Gage pulled up in front of Darian's mansion and parked. Although they talked on the phone almost daily, he hadn't seen his friend in a few months.
Gage had been the one to do most of the traveling for the group. He usually didn't mind it, but lately, he found himself getting impatient and just wanting to be in his own home. He'd also been thinking about a woman of his own. He was sick of the different women he shared his bed with. Not one of them stood out to him. They all kind of blended together. Their only purpose was to scratch his itch. To satisfy his sexual needs, and that wasn't even working lately.
Maybe it had to do with Darian's woman. The fact that his friend had found a woman like they all had been looking for. One who gave herself over to the man in her life.
The five friends who had met in college and had built a business together had all come to the conclusion they wanted the same type of woman. The kind that wanted her man to make the majority of her decisions and looked to him for answers and advice.
Unfortunately, a woman who wanted to please her man, who thrived under their care, and didn't care to be independent was frowned upon by society's standards, so the group of men hadn't thought they would ever find the woman who would complete them.
The fact that Darian had found such a woman gave them all hope that there were more out there, and maybe someday they'd meet their own little.
Gage chuckled when the front door was opened before he knocked. Darian's butler, Elder, was always on top of everything.
"Good afternoon, sir."
Gage grinned. "Hello, Elder."
"Mr. Darian is in his office waiting for you."
"Good," Gage said and followed him down the hallway. The butler knocked on the office door.
"Come in," Darian called.
The butler opened the door. "Mr. Gage is here, sir."
Darian nodded. "Good, send him in."
Gage came through the door with a briefcase in one hand and a suit coat in the other.
"How was the drive?" Darian asked.
Gage set his things on the sofa table and plopped down in a chair on the other side of Darian's desk.
"Good. I brought the files we need to go over, but first, I need to hear about this girl." He'd been anxious to learn more about her. The other guys had found her very charming and sweet.
Darian grinned and relaxed back in his chair. "Her name is Larkin, and she's fucking perfect."
Gage stretched his long legs out, laced his fingers together over his stomach, and chuckled. "Where'd you meet her?" He'd heard one story from the others but wanted Darian's version.
"Hicks and I were driving back to the condo when we saw her and three guys on the sidewalk. I could tell she was scared."
Gage smirked. "How bad did you hurt the guys?"
"One probably won't be able to get an erection for a while."
Gage grimaced.
"Another one," Darian said, "will probably have to have his jaw wired shut, and the third one ran off before I could get my hands on him."
"Jesus, man, they must have pissed you off."
Darian relaxed back against his chair and looked at Gage. "I've never been madder in my life. If you had seen it, you probably would have killed them."
Gage nodded. "Most likely. I can't stand to see a woman or child hurt." He'd grown up in the roughest part of the city and had to learn to fight hard to survive, so he knew many ways to hurt a person with his bare hands.
He grew furious when a person hurt a woman or a child. They weren't strong like men and needed to be taken care of. He knew he got that belief from the horror of seeing his own mother beaten and abused by his father.
It had stopped the day his father pushed her down the steps in front of Gage. He was a big kid but didn't have the muscle mass he had at the moment. It was his anger that gave him the much-needed strength to beat his father so severely. The man ran from the house with several broken bones and wounds. He and his mom had never seen him again.
"You and me, both," Darian replied. "She was drunk, so I took her home and took care of her. She ran from me the next morning, but I quickly found her, and she's been with me ever since."
"How long has it been?" Gage asked him.
"Three months."
"You love her," Gage commented. He didn't have to ask from the look on his friend's face.
"Very much."
"You're a lucky bastard," he commented enviously. Gage's head jerked toward the office door behind him when it flew open, and a young beautiful woman ran in.
"Daddy, you'll never guess what happ—"
Larkin stopped short when she saw him. Tears filled her eyes when she looked back at Darian. "I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was here…"
Darian smiled gently. "Come here, baby," he said and held out a hand to her.
Larkin went to him and let him pull her into his lap. She put her arms around his neck and sniffled. "I'm sorry," she whispered against his neck. "Please don't be mad at me."
Gage could just make out her words.
Darian kissed the top of her head and tightened his arms around her. "I'm not mad, baby."
Larkin sniffed and looked up at him. "Really?"
Darian used his thumb to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Really. I want you to meet a good friend of mine. His name is Gage."
Larkin peeked at him from the corner of her eyes. "He looks mean," she whispered in Darian's ear."
Gage grinned and coughed to hide his chuckle.