“I know what you drink after a fight,” Brom called back, waving a hand dismissively over his shoulder.
I felt a touch and I turned to see Merlin there, his eyes worried behind his own mask.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his eyes sweeping over me. “If I could have guessed—”
“Shh,” I interrupted him, covering his lips with my fingertips. “I’m fine. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I saw who pushed you, but she disappeared too quickly. And all these bloody fucking masks . . .” He trailed off with frustration and shoved his fingers through his hair.
I tugged on his shirt to get his attention and he looked back at me.
“You can make it up to me later,” I offered, and his worried look melted into a salacious grin.
“That’s something to look forward to,” he said, his hands settling on my waist. But I pulled away, laughing, and turned back to Romulus, wrapping my arms around the lycan’s bicep.
“Come on, let’s go get that drink.” I tugged at him and my heart soared as they both laughed.
“So demanding,” Romulus said, and shook his head, but I heard the amusement in his voice.
After we passed the silent guard at the stairs, I saw the fox spirit was walking away, and I let go of the lycan.
“I’ll be right back,” I explained, when they looked at me in question. Fuck, in this lighting Romulus was deadly sexy—shirtless, thick muscles covered in the evidence of his victory. It made me want to purr like a cat in heat. “I’ve got to ask Hei-Sook for something.”
“Whatever it is,” Merlin said, as he pushed past his friend, “tell her to charge it to the same card I gave her.”
“Thanks,” I said—realizing that took care of something I hadn’t planned for. Romulus waited, leaning his shoulder up against the wall of the partition.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight, lass,” he said, grumbly and possessive. It made my blood sing and I wanted to show him again how enthusiastically I could consent.
“I’ll be fast,” I promised, my voice breathless. The faster I got this over with, the faster I could be back in his arms. And if everything worked in my favor . . .
“Hei-Sook!” I called out the fox spirit’s name as I turned away from the leering lycan. The fox spirit was dressed the same as last night, and I wondered if it was a sort of uniform.
“If it isn’t their little bird,” she teased, though I could see her smile was tight. “Back for more with them, then?”
I looked over my shoulder, and Romulus was still there—his gaze never leaving me.
“I wondered if you’d be able to help me do something,” I said when I turned back to her. “It’s kind of shady though.”
Hei-Sook laughed and I felt chagrined. “Shady is what we do best, if not outright illegal. Maybe you can handle them after all. What’s up, darling?”
“I need to keep my mother here overnight, my sisters too, if possible,” I explained quickly. “But they can’t be made suspicious—”
“Planning a long night then?” She interrupted me, but without judgment. She shrugged before she continued. “What syndicate and what are they wearing? Unless you’ll tell me their names?” I shook my head, not willing to risk it. “Didn’t think so. Hopefully they dress unique.”
“They definitely do,” I assured her. “One of my sisters would have a literal fit if she was, in any way, matching another person. We’re in the warlock family.” I explained quickly the distinct features of Madam Jupiter’s, Titania’s, and Beatrice’s masks and gowns—thankful that they made me help them get ready for the evening.
“Now, not to be crass, but you can pay, right?” She cocked her head at me.
“Merlin said to charge it to the card he gave you,” I said sheepishly, and she rolled her eyes.
“Of course he did. Whatever, money is money.” Hei-Sook turned away from me but spoke over her shoulder. “I’ll let you know when it’s done. Have fun tonight.”
I most certainly planned to. And by the look Romulus gave me when I returned to his side, I wasn’t alone in my intentions.
Chapter 12
Merlin
I forced myself to sip down the whiskey and not down it like a shot out of frustration. I wanted to feel the smooth burn of the alcohol down my throat before it spread its warmth in my belly. It was that or try to hunt down the fucker that shoved her into the challenge circle. I swear I aged ten fucking years when I saw her there, Romulus facing her with the fight still thrumming in him.
I’d fucking hated Brom when he held me back, my own physical strength nothing compared to his. But he was right, as much as I hated it. He’d hissed out warnings in my ear, forcing me to listen. Neither of us could go into that ring, not without starting a fucking full-out war between our kinds. If it had been a challenge circle for anything other than the Connacht legacy, it wouldn’t have mattered and we’d both have charged in there to keep her safe.
Fuck, I hated that Romulus might have been right—that she was put in front of us to break us apart. If Brom hadn’t have stopped me, they would have succeeded.
But doubt burned in me, because she didn’t look at us to save her. She saved herself in a way that made me want to scream, but at the same time I wanted to rip off that dress of hers and fuck her until we passed out. Our little bird went and submitted to Romulus like she was a lycan bitch, ready to whelp his pups. And he’d accepted her—for everyone to see.
I didn’t understand how the man didn’t fucking take her right there. From what I saw of her, she’d have been more than happy for him to.
I looked up, hoping to see Hei-Sook with more whiskey, but it was her, looking sinful in that backless red gown that hugged her curves. Her hair was dark, like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be blonde or brown, and it was still pinned up in an artistic style that I wanted to ruin. I wanted to bury my hands in her hair, destroying her perfected style, debauching her skin with my mouth until she cried out.
Romulus was right behind her and I threw a towel at him, left thoughtfully by our favorite fox spirit.
“You stink,” I said as the lycan snatched the white cloth out of the air before letting himself fall onto the sturdy couch next to my chair.
“That happens when you actually do something other than wave your hands and shout fancy words in a fight,” he snapped back, but without real bite. He wiped off his face though, before tossing the towel to the table and pulling her into his lap.
“Our little bird has finally revealed her name to me,” he said, but he looked up at her rather than at Brom or me.
“Is that so?” Brom asked, clearly interested. He propped his chin up elegantly on his fingers, watching them with interest, and I took another gulp of the fiery liquor—the smoky peat flavor settling me.
“Ella,” she said, looking between us. “You can call me Ella.”
“Ella,” I spoke, as if tasting her name. It suited her, for all that we knew little about her. I cocked my head to study her, perched so comfortably on the previously reluctant lycan’s knee, his large hand holding her waist.
“A beautiful name, surely for a beautiful woman,” Brom mused. She tensed, and I wondered why. I know that we had not seen her face, but did she doubt herself so much? There was still more to know about her, and Romulus’s fears from earlier crept their way into my thoughts.
“So, Ella,” I said, as I leaned back into the chair, my arms resting on the chair as if I were a king. I braced my foot against the table, energy buzzing through me, in hopes that it would keep my knee from bouncing. “Let’s play a game.”
“All right,” she said nervously. Romulus huffed and I flipped him off while I finished off my drink.
“I’ll start.” I unbuttoned my sleeves at the wrists, unable to stand the slim-fitting shirts Brom preferred. “Warlock, shifter or vampire?”
She watched me, her eyes a blue like the ocean in a storm. Had I not noticed their color before?
“Warlock, tech
nically,” she answered. “Whiskey, rum, or vodka?” she fired back before any of us could respond. Romulus had looked surprised at her answer, his mask abandoned on the floor with the rest of his clothes.
“Rum,” I said, and lifted the empty glass. “I drink this because of the dog.”
“You’re simply uncultured,” Romulus said.
“And you’re an arrogant shitgibbon,” I returned with a smirk. “Still, at least it isn’t the bottom shelf shit unfit for anything other than paint removal.”
“Gentlemen,” Brom chided us, and I rolled my eyes but waved at him to take a turn.
“Lace, silk, or satin?” he asked, and I felt my eyes bulge. I looked at the vampire, his expression hidden mostly behind that mask of his. I looked to her and saw a blush creeping down her neck. Suddenly I was picturing her only clothed in delicate lace, her body teasing us while being still fully covered. I pressed my palm against my thickening dick, willing it to settle.
“Satin,” she answered, trailing her fingertips down over her breasts, caressing the delicate fabric which enveloped her.
“Power, status, or wealth?” I asked, and hated myself. Why the fuck couldn’t I just enjoy her like Romulus was letting himself? Or Brom? I knew he’d take what she offered until she tried to cross an unspoken boundary. I had been on board with that plan, to enjoy whatever she offered, like we talked about in Brom’s penthouse. But now, with her in front of us, I needed to know. I needed to know if she was our Helen of Troy, set to destroy us. Or was she our Penelope, the woman we’d suffer an odyssey battling the gods to return to?
She cocked her head and I dropped my gaze, unable to look her in the eyes.
“I have them all,” she answered, and my eyes snapped back up to her. She was no longer looking at me, nor at any of us. She stared at her hands, as if all the ancient questions of meaning could be found in them. I found myself wondering that as well—her touch inspired such a riot within me, I wanted her to place her hands upon my eyes and grant me wisdom of old.
“But I do not have freedom,” she continued, her voice dropped low enough I had to strain to hear her.
Silence fell between us, uncertainty stretching time.
“Family, debt, or obligation?” Brom asked, and she and I looked to him. He had slipped off his mask, watching her with a quiet understanding.
“Family,” she answered, and squeezed Romulus’s hand as he offered it.
A knock sounded at the entrance, a quick knock before Hei-Sook entered the alcove, her tray laden with drinks and an entire decanter taking up the center.
“Here you go, ladies and . . . men,” she said cheekily, and I grinned at her with an easiness I didn’t fully feel. “All charged to Merlin’s grudge of the week.”
“Cheerio, luv,” I said as I reached for the whiskey bottle she plopped down next to the lantern on the table. “Make sure you draw yourself a large tip, for being so gracious to us.”
“Oh, I had planned on it, Merlin,” the woman said, balling her fist on her hip. “It’s the least I deserve for putting up with tossers like you. I don’t know what she sees in you three,” she jerked her head at Ella with a grin. “But she’ll get tired of your shit soon enough.”
I snorted, shaking my head at the woman, and refilled my glass. She was a spitball of spunk, but most fox spirits were. She’d never cared about risking offending any of us, treating us little better than if we were vagabonds on the street. But after the ass-kissing and pretentious kowtowing by the rest of the syndicate population, her lack of regard endeared her to us. None of us ever tried to court her, not even for an evening. It was a silent agreement that she was someone we appreciated, someone who we would protect even if she never expected it or asked for it.
“Speaking of,” she turned to Ella. “Your request is taken care of.”
“So soon?” Ella seemed surprised, intriguing me. “You work fast.”
The fox spirit shrugged. “I’m good at my job. They’ve requested, and been granted, rooms on the third floor.” She looked to the rest of us. “Anything else I can get you right now, boys?”
“No, thank you, Hei-Sook,” Brom answered for us, and the waitress whisked away.
“Mind telling us what that was about, girly?” Romulus said and trailed his lips across her shoulder, bare save the thin strap of red satin. She shivered at his touch and brought her hand up to his face, scratching her nails lightly into his beard.
“I wanted the entire night,” she admitted, and she sounded embarrassed. “But if . . . my family returned home, I would be required to do the same.”
“And now that you have the entire night?” the lycan asked, though even I could tell it wasn’t a fucking question. My blood drained right into my cock as I watched her bring his hand to her breast and she looked me in the eye.
“Maybe we can dance . . .” she trailed off, her eyes blazing a path down my body until she saw the bulge in my pants. I spread my legs wider, an invitation and a challenge. “Besides,” I could swear she was fucking smirking as she turned in Romulus’s lap, hiking her dress up to straddle him. “To the victor go the spoils.”
I brought the tumbler to my mouth, wetting my lips with the liquid even as I palmed my cock through these ridiculous pants.
We had the entire night, and I was sure we’d need every minute.
Chapter 13
Eleanora
Romulus was already hard and I pressed down against him, letting myself give in to the feelings I’d been fighting since I first walked into that room upstairs. I let go of the fear I always carried with me, wanting to take this night for myself—even it if went all to shit later, I’d have this.
Romulus brought his other hand up to cup my other breast, wasting no time, and I let my head fall back as his mouth pressed scorching kisses down my throat to the top of my chest. I looked over and saw Merlin stroking himself as he watched us and it pushed my arousal higher. I felt invincible in that moment.
“If I may,” Brom’s smooth timbre slipped through the haze of desire as gently as his fingertips glided down my spine. I dropped my head back to look up at the vampire. “While there is no doubt the lycan would devour you in any environment, there is one much more suited to our intentions upstairs.”
Upstairs . . . near my stepmother. He must have sensed my hesitation, his hand stilling on my back. “There is a private service elevator we may use, and I am sure that those you wish to avoid will be placed on a different floor than my own suite.”
Romulus’s mouth left my breast and he rolled his eyes at Brom. “You’re telling me you’ve got the perfect room to debauch this woman and you’ve been holding out until now?”
Brom gave me a salacious grin, and I shivered with anticipation even as he pulled away to retrieve his mask and return it to his face. “It would not have been appropriate to suggest it earlier. Shall we retire upstairs or continue to socialize?”
“You taking the piss, mate?” Merlin sounded nearly offended and I laughed even as I felt affection bursting in my chest for these three men. Less than twenty-four hours and these three had made me feel more . . . of everything than I had since my father died. I laughed without care, said what came to mind, touched and was touched freely. I ignored the small voice of doubt in my mind, whispering predictions of abandonment and disgust if I were to reveal my face to them, the horror that I really was.
Brom offered me his hand instead of responding to the warlock and I accepted it graciously. Romulus frowned, as if he was second-guessing our change of scenery, but grabbed his pile of effects before standing and shoving them at Merlin. “Hold these for me,” he ordered without looking at the man. His eyes were trained on me and I wondered if this was what rabbits felt like under the gaze of a wolf. He stepped up close to me, forcing me to tilt my head back to keep my eyes on his face, and slid his arm between me and Brom, tugging me away from the vampire. Brom let my hand slide out of his own, but from the expression on his face, I had zero doubt of his intentions.
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Brom looked at me as if he were starving and I was his only hope of salvation. There was a fragility hidden within the darkness of his eyes, a suggestion that he would crumble and collapse into ash if I were to deny him. But I couldn’t—I wanted to open my arms to him, to guide his mouth to my neck and let him feast, to become whole and well. And Merlin, the gruff moody man standing behind him watching me? He looked like he wanted to fuck me; pure naked desire was etched on his face, his body taut, like a bowstring just about to be released.
“Lead the way, Brom?” Romulus asked, and in tense silence, we followed the vampire out of the alcove and farther down the metal grate walkway. The music blared around us, thumping and beating in my ears, deafening me to everything, my world distilled down to the presence of the three men around me. The electric sparks shooting across my skin from where Brom’s hand held my waist felt as powerful as two stars colliding, their masses pulling into each other even while their joining obliterated everything around them.
Hei-Sook stepped out of an alcove in front of us, her dark eyebrow lifting in silent comment, and she smirked at Brom. But when she made eye contact with me, there was a caution in her eyes—reminding me of the fall after I got too close to the edge. And certainly I was running towards that edge, wanting all three of them, offering myself and taking what they’d give me. I could only offer a nod to the fox spirit—an acknowledgement of the danger I was placing myself in.
We passed her without comment, and near the same door that I had taken my flight the previous evening, Brom pressed a hidden button and the wall opened to reveal the promised elevator.
As soon as the doors closed behind us, Romulus had me backed up against the wall and I clutched at the metal railing digging into my hips, crying out as he pressed kisses along my neck and let his large hands explore my body, squeezing my ass and grinding his hips into mine.
Beautiful Secrets: The Complete Trilogy Page 7
