“I don’t want him to have it bad. I want him to fuck me.”

Aidan laughed. “I’m sure that’s comin’.”

“You’ve been absolutely no help, you know that?” she teased.

“It’s what I’m good at. Look, sis, I gotta run. I’m meetin’ a couple of people tonight.”

“Okay.” Ashlynn sat up straight. “Be careful, would ya? And don’t drink and drive.”

“Never,” he assured her. “Call me tomorrow. Let me know how it goes with Leyton and Max.”

“You’ll know how it goes,” Ashlynn said. “If Max doesn’t agree, Leyton’ll be dead. If he does agree, I’ll have a smile on my face.”

“Well, I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ that smile.”

“Talk to you later, Aid.”

“Yep.”

The phone disconnected, and Ashlynn flopped back into her chair once more. Although she felt somewhat better, she still didn’t know how she was supposed to handle this situation.

If only Leyton had left it at sex, there wouldn’t be a problem.

Why did men always have to go and complicate things?

Chapter Thirty-Three

Permission granted.

“Did you hear anything?” Max asked when he answered the phone. He was on the satellite phone in flight back to Dallas with Courtney sitting beside him. His business in Vegas wasn’t even remotely close to being finished, but he couldn’t seem to stay focused due to the problems he knew were going on back at home. Namely, someone had threatened to kill his sister.

“No,” Leyton said. “Not yet.”

“Then what did you need?”

“To talk to you.” There was a slight pause, followed by, “Are you in flight?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back home within the hour.”

“Home?” Leyton was clearly confused. “Did you get your deal worked?”

“No.” And he hadn’t been able to keep his head in the game because he’d been too worried about this shit going down with Ashlynn.

“Well, if you’re comin’ home, I’ll meet you there.”

“Where’s Ashlynn?” Max asked.

“Here at the house. Jase is with her, and I’ll leave Sal here as well.”

If Leyton was willing to leave Ashlynn after Max had instructed him not to, then he knew there was something important Leyton wanted to discuss.

“Fine. See you there.” Max disconnected the call and turned to his wife.

“Something wrong?” she asked, her beautiful white-gray eyes scanning his face.

“I hope not.” Honestly, he didn’t know what Leyton wanted to discuss, but it could’ve been anything at this point. Max wouldn’t put it past him to want to talk about Ashlynn. Especially after the conversation he’d had with Ashlynn earlier.

“Is he workin’ things out with her?” Courtney inquired.

“No idea.” Taking her hand in his, Max smiled at the beautiful woman who had taken his last name and made him the happiest man in the world. “But right now, I’m not worried about any of the shit takin’ place at home. I’m more interested in gettin’ you naked and watchin’ you ride me.”

Courtney’s eyes glittered with heat. “I’m not gonna argue with you, Mr. Adorite. So if that’s what you’re waitin’ for, you’ll be waitin’ a long damn time.”

What was he supposed to say to that?

Nothing. That’s what.

Nearly an hour and a half later, Max and Courtney were walking into the house, greeted instantly by Walter, who seemed happy to see them.

“Mr. Matheson is waiting for you in your office,” Walter relayed.

“Thanks.” Kissing Courtney on the lips, Max then excused himself so he could get this business taken care of and pick up again where they’d left off on the plane.

Joining Leyton, Max poured them both a drink, then sat down across from his second-in-command, watching him intently. From the moment he had stepped into the room, Max got the sense that something was bothering Leyton.

“Everything okay with Ashlynn?” he inquired, sipping his drink and watching his best friend.

“Depends,” Leyton replied, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

“On…?”

Leyton sighed, then blurted out the last thing Max had ever expected to hear from him. “I love her.”

Max frowned but couldn’t speak.

“I know that seems sudden, but it’s… Fuck. I don’t even know how to go about this. And maybe you’ll just shoot me and get it over with, but I have to get this out there.”

“Did you touch my sister?”

Leyton looked up at him, and Max could tell he was battling something internally. What, he didn’t know yet, but he hoped like hell Leyton would spit it out. Too many times Leyton had kept things bottled up, not sharing with anyone, and that was the last thing Max wanted. He still remembered the day he’d practically broken down the door of Leyton’s father’s apartment to find Leyton with a pile of pills in his lap, getting ready to take his own life. He was pretty sure that if he’d been an hour later, he’d have found his best friend dead.

“Yes and no,” Leyton admitted. “I’m doin’ my best to stay away from her, but…”

“She’s not makin’ it easy on you, huh?” Max was trying to lighten the mood.

“No, she’s not. And neither is Jase.”

“Is somethin’ goin’ on with you and Jase?”

That mask dropped into place, and Max knew Leyton was holding back.

“Talk to me,” Max encouraged, crossing his ankle over his knee as he relaxed back. “I’m not gonna shoot you. Not yet, anyway.” He smirked.

Leyton downed his drink, then set the glass on the table.

“Yeah, there’s somethin’ goin’ on with me and Jase.”

“So Courtney was right,” Max muttered.

“About?” Leyton’s eyes widened.

“This ménage bullshit. Apparently it’s not uncommon.”

“I don’t know about that,” Leyton said with a small smile. “It’s complicated as fuck.”

“So, what? You’re here to ask my permission?”

“Yes, actually,” Leyton revealed.

Max got to his feet. “It’s not my place to tell you what you can and can’t do.”

“You warned me away from your sister,” Leyton exclaimed, getting to his feet.

Max smiled. “I didn’t know what else to say. You know her as well as I do. She doesn’t … do relationships well. And I know you, Leyton. You’re not lookin’ for an overnight fling. That’s not your style.”

Not that Max really knew what Leyton’s style was. Surely the guy had been getting laid over the years, but Max hadn’t been interested in Leyton’s sex life. That wasn’t any of his business.

“Maybe not, but…” Leyton stared back at him.

“Look.” Max came to stand directly in front of his closest friend. “If you and Ashlynn—”

“And Jase,” Leyton inserted.

Max waved a hand. “Yeah, whatever. What y’all do in your spare time is your business. I don’t wanna know about it, I don’t wanna hear about it, I … I just don’t wanna know. Feel me?”

Leyton smiled. “So you’re fine if I court your sister.”

Max laughed. “Is that code for…? Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

Leyton rolled his eyes.

“Fine. If that’s how you wanna put it, then yeah. You’re good to go. I’m not sure Ashlynn’s big on being courted, but hell, with her, you never know.”

The tension in Leyton’s shoulders seemed to ease.

“You seriously stayed away from her because of me?” Max had known he could trust Leyton, but he hadn’t expected anyone to put their life on hold because of his instruction. Sure, it would’ve made his life a hell of a lot better if everyone he worked with could be as trustworthy as Leyton, but honestly, he hadn’t expected it.

“You’re my family, Max. You’re all I’ve got.” Leyton looked away. “I’m not willin’ to risk that.”

Max set his glass on the table and grabbed Leyton’s arm. “Family’s family, man. Nothin’ you do or say will change that. I’m not gonna turn my back on you.”

When they were sixteen, Max had learned the hell that Leyton had been living his entire life. He’d been too blind to see it for years, but that day, when Leyton had been contemplating taking his own life, Max had realized. He hadn’t been too late, and that was something he was grateful for.