Defied: A Dark Reverse Harem Romance (The Devil's Syndicate Book 2)

by Sarah Bailey

  If looks could kill, then I would be a dead man a thousand times over.

  “No? Would you like it if the punishment for your next indiscretion had witnesses again? Would that help you get over this?”

  She pressed a hand over my mouth.

  “Shut up. Just shut up.”

  I pulled her hand off my mouth and looked over at Rory.

  “You want to find Eric and Xav? I’ll meet you in the living room.”

  He shook his head and rolled his eyes but slinked out of the room. Ash, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to kill me.

  “Don’t you dare.”

  I set her on her feet and rose to mine, grabbing her wrist before she could escape me.

  “Quinn, please, this isn’t funny,” she screeched as I dragged her out of the room.

  “You should know better than to tell me to shut up, little girl. It’s not very polite. I thought you had better manners.”

  She didn’t come to the living room quietly. Her attempts at loosening my grip were amusing if not ridiculous. She dug her heels in, but even that didn’t stop me.

  “Why are we here?” Eric asked the moment I walked in with my little banshee on my heels.

  “We are teaching Ash manners.”

  His face fell immediately and his eyes narrowed.

  “We? Why is this a group activity?”

  “Because I said it is.”

  “Jesus, Quinn,” he muttered before throwing himself down in an armchair.

  Rory was stood by the bookcase, his arms crossed over his chest watching us silently. Xav walked in the next moment and looked between the four of us.

  “Oh well, this is going to be interesting.”

  He hopped over the back of the sofa and settled himself down.

  “You want to tell them why you’re in need of discipline, little girl?” I asked, looking down at her.

  She stood next to me, her face bright red and her ire displayed all over her features.

  “Why? Because you’re being an arsehole, that’s why.”

  I leant down and brushed her hair back from her ear.

  “Now, you told me you wanted all of us, so I’m giving you what you asked for,” I whispered.

  When I pulled away, she only looked even more irate.

  “Not like this!”

  I didn’t care what she said. Ash would have to learn that things weren’t always going to go her way. I might be trying to concede to her desires, but she still had to contend with mine. Discipline came with the territory. There were many ways I could punish her and right now, I wanted her to learn a little humility.

  So I shoved her in Eric’s direction.

  “You can have the task of preparing our little guest here.”

  Eric’s eyes bugged out and he looked distinctly uncomfortable. I could have asked Xav to do it, but I had a feeling Ash wouldn’t have minded that.

  Ash tried to bolt, but I grabbed her before she could run from the room.

  “And make sure she doesn’t leave.”

  Eric got to his feet and took her by the shoulder, giving me a scathing look as he did it. I shrugged and walked out of the room. A quick trip upstairs to get what I needed gave him the time he needed to strip her bare. The tension in the room when I reappeared dragging along one of the dining room chairs was palpable. I set it in the middle of the room and Eric led Ash over to it, forcing her to sit down. The mutinous look she gave the two of us only amused me.

  I didn’t speak as I knelt behind her and tied her hands behind her back. Then I rounded her, pried her legs open and tied them alongside the chair legs so she was spread for us.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed.

  “You think I only have one way to punish you?”

  Her eyes widened a fraction but she pursed her lips.

  Good girl.

  I straightened and walked back a few paces.

  “Now, I think last time you quite enjoyed these, but I’m not so sure you will today.”

  I tugged out the clamps from my pocket and dangled them in front of me. Ash’s ears went pink and her eyes pleaded with me not to do this. I ignored her expression and tossed them to Eric who scrambled to catch them.

  “You are not seriously going to make me put these on her?”

  I shrugged. If he really didn’t want to, I’d do it, but this was about teaching Ash a lesson. Her embarrassment stemmed from the others knowing about what she enjoyed with me.

  Eric huffed but knelt beside her. Ash stared down at him, her whole chest blooming red with her blush. I think it had more to do with the fact her nipples had hardened in anticipation.

  “Would you rather me or Quinn do this?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Neither.”

  “Ash…”

  “This is embarrassing.”

  He looked up at me for a moment with obvious discomfort and irritation in his expression before turning back to her. Sighing, he reached up and attached the first one. Ash let out a little gasp when he touched her before she bit down on her lip.

  “Don’t go easy on her. Make them nice and tight,” I told him which only made his back stiffen.

  He tightened the first one, making Ash let out a little whimper before attaching the second. He was about to rise to his feet when I tossed him something else. When he looked down at what it was, his expression darkened significantly.

  “No.”

  “E…”

  He got up and shoved it back at me.

  “No. Do it yourself. I’m not touching her like that.”

  I took him by the arm and dragged him towards where Rory was standing. He scowled when we stopped, shaking me off. I noticed Xav had got up and followed us.

  “I’m doing this for her own good,” I said, my voice low.

  “How is making me… I can’t even fucking say it. How is that for her own good?”

  It’s not like I could tell him what Ash wanted from him and Rory. That was up to her to deal with.

  “Quinn thinks it will help her get over her embarrassment about her own desires,” Rory said, saving me from explaining my own reasoning.

  “You agree with him?”

  “I never said that.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Rory. I know you agree with him. You all probably do.”

  “Hey man, I didn’t even know this was going to happen,” Xav interjected, frowning. “For the record, I don’t think you should force E into doing something he doesn’t want to.”

  Xav was right, of course. I should just do this myself. It’s not like I wouldn’t enjoy it, making her come apart at the seams.

  “Fine, but you’re not leaving. You’re all going to sit and watch. That’s the deal. Understood?”

  They all nodded but Eric didn’t look happy about it. He could just deal. This was for Ash. Everything was for her. She just didn’t realise it quite yet. But she would. She’d truly understand what I was trying to do for her soon.

  I turned back to my little girl. It was time for her to learn a valuable lesson. And one she wouldn’t ever forget.

  Chapter 13

  Quinn was fucking crazy. I didn’t understand his need to involve us in whatever was going on between him and Ash. I didn’t like watching him discipline her. It stirred up unwanted feelings inside me that I had a hard time controlling. So when he’d tossed me a small bullet vibrator, I’d been tempted to throw it back at his head since I had a pretty good idea of what he was asking me to do. Whilst I wasn’t up on all aspects of BDSM and D/s lifestyles, but I was sure as shit Quinn wanted to play orgasm denial with Ash. And there was no way I was going to do that to her. Not when it crossed a huge line between us I wasn’t sure we should ever be crossing at this point. Hell, I didn’t even want to be here for any of this in the first place.

  Quinn might not have had more than one relationship before, but he’d had a few subs hence why none of this shit particularly bothered the r
est of us. It’s why we even had that cell in the first place. That’s how he liked them. Chained up. Ash was not one of his subs though. She’d been our captive and now… fuck knew. Our guest? Quinn’s playmate? But no, she was more than that to him. Anyone could see it by the way he looked at her. And what annoyed me further was the fact that Xav had taken to looking at her like that too.

  I still have no idea what’s going on between the three of them.

  Quinn advanced on her whilst Rory stayed by the bookcase, aloof as always and Xav sat back on the sofa looking far too relaxed. I walked back over to the armchair and sat down knowing if I left the room it would cause an argument. Xav did call me the peacekeeper for a reason. I hated confrontation. Dealing with Xav and Quinn’s clashing egos for over twenty years did that to a person. The number of times Rory and I had pulled them off each other didn’t bear thinking about.

  “I don’t want to play this game,” Ash said, her blue eyes wide and the discomfort of being on display clear as day all over her features.

  “Too bad,” Quinn said with a smirk.

  He knelt beside her and ran his fingers up her inner thigh, making her squirm in her seat.

  “Please stop,” she whimpered.

  My chest hurt hearing her distress.

  For fuck’s sake, Quinn. She doesn’t want this.

  The sound of the vibrations filled the air as Quinn flicked on the bullet and ran it up her leg, making her jerk in her restraints. She panted when he ran it back down.

  “Please, sir, please don’t.”

  When he dragged it up her leg and in between, placing it directly over her pussy, I almost looked away, unable to take the look in her eyes. She didn’t want to enjoy this. Her body was at war with her mind. And it really didn’t help me either. I shifted, hating the way my own body reacted to the sight of her aroused. That part was obvious. The way her body strained and the little gasps erupting from her lips.

  Quinn ran his nose along her cheek before sucking her earlobe into his mouth. Ash jerked and twisted in her restraints, trying to get away from his touch.

  “No, please, no. I don’t want to, sir. I don’t.”

  “Shh, little girl, just relax.”

  Her back arched off the chair as he increased the vibrations and tugged on the chain hanging between her breasts with his other hand. Her cries were a mix of pleasure and pain. I couldn’t deal with this, almost on the verge of bolting from my seat and running from the room so I didn’t have to witness her like this. The only reason I stayed put was because right at that moment, Quinn pulled everything away from Ash and she let out a string of curses. I suspected, she’d been on the verge of a release only to have it ripped away.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she almost shouted at Quinn, turning her head to him with her blue eyes blazing.

  “Is that any way to speak to me?”

  “Go fuck yourself.”

  He shook his head as if disappointed in her. I figured he only had himself to blame. Ash might have a submissive streak, but she also possessed a fiery temper. Quinn would probably consider her bratty and acting out against his authority, but I saw her differently. Ash was a little spitfire. She’d had a shit hand dealt to her just as we had, but now she was free of her father, she was growing into her own. Every day the shackles of her life under Russo’s thumb fell away leaving a girl who probably didn’t know who she was without them.

  “Ashleigh.”

  She stared at him for a long moment before her face fell.

  “I’m sorry, sir.”

  His eyes softened a fraction.

  “Do you understand why you’re being punished?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The change in her demeanour surprised me. She seemed to lean towards him as if she wanted this. As if she needed it.

  “Please, sir… I want to come.”

  He stroked her face. The fire in her eyes died only to be replaced by want and need.

  “Not yet, little girl.”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things, sir. I’m sorry.”

  “I know you’re sorry now, but you still have to learn your lesson.”

  “Please, I want it so much, sir.”

  He stroked her face again before running his hand down her chest and tugging on the chain. She whimpered and arched into him as if begging for more. And even though this whole thing made me uncomfortable, seeing her beg made me feel other things.

  “Do you like being on display for them?”

  Ash bit her lip and closed her eyes as Quinn returned the bullet to her clit.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Well, shit.

  None of us said anything as she was subjected to two further rounds of the vibrator only to have it ripped away from her before she was able to come. Tears fell down her face as her chest heaved. Each time she’d begged him to let her come and each time he’d denied her.

  “I can’t,” she cried, a fresh set of tears spilling down her cheeks before her head dropped to her chest. “I can’t do this anymore.”

  No one moved for a long moment. Not even Quinn said anything. Then Ash looked up and stared straight into his eyes.

  “Jelly.”

  His back stiffened and his eyes widened a fraction. Then he reached out and carefully released her nipples from the clamps, making her whimper before he untied her from the chair. It’s then I realised what the seemingly random word must have meant. It was their safe word. It made me wonder why she’d endured so much without using it before.

  “Little girl,” he said ever so softly as he stood and reached for her.

  “No. No.”

  She scrambled off the chair, her limbs shaking as she fell on the floor and pulled herself along the carpet away from him.

  “Ash, let me—”

  “No, please don’t touch me, Quinn. I can’t. I can’t take anymore. It’s too much. I can’t.”

  She used the coffee table to pull herself to her feet and on wobbly legs, gripping the furniture to steady herself, she scurried out of the room. Silence descended over us for a long minute.

  “I need to go look after her,” Quinn said, jamming his hands in his pockets before he took a step towards the door.

  I stood up unable to take this shit any longer.

  “No.”

  Quinn’s head whipped around to me.

  “I’m responsible for her well-being. It’s my duty—”

  “If you’re going to say you’re her fucking Dom, then save it. She’s not your sub, Quinn. No doubt you haven’t even discussed that type of relationship with her. So you are going to stay here and I am going to go check on her. You know you’re going to break that girl if you don’t quit pushing her. Hasn’t she been through enough already?”

  Quinn had sat us all down yesterday and explained what Ash had told him about Casey and her father. She didn’t need any further bullshit in her life.

  “E—”

  “No, I don’t want to hear it. The three of you have done nothing but mess with her head since the moment she got here. And guess what? It’s all down to me to pick up the pieces you always insist on leaving behind whenever things go to shit.”

  I didn’t stop to see if any of them had anything to say for themselves. I was pissed as hell at their insistence on using her as their own personal plaything. She was a fucking human being for crying out loud.

  I clenched my fists as I strode along the hall in search of where she’d gone. Taking the stairs two by two, I found her sobbing, curled up in a ball on the landing, her whole body trembling. I squatted down next to her.

  “Ash, it’s Eric… Can you look at me?” I asked as gently as I could.

  Her body shook harder, a wracking sob escaping from her mouth. I didn’t have a clue what she needed, but like hell I was going to leave her on the floor like this. Reaching out, I picked her up and stood with her in my arms. She clutched my t-shirt between her fists and bur
ied her face in it. I could only be glad she wasn’t trying to escape me.

  “Do you want me to take you to your room?”

  “No,” she moaned. “Not there.”

  So that option was out. I carried her towards mine instead. Shutting the door with my hip as we got inside, I carefully laid her down on top of my covers. Next, I went into my bathroom and found some more arnica cream. I made sure I kept a supply because I got these annoying back twinges from time to time. Ash was curled in on herself when I walked out. I sat down on the bed next to her and brushed her hair back from her face.

  “Will you let me help you?”

  She nodded, blinking through tear-filled eyes as she looked up at me from behind her knees.

  “Can you lay back for me, please?”

  Slowly, she let go of her legs and shifted on her back. She kept her legs tightly shut and her limbs still trembled, but she lay there, her blue eyes wide with tears still rolling down her cheeks. My gaze raked down her body. As I suspected, her nipples were red raw from those bloody clamps Quinn made me put on her.

  “This is probably going to be very uncomfortable and may be painful, but it will help a little, okay?”

  She nodded. I picked up the tube of cream I’d left next to me and squirted a little on my fingers. Her eyes tracked my movements as I gently applied it to her left nipple. She hissed and more tears spilt down her cheeks. As I rubbed, she shifted, clearly uncomfortable, but when she let out a little moan, I stilled and looked at her. Bright red cheeks and a horrified expression on her face told me everything.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t help it. He… he…”

  Damn Quinn to hell.

  “It’s okay, I know, Ash. Just let me finish, okay?”

  She nodded and bit down on her lip. I applied the cream to her other nipple and she moaned again, arching against my hand.

  “I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “Too sensitive. I can’t… I need…”

  I felt my own face growing hot knowing exactly what she needed but unsure how to help her with it.

  “Um… do you want to, uh… I can leave.”