Brain Development Enterprises Ch. 10

Mr. King inclined his head to McKenzie and then slipped away into the crowd. They parted for him without glancing his way, subconsciously reacting to the subtle power of his presence.

I watched him go, then looked over at my stepdaughter.

The beautiful teen was watching him as well, but with a tense expression on her face.

"What is it?" I asked. "Did you feel...?" I hesitated, not sure how to ask. "Like you wanted to go with him? Or something else?"

But McKenzie shook her head. Her eyes turned back to me. "I just don't know about him," she said. "Something seems wrong." Then she shrugged, casting off the thought. "Not for us to think about now," she continued. "We have to talk to Mom and get her to leave with us, right? That's our objective."

I blew out a sigh and then tugged at my cuffs. My eyes turned toward the entrance, where the last arriving visitors were being greeted by the trio of couples. Barbara was practically glued to Aaron's side, and I knew that if I was going to have any chance at getting my wife back we would have to separate them. My inner Alpha obviously wasn't developed enough to take on Aaron directly, so it was just like McKenzie had said.

David and Goliath. I needed to be clever.

There was a slow, half minute of silence as I stared and stared and thought. Then, I rubbed thoughtfully along my chin with the back of my hand. The last pair to enter the party were just now walking toward the bar. The company heads and their dates were chatting briefly with one another. Now they were scattering into the crowd.

Barbara leaned up and murmured something in Aaron Burns's ear.

The dapper man smirked, nodded, and gestured to a table nearby where several people were already sitting. Then he turned and headed for the bar. Barbara continued forward and slid down into a chair, looking like a piece of art sitting in the midst of the crowd.

"McKenzie..." I said, only now looking over at her. "I need you to do something for me. And it won't be easy. Especially after what you told me earlier." My dark eyes flickered back, beyond Barbara, to where Aaron was sidling around and between small groups of people on his way to get drinks.

My stepdaughter's eyes widened and she looked up into my face with a look that was both hopeful and a little anxious. "I'm sure I can do it," she said firmly. "For you."

I took a deep breath. Then, I nodded. "I need you to seduce Aaron Burns."

* * *

My plan had revolved around gauging the strength of Aaron's abilities, figuring out a way to get Barbara back, and then making sure that my wife's boss never had the chance to steal her away again. Only now I knew that Aaron Burns was far stronger than I was, Barbara seemed completely devoted to him and I was never going to win her back if I went up against him head on. I had to give Barbara something, something that would convince her that being with me and McKenzie was simply the better option than being with Aaron.

I just didn't know what that thing was.

That didn't stop me, though. My inner, more confident, self was taking over, walking me calmly past and through the intervening people. I was on a mission. Somewhere out in the crowd, I knew, McKenzie was on a mission as well. She was heading for the bar, where she would bump into Aaron Burns and distract him long enough for me to win back Barbara.

I hadn't even stopped to wonder if Aaron might be tempted by another woman when he was here with Barbara. He had intentionally seduced another man's wife. He wasn't the type to resist McKenzie if she turned her charm his way. I just hoped he wouldn't suspect anything.

I wondered, for a second, about how devoted to me McKenzie had become. It wasn't just the sexual infatuation that had been between us at the beginning. There was something deeper, and I knew both of us could feel it even though neither of us had vocalized it yet. I had to hope that, whatever it was, that something was more powerful than Aaron's BDE Alpha charms. Otherwise I was going to lose my stepdaughter just like I'd lost my wife.

I came toward Barbara's table from the side, just at the edge of the blonde woman's field of vision, and she didn't realize that someone was approaching until I pulled out the chair beside her and sat down swiftly.

"Hey, Barb," I said conversationally. "We didn't really get to talk earlier, I was hoping we could catch up."

The look she turned my way actually surprised me. When she'd left our house on Monday night, my wife had been distraught, angry and maybe even a little scared. Now she looked utterly serene, with wide, open eyes and an easy smile that drifted easily across her full, red lips. It was as if she was bumping into an old acquaintance, instead of the husband she had deserted.

"John," she said. "Hello again."

What has Aaron done to you? I wondered. McKenzie had never gotten like this with me. She might have become super suggestible after inhaling my scent, or when I used my commanding tone. But she'd never seemed oblivious and out of it afterwards.

I almost reached out, took my wife by the hand, squeezed her fingers, tried to reason with her. But luckily my weaker emotions were overruled by the righteous frustration that my inner Alpha pushed to the forefront. That wouldn't work. The only thing that would work was using my new strength in a unique way.

"Hello again," I said smoothly. "It's good to see you. I've thought about you a lot since Monday."

Barbara's calm expression twitched for a moment and a slight furrow dug its way between her carefully shaped eyebrows. "Hmm..." she said. "Monday."

Really? Her tone made it sound like she could barely remember it. "Monday," I agreed. "When you ran out on me and Kenz?" Something was wrong. Aaron had done something to my wife. I leaned forward, but didn't extend my arm or touch her hand like part of me wanted to. "We've missed you. I want you back. Both of us do." I tried to reach down into my core and pull up my power, infuse my tone with gravity and persuasion. I felt a little tremor of resonance behind my words, my abilities starting to warm up.

Barbara glanced away thoughtfully, her hand rising and her fingers running through her wave of golden hair. "I left for a reason," she said. She couldn't look at me.

"Was that reason you and me?" I pressed, my voice rising. "Or was it because couldn't handle me and Kenz? Or was it your boss?" I hadn't meant to go there, hadn't intended to bring up Aaron. That could only end poorly.

The three other people sitting at our table glanced around, askance. One was a woman dressed in a grey suit jacket and slacks, with a white blouse under the jacket that clung to her lean body. On her left was a bearded man with round glasses and a mop of dark hair, leaning forward energetically on an elbow like he was mid-sentence. On the other side sat a portly man whose sport coat was thrown over the back of his chair while his bright red suspenders curved over his expansive torso. I'm not sure where he got his tie, but it was pale blue and sewn with little cacti and sombreros.

"Ignore us." I didn't think about it, but I felt the rush of strength that charged my command with extra force. The trio blinked blankly at us for several seconds. Then, as one, the woman and Señor Suspenders turned to the bearded man, who launched right back into the story he'd been telling.

I blew out a sigh and turned to my wife. She was continuing as well.

"I love Aaron," Barbara said. Her tone sounded hollow after my rich, compelling command, but the words still managed to spear straight into my chest. "That's why I left."

My wife loves another man. The thought tried to rattle around my head and tear me up, but I couldn't let it. She just thinks she does, I forced myself to reason. She loves me, she married me, and we were on a great trajectory before Aaron took her away. And before she found out about you and her daughter, another part of my mind commented snidely. But I ignored it.

I swallowed. Time for me to try and get my wife back. "You don't love Aaron," I started, figuring I might as well begin with the most obvious tack. Just in case it worked. My voice was low and thrumming with energy, my chest warm as I felt the fire of command flaring to life.

Barbara's blue eyes flashed for a second and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. She looked frustrated, like she was struggling with a difficult mental calculation. "No, I do," she said firmly after a second. "I love Aaron, and he's been good to me..." She trailed off, as if she was trying to remember something. "You're the ones who were bad."

Well... I hadn't really expected it to work, but it was certainly disheartening that this was my starting place. I glanced around, trying to see through the press toward the bar. How much time did I have to work on Barbara? How long could McKenzie keep Aaron burns distracted? But I couldn't see anything. It was all dark jackets and tight dresses and flashes of light on bare skin and bright watches.

I turned back toward Barbara and leaned in even closer. I was staring into those blue eyes now, deep into them, looking for any part of her that I could hook and pull out. Any part of the woman who had fallen in love with me.

The blue orbs were noncommittally attentive. She didn't seem aware of the fact that I was acting in a way not particularly suitable for a company dinner. My chair was right up next to hers. My voice was low and commanding and my body was practically vibrating with the pent up desire to just pick her up and whisk her away. But I couldn't.

That was the core of it, I realized. I could use my voice to command Barbara, and my wife would probably listen to at least some of my instructions. This close, I could smell her perfume, could feel the parts of me that wanted to just take her right here and now and damn the consequences. But I didn't just want an obedient toy. I didn't just want my wife's body. I wanted my wife, her body and her mind and her affection. And I could only—

Focus, I ordered myself. Time was wasting. Come up with a new line of attack. Maybe by reminding my wife of our shared history, reminding her what she was missing. That might be enough.

I shifted in my seat. "Do you remember when we met, Barb?" I asked gently. "People say blind dates are dangerous but ours went so well. And you said I was the only man who didn't get all stressed out when you told him you had a daughter." To be honest I had already been so nervous to be out with such a gorgeous woman that I hadn't had the emotional energy to be stressed. But that didn't matter. It was a positive, shared memory.

The beautiful blonde smiled and ran a few fingers down the side of her dress thoughtfully, playing with the fabric. "You're right," she said.

I tried to ignore the taut strings of arousal that were tugging at my baser desires as I watched her, my eyes flicking from her cleavage to the swell of her tits to the curve of her hip.

"But do you think a nice first date makes up for you fucking my daughter?"

Her tone was so calm that it took me a second to realize the directness of her words. I blinked and my gaze whipped back up into hers. Her eyes were watching me casually. Not hostile or angry. Almost curious.

The internal struggle in my mind between lust and logic was worsened by the addition of guilt to the fray. You cheated on your wife, a small, reproachful part of me agreed. You don't deserve to keep her. You weren't man enough. All it took was a real man to show up and she was gone. Luckily, I had a defense system against that kind of self-doubt.

I almost got distracted by the battle bubbling on the edge of my consciousness. Mr. Silver Fox's words from the BDE recording rose up quietly.

I am a Man. I am the Man. I deserve what I want. I deserve who I want. I deserve whatever I want.

But I was running out of time. "No..." I said slowly, pursing my lips. "I don't think it does make up for it." Maybe I could take a new angle.

Barbara watched me, her hand slowly brushing up and down the shiny blue dress.

"I don't think they have anything to do with each other," I continued. I tried to pick my words carefully. "I think that what you feel for me and what I feel for you have nothing to do with anyone else." It felt like a safe thing to say, and Barbara paused her movements "Think about how you used to feel about me. Just remember that for a second..."

The woman's eyes drifted away from mine, growing a little hazy. Then, after a moment, she glanced back into my face. She raised her eyebrows.

I saw that Barbara was waiting for me to continue, and noticed abruptly that she hadn't spoken in a dozen seconds. I felt the warmth and slight vibration in my chest and throat. Oh... I might not have been commanding her, but I suddenly realized that I had been funneling a small amount of power into my words, a heat and conviction. It had twirled up into her mind and ensnared her attention.

"Those feelings are still there," I told her. "The interest and the attraction and the love. And all you have to do to get them back is let go of your anger at me and come home."

I had her right up until the end. I could tell. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she bit lightly at her lower lip. Her eyelashes fluttered lower as she looked inwards. And then she shook her head abruptly, blue orbs flashing open. "I won't leave Aaron," she said. Her voice was low and smooth, hard. "I love him."

I couldn't help but grimace at her words, my fingers curling and uncurling on my thigh. I thought my wife's voice sounded just the tiniest bit monotone and brainwashed when she said she loved her boss. But I was probably just imagining it. Hearing what I wanted to hear.

I clenched my jaw and started to open my mouth. I didn't know how much time I had left, and I had no better plan of what to say next, but I knew I had to try.

"Hello, John."

I recognized the voice that cut through the noise all around us.

I forced myself not to whip around. Instead I paused, then turned my head slowly around to set my gaze on Aaron Burns.

The man was standing behind my left shoulder, towards the bar, with a cocktail in one hand and the other resting gently on McKenzie's hip. His arm was wrapped casually behind her back and my stepdaughter was leaning her head down against his shoulder.

She looked perfectly comfortable there next to him, like a cat who's found a new favorite perch for napping or lounging in the sun. I swallowed and couldn't let my creeping doubts catch hold. She's just doing what I asked, I thought. She's being a distraction.

But I couldn't let it go. The sight of McKenzie there with Aaron Burns was even worse than the thought of Barbara with the man. The way his fingers were touching her side where I did. The way his lust and alpha male dominance oozed off of him and was probably making her all hot and wet and thoughtless. So I ignored my wife's boss and focused on my stepdaughter.

"Hey, Kenz," I said, a little smile touching the corners of my eyes. I tried to silently ask if she was alright.

"Hey, Daddy..." My girl's voice was breathy. It reached inside and freed the desire and arousal that I'd been holding back. I felt the aching, throbbing lust grow between my legs. She didn't sound alright. She sounded horny.

"You doing okay with this snake?" I raised my eyebrows and jerked my chin at our host.

A bashful smile crept across the teenager's mouth. She bit her lip and then glanced up at Aaron, lifting her head from his shoulder. "Oh... Definitely more than okay..." It was hard for me to read her features at an angle, but her eyes seemed wide and glazed, her face settling into a serene expression.

What if it's not an act? It was impossible for the thought not to flash across my brain. What if all his extra BDE training had turned Aaron Burns into the kind of man I just couldn't go up against? The kind who would chuckle at my efforts and steal my stepdaughter to go along with my wife.

I abruptly imagined what life would be like for me without McKenzie. The growing heat and desire ebbed. I could see myself waking up in an empty room, with the cool sheets and unused pillows. Doing workouts without her encouragement or her occasional drill-sergeant-style motivation. Going to work and coming home and not having someone to see when I got back. It was a bleak story, and I knew that whatever was left of my casual expression slipped away from my face.

My eyes twitched from my stepdaughter's face to my enemy's.

"Aaron," I said. My voice was even, but I knew my expression wasn't nearly the confident smirk I wanted. "Have you been trying to steal my date?" It was supposed to be a joke and it came out flat. But I knew that the first sign of weakness would be the other man's signal to finish me off, to send me home in shame. Huh, I thought. I guess the only benefit of our mutual Alpha instincts was that if I trusted Aaron to follow those instincts then I could probably predict how he would act.

The other man gave me his most confident smirk, almost spitefully. "Oh," he bent his face toward the teenager's with a casual charm. "Of course I'm trying to steal her, John." He hesitated an instant before his lips reached McKenzie's upturned cheek for a quick, flirty peck. "She's an absolute delight."

As he hesitated McKenzie turned her head. Then, she lifted her lips and her mouth pressed to his. Aaron blinked once in surprise and then grinned into the kiss. His hands slid up her back and rested on her shoulders, pulling her in closer. Her fingers tugged at the edges of his grey jacket.

Wait— My brain couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. My heart dropped through the floor, whatever arousal I'd felt draining away completely.

My stepdaughter was frantically making out with Aaron Burns, his hands now tangling in her dark hair. Around them, partiers continued to walk and talk and drink. More evidence of Aaron Burns's incredible abilities. I'm not sure how, but the man had trained his people not to notice socially unacceptable behaviors. One man in a dark jacket and a yellow polo shirt actually sidestepped around Aaron, briefly laying a steadying hand on his boss's shoulder before he continued.

I swallowed and sank back in my chair. For the first time, my confident persona lost control and the rest of my mind took the wheel. But it didn't matter. I shrugged, just to myself, and I knew that I was the most slumped, defeated-looking image of failure. I had tried to win back what I'd thought was mine. I'd been beaten. And not only that, but I'd lost something even more important.

McKenzie was his. Aaron Burns had won.

I glanced down at my wife, and saw that Barbara was also watching the pair intently. There was a small frown on her face, like she was seeing something inappropriate but she didn't care enough to stop it.

With a soft murmur, McKenzie pulled back. Her eyes were flashing and I could see her perky breasts rising and falling as her breath panted in her chest. She was staring with wide-eyed wonder into Aaron's face, her dark hair tumbling around her cheeks and shoulders. Her face had darkened with a blush, and I wondered how she felt, at that moment.

Had she completely forgotten me? Was there any sliver of her still trying to resist the man's thrall? Was there even any thought at all? Or was there only the primal desire to be with Aaron Burns, the ultimate alpha leader?

Then, abruptly, a scent struck my senses and I wrinkled my nose. It was the same smell I'd noticed earlier, a heady, musky aroma with a cutting edge like vinegar.