by Sienna Snow
I lifted a brow. “That is what all those magazines you like to squirrel away are for.”
“Fine.” Anaya folded her arms and pretended to pout. “Since I can’t drink, let’s order some super unhealthy food and promise to eat it with me instead of complaining about using up a week’s worth of calories in one sitting.”
God, I loved her. She was the baby sister I never had and let me play the role of caregiver.
“Oh, to have the metabolism of a twenty-year-old,” Penny mused and then handed me a menu.
Chapter Sixteen
Pierce
* * *
“Cash me out.” Hagen frowned, throwing his cards on the table. “I swear I’m going to paddle her ass.”
“Penny giving you a hard time?” I asked, setting my cards on the poker table.
Instead of having my weekly rundown with Zack and Hagen, we’d decided to have a poker night with a few of our friends—Ronak, Jackson, and Arran. They happened to all be in town for various things and it gave us the opportunity to hang out.
Ronak was an up-and-coming Hollywood director with a taste for movie starlets. Jackson was the money man behind a lot of the HPZ properties. He was essentially our banker.
And then there was Arran. He was one of my closest friends and the lead singer of Onyx Stone. He was also the most famous and infamous of all of our circle, known for his hard lyrics, good looks, and high-profile romances.
We’d met in college when he was a physics major and had remained friends after we’d both dropped out of school to pursue different careers.
So far, I’d lost close to ten thousand, whereas Zack was up by twenty-five. I swore he had the Midas touch. The only two people I knew who could give Baby Brother a run for his money were Penny and Henna. No, that wasn’t true—the only person to hand Zack his balls when it came to cards was Henna.
“You could say that.” Hagen clenched his teeth. “Our women are at Nyx.”
Our women. I liked the sound of Amelia being mine.
“And that’s bad how?” Arran asked.
“They ditched their security and decided they wanted to forgo the VIP section to dance on the main floor.” Hagen pushed back from the table and ran a hand through his short hair.
“You’re too damn overprotective of your Starlight.” Zack shook his head. “Let them have fun. We have people all over the club. They’ll keep an eye on them.”
“The girls decided to climb in the cages and give the floor a show.” Hagen pointed the screen of his phone in our direction.
“Man, they look hot,” Jackson commented, garnering a death glare from Hagen.
It was a video of Penny and Amelia with their backs to each other, holding the bars of the birdcage as they shimmied and rubbed their short-skirted asses together. A crowd of men surrounded them, and by all appearances, the women were oblivious to the attention they were getting.
I clenched my teeth. I was going to do more than paddle Ame’s ass when I got her alone. She was showing off what belonged to me.
When the video panned to the next cage, Zack jumped up, and fury covered his face.
It was Henna dancing, bump-and-grind style, with one of the male dancers of the club. His hand was on her ass, and they were having a great time.
Anaya was the only one who looked sober, but she was sitting on the bar, kicking her feet and shimmying to the music. At least my baby sister had enough sense not to drink when everyone else was.
God, I had a sister old enough for dance clubs. Wait a second, she was only twenty. She shouldn’t even be allowed into the club.
If Hagen didn’t say something to Penny, I sure as hell was going to.
“Let’s go,” Zack ordered.
“Tell us again how nothing is going on between you two,” Ronak said as he stood. “If you two aren’t fucking, I’m a monkey’s uncle.”
“And I’m a prima ballerina,” Jackson added, fist-bumping with Ronak.
“Assholes,” Zack muttered.
Arran drank down his scotch and rose. “Anyone have a baseball cap? The last thing I need is attention for helping the Lykaios brothers handle their women.”
Arran’s bodyguard passed him a cap.
“Where’s Adrian?” Hagen asked as he began texting furiously.
“Leave him be. He’s working on the security details for the fight. That’s what we’re paying him to do.”
“His ass should be watching his sister and keeping everyone out of trouble.” Zack grabbed his phone from the edge of the poker table and moved to the doors of the lounge we were in.
“He isn’t her keeper.” I had to defend the boy. He was only twenty-one and had no control over his sister or her friends.
Zack had a lot to learn if he thought Adrian had any influence on any of those women. The poor boy was their family, but he’d be roadkill if he even dared to give them advice.
We arrived at the club less than fifteen minutes later. The room was packed with a line of at least a hundred waiting to get inside.
A group of well-dressed, model-type women passed Jackson, drawing his attention.
“Maybe you guys should handle this. They’re your women. Plus, they don’t know us.” Jackson smirked and moved toward the dance floor.
Ronak shook his head. “We should go with him and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble. It’s the least I can do for his help with my last project.”
Ronak, Arran, and his security detail followed Jackson into the crowd.
“One day I’m going to enjoy seeing those assholes suffer.” I glared at Ronak’s back.
“That would mean they’d have to take the idea of relationships seriously.” Zack scanned the crowd.
“Last I checked you had a string of women you enjoyed on a regular basis,” Hagen said as he zeroed in on the girls.
We pushed through the swarm of writhing bodies and stood a few feet from where Henna, Amelia, and Penny danced.
Anaya spotted us first, jumping off the bar.
I shook my head, and she grimaced as she glanced at the cages.
Hagen and I took positions under Penny and Amelia’s cage. They were too busy dancing against each other to notice us.
If we weren’t surrounded by people, I’d find the fact she was locked in a cage super hot. She was a goddess in four-inch heels and a minidress that showed off her killer sculpted legs. Ones designed to wrap around my waist as I fucked her until she was insane.
Sweat glistened on her beautiful face, reminding me of last night as I plowed my cock into her.
Over the last few weeks, I’d fucked her at every opportunity, and she’d met every one of my demands with her own. The second we touched, there was an energy shift. She gave herself up to me, letting me control her pleasure in ways she’d never done before.
Right now she looked carefree and lost in the rhythm of the music. Gone was the ball-busting businesswoman and mother. Gone was the always-in-control former athlete.
As if sensing me, she opened her eyes and our gazes locked. There was no surprise there, just heat, as if she was thinking of me while she danced.
The idea of that had my cock jumping. We weren’t planning to meet up tonight, but there was no way I was leaving this place without her.
She moved closer to the bars, rolling her hips and licking her lips.
If we were in private, I’d have her strip for me and then wrap those lips around my cock, something I had no doubt she’d enjoy.
She mouthed, “I want you.”
I lifted a brow and smirked. She was drunk and horny.
How had I lived without this woman all these years?
A group of men began to make catcalls and whistle, snapping me out of my thoughts. Before I could respond to the dickheads, I heard what I couldn’t mistake as a growl.
Hagen grabbed one of the men by the collar, throwing him back.
Oh fuck. Hagen was cold and calm in any and every circumstance except when it came to Penny. When it came to his pixie-sized fiancée, he was a
volcano ready to erupt at any moment.
“Out now,” Hagen roared, pushing his way up the platform leading to the cages.
I rushed behind him, as did Zack. From the side, I saw Jackson, Ronak, and Arran coming toward us.
Fuck, this was going to get bad if I didn’t get everyone out.
Hagen jerked open the cage door and grabbed Penny by the waist, throwing her over his shoulder.
He smacked her ass and stalked toward the club offices.
“I lost my dance partner.” Amelia sauntered toward me with unsteady steps.
I grabbed her around the waist and helped her out onto the platform.
She smiled up at me. “This cage is a lot more fun than an MMA ring. I don’t have bruises when I come out.”
The woman hadn’t done anything but eat and breathe the fight for weeks and even on her night to relax, she was thinking MMA.
I’d never met a woman who worked so hard. When she’d told me that she was the head of all of Thanos International and Chairman of the Board, I’d thought she was kidding. Yeah, she had a CEO running the different divisions, but overseeing a large conglomerate was no easy task. When she wasn’t working for her athletes, she was reviewing prospectuses and consulting the heads of the various companies under Thanos at all hours of the day. And then nearly every night was spent with me, which garnered her very little sleep. The woman was a machine.
“You ready to go home?”
“It all depends. Am I in trouble?” She slurred her words.
I’d be surprised if she wasn’t passed out in the next half hour.
“Yes. You let others see what belongs to me.”
“My dress isn’t that short.” She frowned, tugging at the hem as she tried to balance herself against me. “The skirt barely comes above my knees. Well, it did on Penny.”
How the hell she got into a dress designed for Penny, I’d never comprehend. Outside of her ass, Penny was petite everywhere. Amelia was all curves and hard muscle. A woman designed to fuck and indulge every dirty fantasy I could imagine.
“Baby, with those legs that dress is halfway up your thighs.”
I guided her toward the hallway Hagen had taken with Penny.
She blew out an exaggerated breath and then sighed, resting her head on my shoulder. “I guess you’re right. I’m a good seven inches taller than her. Hey, I have a secret.”
“Want to tell me?”
She nodded and leaned up to whisper in my ear, but her voice was anything but quiet. “I’ve only been drunk once before and that was on my trip with the girls to Tahiti. In Greece, there are lots of rules, and I was never supposed to drink more than two glasses of anything. Even when I would go to Ibiza with my friends, I never drank. You know tabloids are always trying to get pictures of the Thanoses. It’s like living in a Petri dish. Plus, as the head of Thanos International and the Chairman of the Board, I have to keep a respectable image. It’s the double standard for being a woman in charge.”
“Wasn’t your husband known for his parties?”
She waved her hand. “That was pre-Amelia. That’s what my grandmother-in-law called it. Plus, Stavros is a boy. Boys can do anything and they don’t get the same backlash. It’s not fair, just the way it is.”
“How are you friends with Penny and not drink?”
“I didn’t say I never drank. I said I’ve only been drunk once before. I found out today I have a surprisingly higher tolerance than I thought.”
“Baby, at this moment, you have none. Let’s go.”
Amelia dug in her heels, forcing me to stop walking.
“I can’t go without Henna and Anaya. That would be rude. We’re celebrating.” She turned to look at the bar.
Zack had Henna and Anaya cornered. Both women had their arms crossed as he gave them a lecture.
“Celebrating what, exactly?”
“Anaya’s new summer internship in Geneva.”
“If you’re celebrating Anaya, why isn’t she drunk?”
Amelia looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Because she’s underaged. We aren’t going to do something to shut down the club.”
“Anaya isn’t old enough to be in the club.”
“Well, she promised not to drink, so we snuck her in through the back. Oops.” She covered her mouth. “I wasn’t supposed to let Hagen find out. Don’t let Hagen find out. Okay?”
What was in those drinks they’d downed? Never had I imagined Amelia being a silly drunk.
“I think he already knows.”
“Oh no. That means we’re in trouble. Are you going to paddle me?” There was a sparkle in her eyes that said she would enjoy it if I decided to redden her ass.
“Not tonight.”
She frowned, looking disappointed.
“Then I guess you’re taking me home.” She rested her head on my chest and closed her eyes. “Mmm. You smell good.”
That was my cue to leave. I lifted a hand, signaling Zack and the guys.
Zack nodded and then continued the heated discussion with Henna. Anaya caught my stare and ran toward us.
God, she looked so much like Mama. How the fuck hadn’t I noticed it before?
“Pierce, would you please drop me off at my apartment? Those two are going to keep arguing, and I have to meet with my adviser in the morning.” Anaya wrung her hands together.
Was she worried I’d say no?
Ever since I found out she was my sister, it killed me not to have a relationship with her.
“Sure. First, help me get this champ into the car. She’s asleep on her feet.”
About ten minutes later we had Amelia comfortably settled into the back of one of the Ida SUVs with Anaya and me flanking her.
“Just so you know, it wasn’t her idea to drink. She’s a featherweight. Always has been.”
“She already told me.” I stroked Amelia’s back. “How much did she have?”
“She had two martinis, but then I’m not sure how many shots of Firewater. I’m guessing somewhere between five and fifteen.”
“Fifteen?”
“Well, that’s how many Penny and Henna had. They can drink a sailor under the table. Maybe it’s because both of them have spent years testing out all of Penny’s whiskeys.”
“Does it bother you that Henna and Penny are so close?”
She frowned. “Of course not. I’m the kid sister, but they never made me feel like an outsider. Though I do wish I had more family. Penny is the only extended family I have. Everyone else wanted nothing to do with us. It isn’t always easy being just Henna, Mom, and me. You know, especially with all that Dad did.”
God, what was it like for them to grow up with the stigma of Victor Anthony’s crimes?
“Well, you do have us. Hagen, Zack, and I will always be around.”
She seemed startled by my words and just stared at me.
“Because of Penny?”
“No, because of you. We like you. Plus, it would be nice to have another genius around who could give Adrian Kipos a run for his money.”
“Thank you.” She gave me a watery smile, and for a second, I thought I saw longing in her eyes.
Could she know the truth?
Even if she did, this was not the time to ask her.
“Tell me about this internship?”
I carried Amelia into my penthouse and headed straight for my bedroom. She had barely stirred during the drive.
In a sense I was glad I’d gotten the short twenty minutes to drive to Anaya’s place to talk to her. She seemed so energetic and carefree, but I got the sense it was a facade. Every so often I’d see a flicker of emotion that told me she wasn’t as uber confident as she liked everyone to believe. It was especially evident when I’d asked if she was ready for her crash course in international business. Something about this internship had me questioning what else she was going to do in Geneva besides academia.
I held my tongue, not wanting to open a topic I technically had no business involving myself in, and
planned to corner Henna about it at a later time.
That was when it hit me. I had a half-sister, who was a half-sister to Henna, who was first cousins with Penny. And on top of it, my brother was marrying Penny, making all of us related in so many ways that it boggled the mind.
I laughed aloud.
Damn, was this a Greek soap opera in the making, or what?
“What’s so funny?” Amelia tilted her head up. Her eyes were still alcohol hazed, but at least they weren’t rolling to the back of her head.
“You. I’m never letting you go out with Penny ever again. That girl is a bad influence.”
“Not happening. She’s my sister in everything but blood. She wants to party, I party.” She rubbed her forehead as I set her on the bathroom counter in my master suite. “But I don’t plan to ever let her talk me into doing shots every time a man hits on Henna. That woman attracts men like flies to honey.”
“Henna is beautiful.” I opened a drawer, pulling out a washcloth, and then turned on the sink to warm the water.
“I know.” Amelia leaned back until her head rested on the picture-framed mirror above the vanity. “She has the gorgeous skin and expressive eyes of a Bollywood movie starlet, the fashion sense and body of a runway model, and the intelligence of a hunting shark. No wonder she drives Zack crazy.”
“Noticed the attraction, did you?” I dampened the cloth in the warm water, added a little soap, and then gently began to wipe the makeup from Amelia’s skin.
Why the fuck did she have so much shit on her face? She was beautiful without it.
“It’s hard to miss. Neither of them is going to admit it. I think it’s because of Collin. Henna adores him, and Zack—well, everyone and their dog knows how Zack feels. He was never good about hiding his emotions, especially when it comes to Collin.”
“Zack is Zack.” After I finished cleaning her face, I set the washcloth on the counter and pulled out a toothbrush from another drawer.
We remained silent as I brushed her teeth.
Her head rolled to the side toward the wall opposite of us, and then she groaned as she shifted to face me again. “Pierce?”
“Yes.”