by Gemma James
“Let me come,” I gasp. “Please, Liam…I’ll do anything.”
He brushes his slick fingers over my back hole. “Will you give this to me?”
His question hits me like a sucker punch, awakening the ghost of Sebastian in the haunted quarters of my mind. It’s impossible to cast out the memories—not the adoration in his eyes the first time he entered me. Not his careful, patient thrusts that made us one body. Definitely not the way he made it special for me.
Sebastian Stone made himself irreplaceable that night.
“Let me go.” I pull at the belt around my wrists to no avail.
“I won’t let you run from this.”
“Liam, I don’t—”
“You’re a little tied up, my sweet girl.” Slowly and painfully, his thumb presses into my ass. “Powerless to stop me.”
He won’t stop. He told me as much, made it a point to warn me.
And I didn’t listen.
“I mean it,” I say, the tremor in my voice betraying the fear clawing inside me. “Don’t force me into this.”
“I’ll make it feel good. You don’t have to be scared.”
“I’m not scared. I’m heartbroken.”
Withdrawing his thumb, he shifts his weight between my legs, and his sigh rents the air. “Because of Sebastian?”
“Because of him…because of you…because this just doesn’t feel right.” A sob catches in my throat, and I close my eyes against the searing pain in my chest. He doesn’t understand that giving that part of myself to him feels like a betrayal.
To him.
To Sebastian.
Even to myself.
The room falls too quiet as he releases my hands. I scoot to the headboard and fold my arms over my chest, the desire in my bones long gone. In the dark space, I feel his disappointed gaze on me.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, though I’m not exactly sure what I’m apologizing for. He kidnapped me, and here I am, cowering on the mattress, naked and at his mercy.
“Don’t apologize.” Climbing off the bed, he grabs his jeans and pulls them on, followed by a T-shirt.
“Where are you going?”
“I need some space.”
Unprepared for his answer, I get to my knees. “Don’t leave.”
For a few seconds, he’s motionless while I drown in a swamp of abandonment. “Dammit, Novalee. Don’t fuck with my heart.”
“I’m sorr—”
“Don’t you dare say those words to me again.” His command booms off of the walls. “As far as I’m concerned, neither of us has anything to apologize for. I shouldn’t have pushed, and you should have said stop when I gave you the chance.”
“But you stopped anyway.”
“Yeah, because I fucking love you.” His shadow prowls toward the bed. “But that doesn’t mean you get to jerk me around.”
Something about the accusatory vibe in his tone digs under my skin. I launch off the bed and confront him, raising my chin to the stubborn set of his jaw. “How dare you put this on me. You kidnapped me. You seduced me in the lagoon knowing how conflicted I’ve been.” With a prod to his heaving chest, I raise my voice. “You made me want you again!”
“You never stopped!” Gripping me by the neck, he slams his mouth on mine, and there’s nothing permissive or careful about his kiss this time. He devours me, his tongue on a quest to silence any protest I might have.
I have none.
Not when he’s this talented at inciting arousal the way he incites anger. For every foot he puts forward, I take a step back, keeping pace as he leads me to the bed. He shoves me onto the mattress and crawls over me, his hand gripping me by the throat, neither gentle nor rough. Liam’s hold falls somewhere in between, shallowing my breath without completely stealing it.
For several seconds, I return his gaze—his beautiful eyes alight with sexual intoxication. That stare defies the darkness, cripples my courage, busts through the blockade of my will.
“You belong with me, my precious, sweet girl. Only me.”
“Eleven other men might disagree with you.”
“They don’t matter anymore.” His hand issues a warning squeeze. “You’re here with me, and there’s nothing they can do about it.” He lowers his head. “There’s nothing you can do about it, either.”
“You’re right.” Going against the circle of his hand, I swallow hard. “I can’t fight you. If you decide to force me, there’s no one here to help.”
The acknowledgement sounds so final, filled to the brim with acceptance. If he decides to take my ass—or do anything else, for that matter—all I can do is beg him to stop. Physically, he’s too strong to fight. At the very least, he’s too stubborn to hold off with pleas and platitudes.
“Relax,” he says, the sudden weight of his scrutiny crushing me. “I’m not going to take your backdoor tonight, but I am going to finish what I started in the dining room. After all, I promised you satisfaction by morning.”
Letting go of my neck, he glides down my body and buries his face in my pussy.
9
Satisfied doesn’t describe the level of sated lethargy this man rouses in me. As the sun peeks above the horizon, I resist opening my eyes—not as long as I’m wrapped in Liam’s fierce loyalty, his arms surrounding me in the warm bed.
I wish I could return the same kind of loyalty.
Absolute.
Without fail.
Unconditional.
The thought threatens to jerk me out of the lust-induced cocoon we’ve created. Sinking deeper into his embrace, I push thoughts of a certain wild-eyed lion into the vacant corners of my mind to deal with later.
My heart can’t be in two places at the same time, and right now, it’s fully present.
In this moment.
In this bedroom.
With this man.
“God, I could get used to waking up like this.” Liam’s gruff words drift across my shoulder, his morning erection a thrilling temptation between my butt cheeks. As he rocks his hips, he tightens his hold and locks me in the cage of his arms.
My breath stalls. My mind goes numb. Intense desire flares at the center of my sex as his cock gently probes, begging for acceptance.
“Did it feel good when he did it?”
“Liam, please. Can we not start the day like this?”
“It’s not my intention to start an argument. I honestly want to know how it was for you. I saw the two of you in the elevator, but I’m guessing that wasn’t the first time he took you.” He rocks against me once more. “Was he gentle? Did it hurt…were you scared?”
“He was gentle, and it did hurt at first.” A hard swallow makes me pause. “And no, I wasn’t scared.”
“Do I scare you?”
“Not…not in the physical sense.”
“Then what’s holding you back?” He shoves his fingers between my thighs, discovering the strength of my need for him. “Because I know you want it as much as I do.”
Closing my eyes, I let the truth tumble from my lips. “I want you so much. I have from the first day on the island, but…”
“But?”
“Being with him changed me.”
“Is that what scares you? That real intimacy with me will make you love him less?”
“Maybe.” Fear strangles my throat, making me croak out the admission.
“My sweet girl,” he says, pressing a firm kiss to my cheek. “Real intimacy already exists between us. Taking you anally won’t make you love either of us more or less. It’ll just be one of the most incredible experiences we’ll ever share.”
“I know.” Breaking free of his arms, I turn over to face him. “But I’m not ready yet.”
Concession weighs down his lids, obscuring those gorgeous dark eyes. He parts his mouth, about to say something, but the sudden opening of a door interrupts him. Liam jerks upright as footsteps make their way down the hall.
I clutch the blanket to my chest, failing to breathe, as if covering my naked
ness will hide the fear.
Pax materializes in the doorway of the bedroom, his black-clad presence an utter defiance against the bright sunlight spilling through the window. The scene is too peaceful beyond that glass—like a serene beachscape from a castaway movie. The monster doesn’t belong in this picture, but he’s as real as the erratic beat of my heart.
“Get up,” he says, his slitted gray eyes stalling on me. He curls his lip in added warning. “Now.”
This is a nightmare. I haven’t woken up yet. As I pull away from Liam, his shouted protests an echo of distortion in my ears, I pretend I’m still asleep, safe and warm in his arms. I’m not sliding from bed on trembling limbs, letting the blanket fall from my body as I step out of Liam’s reach.
It’s not until Pax’s unforgiving fingers clutch my nape that I snap out of my ridiculous fantasyland of denial.
As Liam jumps to his feet, Pax tightens his grip until I release a painful cry. “Stay the fuck where you are, or she’ll pay the price.”
Liam clenches his jaw. “How did you find us?” Arms crossed, he manages an aura of authority despite standing in the nude, halted by the command of a psychopath.
The monster takes a small step back, dragging me with him. “Here’s the thing about buying people off. They aren’t loyal. It’s amazing what you can get out of someone when you dangle more cash in front of their greedy little hands.”
“You got to Santos.”
“Your friend in the smuggling business?” Pax shoots Liam a smug smile. “Yeah. He wasn’t hard to smoke out.”
“So how do you expect this to go down?” Liam inches forward. “Do you really think I’m going to let you take her from me?”
Pax tilts his head. “You’re right. You could probably stop me—if you’re lucky enough.” He pauses, the thin quirk of his mouth becoming cockier by the second. “Lucky for me, I brought backup.”
Liam’s face pales. “They’re here?”
“All twelve of us, reunited. Isn’t this a wonderful occasion for celebration?”
All twelve of them…
Sebastian is here…and Pax is herding me toward him.
Naked.
“Put a pair of pants on,” Pax snaps at the Liam. “I’m sure no one but your partner in crime here wants to see your junk.”
“She’s not to blame for this.” Liam’s deep voice seems to vibrate the walls, but underneath his bluster, I sense fear rising in him. “I drugged and kidnapped her. I forced her cooperation under duress. She’s the victim here.”
Pax laughs. “She looks thoroughly fucked and too satisfied to be under duress.” He shoves me through the doorway. “The Brotherhood will decide the level of her victimhood for themselves based on her questionable appearance.”
It happens in slow motion.
It happens in the blink of an eye.
The entire Brotherhood greets me in the living room, masculine bodies crowding the modest space. Off to the side, lurking on the outskirts in moody fashion, stands the man a huge part of me fell for at the innocent age of twelve.
But there’s nothing reassuring about the glower on Sebastian’s face, the wrath in his icy blue eyes, the fury in the bunch of his fists. He drags his gaze over my naked body, expression contemptuous and accusatory. The whole time we take each other in, trading pleas and foregone conclusions, mere seconds pass.
It’s all the time he needs to pass judgement. To see beyond the exposed evidence of my betrayal.
He sees straight to the conflicted halves of my heart.
A magnetism of love and devastation come together in his expression. He wants to say something—I feel the burden of his anger heavy in the air.
Instead, Sebastian makes his escape through the front door, slamming it upon his furious exit.
“W-wait.” I finally find my voice, but it’s too late. The moment feels like an omen.
Landon clears his throat. “He’ll cool down,” he says, keeping his attention on my bare feet.
Because he’s my brother, and I’m on display in a circle of men, unclothed and disgraced. If I needed a reminder of just how sick and wrong this situation is, it’s staring at me in the form of a man who shares my blood and has no business setting eyes on my naked body.
It’s evident in the defeat on Liam’s face when he emerges from the hall.
Mostly, it’s the sordid dynamics present in this room, and every one of us holds the blame.
My fault for not standing up for myself sooner, and their fault…for remaining ignorant of common decency and honor.
Letting go of my neck, Pax jerks his head toward the bedroom. “Get dressed. It’s time to go home, my queen.”
10
Going home is a long process of boat rides, an arduous commute in a SUV motorcade, and a final flight on a jet. As we land on the Brotherhood’s private airstrip twenty-four hours later, the jolting change of circumstances finally sinks in, becoming real.
Liam and I weathered the storm two nights ago just to face a bigger one now that we’re back on the island.
We return to the tower, and Pax has a firm grip on my arm as we descend into the dungeon. He ushers me down the hall in the back, toward that secret room where horrible decisions are made, the members of the Brotherhood following on our heels. It’s surreal to be back here—almost as if time reversed and the thirteen of us landed in the month of Virgo all over again.
Only this time, the stakes are much higher, the crime far more serious than a stolen kiss. This time, the leader took it upon himself to steal the queen.
The summons commences much like it did last time with one notable exception—Liam isn’t sitting at the helm; his father takes his place as the Brotherhood unanimously votes to have Liam thrown out of the auction.
“The Brotherhood has spoken,” the legacy member says as he brings down the gavel, signaling the end of the summons. The man’s copper hair is graying at the temples, and even if Liam wasn’t such a spitting image of his father—down to the stern jawline and the umber hue of his eyes—I’d still recall him talking to my uncle over six years ago.
Liam meets my gaze, devastation gripping his expression. His defeat is abundant, the sorrow of losing me coming off of him in waves as his shoulders slump in resignation. But not shame, because he’s not ashamed of kidnapping me—the chancellor has no regret or guilt over protecting me from the man now at my side.
Pax’s presence shrouds me like a moonless night, his aura as oppressing as his reign. Abruptly, he stands. “And what about corporal punishment?”
“Losing his bid in the auction is punishment enough.”
“As the victim of his crime, I say it’s not enough. He’s stolen time from me, leaving me but days with the queen. Since I can’t get that time back, I’ll take restitution from his flesh.”
“Ten lashes,” Mr. Castle concedes with much reluctance.
Pax laughs. “That’s pathetic. The queen will take more than that.”
Liam leaps from his chair. “Like hell she will!”
“Sit down!” The older man’s voice booms through the chamber.
Liam is unfazed. “I won’t sit down, and I won’t let this pathetic psychopath hurt Novalee for something I did.” Sending Pax every ounce of hatred in his soul through the slit of his eyes, the chancellor fists his hands. “You can punish me as much as you want, but you will not punish her.”
“You don’t have that authority.” Pax smiles with glee. “Not in my house, and not down here in the dungeon.”
The elder Castle clears his throat. “I have the authority to override you, Mr. Monroe. Liam will take the lashes with honor.” Liam’s father pauses, shooting Pax a pointed look. “But the queen will not be punished for my son’s crime.”
“You can’t dictate how I run the House of Libra.”
Mr. Castle glares at Pax. “When it pertains to this summons, I have final authority on the matter. If you go against my order and punish the queen for something of which she had no control, you’
ll be the next member of the Brotherhood to lose auction privileges. Is that clear?”
“Crystal.” The monster’s voice is too smug, and I don’t doubt for a second that he’ll slither his way around until he finds a loophole big enough to crawl through. “Considering how I found them naked in bed together, I want her checked for an intact hymen.”
“I didn’t take her virginity.” Liam’s attention falls on me. “You can ask her if you don’t believe me, but I wanted to make her my wife first.”
“He’s telling the truth.” I clear my throat. “He could have forced me, but he didn’t.”
“Your word isn’t enough for me.” Pax waves a hand around the room. “I’m sure the Brotherhood would like reassurance as well.”
Sebastian jumps up, the swift movement toppling his chair over. “I won’t enable this bullshit anymore.” His scruffy jawline is carved from granite, and though he won’t bring his gaze to mine, I know the exact hue of those eyes when he takes that tone—like the turbulent sea at dusk. He dips his chin, and the softening of his voice gives me a glimmer of hope. “We’ve put her through enough already.”
“I agree with Sebastian,” my brother says, standing to join his friend in a show of support. “There’s no need to put the queen through another examination. She’s given us no reason to believe she’d lie about this.”
“This coming from the man who swore up and down my informant had the wrong island.” Pax scoffs at Landon. “If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect you had something to do with this kidnapping plot.”
Landon’s attention veers to me for a second, so fleeting I nearly miss it. “Don’t be ridiculous. I was away from the island when Castle took her. I simply prefer to believe we have a modicum of decency left in the Brotherhood. There’s no need to debase the queen further.”
“Differences of opinion, my brother.” Rising, Pax yanks me to my feet. “I’ve already lost enough time. Anyone not wanting to witness this is free to leave.” Without warning, he picks me up and sets me on the table. “Dr. Morgan, your expert assistance is required, unless you’d rather I do it myself.”
