Chapter 11
I woke up enveloped in warmth, not just from the soft Egyptian cotton sheets, but from the solid presence of Liam on my left and Finn’s arms curled around my waist.
But the pleasant ache in my muscles and the lingering sensitivity of my skin told me it had been very, very real. I lay still for a moment, trying to process the magnitude of what had happened.
Last night, I’d crossed a line I could never uncross with the three men I worked for.
Men who had bid on my virginity and then treated me like something precious rather than a transaction. The thought should have terrified me. Instead, all I felt was a bone-deep satisfaction and the undeniable knowledge that I was deeply desired.
“Good morning, sweetling,” Liam’s voice was rough with sleep as his arm tightened around my waist. “How are you feeling?”
I turned to face him, taking in his tousled hair and the tender way he was looking at me. “Overwhelmed,” I admitted honestly. “But not in a bad way.”
Finn stirred behind me, his lips pressing a soft kiss to my bare shoulder. “No regrets?”
“No,” I said quickly, then paused. “But I need to understand what this means. Not just emotionally, but professionally.”
The weight of reality was starting to settle in.
These weren’t just three attractive men I’d spent the night with, they were my bosses, the owners of the company where I worked. If anyone found out about this, it could destroy my reputation, my career, everything I’d worked for.
“What happens if people find out?” I continued, my voice tight with worry. “What happens to my job, my credibility? People will think I slept my way to my position.”
Liam reached for my hand, his thumb stroking across my knuckles in a soothing gesture. “This stays between us. You control every step of what happens next.”
Finn nodded against my shoulder. “We’re not going to do anything that puts you at risk.”
Asher’s voice came from the doorway, where he stood leaning against the frame with two cups of coffee in his hands.
He’d clearly been awake for a while, his hair damp from a shower and dressed in casual clothes that somehow made him look even more dangerous than his usual suits.
“We understand the complications,” he said, moving into the room to set the coffee on the nightstand. “We’re not going to make this harder for you.”
I sat up, suddenly very aware of my nakedness, and pulled the sheet up to cover myself. The gesture wasn’t lost on any of them, and I saw something flicker in their expressions.
“I need boundaries,” I said firmly. “Clear ones. No hints at work. No special treatment. No lingering looks or casual touches. It has to stay strictly confidential.”
Finn’s arm around my waist loosened slightly. “Jasmine-”
“I’m serious,” I interrupted. “I can’t have anyone thinking I’m getting ahead because I’m sleeping with my bosses. My work has to stand on its own.”
The silence that followed was heavy with frustration, but finally Liam nodded. “If that’s what you need, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Just promise us honesty if it ever becomes too much,” Asher added, his steel-gray eyes intense. “Don’t suffer in silence to protect our feelings.”
I nodded, some of the tension leaving my shoulders. “I can do that.”
Liam reached for something on the nightstand, a slim black envelope I hadn’t noticed before. He handed it to me with careful reverence.
“That’s the two hundred and thirteen thousand,” Asher explained. “No strings attached. It’s yours.”
My breath caught in my throat. I’d almost forgotten about the money in the intensity of everything else that had happened. With trembling hands, I opened the envelope and stared at the crisp bills inside.
More money than I’d ever seen in one place, enough to save Leo and then some.
I looked between the three of them, these powerful, successful men who had somehow seen something in me worth protecting, worth desiring.
The envelope in my hands represented freedom from the crushing weight of Leo’s debt, but it also represented something else: their care for me.
“Thank you,” I managed, my voice thick with emotion. “You have no idea what this means.”
An hour later, I was walking into my apartment building, clutching the envelope like a lifeline. The familiar smell of old coffee and cleaning products hit me as I climbed the stairs, but for once it didn’t depress me.
I had the solution to our problems right in my hands.
Leo was slumped on the couch when I walked in, exactly where I’d left him the night before. He looked up when he heard the door, and I could see the exhaustion and guilt written all over his face.
“How did it go?” he asked quietly. “Any luck with the extra work?”
I sat down beside him and placed the envelope on the coffee table between us. “Open it.”
Leo frowned but did as I asked. His eyes went wide when he saw the money inside, and he looked up at me with shock and confusion.
“Jas, what is this? Where did you get this much money?”
“I found a way,” I said simply. “The debt is paid, Leo. You’re safe.”
“But how—”
“Don’t ever borrow the money to help Mom and Dad,” I said, cutting him off before he could ask questions I wasn’t ready to answer. “You’re just feeding their addiction. We have to stop enabling this cycle.”
Leo’s face crumpled. “I know. God, I know that now. I was so stupid—”
“You were hopeful,” I corrected, my anger softening as I saw the genuine remorse in his eyes. “But hope without boundaries is just enabling. They’re not going to change, Leo. They made their choice a long time ago.”
I reached over and squeezed his hand.
“The debt is handled. But you need to promise me, no more contact with them. No more money. No more hoping for something that’s never going to happen.”
Leo nodded, tears streaming down his face. “I promise. Thank you, sis. I know you sacrificed something to get this money. I don’t know what, but I know it wasn’t easy.”
If only he knew.
The next morning at work, I tried to hide the turmoil beneath a calm surface, but it was harder than I’d expected. Every time I looked toward the executive offices, I thought about the night before.
About the way they’d touched me, the promises they’d made, the money now safely deposited in my bank account.
“You look like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Finn said, appearing at my desk with that teasing warmth I was beginning to recognize as uniquely his.
I forced a smile. “Just tired. Long night.”
Something flickered in his eyes, heat, memory, amusement, but his expression remained professionally neutral. “Well, make sure you’re getting enough rest. Can’t have our best assistant burning out.”
Before I could respond, Liam appeared with two cups of coffee. “Thought you might need this,” he said, setting one on my desk. Our fingers brushed as I reached for it, and for just a moment, the air between us crackled with electricity.
“Thank you,” I managed, hoping my voice sounded steadier than I felt.
“Conference room in ten,” Asher’s voice cut through the moment as he joined us. “We need to discuss the Morrison follow-up.”
As we walked toward the conference room, I noticed Adelyn watching from her desk across the bullpen. Her sharp gaze tracked our movement, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
She’d always been observant, always looking for advantages or angles she could exploit.
“Everything alright?” Liam asked quietly as we passed her desk.
“Fine,” I replied, but I could feel Adelyn’s eyes boring into my back.
30
