Their Virgin Mistress (Masters of Ménage #7)(30)

"What happened?" Rory moved in beside him, asking his question in a low tone.

"What do you think happened? I found Cal with his hand in Tori's knickers. He was two bloody seconds away from another paternity suit."

Rory sighed and leaned against the wall. "Hell. Where is she? Is she all right?"

"She's still in the conference room. I suspect she's pulling herself together, though she should really be here so she can see how quickly Cal moves on."

Rory frowned as he looked Callum's way. "What are you talking about?"

"The blonde. He walked straight out of Tori's arms and into hers. I don't know. Perhaps she won't care. Perhaps she'll do the same thing with the next man she meets."

Why had he thought she was any different? Why did he still care, for that matter? He'd caught her cheating on the man she'd promised to marry before they'd even exchanged vows. And here he was, loitering outside the conference room, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He really was a self-torturing fuckwit.

He also had terrible taste in women. But at least now he knew what cloth Tori was cut from. No need to treat her with kid gloves anymore. If she didn't care about her fiancé and wanted a fucking on the side, why shouldn't he give it to her?



       
         
       
        

Something nasty took root in his gut, and it warmed him. Oliver welcomed the sensation because he'd been cold and almost numb for so long. Any change felt good, including the need to get a taste of what his brother had gotten-before she left for good.

"He's just being polite, Oliver." Rory's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "And now he's actively trying to escape her."

Sure enough, Callum was extricating himself from the handsy blonde. His brother turned away and began pointedly speaking to a portly member of parliament.

"Really, Rory. Give him time," Oliver drawled. "He'll be back to his old habits."

"No, I think you've got it wrong. He's serious about Tori and he won't give up. At this point, I understand completely." Rory hesitated. "You know I like Tori quite a bit, too."

He turned on his younger brother. They were all mad for the girl, and she would destroy his family if he didn't stop her. "You would have liked her even more if you had seen her a moment ago. She was spreading her legs for your brother while still wearing her engagement ring. Is that the kind of woman you want? Do you fancy Callum's leftovers?"

Rory's eyes narrowed. "Watch what you say about her. She isn't some object, and she isn't a whore. She's a woman and she has feelings. I understand that you went through something terrible with your first wife, but Tori isn't Yasmin. I don't know what happened between her and Cal tonight, but I'm willing to bet she got caught up in the moment because Cal has more experience with sex in his little finger than she has in her entire body."

"She looked pretty experienced to me."

She'd also looked stunning, like a woman claiming her pleasure. Oliver had watched, and she'd been uninhibited and raw. Her beauty had shocked him. As soon as she'd caught sight of him, she'd utterly shut down, shame smothering her like a blanket.

He'd done that. He'd shut down her glow.

"Because you see everything through a set of pitch-black lenses, and I don't know that you're smart enough to ever take them off. I'm going to talk to Cal. Try to behave yourself around her. Just because you can't see how pure and kind she is doesn't mean the rest of us can't. If you drive that woman off, you'll have problems with more than Callum." Rory strode away.

Oliver watched him go, blinking, bereft. All this time, he'd believed he could count on Rory when the chips were truly down. He'd genuinely thought his youngest brother understood him. All his siblings had closed ranks around him after Yasmin had nearly destroyed him. They'd sat at his bedside and nursed him back to health and assured him that he wasn't at fault. But after a time, they'd fallen away as though they'd grown weary of waiting for the smiling, laughing Oliver again. Only Rory had understood that man was gone for good. 

Finally, the door down the hall opened, and Tori stepped out, smoothing her gown around her. Oliver retreated to the shadows as she wiped at her eyes. When she glanced up, as if she sensed his eyes on her, he noted that most of her makeup was gone. She looked young and vulnerable and impossibly innocent.

Only he knew that face masked a cheating wanton.

Before she returned to the ballroom, he planned to have a talk with her. She would not jump beds from her fiancé's to his brother's. No matter what, he refused to let Callum fall into a relationship with a woman who would ruin him. Yes, Cal would be furious, but if he saved his brother future anguish, then Oliver could live in peace, knowing he'd served the greater good.