Beck And Call by Abby Gordon Read Free Book Online

and, if the
    nature of their sex life came to light, she wouldn’t be
    able to get a job in the city. And if Kevin found out the
    nature of their relationship and used it against her,
    just what the hell would Keith do to protect Serena?
    “This is why I called you,” he said slowly. “Should I
    take this slower?”
    “I’m not sure you can. It’s already public. You sent
    her the rose. You have no other course but to see this
    through,” Grant said quietly. “Keith, this isn’t about
    proving you’re a man to your father by creating your
    own company. Twelve years ago, it was all about you.
    Now it’s about Serena—the woman you have singled
    out as your submissive. Time to man up and face a few
    harsh realities. You make one wrong move and her life
    could be destroyed. No do-overs .”
    “Shit, Grant,” Keith scowled. His mentor couldn’t
    possibly be hinting at what he thought he was. “I’m not
    going to do something—”
    “Keith, pull your ego out of the equation. Hell, pull
    your cock out of it. You’re a helluva businessman and a
    responsible Dom at the club, but I swear to God, your
    cockiness drives me insane sometimes,” Grant fumed.
    “Think about Serena, dammit! You owe it to her to have
    thought everything through. It sounds as if you made a
    good start in protecting both of you.” There was a pause
    as he let his protégée absorb the compliment. “Now,
    answer this one very important question. Are you
    willing to marry her to protect her?”
    “Marriage?” Keith whispered. “Grant, you know
    damn well I don’t want to get married. I can’t put a
    woman through what my father did to my mother! My
    brothers are just as bad. Kevin’s on his third divorce,
    and Karl’s on his second, plus there’s four broken
    engagements between the two of them.” He shook his
    head. “Men in my family don’t do marriage well. That’s
    why I like Dom/sub relationships.”
    “That’s different. You’ve kept all those at the club.
    And they were started at the club with women who
    understood what they’re getting into. Serena doesn’t
    have a clue as to what you are.” There was a noise of
    frustration over the phone. “Keith, listen to me. Really
    listen to me. You are no more like your father than I am
    like mine. Something about Serena resonates with you,
    otherwise you wouldn’t be risking everything you’ve
    spent twelve years building. Do you really think your
    father would do that? Hell, no!”
    Slowly, Keith nodded. Okay, this was why he had
    called Grant. Grant was more a brother to him than
    Kevin or Karl had ever been.
    “I don’t want her hurt the way my mother was.”
    “You just answered the question,” Grant approved
    in a satisfied tone. “You’ll do anything and everything
    to make sure Serena is safe, protected, and yours.”
    Self-doubt wasn’t a familiar feeling for Keith. It
    made him feel vulnerable and he hated that. He trusted
    Grant though. Grant was nearly forty and had scoffed
    at the idea of marrying. Until Francine. If someone like
    Grant could marry, and be so damn content and
    obviously sexually satisfied in that marriage, then
    maybe he could.
    “You really think I could do something like
    marriage?”
    “Absolutely. Oh, one thing, though.”
    “Yeah?”
    “I want the first invite to the wedding.”
    “If it gets to that point, you got it,” Keith smiled. No
    matter what Grant said, he couldn’t imagine proposing
    to a woman. Him? Married? The words in the same
    sentence boggled his mind. “You can even be best man.”
    “I’ll hold you to that. Just make sure the date isn’t
    in March. That’s Francine’s due date and she’ll be
    furious if she can’t be there.”
    “You got it,” Keith had to chuckle. Who would have
    thought that the macho Grant Franklin would be so
    undone by his wife’s pregnancy? God help him if he
    ever got to that point! “Thanks, Grant.”
    “Anytime.”

Chapter Four
    A last-minute conference call came