A Worthy Opponent: Wicked Villains #3

by Katee Robert

  I really don’t know how to process this new information. I turn to look to where Aurora is whispering fiercely to Tink. “I always thought she was such a nice girl.”

  “She is a nice girl.” Meg starts to turn away. “There’s also no lengths she won’t go for the people she cares about. You’ll do well to remember that in the future, Hook.”

  I sure as hell won’t forget it. I carefully lean against the wall and watch as Tink assures the other women that she is, in fact, okay. I don’t know if it’s strictly the truth, but she will be okay. That’s all that matters. We have time to figure shit out now, to actually chase the future we tentatively spoke about … Was it only this morning? It feels like it was a thousand years ago.

  It takes twenty minutes and promises they’ll meet for coffee tomorrow for the three of them to finally allow themselves to be ushered to the front door. When Tink turns around, she’s got a soft smile on her face. “I have friends.”

  “Yes, you do. Very scary friends.”

  We head up to my suite, and once the doctor has checked me out and declared I have a concussion and need to take it easy for a while, we shower and clean up. The whole time, she doesn’t say a word. I can’t tell if she’s still marveling over the fact she has friends, which seems to be a sort of revelation, or if the events of the last few hours are finally sinking in. Maybe a combination of both. Either way, I don’t press her. She deserves that much and more.

  Tink shuts off the water and turns to me. “I want a fall wedding.”

  I blink. “This concussion is worse than I thought, because I could swear that you just said you want a fall wedding.”

  “That’s because I did.” She hands me a towel and wraps a second one around herself. “We’re married in every way that matters, but I want a real wedding. One where we invite your family and our friends. I want to design my own dress. I want the whole ridiculous spectacle of it.” She crosses to me and cups my face in her hands. “I want the world to know that I choose you and that this is real.”

  I’m still having a hard time catching up. She wants to stay married to me. She really does want the future we painted together this morning. Still, I promised I’d be honest and so I have to tell her the truth of my plans. “I was going to offer you a divorce in the morning. You were going to be free.”

  Tink’s smile is sweet and the tiniest bit salty. “I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.” She stops short and frowns. Tink drops her hands. “Unless you really want a divorce, in which case ignore everything I just said.”

  Oh no. Fuck that. If she’s choosing me, there’s no way in hell I’m letting her get away. I grab her hand and sink unsteadily to my knee. “Tink Petrov, would you do me the honor of marrying me? Again.” I clear my throat. “You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever known, and I love the shit out of you. Marry me, and we’ll spend the rest of our lives bickering and fucking and raising a family of little hellions while we run this territory the way it should be run.”

  The shadows flee her expression, and she beams down at me. “Yes, Jameson Hook, I very much would like to do all of that with you and more.” She tugs me to my feet. “I love you. I want to live not-happily-ever-after with you. Yes, of course I’ll marry you. Again.”

  Thank you so much for reading Hook and Tink’s story! They’re very special to me, and I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. If you did, please consider leaving a review!

  Need more Hook and Tink in your life? Sign up for my newsletter and get a BONUS short giving a glimpse of what happens after the events of A WORTHY OPPONENT…and what happens when Tink finally calls Hook’s bluff about challenging him in public.

  The Wicked Villains series continues in THE BEAST, which takes a look at what happens when Isabelle Belmont is forced to do whatever it takes to bring Gaeton and Beast back to her territory…even agree to a sex pact. Things are destined to get explosive!

  Looking for your next sexy read? You can pick up my MMF ménage THEIRS FOR THE NIGHT, my FREE novella that features an exiled prince, his bodyguard, and the bartender they can’t quite manage to leave alone.

  Keeping reading for an exclusive first look at THE BEAST…

  Gaeton kicks one of the chairs in front of the desk so that it is angled to see the entire room and drops into it. The man doesn’t know how to sit without sprawling, and even with fury darkening his expression, this is no exception.

  Beast shuts the door and moves to lean against the desk, unconsciously mirroring the same position Megaera took when I spoke to her. He crosses his arms over his chest and watches me. Waiting.

  Gaeton has no such patience. “What the hell are you doing here, Isabelle?”

  Now’s the time to lay out my argument, but the words dry up in their presence. I lick my lips again, and give him the same answer I gave Beast. “I’m here for you. For both of you.”

  Gaeton doesn’t look impressed. “Yeah, I don’t think so. We tried that and it blew up in our faces. I’m not doing it again.”

  If I don’t talk fast, they’ll pack me up and send me on my way and this will all be for nothing. Failure is not an option. It can’t be. “Come back to the territory. Resume your positions. We need you.”

  Beast raises an eyebrow, but it’s Gaeton’s cruel laughter that echoes through the room. “I should have known this is all power and games. It always was with you.” He leans forward and braces his elbows on his big thighs. “I don’t pretend to speak for this asshole, but there’s nothing in that territory for me now.”

  Nothing. Including me.

  It shouldn’t hurt so much to be rejected by a man who already dumped me, but it does. Sweet gods, it does. I turn to Beast, but I might as well seek solace from a glacier for all the warmth he gives me. Hopelessness rising in my chest, threatening to send me to my knees. I can’t fail. I can’t. My bottom lip quivers the tiniest bit before I shut my reaction down. “Please.”

  Beast looks at me a long moment. His lips slowly curve, the barest hint of a cruel smile. I’ve seen that expression on his face before, always preceding his delivering one of my father’s punishments to someone who’s crossed him. “Get on your knees, Isabelle. If you’re going to beg, do it properly.”

  Gaeton flinches like the other man struck him. “What the fuck, Beast?”

  Beast doesn’t look away from me. It feels like the intensity of his gaze is a weight across my shoulders and chest, driving me slowly, inexorably, to my knees. “You heard me. How bad do you want us back?”

  “You don’t speak for me,” Gaeton rumbles.

  I already left my pride at the door. I can’t afford the luxury when I’m bargaining for the lives of so many. In the end, it’s far simpler than I could have dreamed to give into the Beast’s gravity and sink to my knees. The carpet is surprisingly soft against my bare skin and I shiver. “Are you happy now? Please come back.”

  Beast rises and moves slowly around me. It’s a struggle not to twist to keep him in sight. Instead, I focus on Gaeton, on the way he watches us so closely, his gaze jumping from me to Beast. “What are you up to, you bastard?”

  Beast digs his hand into my hair and tugs sharply, bowing my back and drawing a gasp from my lips. In all our time together, he was always devastatingly gentle, until I thought I’d go out of my mind and scream in his face to touch me. Pain flickers to pleasure and back again, and I have to bite back a moan. I stare up into his beautiful face, but he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at Gaeton. “I propose a bargain.”

  “You’re out of your fucking mind.”

  “Gaeton.” Beast says it almost gently. “Look at her.” He gives my hair another sharp tug. This time, I can’t stop the moan. My body doesn’t feel like my own. My skin is too tight, my nipples pebbling and my pussy clenching with an ache only one thing can assuage. What is he doing to me?

  “Get your fucking hand off her.” Gaeton’s voice is low and strangled. “Now.”

  Beast releases
me in an instant and I slump forward, barely catching myself before I crumble into a ball on the floor. Dazed, I touch the smarting spot on my scalp. I should be furious that he dared touch me like that, but all I can focus on is how much I need. I straighten back to kneel with some effort. “What’s your bargain?”

  “No.”

  Beast ignored Gaeton and resumes his position leaning on the desk. “The three of us for a limited duration. At the end, you make a choice once and for all. Him or me. Regardless of your decision, we will both stay in the territory and resume our roles.” There it is again, his cruel little smile. “And you will pay penance, little Isabelle.”

  I shiver. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that you played us to your heart’s content for months on end. Now it’s our turn.” He turns to Gaeton. “You’re furious about how things fell out.”

  “Yeah,” the word feels almost forced out of him.

  “We played by her rules and cut off pieces of ourselves to be worthy of her.” Beast turns those eerie blue eyes back to me. “Now we drag her down into the dirt with us.”

  Gaeton folds his hands together and seems to be actually considering it. “Explain what the fuck you mean when you say ‘us.’”

  “We top her together.”

  My gaze jumps back and forth between them. Surely they’re not saying… “Together.”

  Gaeton doesn’t look at me. “Careful there, Beast. Might start to think you’re sweet on me.”

  Beast doesn’t blink. “It’s an efficient use of time and effort.” He’s on the move again, but this time he circles Gaeton, coming to stop behind the big man’s chair. He leans down, not touching Gaeton, but close enough that I catch my breath at the sight of him so close to the bigger man. His rough voice is pure sin. “Think of every depraved thing you’ve wanted to do to that sexy little body. All the times you held back. All the fantasies you kept locked down.”

  They’re both looking at me like a pair of wolves who happened across a lamb in the forest. I can’t stop another shiver. I came here with the intention of walking out with both of them. I didn’t bargain on this. Any of it.

  Beggars can’t be choosers, though. I clear my throat. “State your terms in explicit detail.”

  Beast still hasn’t moved back from Gaeton. “Gaeton and I dominate you. We fuck you. We are your gods and masters for the duration of two weeks. You will have a safe word and will use it when necessary, but otherwise will obey our every whim. At the end of the timeline, when we’ve balanced the scales, you will make a decision and stand by it.”

  The loss of power is staggering. They want me trapped and helpless. A safe word, yes, but we all know I have no choice in this. If I say no and walk out of here without them, there’s a very large chance that my territory will fall. Cordelia is ruthless and a good leader, but the loss of our father and his two top generals at the same time is too high a cost. Already our enemies nip at our borders, testing us. We need Gaeton and Beast back, and we need them back now. “What will you do to me?”

  “Anything we want.”

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  Pre-order THE BEAST now!

  Acknowledgments

  A huge, huge thank you to my readers. This series has been a wild ride so far, and that’s in no small part due to your enthusiasm. I am so happy you’re loving these villains as much as I am!

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  Big thanks to Andie J Christopher and Jenny Nordbak for being my first readers and telling me to stop worrying about this book. I adore you.

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  Endless thank yous to Manu from Tessera Editorial and Lynda M. Ryba for helping me get this book into the best version of itself. Special thanks to Christa Desir, too!

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  As always, thank you to my family for your endless patience while I work for “just a little bit longer” and for dragging me away from my computer on a regular basis. Last, but never least, thank you to Tim. Love you like a long song!

  About the Author

  Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.

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  Website: www.kateerobert.com