Chapter Six

Jacob flung open the door to enter his bedroom before slamming it shut with a thunderous crash. He wanted to rush back into Camille’s apartment and shake her he was so furious with her. More importantly he was furious with himself.

He’d let his guard down and let her in, and now he felt like a fool. She’d been distant ever since he’d gone away on business. He knew despite the time they’d spent together that she was still having a hard time trusting him. He couldn’t blame her. He was struggling with his own trust issues towards her as well. He’d thought they’d been making progress though, but when he returned from Houston she’d not only been distant, she’d been cold.

He’d made a mistake by leaving so abruptly without an explanation, but he’d thought it was for the best at the time. They both needed time away from each other to reflect on what was happening between them. He’d spent the time apart doing just that and had returned from his trip realising he wanted to pursue a real relationship with Camille. He was ready to face the demons of their murky past and work to let it all go if that meant he and Camille could build a relationship together. She on the other hand had come to an entirely different realisation during their time apart.

He’d only been gone for a few weeks but in that short time she’d apparently replaced him with Jackson, since her affection now centred solely on him.

He clutched his hands into tight fists as jealousy gripped him. He never should have left her alone with Jackson. His brother was falling in love with her too, and now it would seem the feeling was mutual.

He flopped down onto his bed and dropped his head in his hands. Everything about this contract had gone all wrong, and now he wanted out. He had grown to care for her, more than he wanted to, and certainly more than he should. He had no doubt that at the end of the month she would take the deed to her property in her hands and walk away from him and his ranch without looking back. He would be powerless to stop her. He dreaded the thought that when she left she would carry Jackson in her heart and not him.

How had he allowed this to happen? How had she crawled inside his heart without him knowing it? Was this how his father had felt about Adel? Did he crave her to the point that he was willing to accept that she would never leave her husband to be with him? Did she have such a powerful influence over his dad that he hadn’t even cared?

He’d never understood why if his father loved Adel as he’d claimed, that he’d never insisted she leave Earl. But now he was starting to get the picture. The Douglas women obviously had the power to cast a spell over men to the point that they would say or do anything just to keep them, in any way they could, because he was certainly about to do everything in his power to keep Camille.

Whether Camille realised it or not, she belonged to him. Her body certainly knew that, now all he had to do was sway her heart and mind because he had no intention of losing her, not to Jackson, not to any man.

* * * *

Camille’s hands balled into fists as she stood there trembling with rage.

“You’re just like your father. You take what’s not yours, heedless of the consequences, lashing out when you don’t get what you really want.”

Jacob’s blue eyes hardened. “For someone who wants me to let go of the past, you’re apparently having a hard time doing it yourself,” he bit out, his voice dripping with ice. “Besides, this has nothing to do with my father. You’re just trying to change the subject because you can’t face that you’re not a woman of your word.”

With no defence against the truth of his words she lashed out at him. “I hate you,” she spat.

“We had a deal Camille, and you’re not holding up your end,” he said smoothly, clearly unfazed by her bitter words.

She shook her head. “Yes I am.”

His jaw tightened. “You only sleep with my brothers.”

“That is what I was commanded to do,” she said icily.

“And me as well,” his voice was low as he bit out the words through clenched teeth.

She shrugged then. “I can’t help it if every time you stop by, I’m tired. You need to plan better.”

His eyes narrowed. “See, I don’t believe you’re tired at all, which is why I’m enforcing the contract.”

“No. You’re forcing me to sleep with you or else you’re going to renege on our agreement.”

His eyes turned cold as he stared down at her. “You agreed to the terms. If you can’t fulfil your end then the contract is null and void.”

She shook her head again, her blood boiling with rage.

“You are a spoiled, selfish bastard who never learned how to deal with rejection.”

“I’m just restating the terms.”

“Fuck you and your terms,” she shouted before she turned and stormed out of his office.

Furious, she stomped out of the house and hopped into her car.

She drove the ten minutes it took to get to the Douglas ranch. Piling out of her car, she strolled towards the low wooden fence and just stood there staring out at the endless stretches of land that was her family legacy. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she seriously considered walking away from Jacob and his demands.

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t lose what rightfully belonged to her family because of her stupid pride. He was right. She’d agreed to his ridiculous terms. She only had one month left. She could see this through to the very end.

* * * *

“Where have you been?”

She jumped at the unexpected voice. She’d come in through the front door of the house instead of through her apartment garage because it was more well lit and she hated the dark garage at night. Even with the small light, she found it creepy. She now regretted her decision. Closing the door, she met Jacob’s questioning gaze.

“What? Did you add another clause to the contract that I have to check in now? You must have done that while I was gone,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She watched as he exhaled a deep breath, before dragging his hand through his dark hair.

“I was worried about you. We didn’t part on a good note. I just thought…” His voice trailed off.

She studied his face. He really did look worried. After she left her ranch, she went into town to do some window shopping and decided to eat dinner there. She’d been gone for several hours, but she didn’t even stop to think for a moment that anyone would miss her, let alone worry.

Although she was still angry with him, her eyes softened a bit. “You thought I’d left for good,” she finished for him. She shook her head. “No, I’m not leaving,” she whispered softly.

God, she missed him so much. Her heart leapt in her chest as he stared down at her. She ached to run her hands across his jaw where she could see the hint of a shadow, knowing it would softly scrape her sensitive skin.

“I’ll walk you to your room,” he said finally.

She nodded as she followed behind him, trying to hide the smile that spread across her face. They were inside the house. What did he possibly think could happen to her on her way to her apartment?

Once outside her apartment, he twisted the key in the door and stepped aside to usher her in.

“Goodnight.”

She turned to face him, surprised that he didn’t follow her inside.

“Goodnight,” she replied. She stared at the door after he shut it behind him. She stood there for several moments irritated with herself for the disappointment that his unexpected departure caused inside her. She should have been relieved, but she wasn’t.

* * * *

“Jackson,” Camille screamed out as her orgasm surged through her. Her pussy gripped Jackson’s cock as cum flowed from her hole, coating his dick, to pool beneath her.

Jackson groaned loudly, his thrusts growing harder.

She wound her legs around Jackson’s waist as he slammed his cock deeper inside her.

Over and over, he buried his hard length inside her, balls deep. Clutching at her hips, he pounded her pussy with hard, fast strokes.

“Jackson,” she called out in warning moments before she felt him stiffen above her.

He let out a low curse before he abruptly pulled out of her. Gripping his cock in his hand, he pumped his shaft with three hard strokes before he sprayed his hot cum all over her stomach.

He kneeled before her, his eyes shut tight, while the strained muscles in his neck rippled and flexed beneath his skin as he struggled to calm his ragged breathing.

Finally, he opened his eyes.

“I’m sorry Camille. I didn’t mean to lose control like that.”

“I know, Jackson,” she said softly as she kissed him gently on the cheek before lifting herself off the bed. She nodded towards her bathroom. “I need to clean up real quick. If you want, you can use the other bathroom in the hall,” she said before slipping inside.

She’d barely finished drying off from washing up when she heard low angry voices coming from the hallway. Jacob?

With quiet steps, she ducked out of the bathroom and quickly donned a robe. Creeping to the door, she leaned against it shielding herself from view.

Craning her neck, she listened intently.

“What the hell was that?” Jacob demanded angrily “I know. I just lost control.”

“That’s unacceptable Jackson.”

“Look I’m sorry. I know how you feel about her. I—it’s just that I care for her too,” he said quietly.

She strained to hear their words. Damn. She wished she could see their faces.

“You care for her, but that’s not love Jackson. I told you to always use a condom with her and I meant it,” Jacob said angrily.

At his words, her eyes rounded as anger sprouted up inside her.

Stepping through the bedroom door, her eyes clashed with Jacob’s furious gaze.

“You are such a bully. You’ve forced the rest of them to use protection, when you never do, even though we all agreed to it.”

He visibly blanched at her words as a guilty look stole across his face, but she didn’t back down.

“You’re such a hypocrite! Out of all of them you’re the main one who should have always used protection.”

“What are you talking about?” Jacob gritted out.

“You have a girlfriend. I saw you with her.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Come up with another question, Jacob. You’ve already asked that one twice now.”

“Jackson, we need some privacy,” he clipped out tightly, his eyes never leaving her face.

She folded her arms across her chest. “This is my apartment, Jackson. You don’t have to go anywhere.”

“Jackson.” Jacob growled in warning.

“Stay!” She commanded.

She watched as Jackson stared back and forth between both of them as if he were refereeing a tennis match.

“Sorry, Camille. I think you two need to talk,” he said quietly, before stepping between them to slip out of her apartment.

Her nostrils flared in anger.

“You’re a bully.”

Unfazed by her insults, Jacob held her gaze. “We need to talk.”

She shook her head. “We have nothing to talk about, Jacob. If you’re not here for sex then you can leave. The contract never said that I had to serve your conversational needs.”

“Fuck that stupid contract. It’s over —done! I should have never let this go on for so long anyway.”

Fear settled in her gut. “You cannot terminate the contract now that my time is—”

His eyes softened a bit, although his body still vibrated with anger.

“I am not going back on my end of the deal. Your ranch belongs to you. It’s yours,” he said softly. He dragged a hand through his hair, before releasing a ragged breath. “I—I meant that you don’t have to continue sleeping with my brothers any longer.”

A vulnerable look crossed his face when he said those words and her mouth fell open at the raw emotion she glimpsed in his naked gaze. “I can’t share you with them anymore, Camille. It’s killing me to watch you with them and I just can’t do it anymore. I nearly went to blows with Jackson twice when I got back from Houston and saw that you now favoured him—”

“I don’t favour Jackson over you, Jacob. I just couldn’t sleep with you when you got back from Houston because I discovered you had a girlfriend.”

He shook his head, the anger creeping back into his eyes again. “You keep saying that, but it’s not true. Who told you that?”

“No one. I saw you at Chez Pierre’s with a stacked blonde when I was in Houston. I drew my own conclusions.”

Sparks of fury leapt in his blue eyes as comprehension dawned on his face.

“But they were the wrong conclusions. That woman you saw me with is the daughter of an old family friend who passed away over a year ago. She sold her land to me earlier that day—land that has oil on it. Natalie lives in Chicago with her fiancé. She has no desire to move back to Texas which is why she wanted to get rid of her land. I took her out to dinner as a friend to celebrate the deal.”

She closed her eyes, as her face heated with humiliation. God, I was so stupid and insecure.

“Yes, Camille. You’ve punished me for the past month for something I didn’t do. After all the time we’ve spent together you should know that I would never make love to you, without protection no less, and then take another woman to my bed.”

“I—I’m sorry, Jacob,” she stammered quietly.

“That’s not good enough,” he whispered.

Her eyes snapped to his face.

“Per our agreement, you owe me one month.”

“But you just released me from my contract.”

A smile lit up Jacob’s face as his expression became tender. Lifting his hand, he slowly caressed her cheek.

“I did, and now I’m just hoping that you would be willing to accept a new agreement.”

She arched a single brow, now curious. She nodded. “Go on.”

“You owe me one month, as my exclusive mistress. No brothers—just us.” His hand stopped stroking her cheek so that he could lift her chin with his fingers.

A grin spread across her face. She enjoyed being with his brothers but the thought of being with just Jacob excited her. “I do owe you a month, don’t I, but will your brothers be all right with this?”

His eyes flashed with what could only be described as possessiveness. “They all care about you, but not the way I do, and I think you know this.”

She nodded because she did. From day one, she and Jacob had shared a more intimate relationship, but she’d been afraid to read more into it.

“They will accept that you are mine exclusively, because they know how I feel about you and they respect my feelings,” he whispered as he dragged her into his embrace and held her close while he stroked his hand through her hair. “Camille, over the next month I really want us to begin to deal with our pasts and work to move forward. Do you think you can do that?”

She lifted her head from his chest and nodded. “I can do that.”

“And you’re okay with being just my mistress. You understand my brothers can no—”

She placed a single finger against his lips to halt his next words.

“I don’t want any other man but you,” she whispered firmly.

Glimpsing the truth of her words in her eyes, he seemed to visibly relax. She couldn’t believe he’d truly worried that she wouldn’t be able to let the rest of them go, but the vulnerable look in his gaze was unmistakable. It was clear he was still uncertain of the depth of her feelings for him. Well, she would just have to show him just how much he truly meant to her—starting now.

She lifted up on her tiptoes to claim his lips in a light, teasing kiss as her arms wound around his neck. He quickly caught on and hoisted her into his arms to carry her into her bedroom where for the rest of the night she did her best to show him that while she’d enjoyed her time with all the Downing brothers, there was only one Downing man for her.

About the Author

Nadia Aidan lives, works and writes on the West Coast in the United States. Under her real name, Nadia holds a PhD in Political Science and Public Policy and by day she works as an Assistant Professor. She is the self proclaimed NEW FACE OF INTERRACIAL AND MULTICULTURAL EROTIC ROMANCE and writes across all genres, from historical, to fantasy/sci-fi to contemporary.

In addition to writing erotic romances Nadia enjoys reading other authors, playing flag football, studying muay thai, working out, listening to music, scuba diving, and target shooting. Her other interests include collecting Top Cow comics, especially Witchblade and Tomb Raider. She loves professional football and soccer. Her favorite teams are the Washington Redskins and Manchester United, respectively.

Nadia loves watching, reading about, and writing about strong, assertive heroines which is why she is an enduring fan of Fight Girls, Xena, Buffy, American Gladiators--New and Old, and La Femme Nikita! Nadia also loves interacting with people so feel free to visit her at http://nadiaaidan.com/ for more information about her, her new releases, and how to contact her!

Email: [email protected]

Nadia loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at .

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