by B. B. Hamel
Winter seemed shocked. She stood unmoving, staring at me like I’d just sprouted a second head and started singing like Liberace. She shook herself out of it and managed to smile at Hadeon.
“Apology accepted. I’ll be honest. I didn’t think Darren much cared about my honor.”
“Apparently, he cares a great deal. He is willing to injure an important alliance for your sake.”
I seethed at that. He was right—hitting him had been impulsive and stupid. I could find someone else to take his place, but it would cost me time that I couldn’t afford, not when Roman was stalking around on the outskirts of my world.
“If you’ll excuse us.” I grabbed Winter’s arm and tugged her away.
“Lovely meeting you all,” she called out as I dragged her back into the hallway.
I heard Anthony crack a joke, and some of the men even laughed as he holstered his gun.
By the time I returned, they’d be best friends again. That was Anthony’s true power: the ability to be liked.
He smoothed out my rough edges.
“What the hell did you think you were doing?” I asked when the door swung shut.
She ripped her arm from my grip. “I wanted to hear what you were talking about in there.”
“What makes you think you could do that?”
“You don’t have rules against it.”
I ground my jaw. That damn girl was going to follow the letter of the law, even if that meant making my life hell.
“Do you know who those men are?”
“Gangsters, if I had to guess. The one you punched looked pretty scary.”
“He’s the head of the Ukrainian mafia. They call him the Magician because he makes people disappear.”
“Terrifying.” Her lips quirked and her head tilted. “And you didn’t hesitate to stick up for me.”
“I can’t allow him to disrespect my guest in front of me like that. It would be showing weakness, and these men are like dogs ready to pounce.” Partially true, but not the whole story. I couldn’t tell her that the thought of Hadeon putting his hands on her made my blood boil so hot it felt like my skin would slough off. “Don’t think for a second that it was about you.”
Her smile faltered. “You and your stupid pride. Did you stop and think that maybe I could handle myself?”
“No, because you clearly can’t.” I ran my eyes up and down her body, staring at her breasts and hips and long legs, and licked my lips. “You can’t come strutting into a meeting with men like that looking like this.”
“And why not? I’d be asking for whatever they did?”
“No, you wouldn’t be asking for it. But it still might happen, regardless.” I was exasperated and annoyed. She was a smart girl—she had to see how dangerous it was to parade herself in front of men like Hadeon and his lieutenants.
To them, she was another piece of ass. They didn’t give a damn who her father was or how useful she might be.
She looked so angry and defiant. I wanted to pin her to the wall and show her what a man like Hadeon might do—wanted to strip off that sexy outfit, make her parade around the house naked, humiliated, shamed, broken. I felt myself stiffen at the thought of taming her.
“Whatever you do right now affects my life,” she breathed. “If you’re going to sit around in fancy rooms and discuss my future, then I’m going to be there to have some say in it.”
“Bullshit. You came in to try to knock me off balance. You think dressing like this and flirting is going to make me lose my mind.”
“Clearly it’s working then. You haven’t been able to take your eyes off me since I walked in there.”
She was right, damn it. I hated to admit it, but ever since she’d come into my life, I hadn’t been able to shake her. Each new encounter was like a shot of heroin straight to my brain, and I felt the addiction slowly taking hold.
“Enough. Go back to your room and stop causing problems.”
“Let me have a say in what happens.”
“You’re a captive. If you don’t start acting like one, I’m going to make you wish you never met Cassie and Roman.”
“I doubt that.” She moved closer. Her smell flooded my nostrils again, like back in the pool. Fuck, she dripped with sex and oozed desire. I stepped forward, forcing her back into the shadows around the wall. She never took her eyes from me until she bumped up against a light fixture.
“You think they’re your real friends, don’t you?” I asked with a hint of menace.
“I think Cassie’s a good person and I love her.”
“She’s Roman’s now. Maybe he’s listening to her, but you won’t be worth the trouble forever. What will you be to me then?”
“Why don’t you let me go now and save yourself the frustration?”
That word, frustration. It was like she could read my mind.
“You’re still useful. But if you keep pulling stunts like this, then I might change my mind and get rid of you.”
“Would your sister like that?”
I sucked in a breath. “I told you not to speak of them.”
Her face paled slightly. She’d made a mistake and knew it—my rage fired like a kiln.
“I’m not threatening them,” she said quickly. “I just don’t think Penny would be happy if I disappeared.”
“Don’t mention her again.” I reached up and fisted my fingers into Winter’s hair. She sucked in a breath and clenched her jaw. “Do you understand me? Don’t ever speak of my sisters. They don’t exist to you.”
“Why are you so obsessed with them? They’re grown adults. They can handle themselves.”
“You don’t know us at all.” I moved closer, brushing my lips along her chin. I despised this girl so much and wanted her all the same. She was dangerous, and bringing her here might’ve been a mistake—one I’d pay for dearly if it hurt anyone I loved. “Don’t presume you have any clue what Penny or Erin think. Stop pushing, stop acting out. Sit still and be good.”
“Go to hell.”
I moved back and bit her lower lip hard.
She sucked in a shocked breath. I pulled her hair harder, and she groaned in either pain or pleasure—I couldn’t tell, but my cock strained against my slacks, eager to rip free and taste Winter’s incredible body. I kissed her neck, then her shoulder, and before I could take it any further, I released her.
She pushed me away. Her face was flushed, her mouth hanging open in surprise, anger, and something else.
Eagerness. Desire. Need.
She touched her fingers to her swollen lower lip. They came back bloody.
“You asshole.”
“Tell me you didn’t enjoy that, and I’ll never do it again.”
She shoved past, smearing her blood on my suit jacket as she stormed down the hall.
But she didn’t deny it.
I watched her go, heart racing wildly, before I returned to the conference room.
I was distracted, just like she wanted.
But at least I’d been right about Anthony. The Ukrainians were laughing, and he was pouring vodka shots. Hadeon’s smile faltered as I approached the table, but at least he didn’t look like he wanted to murder me anymore.
“I apologize for the delay,” I said, accepting a glass from Anthony.
“Looks like you two got a little rough.” Anthony fingered the bloodstain Winter had left behind. “Anything we should know about? Maybe you got the girl pregnant?”
I gave him a look, but the Ukrainians all laughed.
Even Hadeon.
I smiled at them, forcing the rising bile in my throat back down by swallowing a mouthful of vodka. It burned but eased the knot in my gut.
“We should return to business.”
And with that, I sat down, and we planned.
6
Winter
My lower lip throbbed.
I stared at it in the mirror. The bleeding stopped soon after I got back to my room, but it was still plump and tender and swollen.
<
br /> He bit me hard enough to break skin.
I couldn’t believe it. That fucking animal.
And worse—
I liked it when he kissed my neck.
The pleasure mixed with the pain and surprise sent a heady dose of endorphins screaming into my skull.
He kissed me.
Or got close to it.
That was the second time he used this strange, messed-up attraction as a weapon against me, and I hated him even more for it.
I hated that he knew I wanted him. And I despised myself for these feelings.
Every time he touched me, it was like I needed to throw my body against his. Like he was a planet and I was a meteor destined to crash into his surface.
When I finally did, I knew it’d be painful and incredible and raw.
But something was happening in this house, and it wasn’t just this war with Roman.
Something with his sisters.
He was protective. I understood that, or at least I could pretend to. I didn’t have any close family of my own, aside from my mom, but she was out in Vegas dealing blackjack to drunk millionaires. We spoke on the phone a few times every month, but otherwise, I was alone in the world.
Which was why Cassie meant so much.
Except she was gone now too.
Darren, though, that piece of garbage monster, had his sisters and his brother. I didn’t understand what was going on between these people, but I got the sense that the Servant household wasn’t normal.
How could it be?
I pulled myself from the mirror and got changed. Provoking him like that wasn’t a good idea. Parading around in front of him in skimpy outfits was only going to make him want me more—and prove to him that I couldn’t control my impulses.
I had to be better. I had to come up with a new plan.
I grabbed the bracelet from the nightstand and reluctantly snapped it onto my wrist as I headed out into the hallway. My two guards detached themselves from the wall nearby and followed. I called them Jekyll and Hyde—the tall, skinny one was Dr. Jekyll, and the muscular, brutish one was Mr. Hyde. They trailed along at a respectable distance as I stomped through the corridors, took the stairs, and pushed through the back door and out into the sunshine.
The manor house and grounds were beautiful. Inside was all dour and dark and stuffed full of dead things—dead antiques, dead paintings, dead people—but outside was incredible. I was so used to Sea Isle, which was one long, hyper-developed island, a mixture of sand and concrete.
But this was nature. The grass was mowed and controlled and the hedges were kept neat and clean, and everything was manicured and kept in perfect little rows. I breathed the air and strolled along, heading toward the edge of the forest.
The forbidden trees.
I got within ten yards when Jekyll whistled. When I looked back, he shook his head sternly.
Do not pass go.
I skirted the woods. I didn’t step into them, but I got as close as I was allowed. Jekyll and Hyde weren’t happy, but they didn’t stop me, either.
Whatever. It was fun to piss them off.
I gazed out into the dark forest, and wondered how far it would be to salvation. Somewhere out there, Cassie and Roman were trying to rescue me—or at least I thought they were.
Maybe they weren’t. And that was okay.
There was something between Roman and Darren. I saw a glimmer of it every time Darren spoke his name. A long feud, some past transgression that left both men angry and scarred. This fight between them was about more than a power struggle.
It was intensely personal.
Only I didn’t know why or what happened.
Finding out might get me one step closer to freedom.
Or it might land me in that murder basement after all.
I turned toward the house and spotted a figure hurrying toward me. I thought it was Penny at first, until I realized she was staring at her phone as she hustled down the lawn. Erin looked a lot like her younger sister, only leaner, more intense. All her features were stretched and sharpened, and while she was pretty, she didn’t have that same soft beauty.
I slowed as Erin approached. She tapped away at her phone and looked up at the last second like she was surprised to see me standing there. She frowned at the guards and waved a hand.
“Go away.”
Jekyll opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut. He turned and walked off with Hyde on his heels.
I laughed, unable to help myself. “I can’t believe that worked.”
“They’re paid to listen to the family.” She tilted her head and her eyes pierced me with an incredibly deep, searching gaze. I felt like I was in the middle of a hurricane, her attention that was distressing and intense. I was glad she normally stared at her phone, because I wasn’t sure I could handle this level of scrutiny all the time. “So you’re my brother’s new obsession.”
I blinked rapidly. “I don’t think I’d put it that way. More like his new captive.” I held up the bracelet.
She ignored it. “I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s distracted and agitated. Darren’s usually very single-minded.”
“I’m sorry to disrupt your harmonious little family.”
“I don’t think you are.” She shoved her phone into her pocket. “Walk with me.”
She didn’t wait for a response and stomped off. I considered ripping off the bracelet and running into the woods—I had a good head start on Jekyll and Hyde and might be able to get away—but decided that could wait.
Erin was more interesting.
I caught up and fell into stride with her.
“I found my brother’s file on you.” Erin stared straight ahead as she talked, her arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to keep her guts from spilling out. “I know your name isn’t Winter.”
I flushed. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use that other one.”
“I assumed you wouldn’t want me to, considering how much trouble you went to distance yourself.”
“It’s hard to start over.”
She glanced at me, frowning. “It really is.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“What does it mean that I’m distracting your brother?”
“I don’t know, but it’s interesting. When you first came here, I thought you were just another tool he was using to get his way, but now I wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
She didn’t elaborate and changed the subject. “Why do you hate your father?”
“No, thanks, I’m not going there.”
“This isn’t that kind of conversation. It’s more like an interrogation. I ask, you answer.”
“Okay. Pass anyway.”
She looked frustrated, like she wasn’t used to someone telling her no, which was probably true. She was older than me, closer to Darren’s age than to mine, but she acted like a teenager.
A spoiled, insanely rich teenager.
“What about your mother? Are you close to her?”
“We talk but we don’t see each other much.”
“Why did your parents get divorced?”
I stopped walking. She kept going then turned to face me, head tilted to the side.
“Has anyone told you that it’s insanely rude to ask that sort of stuff?”
“Yes,” she said earnestly. “And I don’t really care.”
“My parents got divorced because my dad’s a psychotic asshole obsessed with image and my mom got addicted to pain killers. Okay? Are you happy?”
“Not really, but I’m glad you answered. Darren will find that interesting.”
I clenched my jaw. “So you’re just trying to discover more ammunition to use against me then?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing, but I do know that you’re trouble.”
I started to tell her to go jump off a high branch but stopped as someone barked Erin’s name from up near the house.
&nbs
p; Darren stalked toward us with Jekyll and Hyde in tow.
Those two little bastards told on her.
Erin smiled. She was pretty when she smiled. “I guess our discussion is over. Thanks for talking to me.”
“Wait,” I said as she took out her phone and began typing again.
But she walked off without looking up from the screen.
I stood there dumbfounded. What the hell did she want to know about my family for? My mom and dad had nothing to do with what was happening to me here—that was all about Roman and Cassie.
I didn’t have time to stew for long. Darren appeared and steered me back toward the house while the guards lingered nearby.
“What were you doing talking to Erin?” he asked, anger radiating off him like steam from water. His fingers dug into my arm.
“Let me go, asshole, and I’ll tell you.”
He looked down at his hand like he hadn’t realized he was gripping me so hard and eased off. I rubbed the spot where his fingers dug into my flesh.
“I told you not to speak to them.” There was a warning tone in his voice.
“I’m sure your little pets informed you that she approached me, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“And what was I supposed to do? Run away? Scream?”
“Running and screaming is a good idea when Erin’s involved.”
I glanced over toward where she disappeared into the house. “What’s her deal, anyway?”
“She’s Erin.” He said it as if that explained anything. When I gave him a look, he elaborated. “She lives in her own world with her own set of rules. What did she want to know about you?”
“My parents. Their divorce. If I was close to my mom.”
“Interesting,” he said softly, frowning into the distance. “She doesn’t normally care about family stuff.”
“What the hell is with you people?”
His gaze snapped back to me. “If my sisters approach you again, walk away. Come find me. Do anything but engage. Especially with Erin.”
“This whole vague and threatening thing isn’t going to work. If you want me to steer clear of Erin, give me a reason.”
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Something happened a long time ago and she took it hard. We all took it hard, but I think she was the worst. It took her years to come out of her shell again, but she’s still a little—broken.”
