Their Fairy Princess (Office Intrigue Book 7)

by Nicole Edwards

  My gaze traveled over him slowly, taking in the long, lean lines of his body. He was utter perfection. Bronze skin covering dense muscle. I’d touched that body before, but only once. During my scenes with Ian and Isaac, they kept it mostly about me and I had yet to have sex with either of them, but not because I didn’t want to.

  I most definitely did.

  When it came to my sexuality, I wasn’t shy about it, didn’t feel the need to hide my desires. I was a highly sexual creature and I’d long ago accepted that about myself. It was the very reason I’d ventured into the realm of BDSM. I felt a sense of peace knowing there were others just like me, people who were open and honest about what they were looking for.

  As for Ian and Isaac … I wasn’t quite sure what their true desires were. There was no denying they were a different breed. While many of the Dominants at the club were eager to fuck the submissives they played with, the identical twin Doms weren’t. Their scenes were well thought out and, honestly, some of the most intriguing I’d participated in.

  “Look your fill,” Isaac said.

  My gaze shot to his face when I realized I’d been ogling his chest.

  “While you’re here, I want you to feel at home.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  He set down the towel he’d been using to dry his hair before he stalked toward me. I couldn’t seem to move, my feet rooted in place. My nerves jangled loudly, my body going soft with the need for him to touch me.

  My head tilted back naturally as he moved into my personal space.

  “I have a single request, fairy princess.”

  My heart thumped hopefully against my chest. “Anything, Sir.”

  His eyes scanned my face briefly. “I prefer you to call me anything except Master or Sir.”

  I blinked twice, trying to process what he’d just said.

  He apparently picked up on my confusion, because he cupped my face in his big hands, held my gaze. “Something to show respect, just not either of those things.”

  Unsure what to say, I nodded. “Of course.”

  My hands were trembling, and he must have noticed, because he dropped his hands from my face, took my hands in his, then backed up until he was sitting on the bed. He tugged me closer, between his thighs.

  “I’m not a man to pretend.” His voice was soft, sincere. “Not when it comes to what I want.”

  I couldn’t look away, trapped by the intensity registering on his face.

  “I want you. Have since the first day I met you. I won’t deny it. I also think this doesn’t surprise you. In the same regard, I’m a man who knows when to approach and when not to.”

  My brain processed the words but couldn’t find the meaning.

  His attention shifted to my mouth briefly before his eyes met mine once more.

  “When you’re ready to take what I want to give you, Everly, you’ll make the first move.”

  I frowned and his hand rose, his thumb brushing over the line in my forehead.

  “That’s a directive,” he clarified. “And if you never want me, I won’t hold it against you.”

  For whatever reason, I leaned in. “I do, Isaac. I do want you.”

  He smiled, his hand sliding over my cheek once again. “I know you do. That’s why I’m willing to wait.”

  I exhaled, grateful he understood me. I’d wanted him and Ian since the first night I was in their company. However, they scared me. Not simply because I knew they could break my heart, but I knew if I gave myself to them, they’d expect everything from me. And while that was what I wanted more than anything, to find a Dominant I could give my whole being to, I wasn’t sure I could follow through.

  Mainly because of Dante. He was a part of my life I wasn’t willing to let go of. And until I found someone who understood that, was willing to accept the fact that I was in love with a man I knew I would never be with, hope was the only thing I had.

  “So, when you’re ready, you’ll let me know. But it won’t be tonight.”

  I nodded, my voice a raspy whisper when I said, “How will I let you know?”

  “Trust me. I’ll know.”

  It was then that I fell a little bit in love with the man.

  It wouldn’t be long before a little turned into a lot, I knew.

  FOUR

  IAN

  “Not bad considering what you had to work with,” I told Heaven when I joined her in the kitchen after I’d taken care of business in my bedroom, washing up, emptying my pockets, locking up my weapons.

  When we’d come inside, I had showed Heaven to the room attached to my bedroom. The entire time I was showing her around, I’d noticed Dante’s shoulders working their way closer and closer to his ears. The man was stressed, and it seemed he didn’t do that well when in confined spaces. Which was the reason I opted to give him the guest suite on the opposite end of the house. It offered more privacy, more breathing room for him.

  In all the time Isaac and I had lived here, the extra rooms had never been used. Strange how quickly things could shift and turn, flipping your normal world on its ear. This afternoon, when we’d ventured out for the evening, I hadn’t expected that by the time night fell, all the rooms in this house would have occupants.

  But I wasn’t questioning what was happening here. That wasn’t my style. I was more the go-with-the-flow sort. Whatever was meant to happen would.

  “Smells good.” I watched the pretty brunette as she put the finishing touches on her entrees.

  “Thanks,” Heaven said in that chipper tone that I knew was a facade.

  “I’ll set the table,” I offered.

  “I’ve already done it, Sir.”

  I glanced over at Dante. He was standing in the doorway that separated the formal dining room from the kitchen. He had taken a shower, pulled on black jeans and a black T-shirt. His blond hair was a shaggy mess that somehow looked good on him.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Sir.”

  “I still don’t understand all the formality,” Heaven stated. “I mean, I get that it’s part of the whole BDSM thing, but it’s odd to hear so many sirs being passed around.”

  I looked back at Dante, saw the only thing I needed to see. He preferred high protocol and that was all that mattered.

  “To each his own,” I told her. “What works for one won’t necessarily work for you.”

  “Don’t I know it,” she continued. “I’ve heard their stories.” Heaven shook her head. “So totally not my thing, but they seem pretty happy.”

  “Then you know it’s not your place to judge.” I didn’t say the words with heat, it was merely an acknowledgement.

  “No judging.” She smiled back at me as she headed to pull something out of the oven. “How old are you, anyway?”

  Not quite sure what that had to do with anything, I answered anyway. “Thirty-one.”

  I watched her work, admiring the way she all but pranced around the large space. She was cute. Small, brunette. Reminded me a lot of Everly, though she lacked the sweet innocence I saw in Everly, something that had attracted me to her from the beginning.

  But Heaven had a vibrance about her. She was fun, carefree. Or so that was what she wanted me to see, anyway.

  “Thirty-one,” she mused. “Not too old.” A mischievous grin formed on her cupid’s-bow lips. “Then again, not that young, either.”

  I couldn’t help but smile.

  She was something. Not at all what I usually encountered.

  Probably due to my brother’s reputation, most submissives believed they had to follow high protocol when they were with us. Sir this, Master that. Formality, mostly. And while I tended to cater to the needs of submissives I interacted with, it was interesting to keep company with someone who wasn’t into the lifestyle. She had no clue the transgressions I would’ve pointed out if she had been a submissive.

  Perhaps that was what I liked about her. She wasn’t a submissive. It meant she was safe for me. There would be no mista
king any chemistry for something more. As for why I was making that delineation, I wasn’t quite sure. Had it been any other day, any other encounter, I probably would’ve flirted with Heaven, talked her right out of her clothes. She was physically attractive, seemed to find me equally so, and sometimes that was all that mattered.

  Only, there was someone else on my mind, had been since the moment she’d walked into Zeke’s house.

  The object of my affections appeared in the kitchen and my full attention shifted to her.

  Everly looked so young, so pure. I figured that was one of the things I liked most about her. I had the overwhelming urge to dirty her, to peel back all those innocent layers and free the sexy spitfire underneath. I’d spent plenty of time thinking about her, quite a bit interacting with her in the past six months or so. Craving her in a way I didn’t quite understand. It wasn’t like me.

  However, I wasn’t the sort of man to question my desires. At my core, I was laid-back when it came to emotions. They passed freely through me without much consideration. I countered that with the hardcore dominance I pursued. It was a perfect balance.

  For whatever reason, I felt the need to touch Everly, something I’d refrained from doing since she arrived at Zeke’s earlier in the day. Her eyes were focused on me as I approached, and when I pulled her in for a hug, she relaxed, her hands fisting in the back of my shirt as though she didn’t want me to let her go.

  If I wasn’t mistaken, she had needed that. Needed me to acknowledge her.

  I looked up when Isaac appeared. Immediately I saw the relief, recognized it even. He’d been waiting for me to connect, to show him that I was on the same page as he was when it came to her.

  I was. I most definitely was.

  But right now, Everly scared me. She seemed brittle and the last thing I wanted was to hurt her.

  Leaning down, I kissed the top of her head. “You’re safe with us.”

  She pulled back, smiled up at me. “I know.”

  The fact that she didn’t call me Sir pleased me. I hated that term. Master, too. They were overused, in my opinion. Sure, some Doms preferred them. To each his own and all that. I wanted a submissive to call me something that would connect us on a deeper level, something that meant something to both of us.

  “None of that mushy stuff,” Heaven said. “Let’s eat.”

  Releasing Everly, I allowed them to go into the dining room while my brother hung back, pulling out a couple of Guinness while I grabbed chilled mugs from the freezer.

  “Everything all right?” I asked, setting the mugs on the island.

  He nodded. “It will be. When we find this bastard.”

  Yeah. I hadn’t been talking about that, but whatever. If that was where my brother’s head was at, I’d be shocked. But for some reason, he felt the need to remain on neutral ground.

  So neutral ground we would remain on.

  For now.

  I grabbed a mug and followed my brother into the dining room. As I planted my ass in the cushioned chair, I took a moment to look at the table. We’d never sat at it before, tending to utilize the island as seating for the rare meals we ate here. It felt almost foreign.

  Then again, having Everly in my house wasn’t normal for us, either.

  Since I figured I could certainly get used to her presence, I figured I could do the same with the table.

  Perhaps I could get more familiar with both.

  At the same time.

  The salacious thought made me smile.

  Dante

  “So, how’d you two meet?” Ian prompted when the five of us sat down at the dining room table.

  His gaze darted toward me, his fork motioning toward Everly. Not sure which he was wanting to answer, I waited to see if she would respond. My stomach was growling, and Heaven had outdone herself with the meal. Beef tips and egg noodles had obviously been her intentional main dish, but since I was vegan, she knew I would never eat it. However, the salad she had piled together with more vegetables than I had in my own kitchen would definitely hit the spot.

  “Since no one else wants to talk,” Heaven said with a smile in her voice, “I’ll be happy to give you the rundown.”

  “Please,” Ian urged, his eyes skimming over her with apparent interest.

  Initially, when we’d come into the house, Ian had regarded Heaven as though she was on the outside looking in. The puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit. However, their conversation in the kitchen had seemed to lighten his mood. I wasn’t quite sure what was happening, but I felt as though I was in some sort of alternate universe where strangers were pulled into an intimate setting and forced to interact. Then again, that was sort of what happened.

  And now it was a matter of finding where all the pieces belonged on the board.

  Isaac was the easiest to decipher being that he couldn’t take his eyes off Everly. Ian was shooting his own longing looks in her direction, but he also seemed rather intrigued by Heaven. Of course, there was the interested looks I’d received from both men. Those quick perusals meant to gauge and assess. Add to that the fact that Everly was here with me and it all seemed to come together to form everything I’d ever dreamed of. A smorgasbord of options specifically selected to meet my own unique needs.

  Or the more likely case: it was happenstance.

  “Dante and Everly met at the library,” Heaven said between bites.

  “The grocery store,” Everly corrected.

  “Right.” Heaven pointed her fork as though recalling the event. “Grocery store. They’d been in the bakery.”

  “Produce section,” I mumbled.

  Heaven laughed. “Why don’t I let them tell it?”

  Isaac’s mesmerizing gaze met mine and I saw the curiosity there. As though he was inside my head, tossing the words directly into my mouth, I began rambling. “I met Everly at the grocery store. Produce section.” I glanced over at her, smiled. “She’d been looking for an eggplant, of all things.”

  “Yeah?” Ian’s curiosity shone like a beacon. “Eggplant?”

  “For the record,” Everly said, “turns out I hate eggplant.”

  “Keep going,” Isaac urged, his eyes still locked on me.

  “She asked about the shirt I was wearing,” I explained. “It was one I’d gotten from a club I belong to.”

  “Inferno?” Ian asked.

  I paused, a feeling of dread trickling through me, as though I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t.

  “Go on.”

  I swallowed, nodded. “Everly asked about it. The shirt. Said she’d be interested in going. We started talking. Turned out, we had a lot in common.”

  “Mostly submission,” Everly added. “And as the saying goes, the rest is history. I asked for his number so I could get more details about the club.” Her head lifted and she met Ian’s gaze, then Isaac’s. “For the record, I never went to Inferno. Dante said it wasn’t the right place for me.”

  “He looks out for you,” Isaac mused, his attention on the food in front of him.

  “I do,” I agreed. “I’d just started to check out the club, went a couple of times just to get a feel for it. I wasn’t going that often back then, so I didn’t feel right giving her details. We talked on the phone, texted a lot. Became really good friends. We got on the subject of where we lived. I told her I’d found a three-bedroom house for a steal, but I was thinking about selling it so I could get something smaller. Everly mentioned her rent was about to go up on her apartment, I suggested she rent a room from me. She did.”

  “Then I came along,” Heaven added, “about a year ago.”

  “Now we’re one big happy family,” Everly said sweetly, patting my arm.

  “Like brother and sisters?” Isaac asked.

  Knowing what he was hinting at, I opted for full disclosure. “Definitely not.” I cast a sideways glance at Everly. “I care about them, but I don’t look at either as though they were my sister.”

  “We think he’s hot,” Heaven offered.
“And vice versa.”

  Heaven had a way of simplifying things. Plus, she lacked a filter most of us had been born with. Despite that, or perhaps because of that, I liked her. A lot.

  However, the attraction was on a base level. A man admiring a woman on a sexual level, knowing he would never give in to the urge.

  “Has there ever been anything intimate between you?” Ian asked.

  “Get right to the point, why don’t ya?” Heaven teased. “But no. Well, not between me and Everly or me and Dante.”

  “Interesting way of laying that out there,” Ian said, his eyes on her. “Are you bisexual?”

  I could feel the heat emanating off the man. He was curious, and now that the question was out there, so was I.

  When Heaven didn’t answer, I glanced down the table to see she was blushing and Everly had taken a keen interest in one of the noodles on her plate, which was the only thing she was eating due to the fact she was a vegetarian.

  “Less about us,” Heaven said quickly. “Let’s talk about you two.”

  “The answer is yes,” Isaac said before sipping his beer. “We’re bisexual.”

  I grinned, dipping my head to hide it. For whatever reason, that acknowledgement pleased me greatly.

  Ian appeared captivated by Heaven. “What else do you want to know?”

  “You’re twins.”

  “And you must be a rocket scientist.”

  “Touché.” She giggled. “You’re identical.”

  This time he simply smiled.

  “Thirty-one years old.”

  When Isaac peered over at Ian, he smirked. “She asked. I answered.”

  “You’re both Dominants and you want Everly to be your submissive.”

  Both men’s eyes instantly shot to Everly as though they were admitting as much.

  “But there’s more to that, isn’t there?”

  All eyes moved back to Heaven, mine included.

  I got the feeling that whatever came out of her mouth at this point was going to lay the foundation for what was to come.

  And who better than the filterless female to rocket them into whatever happenstance had in store for them next.