Free Uncensored Passion (Men of Passion) by Bobbi Cole Meyer Page B

fact, they never listen to anything I say. Regardless of what I say, they only hear what they want to hear.”
    “I understand, J.J, but I’m afraid we might have a serious problem with them. And I would like to know how they just walked into my home. Your father said the door was ajar. Is that true?”
    Luke spoke up. “Dammit, that’s my fault, Kayla. I was outside and came in for just a moment for a drink of water. Guess I didn’t close it completely. I saw the guys relaxing in the Jacuzzi, and when they asked me to join them, I did. I’m sorry. I should have made sure the door was closed and locked.”
    Visibly shaken, J.J. asked tremulously, “Do you want me to leave, Kayla?”
    The other three men chorused a “Hell no.”
    She looked from one to another.
    “Kayla?” J.J. voiced the one word question, his magnificent eyes suddenly tearing.
    She leaned against him and he held her close, proclaiming, “I love you, Kayla. In fact, I’ve come to love all of you,” he said in a choked voice as he glanced at the other men. “And I don’t want to leave. This feels like the first home I’ve ever really known. Please don’t make me go. Somehow I’ll get it across to my parents that even if I do leave here, even if I stop being your pool boy, I’ll never go back to San Antonio, and they’ll never know where I do go from here. Maybe that will shut them up.”
    Kayla was having a hard time holding back her emotions. So were Lee and Luke, who were both softhearted and obviously stricken by J.J.’s choked plea. Though Harm was clear-eyed, she could tell he was also deeply touched as he reached out to pat J.J.’s back.
    “No one’s telling you to leave, J.J. We’re bound together, all of us,” Luke said quietly.
    With a sigh, Kayla agreed, then added, “But I don’t think we’ve heard the last from your parents, even if you do tell them that, J.J. Maybe you could satisfy them with a compromise. Perhaps enroll in a community college at least, if you don’t want to go back to Vanderbilt. I have the number of the hotel where they’re staying. Give them a call. Tell them that and see how they respond. We’ll give you privacy for that. Come on, guys.”
    She got up and the other men followed, leaving J.J. to make his call.
    Once they were in the kitchen, she turned to each one to ask, “So what do you think I should do? I love J.J. and I know you all care for him, too, but is this situation going to throw us all under the bus?”
    “I think once J.J. really gets through to them, they’ll leave him alone. I mean, what can they do? Tie him up and drag him back to San Antonio? He’s of age, so that would be kidnapping,” Harm said, in his pragmatic way.
    “Guess we have to wait and see what their reaction is to his call,” Luke said.
    “What would it do to you, Kayla, if things escalated to the point where our polyandry lifestyle was outed?” Lee asked.
    “I’ve been thinking about that. It would probably prove devastating, professionally speaking. I don’t foresee any legal entanglements, since there have been no official marriages, only personal commitments. So no bigamist charges could be brought. But we all know the power of vicious rumors, and once the press gets involved, well, you know how that can turn out. They can slice a life to pieces, especially when a person is more or less in public service, which in a way, I am.
    “But right now, I’m more concerned about J.J. I feel sorry for him. His parents are overbearing tyrants, especially his odious father. Obviously the man is used to getting his way. I think they’re more concerned with what people will say about his dropping out of college and not wanting to be a doctor than they are about what’s best for J.J.”
    “Again, I’m sorry about leaving the door unlocked,” Luke said. “Still, they had no business just walking in like that. Damn brazen of them.”
    “I think Dr. Romero believes he has a right to do whatever he pleases.