Mayte made a gagging sound, and Fidel grimaced at Rodrigo.
Their mother looked around the table from one of them to the next, her expression puzzled. “Don’t you remember Viveka?”
At one point their parents had taken in a young German immigrant, and she’d been around long enough she’d almost been family.
“She lived here for three years. Why wouldn’t we remember her?” Mayte said, rolling her eyes.
Realization struck, and all of them stared at their mother.
“I always did think it was weird she slept in your room,” Fidel said, incredulous.
“It was a different time.” She waved a dismissive hand. “People didn’t talk about things like that back then. We definitely didn’t have fancy words for it.” She smiled to herself. “She had the sweetest ass.”
Mayte put a hand over her eyes. “Oh my god. I’m friends with her on Facebook,” she whispered. “We play Words With Friends.”
“That’s pretty good considering Viveka didn’t speak any English when she got here.” Mama winked. “The man she married is a bore. Such a waste of an adventurous girl.”
For a few minutes the only sound was of Fidel tapping his fork on the remainder of his mashed potatoes. Well, their mother’s oversharing answered a lot of questions about why Rodrigo and his siblings were the way there were.
Mayte cleared her throat, drawing him out of his musings. “So what’s this about poly?”
Nothing he could say now would be shocking, he supposed. He would have waited a few weeks before saying anything if Fidel hadn’t been such a fucking gossip, but it was as good a time as any.
“Well, Severin and his fiancée want me to join their relationship. I’m sort of living with them.”
“Really?” Fidel asked, his tone incredulous. For years his brother had been saying he thought Severin was asexual. It had been Fi’s main argument for Rodrigo to give up and move on. When Severin had started dating Minnow, Fidel had been skeptical about it lasting.
“Yes. It’s still hard to believe.”
“So?” Mama prompted. “Do you think he actually likes you too?”
“Maybe.”
“What’s the girl like?” his mother asked. “Nice? Young? Pretty? Smart?”
“If she hadn’t been with Severin, I would have chased her, myself.”
“So steal her!” Mayte said, slapping her knee for emphasis. “Severin isn’t good for either of you. I really liked her the few times we’ve talked, why not just date her?”
“Seriously?” he asked, frowning. “Minnow is so good for him. I’d never try to take her, even if I thought she might agree, which she wouldn’t.”
“And then there’s the bro code,” Fidel reminded her.
“Does that even apply if the bro in question is someone you want to sleep with?” Mayte asked. “It’s not like he’s your actual brother.”
“I love him. Why would I do something so cruel?”
“He’s been toying with your affections for years,” Mayte growled. “Stringing you along like a little puppet.”
“It wasn’t done maliciously.”
Mayte folded her napkin and dropped it on the table, then pushed out her chair and started clearing dishes. They all got up to help.
Mama squeezed Rodrigo’s arm and smiled up at him. “If this doesn’t work the way you hope, maybe you need to seriously think about moving on, mijo. A life longing for someone who doesn’t love you back is sad and wasted. You’ll go to bed one night and wake up sixty with nothing to show for it. As much as I joke about grandbabies, all I really want from you is for you to enjoy your life. You get only one.”
“Maybe Mayte is right,” Fidel added, handing him a dishtowel and filling the sink with steaming water. “If Severin is too broken to love anyone, you might be doing both yourself and the girl a favor if you lure her away.”
“Not happening. I...love her, but I love him too.”
“Love. That changes things,” Mama said, nodding. “Give it a shot, I guess.”
Rodrigo twirled the dishtowel in his hand and Fidel gave him the side eye.
“Don’t even think about it, dick. I have a sex scene tomorrow and I don’t want makeup asking me awkward questions when they have to put concealer on an ass bruise.”
Rodrigo considered doing it anyway, because that would be hilarious. They had a momentary battle of gazes, and Ro decided not to be a jerk.
“Just think about it, Ro – you could have a normal life with that girl. I hate seeing you acting so pathetic about Severin, of all people.” Mayte shook her head. “Such a fucking dick.”
“He’s just awkward,” Fidel said, coming to Severin’s defense, but probably more out of loyalty to Rodrigo. “After what he went through with his family sending him away...”
“Oh, boohoo. That’s ancient history. He needs to get some therapy and move on with his life already. I have friends who moved here from war-torn countries who aren’t fucking drama queens like he is.”
Severin wasn’t putting on an act for attention, but he wasn’t about to start a heated fight with his pregnant little sister. It wasn’t just being abused or sent away that had messed Severin up. There were other things there too. Probably something with a name and diagnosis.
Mama clucked her tongue. “Loving a broken bird won’t make it fly. If you choose to pursue him for real, we’ll support your decision, but you need to think about whether you want to spend the rest of your life trying to fix someone who might be unfixable.”
Santiago wailed, apparently awake and ready to eat. Mayte groaned. “Why did having babies so close together seem like a good idea last year?”
“Ask me again next year when you’re pregnant for your third,” Mama said in a singsong voice, grinning as she went down the hall to get the baby from the nursery.
“No! Absolutely not!” Mayte called after her. “Next year it’s Fidel or Rodrigo’s turn. My kids need cousins.”
“Good luck with that,” Rodrigo muttered.
“You’d look so lovely, all fat and glowing,” Fidel said to Rodrigo as he scrubbed a pot. “You’ll just have to get Severin to try harder.”
“Hey, you could have a baby with Minnow and give me a break,” Mayte suggested. “Is she pretty?”
He’d spent so long trying not to overtly admire Minnow that he felt weird admitting the truth, even though Severin wasn’t around to hear it.
“She’s his.”
*
When Rodrigo got home from his meeting with Fitte’s Loke Sigurdsson, the main floor was filled with the smell of roasting chicken and fresh bread. Since his butler John had retired and moved to Florida with his wife, he wasn’t even sure there were groceries in his house, but thanks to Minnow he never had to worry about food.
Rodrigo found her alone, reading in the screening room.
“You’re going to make us all fat.”
She startled then rolled her eyes at him.
“He’s down at the forge.”
“Loke wants us to bring the bikes he ordered to a concert they’re having nearby.” He laughed. “I swear I make that band extra money just so they can buy more from Severin.”
“You’d better go tell him.”
“I wanted to talk to you anyway.”
She laid her book aside then tucked her feet up underneath her, wrapping her arms around herself and looking adorable in her oversized sweater.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened at the bar. I haven’t talked to you alone since then.”
She smiled shyly, and he let himself admire the red bow of her lips and the way her eyes still widened with that intrinsic sweet innocence that had drawn both him and Severin to her. She hadn’t been an innocent by the time they’d met her, but her submissive nature always made her seem young. Well, that and the fact that she was years younger than they were.
It had been impossible not to fall in love wi
th her. He’d kept waiting for the other shoe to drop – to finally prove she wasn’t good enough for Severin – but she was, even though he didn’t want anyone else to be.
She was better for Sev than he was. She was better for him than Sev was. She balanced them.
“I’m fine.” She smiled again, but he didn’t buy it.
“You were surprised.”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure why. You’re both better actors than I gave you credit for. It never even crossed my mind.”
“I never meant to insinuate myself into your relationship, no matter how much I’ve always wanted him.”
She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, then brought his knuckles to her mouth and kissed them.
“I know. This isn’t just what he wants, Ro. When you guys were fighting and I hadn’t clued in yet? I was afraid you’d leave us. You’re part of our relationship and always have been.” She tilted her head adorably and she smirked. “The only difference now is maybe I’ll get a breather once in a while. I have no problem making some popcorn and watching him pin you down and fuck your ass in the ballroom.”
Rodrigo felt the tips of his ears heat. “In the ballroom?”
“Yeah, that’s what I got my first time, so it’s only fair. If you get a bed the first time, we’ll know who his favorite really is.”
“I know why he chose the floor.” He sprawled on the couch beside her and tapped her collar. “It makes sense not to let little pets up on the furniture. It makes them forget their place.”
Minnow turned a brilliant shade of crimson and punched his shoulder.
“I can see we’re going to need to set some ground rules.”
Her eyes widened.
“Just because I have submissive tendencies with Severin doesn’t mean you can act like you and I have equal power in this situation.”
“Don’t we?” she asked. “If we’re both his submissives? Besides, he collared me first. That has to count for something. I’m like...the senior submissive in this relationship.”
“You’re the submissive he shares with me and lets me discipline.”
“Only on his orders! Maybe he’ll let me punish you on his orders now too.”
Arousal burned through him, but not at the idea of her disciplining him – but at this sudden bratty streak he’d seen hints of, but he’d never experienced full force. There was nothing that made him want to dominate a woman like being challenged.
“Watch yourself, little girl. You brat too hard and you might be sorry when Severin lays out the rules.”
“Watch yourself, little boy. You step too far out of place with me and the real boss around here might beat you silly.”
“How bad can it be?”
“Please. Have you looked at him? I could see him taking out his more violent urges on you. You probably won’t scream like I do, so he might have trouble knowing when to stop. Just make sure not to forget your safeword.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
“I should drag you down to the forge so we can get this sorted out right now.”
“Try it and my attack dogs will maul you.”
Rodrigo cast a meaningful glance at her mutts, who were piled up on the hearthrug. None of them had done more than given him a lazy tail wag when he’d come in.
“They’re vicious. They’re just limbering up first.” She stretched, arching her back, making him want to slide his hands into the neckline of her loose sweater to find out whether she was wearing a bra. He was guessing she wasn’t.
“Come on. Let’s go see him.” He held out his hand and she sighed.
“My shoes are upstairs.”
He grabbed her and flipped her onto his shoulder. Although she gave an indignant shriek and started to struggle, her dogs continued to laze where they were. Considering how much Severin manhandled her, they had to be used to it, but he hadn’t been sure if that acceptance would extend to include him.
With the warmth of the spring day, he didn’t bother stopping for her coat and strolled out the back door, heading for Severin’s forge. Having Minnow struggling on his shoulder, biting and scratching but not safewording, made him wonder how much fun it would be to let her go and chase her through the woods.
“I don’t belong to you, Rodrigo,” she said crossly.
“Oh, I know. I’m just being a gentleman, seeing as how you didn’t want to go get your shoes.”
“A gentleman? A gentleman wouldn’t be groping my ass.”
“I’m holding you so you don’t fall. You’re wiggling around a lot up there.”
She bit him again, and he had to stifle a groan as adrenaline buzzed through his body and headed straight for his cock.
When he entered the building, Severin looked up then arched a brow. Sweat sheened his naked torso, the play of muscle as he put down the hammer he’d been holding leaving Rodrigo speechless. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t seen Severin shirtless a million times, but since the monster had kissed him it was more difficult to ignore his sexual attraction to him.
Okay, between Minnow and Severin, no wonder Rodrigo never went home anymore. The scenery was so much more enjoyable here.
“What did she do now?” Severin asked, wiping his hands on a rag.
Rodrigo put Minnow down on a table, and she flipped him the bird.
“She got bratty with me, and I wasn’t sure what to do. I’d never tolerate it from my own submissive, but she’s not mine. I thought I’d bring her to you before I overstepped.”
“Miss Korsgaard, why were you being bratty to Mr. Solis?”
“Mister Leduc, if he’s your submissive now, that means he doesn’t get to keep his status as your guest dominant, right? I mean, if I’m the senior submissive, shouldn’t I get to boss him around instead of him bossing me around?”
Severin paused, frowning. He didn’t immediately laugh and dismiss her concern, which concerned the fuck out of Rodrigo.
Eventually Severin sighed. “Mr. Solis is a switch who’s used to dominating you. You think he should have to give that up?”
“Why do I have to be everyone’s bitch?”
“Because it’s in your nature to be a toy for dominant men.”
She grumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “whatever.”
Severin went to her and yanked off her sweater and cupping one of her pale breasts with his calloused, filthy hand. He pinched her nipple hard enough to make her squeal.
“You know better than to mouth off, Miss Korsgaard.”
“Sorry, Mister Leduc,” she squeaked.
He let go of her nipple to stroke his hands over her smooth skin.
Rodrigo’s dick needed readjusting, but he focused on the action.
“Maybe I’m a switch, too!” she grumbled.
“The two of you can figure out your dynamic,” Severin said, pinching her other nipple, but only hard enough to make her squirm. “You don’t need me to intervene.”
Rodrigo was the one who’d pierced those pretty pink tips, at Severin’s insistence. It was how Rodrigo had first met her. The fact that he’d been involved in her piercing and her branding had always made him feel a sense of ownership with the girl, even though he’d tried his best to ignore it.
“You could order him to submit to me,” she said sulkily, gazing up at Severin with a pout.
He bit her bottom lip and she gasped, then moaned when he grabbed her roughly between the legs. Her leggings couldn’t be doing much to protect her delicate flesh. She cried out, her distress making Rodrigo desperate to have her.
“That wouldn’t be fair, and that’s not how true submission works. You were made to be dominated, Miss Korsgaard. If the three of us are going to make a go of this, I can’t keep the two of you from your natural dynamic. When you submitted to him in the past, it wasn’t because I ordered it – it was merely because I permitted it. You know your place is on your knees.”
“But so is his!”
“Only with me.”
“So you’re just going
to let him take your place with me?” she cried, looking confused and hurt.
“No. You’re mine. He’s mine.”
“So now he’s a beta dominant,” she mocked, tsking at Rodrigo. “Talk about a demotion.”
“Are you looking for trouble, kitten?” Severin rumbled.
Her chin jutted defiantly.
“Oh, I don’t think so.” He pulled her down from the table and shoved her at Rodrigo, who caught her arm as she stumbled toward him. “Deal with this.”
“What? No!” She struggled, trying to push Rodrigo away, but he was far larger.
“You remember her safeword?”
“Yes, but does she?” Rodrigo said, looking down into Minnow’s glare.
She shoved him. “Bring it, pussy.”
He snorted, itching to begin, but Severin’s glower made him pause.
“Give her double whatever you were thinking,” Severin ordered. He didn’t approve of her bratting, apparently.
Her mouth fell open, and her body went soft. “I’m sorry, Mister Leduc.”
“Make her sorrier, Rodrigo.”
At Severin’s words, Rodrigo’s cock pulsed and Minnow shook her head, gaze pleading.
“Rodrigo, no!”
“What did you call me, preciosa?”
“Mr. Solis?”
He shrugged, pretending he regretted having to punish her. “You’ve never been a brat to me before now, so what made you think you’d get away with it today?”
“If we’re all going to be together – like in a D/s relationship – I thought Mister Leduc would be in charge and you and I would be equals.”
“I’ve been dominating women since I was fourteen. I’ll obey Severin, because he’s Severin, but when it comes to you, you know damn well how I feel.”
“Like you want to fall to my feet and worship me?” she asked hopefully.
He grabbed her chin. “I don’t think any dominant could feel that way about you. You’re so submissive that the only struggle is trying not to perpetually take advantage of your nature.”
She was gazing up at him, looking lost. He’d always felt protective toward her, but he’d blown that off as wanting Severin to be happy, even though deep down he knew there was more to it than that. Minnow’s sweetness made him want to dominate her and take care of her even though she’d proven she didn’t need anyone’s help. He just had to make sure not to step on Severin’s toes.
Tragic King (The Dominant Bastard Duology Book 2) Page 5
