the inherent beauty and value in someone like Bethany Hobbes. He would have ignored her like the rest of the town.
“I recently worked for your partner, Jack Barnes. I think he’ll vouch for my skill.”
Aidan snorted. “Partner? Don’t let Jack hear that. Let me tell you something, I might be a Dom, but my father-in-law scares the crap out of me. Julian softened up after marriage. Marriage and a family simply refined Jack Barnes’s talents for revenge. And he likes the hell out of you.”
At least someone did. Which begged the question. “But you don’t.”
Aidan’s mouth twisted slightly. “Jack doesn’t have our history with you. Or rather, your history with my brother. I don’t know what happened between the two of you. Bo is tight-lipped about a lot of things. I know you were a real good friend to him after I left for college. Our father was a bastard. You know that, right?”
Trev nodded. Conner O’Malley had been a mean drunk, and he’d liked setting his kids at each other’s throats to see who would win. “Bo mentioned it.”
“You were there for him all during your senior year. Why did you have to dump him?”
That was the pot calling the kettle black. “I went to college. The same one you went to.”
The slight stain on Aidan’s cheeks told Trev that Aidan wasn’t unaware of his own guilt. “Yeah, maybe that’s why I have trouble with you. You remind me of all the things I did wrong with Bo. How close were you? I remember him talking incessantly about you every time I managed to come home, and then one day, he just stopped. He wouldn’t even say your name. He said Mouse was the only true friend he had.”
“Beth.”
“His words, not mine.”
Trev had to shake his head. “I don’t know. I know that sounds horrible, but I don’t know what happened. I got involved in football, and I ignored him. He called, and when I was at home and sober, which wasn’t that often, I would talk to him. I liked Bo. I never had a little brother. I really liked him. And by my sophomore year, I was sober during the season, but the minute I wasn’t playing, I spent the time drunk or high. I didn’t talk to him much after that. I opted into the draft after my junior year. It was the last really great season I had. It was the last season I stayed sober. The rest is history. I signed one huge deal and threw it all away.”
Aidan sighed. “I’m worried about Bo. I don’t know what losing Beth is going to do to him. He might not admit it, but she’s been his anchor for years now. He’s really upset that you’re dating her. I think he’s going to be even more upset when he discovers you’ve begun a D/s relationship with her. I would assume you’ve done that. Or, are you aiming for vanilla?”
Aidan said the word “vanilla” with just a hint of disdain. Trev could reassure him on that point. “We haven’t formalized anything, and she’s going to require training, but she’s amenable to the lifestyle, thanks to your wife’s books.”
Aidan’s face suddenly turned youthful as he grinned. “Leo hates them. He thinks they make us all look like wimps. I like them. I like that all of Lexi’s stories have happy endings.” His face turned a little sad. “I know Bo made his own bed with that girl.”
“It wouldn’t have worked.” Trev knew it deep down, but it didn’t stop the guilt that formed a knot in his stomach. “Bo isn’t a Dom. If I had to guess, I would say he’s actually more submissive than anything else. He needs a strong woman in his life. He needs someone who will make decisions and allow him to be who he is.”
Aidan’s eyes became hooded. “A woman, or a man.”
Trev felt his brows rise. “You think he’s bisexual? I never got that off him. I always felt like he was looking for a big brother or a father figure, not a lover.”
“I didn’t say he was like me. I said that he could use a Dom. You know it doesn’t have to involve sex. I believe Bo really does care for Beth, and Beth cares for Bo. You wouldn’t be the first Dom to find himself in a ménage because his sub needs it.”
The words hit him like a lightning rod. Share Beth? Why the hell would he do that? Bo didn’t want him here. He sure as fuck wouldn’t want to share a woman with him. And he wasn’t staying. He wasn’t good for anyone.
“Just think about it,” Aidan said.
Trev didn’t want to think about it. He was already wondering if he wasn’t going to get Beth in trouble. Bo would be more trouble than Trev could handle. And it brought up a couple of questions. “You don’t even like me. Why the hell would you want me in a ménage with your brother?”
“It’s not that I don’t like you.” Aidan ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know you. I’m bringing you into my home, and that makes me nervous. But Julian assures me you’re a good Dom. I would do just about anything to help my brother. I hurt him in the past. I didn’t mean to, but I was just one more male authority figure who walked away and left him alone. He needs more than I can give him. I believe he would be happiest in a ménage with a strong Dom and another sub. Don’t worry about it, Trev. He won’t listen to me. He’s determined to have a white-picket-fence lifestyle. I think he’s still rebelling. Or he doesn’t want to go through what I’ve gone through. It’s hard to live the way we do, especially in a small town.” He slapped at the desk and got up. He held out a hand, and Trev took it. “Just do your job. We’ll get on just fine.”
Trev pushed himself up out of the chair, his heart still pounding. He couldn’t share Beth. He just couldn’t. He fucking needed her. He needed her right now.
“Thanks. I’ll take a couple of minutes and then go out and meet the men. Can you give me half an hour?” He didn’t want the fucking job. He wanted to walk away, but he couldn’t. His need to get drunk off his ass just kept rising with every damn word Aidan said.
“Sure. Take all the time you need. Will you think about what I said? Will you consider giving Bo a chance?” Aidan stared at him, his face a mask of blatant desire.
“I’ll consider it. But Bo hates me. I don’t know why, but I have to take that into consideration. He won’t go down easy.” Trev didn’t want him to go down at all. He wanted to be left alone with Beth.
Was he the best man for her? With all the baggage he carried?
Fuck. His cock didn’t care. He wasn’t sure who would win that battle.
Aidan nodded. “That’s all I can ask. Just think about it.”
Trev walked out of the office door and closed it.