Master Of Sin

by Sienna Snow

  I was too quick for her and had her hair in an unyielding hold.

  I jerked her head back. "You want to play rough, Starlight. We can play rough."

  "Give it your best shot," she bit out as desire flushed her golden skin.

  "With pleasure." I lifted her against my body, not loosening my grip on her hair.

  We kissed like people starved for each other.

  Fuck, this woman was everything I could ever want.

  I carried her to our bedroom, letting her slide down when we neared the bed.

  She pushed at my shirt, pulling it over my head. I had to get my hands on her. So instead of waiting to touch her skin, I tore her dress down the center. The pieces of scrap fell to the floor, revealing a curvy body I couldn't get enough of.

  I walked forward, making her retreat, and just as the backs of her knees were about to hit the bed, I turned her, tumbling her onto her front.

  I pulled her hips up and back until she was on all fours.

  God, that ass. My cock would take her there soon.

  Ripping her thong, I climbed onto the bed behind her as I shoved my pants to my knees.

  Immediately, I slid my cock between the velvety heat of her soaked pussy lips.

  A low, guttural moan escaped my lips, and it was killing me not to sink balls-deep.

  "Starlight. This is sweet heaven."

  I rubbed the angry head of my cock from the entrance of her juicy cunt to her sensitive swollen clitoral nub and then back again.

  "Hagen, please. Fuck me already. I want it hard. I want to feel you with every step tomorrow."

  Her words ignited a feral need I couldn't control.

  I reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the tie I'd left there last night.

  "You want it rough?" I pulled her hands behind her back and tied them together with the silk. "You want it hard?" I grabbed her hair, tugging her head back while positioning my cock at her cunt. "You want to feel me with every step you take?"

  "Yes. Dammit. Yes. I want it all. Don't hold back. I won't break."

  I gripped her hip and slammed into her, forcing both of us forward.

  "Haagggen," she moaned as I set an unrelenting pace.

  I fucked her harder than I'd fucked anyone in my life.

  I knew my hold on her was painful, but she seemed to love it, and it pushed me to keep up the hard, demanding thrusts.

  Her pussy wept and began to quiver around my cock.

  I pulled her up and against my front while continuing to pummel her cunt. Her arms were trapped between our bodies. Having her helpless and entirely under my control was a heady feeling, and the fact she had complete trust in me spurred my desire for her.

  "Who do you belong to, Starlight?"

  "You. Only you," she answered without hesitation, and I knew I'd just sealed my fate with this woman.

  "Now make me come," she ordered.

  I couldn't help but laugh and give her what she wanted.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Penny

  * * *

  "I THINK YOU KILLED ME," Hagen said into my hair.

  His body weight pushed me into the mattress, and his hand still gripped my hair.

  I loved the feel of him on me, but my bound arms were beginning to go numb.

  "You’re not the one with a hundred-and-ninety-pound man on top of you."

  He shifted, his cock slipping from my body. Almost immediately a stream of hot semen coated my thighs. Hagen reached to the bedside table, grabbed a facial tissue, and wiped me. Once I was clean, he untied my arms and rubbed the feeling back into them before pulling me back onto his hard chest.

  Now that I'd gotten my jealousy out of my system, it was time to get to the bottom of his mood over the past few days.

  "Want to tell me what happened?"

  He sighed and threw a hand over his head. "I learned some news that will affect all of us. Let's say I didn't handle it well."

  I rolled to my side and leaned over him. "That's an understatement. You froze all of us out. And don't say fucking me senseless when you got in bed counts as keeping things hot."

  "I'm sorry." He paused. "The news is pretty shocking."

  "As long as we're not related, I think we're good."

  The thought of that made me shudder. Yes, I was half Greek, but no one wants to be part of any Greek tragedy.

  "You have no idea how close your statement is."

  "What? I think you need to start at the beginning."

  "Then that would start with the text from Collin the night Kapok decided to cause havoc."

  Hagen relayed his conversation with Collin, and I couldn't let the anger of the situation get to me.

  "She was setting me up to take the fall while she disappeared with Papa's money? I hate her for so many things, but this takes the cake.

  "Dammit, I'd resigned myself to selling and even giving Dara her share would be fine, but this. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't."

  Hagen rubbed my bare back. "It’ll work out."

  "I have to tell Adrian." I glanced at the bedside table. "Shit, my phone’s in the living room."

  I moved to slide from the bed, but Hagen caught me around the waist, hurling me back to him.

  "He already knows."

  I folded my arms across my chest. "Of course, he does. You talk to him but not me or your brothers."

  "Adrian is going to come to see you later to explain. Listen to him."

  "The timing is interesting."

  "Meaning?"

  "Dara's attorney sent a packet for me to review. She has a buyer for Kipos. They want me to go in on Monday to sign the papers."

  "She's desperate since Adrian's birthday is at the end of next week and he gains control of his portion of the company."

  "My gut was telling me not to sign even if it was for the good of the company anyway, but now after what you told me, I'm determined to avoid the meeting altogether."

  "I think you should go." Hagen glided his hand up and down my back.

  I glared. "Why?"

  "Adrian will explain everything."

  I hated waiting. Dammit. I hated not having control.

  Taking a deep breath, I said, "I swear one day I am going to kick both your and Adrian's asses for keeping secrets from me."

  He lifted a brow. "Woman, you have more secrets than nearly anyone I know."

  "Whatever, just keep me in the loop from now on," I muttered. "Now want to tell me the real reason you ghosted me this week."

  "I wasn't ghosting you. If I were ghosting you, I wouldn't have come home to our bed every night. I'd have stayed in the apartment above the club."

  "Then what is it?"

  "I have a sister." His voice grew grim, and sadness entered his eyes.

  "A what?" I sat up. "Okay, I think we need to start from the beginning."

  "There was something else that Collin said that had me questioning the past."

  I kept quiet, letting him process his thoughts.

  "Collin said he looked for me for months. He said Draco hid me as a way to get back at him. And he told me to get the truth from Draco."

  "Where does the sister come in?"

  "I confronted Draco, and he admitted that he kept me from my family. He hid me because Collin hid Henna and Anaya. Victor Anthony had swindled Draco out of millions, and one of the girls was going to be payment for what your uncle did."

  Bile rose in my throat.

  "Collin saved their lives by giving them new identities and moving them to Colorado. Collin refused to pick between his goddaughter and his wife's daughter."

  It took me a second to understand what he'd said. Anaya was Rhea’s daughter. Meaning Uncle Victor had had an affair with her twenty years ago.

  When I looked into Hagen’s eyes, I knew I'd drawn the correct conclusion.

  "How long did the affair last?"

  "Not sure, but from what Draco said, it was ongoing for years."

  There was distaste in his voice as he used
Draco's name. I could only imagine how he felt—the man he viewed as the enemy his whole life had made mistakes with him but hadn't betrayed him as he believed. And the man he'd loved as his surrogate father was the enemy, or close to it.

  "Draco orchestrated everything I went through on the streets to make me desperate enough to beg for any bone he threw at me. I can't describe the shit that happened to me." He squeezed his eyes tight and gripped his hair, releasing a pained breath.

  I cupped his face in my hands. "You don't have to talk about it. I get it."

  "Do you think Henna or Anaya know?"

  I shook my head. "They would have told me. We’ve never kept anything from each other. They both carry the shame of what Uncle Victor did like a heavy chain around their neck. If it hadn't been for my aunt, they would have kept their assumed names instead of using their real ones when they came back to Nevada."

  "Makes sense."

  A thought crossed my mind as I studied Hagen's face and remembered Anaya's.

  "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  I traced my thumb down the bridge of his nose and then over his lips. "I just realized how much you and Ana resemble each other. I always thought her super-fair skin came from the northern Indian side of Uncle Victor's family, but now it makes sense."

  "Starlight, you can't tell anyone. Henna and Anaya have built a life for themselves and don't need the scandal. And my brothers." Hagen sighed. "Pierce will take it and move forward, but Zack. I'm not sure how he'll handle it. It would kill him to know Mama wasn't the angel he believed her to be."

  I dropped my head to his chest. "What are we going to do?"

  "We?"

  "Yes, we."

  He released a deep sigh, and for the first time since we started talking, the stress eased. "I like the sound of that."

  "Now answer the question."

  "First, we need to handle the situation with Dara. Then we’ll tackle the other issue."

  "And how do we handle the Dara situation without making it so I don't go to jail?" I asked, as I peered up at him.

  "That’s where your brother comes in. He's working at the Aegis until midnight, so he’ll be over after his shift."

  I glanced at the clock. "That's two hours from now. I'm not sure I can wait that long to hear your plan."

  "Did you ever hear the phrase ‘patience is a virtue’?"

  "Isn’t it obvious? I don't have any. What am I going to do for the next two hours? I don't like watching TV, and I left my eReader in the lab."

  He pushed me onto my back and pulled my legs around his waist. "I'm sure I can think of a few things to occupy your time. I have a bit more making up to do."

  Penny

  * * *

  "THE WALLFLOWER IS GONE, Persephone. You are not going to let her push you around anymore," I said to myself as I stared at my reflection in the hallway mirror of Hagen's condo…umm…my condo.

  I couldn't believe how much had changed in a matter of weeks. I was no longer the Kipos heiress but the Firewater mogul. Tonight, the world would learn I was the creator of the coveted whiskey.

  It was all part of Adrian's plan.

  After Adrian had come to the penthouse a few days earlier, we'd agreed that it was time for me to come out as the owner of PSK Distilleries. Dara was using a potential contract with PSK as a selling feature for Kipos. She needed to see that unless she played nice with me, there would be no selling Kipos International to anyone.

  For now, I'd let her believe she had the upper hand. Adrian and I both knew her pride and ego went hand in hand, and she viewed framing me for her illegal activities as a boon to her agenda.

  On Monday, I'd play my ace and see her world crumble around her.

  My heart still ached, knowing I probably would never get to the truth behind Papa's death. Hagen said none of the investigators had any leads, and his relationship with Draco had cooled, making me hesitant to ask Hagen to contact him.

  Maybe it was better not to know. It wouldn't bring Papa back, and both Adrian and I had lives away from Kipos.

  Adrian had agreed to sell the company as soon as we cleaned up the mess Dara had created, but it required Adrian to turn twenty-one, and that wasn't for a few more days.

  "Are you still brooding?" Adrian asked as he walked in.

  He wore a custom-tailored tuxedo, and he'd tamed his normally shaggy hair, making him look like he just walked off the pages of a fashion magazine.

  "You clean up nicely, baby bro."

  "Thank you. You look beautiful yourself. Though I'm not sure if that is supposed to be a dress or a swimsuit with a sheer skirt."

  "Ha-ha. You think you're funny. Henna had it made for me when she was in Italy. It's haute couture."

  The second Henna had brought it over last night I knew the men in my life would have a multitude of objections to the ensemble. The body of the dress was the reddish brown of Firewater, and the transparent fabric that made up the skirt had pale hues of silver and rose gold. It was nothing like the sensible Persephone Kipos would have worn in the past, but this dress fit my style better than any other gown I'd worn in public before.

  "It wouldn't matter if it was vintage and worth a hundred grand. The second Hagen sees it, he’s going to lose his shit."

  "He isn't going to be here tonight, so we have nothing to worry about."

  About two hours ago, Hagen had called saying he was delayed with a major build-out error at a new club and that it would be virtually impossible for him to get back in time for my introduction and the announcement of the deal I'd negotiated with Zack for the exclusive distribution of Firewater Incognito to the Lykaios brothers.

  When Adrian had proposed the possibility, I'd balked. But then after I thought about it, I knew he was right. Having Zack handle the marketing and distribution of the new whiskey would take some of the tasks I hated off my shoulders.

  "I wouldn't count on that. Hagen will be here sooner or later. And there are bound to be pictures in the entertainment news channels. This place is packed with celebrities."

  I glared at Adrian through the mirror. "Hagen has no say in what I wear. Plus, I think I look hot."

  "No comment on that statement. We're Greek and all, but that's not something I like to consider my sister as."

  Adrian picked up a shot of Firewater and downed it. He closed his eyes, enjoying the burn of the liquor.

  I turned. "Excuse me, but you haven't turned twenty-one yet. Don't get caught drinking in public. There will be cameras everywhere, and we don't need Dara causing you any grief."

  "Speaking of Mommy Dearest. Are you okay with the plan?"

  "I'm not going to lie. After all we did to keep Papa's legacy, it feels like Dara won. We still don't have a clear picture of how she was involved in Papa's death."

  "Think about it this way: we will get her one way or the other. Focus on the fact that she will be out of your life for good by the end of the day on Monday."

  I sighed and said, "I am, but in the end, she'll always be your mother."

  Adrian shook his head. "Dara Kipos may have given birth to me, but she isn't my mother. My mother is the woman I'm looking at right now."

  My lips trembled, and tears burned the backs of my eyes.

  "You were a kid yourself, but you put your dreams aside to raise me. I know the truth even if no one else does." Adrian pulled me into his arms and squeezed me close.

  I held on to him and soaked in his warmth. Adrian was what had kept me going all these years. If it hadn't been for how much he needed me, I'd have probably given up. He had done for me as much as I'd done for him.

  Reaching into his back pocket, Adrian pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at my face.

  "No more tears or thinking about the past. It's time to focus on you and the future you are creating. Plus, you'll ruin your makeup, and you know how Camellia gets when anyone messes up her creations."

  I sniffed. "I love you, sweet boy."

  "Boy?" He pulled back with a fake frown. "I
'm no boy. I'm a man."

  Laughing, I gave him one last squeeze before I returned to the mirror to make sure my eye makeup wasn't smudged.

  "Oh, by the way, I have a present for you from a man who hoped to give it to you himself."

  My heart skipped a beat.

  Adrian reached into the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket and pulled out a long rectangular box. He opened it and revealed a thin white diamond necklace with a pink diamond pendant in the shape of an elderflower.

  "Oh my." I gingerly touched the gems.

  "I'm happy you finally found a man as in love with you as you are with him."

  "He's not in love with me. He wants me and cares for me, but it's not love."

  I wanted to believe Hagen loved me but I was too afraid to hope. The statements of me keeping him and saying only I could end us made me think he might love me. But I needed to hear the words no one had given me before.

  Adrian opened the clasp and set the necklace against my collarbone before fastening it.

  "You may not see it, but I do. He's in love with you. He's not the type of man to declare it with words, but he does love you."

  "I suppose." The weight of the necklace was significantly heavier than I expected.

  There was a note in the box.

  Starlight,

  I had this made for you. It is rare and unique like you.

  No more hiding in the shadows.

  Hagen

  "As I said, the man is a goner over you."

  At that moment the elevator doors opened, and Zack stepped out with Pierce right behind him.

  "Let's go, beautiful." Zack nodded to Adrian and tucked my arm into the crook of his elbow. "Time to get everyone drunk on your thousand-dollar-an-ounce lab experiment."

  "Ha-ha, you should consider becoming a comedian if this real-estate thing doesn't work out."

  Penny

  * * *

  I WALKED onto Hagen’s private balcony overlooking Ida's opulent ballroom about two hours after the official opening of the hotel and presenting myself as the reclusive owner of Firewater. I found a spot in the shadows, away from the light of the hotel and took a calming breath.