by Alessa Thorn
“What was that?” he teased, leaning down over her. His entire body pinned her, and Iz was overwhelmed with the weight and heat of him.
She was trapped, and instead of panic, all she felt was the freedom of surrender. She melted under him, teeth sinking into his chest to smother her cries. She clung to him, overwhelmed by the power of him taking her.
Instead of fear, she fucking loved it. Silas was the only man she trusted with her body, as well as her heart… And he loved her.
“Touch my hair, Silas, please,” she begged.
Silas’s hands went under her, fingers burying in her hair and tugging just enough for her head to tilt back. He kissed her hard, tongue sliding against hers as he dominated her.
“I love you,” he panted, and Iz shattered beneath him. Fire streaked through her veins, her whole body burning with pleasure and release. She was weightless. The feel of her magic bubbling under her skin and combining with her orgasm was breaking her.
Silas buried his face into her neck, fucking her harder and deeper until she was coming again and dragging him with her. Iz couldn’t move, just held him tighter. Arms and legs wrapped around him.
Silas pressed a shaky kiss to her lips, hand cupping her face and staring at her with so much adoration and love that she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
She stroked the sweat-damp silver at his temples, too in awe to think of anything to say. Magic was still thrumming in her fingertips, and she felt like she could set Istanbul ablaze if she wanted to.
“You okay? You have the strangest expression on your face right now,” Silas whispered and slowly eased out of her. Iz almost whimpered at how sensitive she was.
“I’m better than okay,” she assured him. “I’m just feeling a lot. That’s the first time I’ve had a man on top of me in a really long time. You’re the only man I trust to be there.”
Silas stroked her cheek, his eyes softening. “I’m honored, Bella.”
Iz wrapped her arms around his neck. “You are going to have to carry me downstairs because I don’t feel like moving.”
“It would be my pleasure,” he replied, hands gripping her hips as he stood up and took her with him.
Iz squeaked, legs tightening around him. “Now I know why you work out so much.”
“It’s true. It’s always been to ensure I’m strong enough to carry you about whenever you ask. Best motivation around,” he assured her, making her laugh.
Silas carried her all the way into the shower, only setting her down on her feet once the spray was warm. Iz lifted her arms, and Silas took off her bunched-up tank and bra. He pressed a row of kisses on the carnations on her shoulder.
“I don’t know if I told you, but I love your tattoos,” he said. He stroked his thumb down the line of numbers inked on her inner forearm. “I’ve always wanted to know what this one means.”
Iz held it out to him. “It’s the latitude and longitude coordinates for the warehouse in Belarus and the time and date when you saved me. I wanted something to cover the needle scars, and you were the best thing I could think of.”
“Izabella…” Silas’s face went through a range of emotions before he lifted her arm to press his mouth to it. “This is now my favorite. I never thought of coordinates.”
Iz grinned. “I couldn’t exactly get your name tattooed there without looking like a total creeper.”
“That’s okay, you can save that one for your ass,” he replied, laughing when she pinched him.
“I will if you get Property of Izabella tattooed across yours.”
“Everybody knows it anyway. I’m completely, helplessly, yours,” Silas said, kissing her soft and silkily.
Iz’s hands moving to grip his firm ass. “And don’t you forget it, Edgeworth.”
21
Izabella woke the following morning with someone tickling her nose. She muttered at them and curled her face into her warm pillow.
“Wakie, wakie,” Athena whispered.
“Go ‘way, Cub,” Silas rumbled underneath Iz, his big hand moving to cup her ass.
Silas. Iz’s eyes snapped open. She was on the couch, using Silas as a body pillow, her laptop on the coffee table. Athena was standing in front of them with her hands on her hips.
“Well, well, what do we have here then?” she demanded. That seemed to get Silas’s attention. His hand quickly moved from Iz’s ass, and he wriggled out from underneath her.
“Are those fucking hickeys on your chest?” Athena asked. Iz looked over the bites and scratch marks she had left all over Silas the night before. If Athena was about to kill her, then it had been worth it.
“None of your business. Right, I’m just going to…” he pointed and hurried out of the room. Iz knew it was to hide his morning erection, but still, she felt like she had been thrown to the wolf.
“Cub—” Iz began.
“Time for coffee, I think,” Athena interrupted and moved off to bang about in the kitchen.
Iz swore and dragged on her kimono. She thanked the ancestors that she had the forethought to put on some pajamas the night before.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” Iz groaned. She took a deep breath and went to face her fate. She didn’t like the idea of Athena alone in a kitchen full of knives if she was feeling particularly murderous.
“What are you doing over here so early?” she asked, pulling out some mugs. Maybe if she acted normal, Athena would forget that she had found her all over her father.
“I wanted to see how far you got in your research. Not very, if you were getting distracted by Silas’s dick all night,” Athena said, sitting down on the nearest barstool.
“I was not! You know what people call St. Petersburg? Gorod Muzei, the museum city, because the fucker has over a hundred galleries and museums. That’s a lot for me to sort through for a start, and I have to check every single one to see if that collector was lying to us or not. We don’t even know what the exhibit was called, so I’m just hoping something jumps out at me.”
Iz poured them coffee from the French Press that Athena had put on to brew. She made Athena’s half with milk the way she liked and placed it in front of her.
“If you are going to yell at me, now is your chance, but I’d just like to remind you that you owe me a favor from going around to the warehouse when Julian arrived. I would like you to not stab me with something as repayment.”
Athena huffed out a breath. “Like I would stab you for fucking Silas.”
“I’m sorry, what? I’ve had to convince you not to stab a drive-through attendant for forgetting your Coke.”
“I never would’ve done it. I just wanted to scare better customer service into him,” Athena grumbled. She had a big mouthful of coffee. “How long has it been going on?”
“About a week?” Iz replied and added. “I’ve been in love with him for a while, but you probably know that.”
“Yeah, I do. I’m not pissed about you two finally hooking up. I’m pissed that you lied to me about it.”
“We haven’t lied. I just wanted to keep it between us until we figured out what was happening,” Iz tried to defend their choice.
Athena snorted. “You were fucking. If you didn’t know what was happening, you are doing it wrong.”
“It’s more than fucking, Cub. I needed to be sure it was more for him too before I said anything to you.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Iz choked on her disbelieving laugh. “Maybe because he has a daughter who would fillet anyone who looks at her dad wrong.”
“I mean other women, sure, but not you,” Athena argued, her blue eyes crushed. “You really think I would hurt you?”
“Over Silas? Yeah. Absolutely.”
Athena thought about it a little bit too long. “Only if you hurt him. I mean, I love you, Iz, but if you break his heart, I will actually fucking kill you.”
“That’s fair,” Iz replied and lifted her cup to her lips. “I’m going to do everything in my power not to hurt him.”
&
nbsp; Athena’s smile was a little too sharp. “That’s the idea, Silversmith.”
“Not because I’m scared of you, Cub, but because I really do love him. I have since he carried me out of that shit hole in Belarus. I can’t help it, he’s—he’s Silas. You know?”
“Yeah, I really fucking do. I’m shook because I walked in, and you were like on each other, but I knew it would happen eventually.”
Iz’s brows shot up. “You did?”
“Yeah,” Athena said and rubbed at her neck. “Look, you were fucked up when we saved you, so you probably don’t remember much of that night, but Silas… It was like something snapped when he saw you. He wouldn’t let you go, even though you stank like ass and were a raving crack head. He just hung onto you like he was scared you would disappear or something. I knew then that no matter what happened, he would never let you go. And then there was what he did to Ruslan’s extended operation afterward.”
Iz lowered her cup. “What are you talking about?”
“When you went back to Barcelona, Silas kind of lost it. He might have gone on a murder spree.”
“What? How did I not know about this?”
Athena looked into her coffee cup. “He didn’t want you to worry about any of Ruslan’s associates or his employer coming after you. So he made them his special project. I mean, they were piece of shit traffickers and whatnot, so it’s not like it was a loss to the world. Silas…” Athena puffed out her cheeks. “He went to town on them. I went with him because I was worried. He was a man driven. I’d never seen him like that before or since. He was determined to kill whoever was responsible for hurting you. It was reckless, but I understand it now. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do and no one I wouldn’t kill if someone hurt Kon.”
Iz hugged herself. “I can’t believe you never told me.”
“He didn’t want you to worry and made sure you would never have to. He didn’t want your thanks, Iz. He wanted you to be safe because he decided you belonged to him. You get that, don’t you? Now you’ve taken this final step with him, Silas’s never going to be able to give you up.”
Iz’s body went hot all over, the feeling of belonging to Silas filling her, gripping her tight, and not letting her go. “I think I can live with that just fine,” she said, grinning like an idiot.
“God, look at your goofy face,” Athena teased.
“Shut up, Cub. You’re worse with Kon.”
“Can’t help it. His dick makes me happy,” Athena said with a shrug. Iz rolled her eyes at her. Athena loved the shit out of Kon, and it wasn’t only for his sexual prowess. She just sucked at explaining it to anyone that wasn’t him. The fact she had just admitted she would go on a full-on murder spree was the equivalent of permanent heart eyes to Athena.
“I suppose there’s only one question left for me to ask,” Athena said. Her eyes went wide and innocent. “Are you my Mommy now?”
Iz threw the dishcloth at her. “Fuck you,” she laughed. Iz wrapped her arms around Athena’s neck and hugged her tight. “I love you too, asshole. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know. I mean, how can you resist? I’m a killer with PTSD,” Athena teased.
“That literally explains everyone in our crew,” Silas said, creeping upon them. He was looking at them, hugging and laughing with a soft happiness in his eyes that made Iz’s chest ache.
“Quick, Silas, get in here while I’ve got her trapped,” Iz said playfully. Athena pretended to struggle as he wrapped his arms around both of them and squeezed.
“Jerks,” Athena grumbled as they let her go, but she was smiling when she said it.
Iz was enjoying the hug when the phone started to ring loudly in the lounge room. “I should go get that. You two can talk,” she said, ducking under Silas’s arm.
Iz found her phone wedged under a couch cushion, VINCI flashing on her screen.
“Buongiorno, Leonardo, what has you up so early?”
“I haven’t been to sleep yet,” Leo replied, sounding tense and wired.
“What’s wrong? What did you find?”
“I started going through those companies in the bank statements again, and I have found twenty that are private galleries…so far,” he replied.
“That’s great. Why do you sound so worried?”
“Not worried, just frustrated because I’m about to crash when I feel like I’m finally getting somewhere. If I send you the list of what I have so far, will you check them out for me? I don’t know if there are any in St. Petersburg, but we might find another breadcrumb if we follow the ones we have,” Leo explained. There was banging on the door in his background and Dante calling out to him. “Fuck. He is not forcing me out to run this morning.”
“Of course, you can send it all through to me. I’ll get it sorted, and you can go and enjoy your run,” Iz said, trying not to laugh.
“He’ll have to carry me because I am not running anywhere,” he grumbled. “Sending you the list through now, Silver Lady.”
“Good work, Leo. I’ll take it from here. You have fun dealing with Dante. Maybe he’ll read you a bedtime story if you flutter those long, pretty lashes at him.”
“Testa di cazzo! He’s picking my locks again! I only got them changed yesterday. Stop it, you miscreant!”
Iz laughed louder. “I’ll call you if I find something.” She hung up just as Leo unleashed a torrent of Italian vitriol on Dante and the woman that birthed him. She turned on her laptop just as an email chimed with the list from Leo.
Iz scanned the names, smile widening. “Hello, asshole. Let’s see what you are hiding.”
22
Silas sat down next to Athena at the kitchen counter and tried not to feel like he had something to be embarrassed about.
Hell, it wasn’t like she had walked in on him and Izabella fucking. Although if she had come any later, they probably would’ve been.
Waking up with Izabella’s sweet weight on top of him had ensured that his morning wood was ready to go. Fuck.
“You going to tell me what you’re doing here so early?” he asked when the silence stretched out for too long.
“I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake up Kon. He’s been going crazy, trying to find a madness curse that Liddell could have used in Ireland. I feel so helpless,” Athena admitted. “I fucking hate it.”
“Welcome to my world, kiddo. Magic is something I have no idea how to fight. You have to trust him to figure it out.”
Athena pushed a hand over her braid. “I know, and he will. Kon is relentless when he’s hunting something. In this case, I worry that it’s just going to lead back to me anyway. I’ve tried to remember that night in Russia. I really have. There’s…nothing.”
“It’s okay. It will come back to you if it’s meant to, but I don’t think it will change much. Kon will love you regardless, and so will I.” Silas rubbed her back. “What about the memories you did get back? The room and those people? The wolves?”
Athena shuddered. “Yeah, I remember the room. I was fixated on the walls because I was scared to look people in the face. The walls were a gray-blue color, and the ceiling had fancy plaster things on it. It was a posh room. The furniture was old and expensive. The wolves—they would come and play in the snow, not far outside the window of my cell. There was a forest that they lived in. I would watch them for hours.” She rubbed at her eyes. “I hate this so much, Silas. I hate not knowing, but it hurts when something does come. I need to find Gadal. I need answers. Who the fuck am I?”
Silas’s heart hurt to see her in pain and have no idea how to make it better. “You are Athena fucking Edgeworth. Doesn’t matter where you came from, Cub. You are my daughter. Not theirs. Mine. I suppose I can share you with Kon, but that’s the limit.”
“Yeah, he’s called dibs pretty hard,” Athena laughed softly.
Silas snorted. “Dibs? It wouldn’t surprise me if he scratched and pissed all around the warehouse to scare off other predators.”
“Well, it’s
working.” Athena smiled slyly. “And you can’t talk. You’ve looked one step off murdering Julian for days. You and Iz need to sort out what you’re doing so Jules can rest easy.”
“For one thing, Julian has never lost a day’s rest in his life,” Silas pointed out. “And Iz and I have sorted it. We are a thing.”
“A thing? Is that the technical term?”
“Shut up, Cub. I’m about as good at this relationship shit as you are.” Silas toyed with his mug. “You don’t care if we are together?”
“No. I mean, I’m a bit traumatized seeing the hickeys on you, but I’ll get over it. Maybe you’ll stop being grumpy if you get laid regularly.”
Silas ruffled her head. “Very funny, little shit.”
“I got you, fucker!” Iz shouted loudly from the lounge room. Athena and Silas got up, both too curious to see what she had found.
Iz was still in her kimono, laptop on her knees and eyes glued to the screen. She was so beautiful when she was onto something; it was like she was lit up from within.
“What did you find, nerd?” Athena asked, flopping down on the couch beside her so she could see her screen.
“Leo sent me a list of galleries that he found in all of that bank stuff he was looking through. I’ve just found this one in St. Petersburg with an upcoming exhibit called Gnosis. It has to be him, right?” Iz said excitedly.
“Why? What’s Gnosis?”
“The Cathars that the original Gadal was obsessed with were a sect of Christian Gnostics,” she explained, fingers flying on the screen. “Let me see if I can pull up some pictures of this gallery. The place itself is also called Pleroma.”
“Sounds Greek,” Athena said.
“It is. Pleroma means fullness. It’s also a Gnostic concept that refers to the totality of God’s power.”
Silas crossed his arms. “This guy is really on brand.”
“Lucky for us, people that obsessed can’t help showing off their obsessions,” Iz replied. Bright pictures filled her screen, and Athena’s face froze. She ripped the laptop out of her hands. “What the fuck, Cub?”
