Twisted Truths

by Rebecca Zanetti

  More than that. After the terrifying night she’d had, after getting lost in the snow and not knowing her own name, she needed to escape.

  If there was nothing they could do right now by the computers, then she’d take this moment. She’d help him and ease his pain. In doing so, she’d calm her fears, so she could plan. So they could be settled and strong.

  His tongue swept inside her mouth, and he kissed her like she was the only thing holding him to the world. That quickly, she stopped thinking just to feel.

  His hands gripped her, wandering everywhere, his tongue becoming demanding. Not letting her hide or hold back. She moved even closer into him, her belly cushioning the long line of his erection. He growled into her mouth, and the entire sound, the vibration, rolled down through her body to make her core clench with need. With want. With an ache only he could satisfy.

  “I knew you’d come for me last night,” she whispered when he finally released her mouth.

  He murmured something, kissing a trail to her ear and licking down her throat. A nip to her jaw and then he moved along her sensitive neck, nipping and kissing. “Mine,” he whispered, kissing her chin and then taking her mouth again.

  The one word shot a pang through her heart. Mine. He’d never said anything like that before. Not once. Oh, it had been in his eyes. Even his touch. But never on his mouth.

  His hands gripped her hair, and he partially bent her back, his kiss turning forceful. She allowed him to bend her, knowing he wouldn’t let her fall.

  “Need you,” he muttered against her mouth.

  She moaned and rubbed herself against his shaft. These emotions, this passion, it was almost too much. If they lasted a century together, it would still be like this. He’d make her want this badly. He’d get her out of her head and away from fear with just one touch. From chilled to white hot in seconds.

  His fingers found her sex, and she almost fell. But he kept her upright, an arm banding around her waist, just like she’d trusted he would. He plucked at her clit and pushed two fingers inside her, forcing her to accept him.

  Ecstasy rippled through her, and she let her head fall back. It felt too good. “Denver.”

  “You’re wet for me,” he rasped against her neck, his fingers moving in and out. “Already. Just for me.”

  She gasped and tried to push out words. “Now. God. Now.”

  He flipped her around, and her hands slapped the stone bench set against the wall. Firm hands gripped her hips, and he kicked her legs farther apart. The simple act rippled need through her, pulsing between her legs. She dropped her head and arched her back.

  His hands flexed on her hips, and his cock nudged her open. She sucked in air. Holding her firmly, he pushed inside her, not giving her one second to adjust. Pleasure, lava hot, mixed with pain and made her moan. He kept moving, pushing, holding her until he was finally fully embedded in her to the balls.

  She sucked in air, her torso panting as she took all of him. There was so much of him. “You’re so big,” she rasped.

  He chuckled, his torso resting along her back so they touched down to their thighs. “Don’t let me hurt you.”

  She closed her eyes at the rough plea. Didn’t he get it? “You can’t hurt me, Denver. Give me all of you.” She wiggled her butt against his groin.

  He sucked in air, his chest moving against her shoulder blades. “Slow.”

  “No.” She widened her stance and arched her back, tilting her pelvis.

  His hands tightened on her hips, leaving bruises. Then he withdrew with a gentle, torturous stroke.

  She moaned and shut her eyes. He slid one hand up her side and toyed with her breast, tugging on her nipple. Showing control. He had it, and he wanted her to know it.

  Biting back a sob of need, she tensed. “More.”

  He held her tightly, his movements slow, the drag of his cock into and out of her a slow torment. For so long. He kept her on the edge, playing with her breasts, his legs behind hers.

  Her need built, hot and fast, moving like a monsoon inside her. Water and lava and electricity. There were so many feelings, and she could take them all. Somehow. Finally, she needed more. “I want you,” she whispered.

  His teeth clasped the shell of her ear. “You have me.”

  “Then let go,” she said, her body shaking with the need to explode. “Just let go—all of you,” she whispered into the billowing steam.

  He paused as if trying to control himself. As if preparing to give her just enough.

  Her eyelids flashed open, and she clenched every internal muscle she had.

  He stiffened, and his dick hardened even more inside her.

  Planting a hand on the wall in front of her, she pushed back and did it again, internally gripping his cock so tightly it almost hurt. His control snapped with almost an audible sound.

  He pulled out and then hammered back in, fucking her hard. Faster and deeper, he pounded into her, thrusting with such power she just shut her eyes to feel. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t even see. This is what she’d wanted. What she’d needed. She could feel herself climbing, her nerves firing, and then she fell.

  The orgasm hit her hard from multiple directions, and she cried out his name. Just his name. Knowing he’d keep her safe. He kept powering into her as she rode the waves, chuckling as finally she went limp.

  The second she did, he grabbed her hip, angled up, and thrust inside her completely, forcing her up onto her toes. He shuddered behind her, and his teeth sank into her shoulder. She threw back her head and cried out, his orgasm throwing her into another one that came out of nowhere. For several long moments, he pulsed inside her, prolonging the sensations.

  Finally, every ounce of tenseness left her, and she relaxed back in his hold.

  He kissed the nape of her neck and slowly withdrew, turning her in his arms. She settled her cheek against his chest to hear his heartbeat hammering. Her body still quaked, and she gave herself a moment to calm.

  He smoothed the wet hair back from her face, his large body blocking her from the spray of water. “Are you all right?”

  She tilted her head back, satisfaction pouring through her. “Yes. You?”

  “Yes.” He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. “The other day. You said something.”

  She caught her breath. “Yeah.”

  “I love you, too.” He slid both hands into her hair, cupping her head. “I don’t know what that means for us or what’s gonna happen next, but I wanted to say the words.” Then he kissed her again, the gentleness from such a deadly man bringing tears to her eyes.

  All too soon, the water started to chill.

  She savored the moment, feeling the truth of his love. Whatever happened, she held his heart. Even though they were in danger, and even though she was scared to death, she took a moment. Just to feel something so good.

  He blinked.

  She caught his eyes. Somber. Scared. Sorry. “What?” she whispered.

  “I know why Madison wants me back so badly.” His voice cracked.

  Noni stilled. All emotion fled, leaving her cold. It had to be bad. Really bad, or Denver wouldn’t look like he was about to throw up. The truth hit her harder than any punch ever could. She replayed her conversation with Madison. Every word and every hint. “Wait a minute. Oh, man. She’s your mother.”

  Denver’s jaw firmed to rock, but his face remained pale. “Egg donor. She was my egg donor.”

  Oh God.

  * * *

  The homemade chili Anya made for dinner had been delicious, but it still sat in Denver’s gut as the midnight hour approached. He’d worked most of the day and evening on the computer, trying to trace Cobb’s movements. He was getting so damn close.

  His brothers kept eyeing him, obviously lacking words. He couldn’t blame them. There weren’t any. Of course he’d told them the truth the second he’d learned it.

  He’d finally had to force Noni to go to bed when she couldn’t ke
ep her eyes open. The woman had been drugged and then nearly frozen to death and needed sleep, whether she liked it or not. She’d tried to soothe him about his new reality, about his genetic link to Madison, and he’d let her believe he’d come to grips with it.

  But there was no accepting it. Not really.

  Heath had similarly talked Anya into getting some sleep since she’d been going through psychological profiles all day of pretty much everybody involved. Madison seemed to fascinate and scare her all at once. She’d gone in with Noni to leave a bedroom for anybody else who needed sleep.

  Hell. They all needed some sleep.

  At the moment, Zara muttered to herself over at the kitchen table, reading her many reams of color-coded notes and making sure the title search for the South Dakota property would never lead to them. Ryker was checking the outside perimeter while Heath and Denver worked the laptops.

  Heath typed for a minute. “We should probably talk about this.”

  “What the fuck is there to say?” Denver exploded, slamming his fist onto the table with enough force to make it jump. Fury roared through him so quickly his entire head heated. “I come from pure, psychotic evil.”

  The front door opened, and Ryker walked inside, snow covering his jacket. He looked around, taking in the scene.

  Zara hustled his way and leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek. “I’m heading to bed,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder at Denver. “I think you guys might want to have a talk.”

  Ryker kissed the top of her nose. “Got it.” He shut the door as Zara moved into the free bedroom and then he tossed his coat onto the bench. “So.”

  Denver turned a glare his way. “I’m fine.”

  Ryker lifted a dark eyebrow and looked at Heath. “He going on about coming from the she-devil?”

  Heath nodded, his eyes somber. “Yeah.”

  Heated blades spun through Denver’s torso, and he clenched his fist again. The need to hit something was a physical burn.

  Ryker crossed his arms. “You tell him we all probably come from someplace bad?”

  Heath drew in air. “I was getting to that part.”

  “Did you tell him—”

  “Knock it off.” Denver grabbed the sofa cushions near his legs to keep from launching up and tackling his brother. “I’m right here.”

  “Yeah. You are,” Ryker said, moving forward and dropping into a seat. “We’re all here, and we’re us. No matter what genetic material they spliced into us. We’re us.”

  Denver tried to shrug off the panic engulfing him. “I think I knew,” he whispered, his tone going hoarse and his throat hurting from the heat. “There were times, when she treated me differently, that I thought…”

  Heath reached over and clasped his shoulder. Hard. “It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t matter.”

  But she did. She always had. “Did you know? Suspect?” He looked at his brothers.

  “No,” Heath said, his voice hoarse.

  Ryker didn’t answer.

  Denver sat back. “Ry?”

  Ryker’s jaw stiffened. “I wondered.” He scrubbed his hands over his eyes. “She treated you a little differently, and you have similar eye color and eye shape.” He paled.

  Denver couldn’t breathe. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Why?” Ryker’s chin lowered. “Why would I?”

  Good point. Denver breathed out. “She knew about Ned and the sheriff. She knew they hit us,” Denver said, feeling eight years old and all alone again. How could his own mother—the person who was supposed to love him, to care—leave him with monsters? How could he come from such a monster? Yeah, he’d always been dark. But that dark? “We’re nothing but an experiment to her. I’m nothing.”

  “You’re my brother,” Ryker said simply. “We made ourselves, Den. She has nothing to do with who we are and what we want. What we love.”

  Denver’s arms trembled. He wanted her to hurt. To pay for everything—to regret not loving him. To regret not protecting him and his brothers. Everything inside him, all the darkness she’d given him, rose to the surface.

  And a part of him, way down deep where hopefully nobody ever could see, wanted her to love him. Somehow. Guilt flushed him at that thought. He shouldn’t care about her. He really shouldn’t. It felt somehow disloyal to his brothers. So enough of that.

  He swallowed. Think, damn it. “You’re right,” he said, focusing on his brothers and forcing himself to climb out of the pit. “We made ourselves. To survive.”

  Heath released him and sat back. “Exactly.”

  “So that’s what we’ll do.” Determination rocketed through him. Two could play at her game.

  Ryker’s chin lifted. “The look on your face. I’m not sure I like it.”

  Even Denver’s smile felt mean. “Let’s see if she gives a shit at all. Let’s play her.”

  Heath straightened. “You want to try and manipulate Madison? Really?”

  Denver looked up. “I think Madison will sacrifice Cobb for the good of the organization.”

  Heath nodded. “Definitely.” His gaze sharpened. “You have an idea?”

  Denver gulped down air. “What if I show vulnerability? I mean, try to hide the fact that I’m freaked out about Noni and the baby? I’ve gone from being alone to having responsibilities.” That was the absolute truth. But he wanted that responsibility. He wanted to protect Noni and Talia—needed to do it. But those were human emotions, and Madison didn’t have those. She surely couldn’t understand those.

  “I don’t know,” Ryker said, leaning closer as if to offer support. “Madison won’t fall for it. She knows you, Denver. Or she wouldn’t have written on Noni’s bare and very vulnerable back.”

  Denver frowned. “Yeah, but that could open the door for a weakness Madison could pounce on. She has to think I’m vulnerable from learning the truth.”

  “You are,” Heath said in a low tone.

  “Yeah, but we can use that,” Denver said, nausea swirling through his gut. “Though she’s not just going to meet me somewhere.” Messing with Madison like that was a long game. Talia couldn’t stay in Madison’s clutches that long. The baby wasn’t safe. “There isn’t time for that.”

  Heath rubbed his temples. “You calling Madison might still knock her off balance a little. She gave a number for when you’re ready to sacrifice yourself, right?”

  “At least now I understand better how I can figure Madison out,” Denver said. Did genetics give him that ability? Or was it just a coincidence?

  Ryker’s lips firmed. “I don’t like this, but throwing her off even just a little would be good for Talia. Even that would keep the baby alive and in Madison’s care.”

  Denver hated that those words actually made sense. “I’ve never been good at keeping her out of my head,” he admitted. She’d treated him differently, as if there was a puzzle he needed to solve. Now he saw the whole picture, and he wanted to put his head through a wall.

  “You were just a kid last time you tried,” Heath countered.

  “Yeah.” He wasn’t a kid any longer, but he sure as shit felt like one. Denver set the laptop aside and looked at Cobb’s satellite phone. He was unsettled, and he wanted nothing more than to climb into bed with Noni and snuggle her close. Considering Anya was in there, he’d probably get punched by Heath if he tried. Yet he had to do something.

  His brothers waited patiently for him to decide. Covering him. Just being with him. Yeah. They had created themselves, and they’d formed a brotherhood. Madison couldn’t destroy that. Shaking out his hands, he reached for the phone and dialed the number.

  “Denver,” Dr. Madison said smoothly. “How is my special boy?”

  He stretched out his legs and let the fire lull him. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” His chest hurt when he started talking. He was trying to out-manipulate a master, and he wasn’t that good. Nobody was.

  “Your IQ is in the genius range, and you needed to figure it out yourself,” she said. �
��I’m rather disappointed you didn’t.”

  He couldn’t find it in himself to care if he disappointed her. That was good, right? He tried to focus on his role. “Why are you up?” he asked wearily. Wherever she was, it was at least midnight. “It’s late.”

  She chuckled. “I have work to do. Why are you up?”

  “Can’t sleep,” he said somewhat honestly. “Finding out I have a mother who didn’t give a crap about me makes it hard to close my eyes.”

  “The crass language is beneath you,” Madison said. “I cared, and I still do. That’s why I want you to come home.”

  The words slithered around him. A dream that wasn’t true. She didn’t care about him and she never would, no matter how much he wished she did. His chest ached. He had to protect his brothers. They were his family. Period. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the sofa while his brothers remained silent. “Who was my father?”

  “An MI6 soldier who died on a mission,” she said easily. “Good man, thoughtful lover.”

  Denver heaved, and he swallowed down bile. “Did you love him?”

  “No.”

  Okay then. This woman had always frightened him—mainly because he felt a connection to her. Now he knew why. In his darkest hours, he’d tried to figure her out with no luck. If he could do so now, maybe he could finally be free of her. “Are you capable of love?” Vulnerability washed through him like a cold bath.

  “Of course. In my way.” Ice clinked in a glass across the line. “You, out of all of my creations, are the one I did personally. You come from me.” She swallowed something. Probably a very expensive Scotch. “You don’t belong out in the world alone.”

  He wasn’t alone. After all this time, how could she not realize that fact? Her words chilled him. She’d never understand, would she? “Let Noni have her baby, and I’ll come in.” He meant every word. If she’d give up the baby without a shot fired, then he’d gladly sacrifice himself. “It’s simple.”

  “You’re speaking much more freely,” Madison said thoughtfully.

  He blanched.

  “Is it because of Noni? Are you in love?” Madison asked in her doctor voice.

  He shuddered at the tone. “You think I’m capable of love?” She kind of knew him, right? Was he capable of love? Considering not only his lineage but his life? Yeah. There was a real honesty to the question.