C5 5

Lincoln~

I slammed the bourbon back, hoping the glass of fire would somehow quench the one inside of me.

…No fucking luck.

Next to me, Wilder did the same, growling as he set his glass back on his desk before rubbing his face with his hands. After we’d left Kenzie back downstairs, we’d both wordlessly come directly here, shut the door, and gone right for the bottle.

I reached for it again as Wilder groaned into his hands, pouring myself another splash before sinking back in my chair.

“That went too far.”

Wilder’s hands slid down his face, giving me a look.

“Oh, you fucking think so?”

“Goddamnit,” I muttered, grimacing as I looked into my glass. “We’re stronger than this. Or, we fucking should be.”

“Yeah?” Wilder glared at me. “And how’d that work out for you back there?” he spat sarcastically.

Not well.

The thing was, Iwasstronger than this — we both were. Both of us were men who should have been capable of the kind of discipline and restraint most men didn’t possess. They were skills we’d honed in the Marines, in Kabul, where we’d met. Later, after the service, we’d sharpened those skills when we’d founded Hammer and Spark together — the military contracting outfit we built from the ground up with our bare hands and sheer willpower.

We’d done well with our company, and trained some damn fine soldiers. But when the offer came to buy us out, we both knew it’d be foolish to ignore it. Soldiering, and training others to fight had been a major chapter in our lives, but we both knew it was time for another one.

So we’d cashed out, and we’d cashed outbig. Wilder and I had walked away with a cool $500 million… each. We were set for life. Fuck, our great- grandchildren were set for life, unless they totally fucked it up. So, we had the money, Wilder had his dream home out here in the country, and I was building mine not far away. Other than that though, we weren’t exactly sure what our “next chapter”was.

…That is, until Kenzie had showed up at his front door.

Barely appropriate. Fuck, entirely un-appropriate. But tempting asfuck, like goddamn original sin in daisy dukes and a crop-top. We hadn’t said anything to each other — not directly at least. But I knew my friend well enough to know he was thinking the same very inappropriate things about our little house guest that I was. The same hungry, craving, possessing thoughts for the totally off-limits eighteen year old who’d come barreling into our lives.

My cock throbbed at the memory of her — eyes wide andfierceas they locked with mine while Wilder had spanked her bratty little ass.Fuck, that look was burned into my damn brain for life. That look was hunger, and want, and my balls tingled at the memory of it. There was jealousy there too — at least a little bit, if I’m being honest. I was jealous that my friend had gotten to put his hands on her like that —to feel her warm, soft, supple skin ripple under his palm as he spanked that tight little butt.

But it was just a little jealousy, and nothing more. Now, any other man, and it’d be fucking rageI was feeling. If it’d been any other man putting his hands on her like that, or touching her like that, well fuck, we’d be in a very different place in this study. If it’d been anyone else but my best friend in the world who was basically a blood brother to me, I’d be lunging across this desk and wrapping my hands around his fucking neck.

I sighed, glancing at my friend. This was as close to

“talking about it” as we’d ever got. And even now, even after what had just happened downstairs, we were avoiding it. Neither of us was going to be the first one to just come out and say “I fucking want her,” even if it was plain as day on both our faces.

“We went too far,” Wilder growled, pouring himself another splash of obscenely expensive bourbon. Hey, it was a vice we could afford.

“With the discipline,” he added quickly, frowning. Right, “discipline.” Not “putting our hands on the girl we most certainly shouldnotbe putting our hands on.”

We were going to phrase it that way, I guess. Fine. I just nodded, my jaw tight.

“She needs to know we’re in charge, and we can’t have her thinking she can just run out whenever she wants, as late as she wants, with whoever she wants.”

My hands closed to fists at the thought of the who she’d been with that night.

“You don’t think…”

Wilder shook his head, his eyes fierce.

“No. If that little punk had actually gotten anything from her, she’d have told us. If only just to spite us.”

“Brat,” I growled.

“No shit. But c’mon, we dealt with all sorts of bullshit Marine arrogance and unruliness over there. We can handle this.”

“We, huh?”

Wilder’s jaw twitched as he nodded. “You and me both, man. Don’t put this all on me.”

I arched a brow. “You’re saying I’m in charge of disciplining your niece—”

“Not my niece,” he muttered, far too quickly, like maybe he was reminding himself that little but important fact too

“And yes,” he added. “You’re in charge around here too. She’s out of control. Maybe she needs two firm hands of discipline. Or four, fuck, whatever, you know what I mean.”

I nodded.

“But I think we went too far tonight,” I muttered.

“Same.”

“We can’t let it—”

I almost said “go there with her,” but I stopped myself.

“We can’t let things escalate like that.”

My friend nodded curtly. “I’ll say something tomorrow, I guess. You know, apologize for, you know.” For spanking her.

For punishing her naughty, tight little ass like I knew both of us had beendyingto do since the second she’d stepped into our world.

“But for real, man...” Wilder eyed me. “You know I’m gone tomorrow. Just keep her out of trouble while I’m gone.”

My buddy was off to the city to settle some final accounting stuff from a few of the auxiliary branches of our business. And it looked like I was in charge. Of her.

My job to keep her out of trouble.

My job to keep my eye on her.

My job to discipline her should she try and act out again.

…I’d be lying if I said my cock didn’t throb rock-fucking-hard at the thought.