“How did you find a matching pair in New York? Or a swordsmith anywhere at all. These are beautiful, Rouen.” I placed the sword down and wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing tight against his chest. I blinked back girly tears that threatened to pool in my eyes. He reached down and tilted up my chin.
“Not half as beautiful as you. Consider them a welcome present. It’s customary to give a new Queen gifts. Romanus said we shouldn’t overwhelm you with our customs, but I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you as my Queen.”
He kissed me then, his tongue gently slipping between my lips, running over the edge of my teeth. I kissed him back, stroking his tongue with mine as they danced. Rouen reached down and placed his hands under my ass, lifting me until we were face to face. I wrapped my legs around his waist and kissed him back with a desperation.
A throat cleared. “Are we interrupting?” Romanus sounded amused.
“Yes,” Rouen growled. I tore my lips away from his and looked over his shoulder. All the other guys stood there, Naz and Romanus looking amused, and Charlie looking exasperated, but not angry. That was a step up, right?
“No, it’s fine.” I wiggled out of Rouen’s arms, and he mumbled out a complaint. I stroked his chest and smiled. “Raincheck,” I whispered for his ears only.
I stepped around him to the guys. “Rouen was just giving me my gift.”
Romanus raised an eyebrow at Rouen, and he looked sheepish. “She saw me taking them out of my bag. They are from Romanus, too.”
Romanus shook his head. “You just wanted all the appreciation. I’m no fool, Rouen.” He looked down at me. “Were they a good fit?”
I nodded and grinned. “Perfect. Like they were made for me.”
He winked. “Good. I thought we could take this opportunity to go over what Charlie found and come up with a plan on how to track down the real power behind Shine.”
I picked up my swords and slipped the harness loosely over my shoulders. I didn't need to strap them on inside the hotel room. But I wanted my new toys with me all the same.
The living room had large leather couches, and a huge flat screen tv. A chrome and glass table currently held all of Charlie’s tech gear. He grabbed his laptop and brought it over to the matching coffee table.
“First-”
“We should-”
Both Naz and Romanus spoke at the same time, and I winced. They scowled at each other, and I saw what Rouen had meant. This had the potential to go very, very bad. We needed to sort this out soon.
“We need to pick an Alpha. Shit turns pear-shaped when there aren't clear lines of authority,” I said softly.
Naz scowled. “I agree.”
Romanus just made an extremely inhuman noise in the back of his throat.
“Can I just appoint an Alpha?” I asked.
Both of their eyes snapped to me, but Rouen put his hand over mine to still my tongue. “That would be bad. They need to work it out themselves, through force. One needs to submit, or they will never be content.”
I sighed. I knew it wouldn't be that easy. “Can we just appoint a leader of this operation, and leave the pack stuff until after we are done? A month at the most. Can you guys keep your shit together that long? Consider it a compromise.”
They both eyed me suspiciously. “What did you have in mind?” Romanus growled.
I thought about it. I’d have to phrase this so that both man and beast were appeased. Despite what their mouths said, I had a feeling that their gargoyle nature had a lot more control than anyone wanted to admit, even in Nazir. Hell, especially in the newly made Nazir.
“Nazir can have control of the mission because he has more expertise in these kinds of human operations.” Romanus went to interrupt, but I held up a hand to stop him. “But Romanus gets total control over my protection.”
They gave me wary glances, working through the idea, like it was some kind of trap. I rolled my eyes. The testosterone in the room was so thick I could probably light it with a match.
It was the best I could do. Romanus would have taken control of my safety whether I wanted him to or not. This way I made it sound like my idea. I was telling him that as Queen, I trusted him as Alpha with my safety.
Giving Nazir the mission let him maintain some control of his life, which would have chafed under Romanus’ orders. We had to ease into our pack roles, me especially.
Rouen leaned into me. “Well played, my Queen,” he said from the corner of his mouth. I nudged him with my elbow.
“Agreed?” I asked again.
Both of my Alphas nodded. It was a quick fix at most, but it would have to do. I was pretty sure this hotel didn’t have an arena floor, filled with gladiator sand and reinforced walls. Though it did have a really nice pool that I was desperate to try out sometime this century. Time to dazzle and distract.
I pulled off my hooded jumper, so I was just in my tight tank top. I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. Four sets of eyes dropped to my boobs and the mood in the room changed. Hooray for boobies.
“Tell me your plan, Naz.”
Naz gave me an intense look, like he hadn’t thought I would actually side with him. I think I was going to have to get used to the whole testosterone overload thing, because it wasn’t going to lessen any time soon.
“We should make some subtle enquiries here, check out where they were holding Hope. Try and determine if they have a cell in Geneva, or if they were just in town to grab your sister.” He drummed his fingers against the arm of his chair. “Charlie should continue to find out who is the real power behind the ring, and whether the whole organization is in on it, or just a few shit people.”
Sounded solid to me, so I nodded.
“We have another problem,” Charlie interjected. “If they were informed enough to snatch Hope, they’d have to know what she looks like, right? That means her exact replica is going to stand out when she is running around asking questions, no matter how subtle she is.”
He made a good point. I only had to walk past someone who’d been involved, and we’d be screwed.
I knew what Charlie was suggesting. “Can’t I just wear a hat?” I whined.
He grinned and shook his head. “Oh yeah, spy movie style makeover time!”
Crap.
Turns out that Romanus was actually pretty good at cutting hair. I’d seen him wield knives, so I guess that wasn’t super surprising, but I didn’t think cutting off hair and cutting off heads were transferable skills. He gave me an edgy pixie cut, and I don’t know who was sadder watching my hair fall to the ground, me or Rouen. He’d refused to cut it at all. We’d dyed my hair a dark brown that looked like burnt coffee. It completely changed my look, I’d give them that. I looked paler, almost sickly, my green eyes looking huge in my face with the shorter style.
When it was done, I sat in the middle of the guys, feeling oddly self conscious. Four sets of eyes appraised me.
Rouen ran a hand over my new, feathered tresses. “Still beautiful.”
Romanus smacked him on the back of the head. “She could look like a garden gnome and still be beautiful.”
Rouen pulled a face, like that was obvious, but the whole interaction made me smile. And perhaps feel a little better about it. I mean, it wasn’t like it wouldn’t grow back, right?
“Oh, here’s the final touch,” Charlie said, placing a pair of square rimmed hipster glasses on my face. I raised my eyebrows and he just grinned back. “What? It worked for Superman!”
I’d gone from badass vigilante to hipster nerd in the space of an hour.
Despite my plane nap, I felt like I could still sleep for a week. I yawned deeply, but I was going to hold out to avoid jet lag.
Naz shrugged on his own hooded jumper and pulled a dark leather jacket over the top. He looked sexy and as dangerous as a switchblade.
“I’m going to check in with some people from an old job. Maybe they’ll know what’s going on in the underground.”
I gripped his arm.
“Take Rouen to watch your six.” I squeezed his forearm, both as a silent plea to say yes, and because I liked the feel of his muscles beneath my fingers. Hey, I’m a multitasker.
He nodded and Rouen stood, dipping down to kiss the top of my head.
“Stay out of trouble, Tiger.” His look said he’d punish me if I didn’t, and I’d probably like it. Hated for them to leave, but damn it was nice to watch them go. I was definitely an ass girl.
After they left, Charlie stood. “Let’s get some food, then I have a couple of people I want to speak to on the dark web.”
I nodded. “Dumplings!” I yelled to his retreating back. Charlie wouldn’t be back tonight. He’d be lost in the blue glow of his computer screen until sleep, or me, pulled him away.
Romanus made no move to stand, so I cuddled into his side. He stroked a large hand over my hair, and down the nape of my neck, sending little shivers down my spine.
“Sleep, Rella. I’ll wake you when the food gets here.”
I couldn’t argue with that logic, so I closed my eyes, resting my cheek against the hard warmth of his chest and nodded off.
A deep rumble against my cheek woke me. And the smell of Chinese food.
“Doesn’t it bother you? Naz joining the pack, I mean?”
It was Charlie’s hushed voice asking the question, and I kept my eyes closed.
“No, not at all. We will sort out the dominance issue eventually, and either I will remain Alpha, or I won’t.”
“No offence, but you aren’t that easy going. You won’t be the first person she turns to anymore, the one who protects her even when she doesn’t know it. It will be someone else’s job.”
Romanus made a low noise in the back of his throat. “Huma-“ he corrected himself, “Charlie. You’ve known Estrella for her entire life. Do you doubt her capacity to love us all? That she can only give her heart and trust to one person? I have known her barely a blink in comparison, but I can tell that she has a willingness to love us all with everything she possesses. Just because she loves another, does not mean she will love you less. By fixating on the way things were, am I not just denying myself the happiness of now?”
Charlie was silent, and I decided that now was as good a time as any to “wake up”.
I shifted on Romanus’ lap, and made a show of blinking and rubbing my eyes. I let out a tiny yawn. Someone give me an Oscar.
I locked eyes with Charlie. “Dumplings?” I said hopefully.
He laughed. “Three different kinds.”
I sat up as he handed me the first box, and I peeled open the container. The waft of spice laden steam made my mouth water.
Charlie used chopsticks to grab one of the dumplings from in front of me and hold it to my lips. Like a gargoyle. What did that mean? I looked at him, trying to decipher the expression on his face.
I wrapped my lips around the offered dumpling and ate it slowly, chewing thoughtfully. Before today, I thought only reality cooking show hosts and people who Instagram their food could eat thoughtfully, but I stood corrected. Charlie watched me eat intensely until I swallowed, and then dug into his own food like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I looked at Romanus who seemed almost proud.
Men were weird. I took my bowl of dumplings, put it in the crook of my elbow and ate it quickly. I couldn't take anymore food related overtures today.
I didn’t want Romanus to feel slighted, in case he was about to feed me an eggroll or something, so I settled back close to his side. Charlie flicked on the tv, and we watched an old Kung Fu movie in companionable silence. I expected it to be weird, or for Charlie to look at me cuddled into the crook of Romanus’ arm and storm off. But they just laughed together at the bad dubbing, made appreciative noises as the lead actor did gravity defying martial arts moves and we waited for the other members of our pack to return.
I’d fallen asleep by the time they came home, and the sound of the front door slamming made me jump to my feet, heart pounding out of my chest.
When they made it to the living room, they came in a stink cloud of cheap perfume and expensive whiskey. Big, stupid grins were stretched across their faces. I felt my brows draw together. Romanus looked equally as unimpressed. I glanced at my watch. 3:36 a.m. Charlie was at the dining table, his features illuminated in the glow of his screen. He hadn’t even looked up when Naz and Rouen had stumbled in.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You smell like you’ve been bathing with hookers in a whiskey still.”
“Uh oh, Mom and Dad look pissed,” Naz joked drunkenly.
Rouen punched Naz in the arm and it sent him flying across the room. “Dude, that’s gross. I’ve fucked both of them. That's just weird,” he laughed and my lips twitched, but I got it under control.
Naz was shaking with laughter, laying like he had no bones over an armchair. Within seconds, low snores echoed through the room. Passed out cold.
“You got drunk on assignment.” Romanus’ voice was hard.
Rouen came over and wrapped his arms around me, planting a huge kiss on my lips and then burying his face in my neck and making nom-nom-nom noises. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I laughed, lifting my shoulder because it tickled, dammit!
“Relax, Rom. It takes more than a little dirty water to make intoxicated. Nazir’s informants are mostly Russians. They are more forthcoming when they are well lubricated, and even more so when everyone else is drunk as well. Naz didn’t have a choice, and I was there to watch his back.”
I pulled back and gave him my best stern librarian look. “And the cheap perfume?”
“Strip club.”
I put my nose to his neck and inhaled deeply. The perfume was stronger there. Someone had been putting their hands on my Beta. “And why is another woman's scent so strong here?” I whispered against his skin.
“Uh, lap dance?”
For a reason I didn't want to overanalyze, I leaned in and bit his neck, hard. Harder than I usually did when we made love, harder than I would have ever contemplated if it wasn’t nearly four in the morning and jealousy wasn’t coursing through my blood.
“Mine,” I growled around the flesh between my teeth. Fucking growled. It was definitely a gargoyle thing, and apparently I was turning a little more Gargoyle Queen then I first suspected. I began to freak out, but I felt Rouen’s long, low moan beneath my lips.
Then there were hands under my ass and Rouen was carrying me to the bedroom. He threw me on the bed and was between my thighs, his hard body pressed right along the length of me.
“Seriously, what is with you guys? Are you a race of nymphomaniacs or something?” The last word might have been a moan, totally ruining my mock disapproval.
He kissed my neck, his lips tender over my flesh as he stripped my clothes off with supernatural prowess. The heavy weight of his body grinding against the apex of my thighs.
I kept waiting for Romanus to appear, but the door never opened. I didn’t mind. They weren’t always going to be a package deal, and although watching them together soaked my panties at the speed of light, I was attracted to both of them separately. The threesomes were just the royal icing on the cake.
Somehow, magically, my pants were gone and the rough fabric of his jeans was scraping over my clit, making me arch against him.
He flicked open my bra and wrapped his lips around my nipple, humming happily against my breast like he couldn’t believe his luck. It made me smile.
Then he caught the hard nub between his teeth and bit down gently. I sucked in a loud breath.
He looked up at me, meeting my eyes as he sucked and nipped at my breasts. He pulled back until my nipple slid out of his mouth with a wet pop.
“My Queen.”
My body felt simultaneously languid and filled with electric need, and the sensation was threatening to tear me apart.
“Clothes off. Now.”
He gave me a sexy grin. “Whatever you wish.”
He moved away, shedding his clothes and moving back to his place
between my thighs before my body had even cooled slightly. His hot skin pressed against mine, and he looked down at me, barely a breath between our lips.
“You’re so beautiful. We got so lucky.”
Feelings that I didn’t want to name swelled in my chest, and I kissed him hard, pouring my emotions into the embrace.
He pulled back, panting softly. “What do you want, my Queen?”
I wanted so many things that I was scared to name, futures that I had thought would be improbable, if not downright impossible. Happiness that I wasn’t sure I deserved. So, I decided to hedge my bets.
“I want you to fuck me, Rouen.”
His knowing look told me that he knew that’s not what I wanted to say, but he stayed silent, giving me one long kiss, wrapping his arms around my waist and rolling us over. I sat astride his body, the massive length of his hard cock deliciously pressed against my center. I reached a hand between us and made a fist around his dick. He was huge and my fingers only just touched.
His big hands held my hips tightly, and lifted me up, as I guided him into me on one long moan. I wasn’t sure if the sound was mine, or his, or a beautiful combination of us both.
He controlled our pace, lowering me down inch by tantalizing inch, letting me accommodate the delicious girth of him until he was buried deep. He looked at me reverently, his brown and gold eyes running over me like I was a goddess come to life. It made me feel powerful, worshipped even, and I loved it.
He crooked a finger. “Kiss me,” he said, his voice rough.
I leaned forward, my nipples brushing the smooth, hairless expanse of his chest and kissed him deeply.
He took my hips again, drawing himself out and then thrusting hard back inside me. I squealed as the pleasure spread through me. Then he did it again, and I was lost. He banded both arms around my back and held me still as he slammed himself inside me again and again, his sexy abs rippling beneath me with each upward thrust.
He shifted me down a little, his strokes still even and powerful, and I found myself nose to nipple on his chest. I ran the flat of my tongue over the peaked flesh and sucked it into my mouth. He moaned, thrusting harder, getting deeper and making me whimper between moans.
Hell's Redemption- The Complete Series Boxset Page 45
