“Fine. How much is this trust?”

  “Well, sir, it’s everything. Lands, title, estate. You own Edgerton Square and the estate. Your grandfather also had a collection of classic cars. He always said he preferred the age of thirty for inheritance because by then you knew who you were as a man.”

  I winced. “Why am I here instead of just being sent paperwork?”

  He nodded. “If you decide to accept, we will process your paperwork."

  “And if I don’t?”

  He lifted his brows. “Well, then all lands, money, and titles revert to your brother.”

  I coughed a laugh. “Excuse me? I don’t have a brother. I have a sister."

  “Yes, I’m aware of your sister. However, as you know, your grandfather died before she was born. He knew nothing about her. I am talking about your brother."

  I cursed under my breath. “ What brother?”

  He sighed. “Perhaps it’s not for me to air family matters, but your older brother, is listed here as Franklin Edgerton. He was raised by his mother and her husband. The Middleton family. They had his name changed to Francis Middleton."

  The bottom fell out of my stomach. “Excuse me? What did you say, sir?”

  “He was raised by the Middleton family."

  I couldn’t swallow. I couldn’t think. “No, there’s been some kind of mistake. Francis Middleton is not my brother.”

  “I assure you there’s been a paternity test done. The documents are here. He is, in fact, your father’s biological son.”

  I shook my head. “No. No. No.”

  “Sorry. I have nothing else to offer you. Franklin Egerton is how your father wanted him to be referred to when he came into the family money. But if you sign here, he will never inherit.”

  I rubbed at my jaw. “I don’t understand. You’re telling me, first of all, that I have a brother.“ The man I had spent years hating. The man I was trying to save my family from. That was my brother. “And then you’re saying that he’s older, but my grandfather preferred me. If I don’t sign, he gets everything?”

  He nodded. “That’s pretty simplified, but yes. That was not your grandfather’s wish, of course. Your father made the argument that it should’ve gone to your elder brother, no matter what. He’s been fighting the trust for years, but it was ironclad. The only caveats to you inheriting were that you’d have to be married by your thirtieth birthday and you had to earn a living on your own. Which you already do, so we are at the part where you notify us what you would like to do, and we can move things forward.”

  I stared at the hawkish solicitor. The old man hadn’t ever said much to me, but he’d wanted me to have all this. Why?

  I wasn’t aware I had spoken out loud until Burks nodded. “Your grandfather has a note in here that you were in line to inherit because your older brother was far too much like your father.”

  I swallowed hard. “I-I need a moment.”

  Burks rose from his desk. “I’ll step outside. Give you and your wife a moment to talk. When I come back, I’ll have the paperwork. One way or another, we are doing something with the Edgerton fortune this morning.”

  All I could do was watch as he walked out. “Ems, why?”

  “I don’t think we’re ever going to know why, Bridge. And if you don’t want it, that’s fine. But just think about Darcy. You can just give it to her if you don’t want it. But we have to get some questions answered by your father.”

  “I don’t want to do this, Ems.”

  “Then don’t. Either way, everything will be all right.”

  Burks came back, and I surprised myself by signing on the dotted line. If Middleton wanted my grandfather’s inheritance, he was going to have to come at me directly. And the moment he did, I was going to rain hell on him the likes of which he’d never seen.

  An hour later as I stepped into the bright sunshine, I felt disjointed from my body and mind. Like I was watching everything from a mile high, wondering what the fuck.

  The only thing that grounded me, that felt solid and real, was Emma’s petite hand in mine. Warm, tangible, exactly what I needed. “Bridge. You haven’t said anything.”

  I swallowed hard. “What is there to say?”

  “Something, anything to tell me you’re still in there.”

  I nodded. I knew what she needed. I just couldn’t give it to her. I couldn’t do anything right now.

  I let her lead me to the car, and then I just stared at it. I had no idea where the fuck my keys were, and I knew if I got behind the wheel, I would have no idea how to drive it. My brain kept whirling around. The grandfather who I thought dismissed me and hadn’t wanted me around had left me his entire estate. In my pocket, I could still feel the letter from the solicitor. I didn’t dare open it. I didn’t want to know that what it said was true, what other evil lurked somewhere inside our family. How could we be brothers? And why the fuck couldn’t my father wear a fucking rubber for the love of Christ? This secret had been lurking beneath the shadows that had led us here. We were all linked, Ben, me, East, Drew, now Middleton. All because of money and power. I didn’t know what to do.

  “Hey, I’ll take the keys.” Emma's voice was soft and commanding.

  All I could do was nod. My world had tilted irrevocably, and I had no idea how to tilt it back.

  Chapter Ten

  Emma

  I'd never seen him like this. He was normally so controlled. A tower of strength. And he was still trying to hold onto that. But I needed to try and show him that the only way he was going to get over the shock was by talking to me and letting it out. Now was not the time for the pressure cooker or to bottle everything up. Now was not the time to pretend that everything was fine.

  We were far from fine. Everything was bollocksed all to hell. And the idea that Middleton had known that Bridge was his brother, that he’d been privy to the secrets all along, was terrifying. We would have to come to terms with this.

  “Bridge, talk to me. Just say something. I can take you home. Hell, I can get the helicopter, and we can get the hell out of Dodge and be in France in an hour. Just give me a hint. I don’t know what to do right now.”

  He turned to look at me. “You. All I need is you.”

  I took his hand and squeezed it as I slid him into the passenger side of the car then jogged around to the other side. When I climbed in, I met his gaze. “You and me. We can fix this. We can work it out, okay? You don’t have to hide. You don’t have to do that thing where you pretend you’re fine for everybody else. You can be not fine, okay?”

  “I think it’s evident that I am bloody well not fine, Ems.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, okay. Fair enough. So where to? Do you want to go back to Ben’s?"

  He shook his head. “No. My brother is still a problem, and being a sitting duck isn’t going to work out for us.”

  “All right, we can head to London Lords and take the helicopter to the mansion."

  He sighed. “I don’t want anything to do with the Elite. Not right now.”

  I nodded. “Okay. I’ve got just the place then.”

  I had no idea where we were going. None. All I could think of was to drive out of Central London. And then I headed west. It wasn’t until I headed off an exit on the M4 that I knew where I was going. My mother's house out in the country where we had bared everything to each other. When I pulled up in front of the house, Bridge turned and nodded. “Thank you. I just couldn’t go back to the mansion. I don’t want anything to do with it.”

  "We’re going to have to deal with this eventually, but not right now. You have had enough for today. What do you need to deal with at work?”

  He shook his head. "Can you text East to handle the meeting with Liv?"

  I nodded and quickly typed out a message. Mayday. Bridge got some shit news. Need you to handle his meeting. Take Liv with you. We’re staying at my mum's country house this evening.

  East’s reply was prompt. Got it. How’d it go with the solicitor?

  Imagine the shittiest news you could get. Multiply that by a thousand.

  East just sent a series of characters back. Probably meant to symbolize that he was cursing.

  Yeah, I feel you.

  Once I had Bridge settled on the couch with a cup of tea, I eased myself next to him and plastered my body against his. “What can I do? How can I help? Just tell me. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

  “I want a shower. I want to forget that I’ve ever heard of these people, forget that I’m an Edgerton. I just want to wash it off.”

  I nodded. "Yup, all right. Can do." I jumped up, but he didn’t get up with me. So I had to reach for his hand and tug him to his feet. It was like he was catatonic. I didn’t know how to reach him. In the main bathroom, I kicked off my shoes and turned the shower on. “I’ve turned on the sauna settings. Just get your clothes off and hop in. I’ll set the steamer temperature and then join you, okay? I’ll grab a couple of robes.”

  He nodded slowly. I left him to it and went to go grab the robes from the bedroom. But when I came back, Bridge had walked into the shower completely clothed.

  “Fuck, Bridge. Babe, love, you have to work with me here.”

  I stripped in a hurry. Unzipping my dark pencil skirt and letting it fall down. Garters and stockings went next. My cashmere jumper. Bra and panties. When I was finally naked, I stepped in front of him. “Hi, love.”

  He nodded down at me. “Seemed like a lot of effort to get undressed.”

  “Yeah. But this suit is bespoke. You’re ruining it.”

  “I’m sure you have a cleaner who can take care of it.”

  “Ah, there you are again, thinking I’m going to get this cleaned for you. I’m not. But I understand what you’re going through. Let me help.”

  “You don’t have to do this. This isn’t your fight, Ems.”

  I took his chin between my thumb and forefinger and tugged it down until his gaze met mine. “Your fight is my fight. We are in this together whether you want to be or not. And let’s not forget that asshole killed my brother. So whatever solution we come up with, it’ll be together. Okay?”

  He nodded. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. Now, let’s get you out of these clothes.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Bridge

  As the water pelted my back, I watched the woman in front of me. My wife. She slipped her hand into my suit jacket, sliding it off. More like tugging because in its soaked state, the fabric clung to my skin.

  When she tossed it out of the shower onto the bathroom floor it made a splooshing sound as it plopped. I'd already taken my shoes off before climbing in, so she didn't have to deal with that. But piece by piece she worked to remove my clothing. And honestly, all I was able to do to help was to hold the sides of the wall so I could give her appropriate access.

  My socks came off, then my belt, and finally my trousers. She left the boxers on though.

  Part of me thought she deliberately brushed her cheek against my erection. The jolt of electricity gave me something else to focus on. When I stared down at her, she just continued her task as if she hadn't done it on purpose or somehow wasn't aware that my dick was now trying to find entry into her mouth by any means necessary.

  My shirt was more difficult to remove. Watching her fumble with it, I eventually just gave up and yanked the fabric apart, making the buttons pop and fly all over the shower.

  She shook her head, "You know the housekeeper's going to blame me for that."

  I shrugged. "I promise I'll pick them all up later."

  “Sure you will.”

  My gaze settled on her breasts, the gentle sway of them distracting me again. Her nipples all but beckoning me to kiss them. She found my body wash and started to wash me.

  The soothing pressure was enough to wash away the stress of the day, but her motions were giving me other things to think about.

  And all the while Emma pretended like she couldn't tell that I was desperate for her.

  The smile she gave me was soothing. Sweet. As if I couldn't tell that her nipples were hard. As if I couldn't tell that she wanted me too.

  I just hadn't planned on being so damned exhausted.

  What was I supposed to do? For once in my life, I had no idea, no clear direction, no drive. I just wanted all of this bullshit to stop. And as I stood there under the stream of water, Emma took care of me.

  She turned me around to wash my back and I complied, because what else was I going to do?

  When her soft, delicate hand squeezed my arse, I coughed out a laugh. "Emma, what are you doing?"

  "You're far too serious for my liking."

  "I mean as long as it's tit for tat, I welcome this new development."

  Behind me she snickered. "You said tit."

  Despite myself, despite the day, I properly laughed as I turned to face her. "You, are a handful."

  "No, Mr. Edgerton, you are a handful.” To punctuate that line, she stroked both soap-slicked hands over my cock, making me swallow hard.

  My fingers slid into her hair and I wrapped the strands around them tugging gently. "You are a menace."

  "Are you sure menace is the right word?" She stroked more deliberately now. Not a gentle soaping. This was intentional, deliberate, a seduction.

  One hand stroked over the tip, while the other slid down to the base, and then her delicate fingers tucked down and encapsulated my balls, massaging them gently in her hand. I slammed my hand against the wall and coughed out, "Holy fucking Christ."

  The hand that had slipped to the tip wasn't just working a sliding motion. At the very edge, she focused right on that sensitive underside of the mushroom head, rubbing her thumb against it over and over and over again.

  "Emma," I croaked.

  "Yes, Bridge?"

  "Jesus. I am—" What? I was what? I couldn't think. The electricity was already zinging through my head.

  "Fucking hell. Jesus."

  "Yeah, you said that already."

  Leave it to her to be sassy when she literally had me in the palm of her hands.

  She continued laughing, and the sound in itself was like a balm. Exactly what I needed, her laughter, her lightness, the light that shone and chased out the dark spaces. She was mine, I was hers, and I was no longer alone. As the water splashed over us, rinsing off the soap, she sped up her action.

  My hands tightened in her hair and brought her in for a kiss. "Emma. Fuck, Emma, please."

  "Please what?"

  "I don't know. I just… This is too much. I can't—"

  I had no idea what I was saying. Because the final two brain cells that I had in my brain, they were gone now. I'd given them to Emma. She owned them.

  The blood under my skin was roaring now, and I couldn't think. Gently she got me up against the shower wall, slightly outside of the stream of water. And then she lowered to her knees. The first lick of her tongue over my head had me screaming curses. I couldn't help it. My hands fisted even tighter, and I pulled her closer. I lifted my head off the wall to look down on her, and her gaze was on mine. Her blink was slow, and goddammit, was she smiling around…

  Then she pulled herself even further onto me, letting my cock slide to the back of her throat. She was hot, wet, warm, and she hollowed out her mouth, tightening around me.

  I released her head with one hand and slapped against the wall. "Fuck me."

  With one of her hands, she gently pulled on my balls then pulled back before sliding my cock all the way back in then out again, licking the tip. God, that sensitive spot again with her tongue.

  My eyes crossed as they rolled in the back of my head. "Fuck, Emma. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

  She made tight swirling circles with the flat of her tongue over my tip, and then back down along the underside of my dick. I couldn't think, and my knees were not reliable systems of support. They just weren't. I was going to buckle right there.

  And then she took me deep again.

  As the tip of my cock hit the back of her throat, she made this sound, not quite a choking sound, but like a little surprise gasp as she took me deeper.

  “Emma. Fuck if you don't stop —"

  Then she squeezed my balls harder.

  And fuck if my eyes didn't lodge in the back of my brain and just stay there.

  There was no stopping.

  The electricity was already humming. The train had left the station, and I was going to come.

  I wrapped my hand back in her hair and tried to guide her up. But Emma was determined to see this all the way through. Determined to own me.

  She kept sucking. Making these moaning sounds until I realized that one of her hands was between her thighs.

  This was turning her on.

  Oh, fuck me.

  That was when I lost it. Any semblance of control that I thought I had around her was gone. Because then I was more forceful in my grip, yanking her tighter onto me, fucking her mouth.

  And the whole time she moaned and touched herself because I was turning her on. No matter what I did, she was mine. I was hers. She knew what I needed, and I was going to make her scream. I meant to pull back. I did.

  But my hands clenched, and I held her still, groaning out, "Ems." She pulled herself tighter on my dick, swirling her tongue over the tip, then took me way back.

  I roared as my release hit me with the force of a lorry. It felt like lightning strikes were lashing my back with the force of my release. And as I jetted hot streams of cum down her throat, my wife, the woman I loved, she moaned.

  For several long seconds, all I could do was hold on tight. Eventually, my knees gave out and she released me gently with a smirk before rising to her feet.

  I lifted her face to mine and kissed her. I didn't give a fuck. After what she'd just done, I'd give her anything. She already had my heart and my soul, and anything else she wanted was hers. "Ems."