by Dani René
Padding forward, I sit on the bed and stare at her. Her long lashes flutter open and she smiles when she sees me. “Hey,” she murmurs and I reach forward and trace her cheek with my fingers.
“Hi, beautiful.” As soon as my skin touches hers there’s a spark between us and I never want to stop touching her. “Are you feeling okay? Are you sore?”
“A little bit, but it’s a good pain. I want to thank you…” Her words trail off and her gaze drops to where my hand is linked with hers.
“For?” I question her with a frown. A soft rosy blush spreads from her cheeks to her chest. She’s so beautiful.
“For everything. For making me feel again. Giving me pleasure I never felt before. And for Bennett…” Her words trickle into nothing. Her voice is like a soft rain cooling me after a hot day. Nobody has ever been able to disarm me with a single glance, a whimper, or a touch. But she does.
I reach for her chin, lifting it with my index finger, allowing her gaze to flicker up to mine. The silence in her bedroom is deafening, but the world falls away as we stare at each other.
“The princes claim their princess,” I whisper in awe of her. Planting a soft kiss on her lips, I savor the taste of her. “You’ve helped me more than you know. You’ve turned a monster into a man.”
“You’re no monster, Carter.” Her whispered response hits me in the chest where my heart beats erratically.
“Sleep now,” I order and she obeys. Her eyes flutter closed and silence settles around us. I need to tell her what I was forced to do, what my father told me was right. If she can see past that and accept me as I am, then I know it will be okay.
Ella
Sunlight streams through the blinds, the heat of it nothing like the warmth from the body behind me. Smooth skin, toned muscles, and an arm that lies heavy on my hip makes me smile. As soon as I roll over, I find those sparkling eyes watching me.
“How long have you been awake?” My words are raspy and heavy with sleep. The side of his lip lifts into a smirk that sets my body ablaze.
“A little while,” he murmurs.
“And you’ve been watching me all this time?”
He nods but doesn’t respond. His hand trails from my hip, down to my thigh.
“Open.” A one-word command I obey easily.
My legs splay. His fingers tease their way to my sensitive inner thigh. Each featherlight touch is electric, as if he’s flicking a switch on every nerve in my body. It courses through me, heating my blood, tightening my core.
When he reaches my pussy, he strokes me reverently, gently, and delicately. Like I’ll break if he presses just an inch harder. His thumb finds my clit and it thrums as he circles it, causing arousal to drench my pussy. My hips buck, needing it harder, needing it faster, aching to feel the pained pleasure he’s so good at doling out.
“Carter, please?”
My plea goes unanswered. His concentration is not on my face but rather on the slick flesh between my legs. Steadily, he drives two fingers into me, with a slow precision that has me gripping the sheets.
“All in due time, Princess. I want to watch you unravel and fly,” he coos—deep, seductive, dripping with desire. He strums me like an instrument, drawing my orgasm, which is bearing down on me from the depths of my body, from my heart and soul.
He pumps into me, in, out, in, out. The soft sounds of my arousal echo around me. The growl in his chest and the whimpers that fall from my lips are like a concerto, playing around us in perfect harmony. When his hand moves faster, fucking me like I need him to, my toes curl and my knuckles are painfully taut as I grip the sheet below me.
“Fly for me. Come on my hand and soak my fingers with those sweet juices I want to devour.” His words send me reeling, soaring, and I’m floating into nothing. Everything tightens and his thumb presses on my clit as he crooks his fingers inside me. Light, darkness, bliss.
When my eyes flutter open, he’s watching me intently, his fingers in his mouth, licking the glistening juice from each digit. “Carter—”
“I could get high on your taste alone, baby,” he murmurs and kisses me, allowing me to taste myself on his lips, tongue, and I revel in everything he’s giving me.
* * *
Stepping into the kitchen, I’m dressed in a pair of jeans and a big, white woolen jumper. Carter sets a plate in front of me and a large mug of coffee.
“Wow, what did I do to deserve this?” I giggle, digging into the toast and scrambled egg.
“Well, actually, there’s something we need to talk about. You’ve told me your past, your demons. Now… there’s something I need to explain before we… before you… I mean…”
I reach out for his hand and he looks up at me. Every time we touch there’s an inexplicable connection. Like a current running through us and I feel as if I’m alive, like I’m real. Dropping my fork, I slip from the stool and round the counter. He pulls me into his frame, calming the erratic beating of my heart.
We walk toward the sofa and settle comfortably. His eyes hold secrets, those he’s about to spill, but I don’t want him to worry. I’m not going anywhere.
“Carter—”
“Ella, when I was nineteen, I made a mistake. One that could have changed the course of my life.” His gaze drops and I can tell this is difficult for him to admit. My heart aches for him, to hold him, but I don’t interrupt. “My father stepped in and helped me, but he never let me forget it. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever let happen and I need you to know the truth. Before you choose to be with us.”
“You were serious about all three of us in a relationship?” I did think he was joking, but from the way he’s looking at me, there’s no doubt he was deadly serious.
“We are. If you can handle both of us wanting you, caring for you.”
My heart thuds in my chest, agreeing to what he’s offering, and I find myself nodding without doubt.
He smiles. It’s the bright one that lights up the room. “Then you need to know what lies in my past. I was seeing a girl in college. Her name was Sadie. It wasn’t serious. We’d just hook up. It was about two months after I’d first met her when she came to me in tears. She was pregnant. I didn’t believe her at first, but when she told me how far along she was, I figured it had to me mine.” As soon as the words are out of his mouth they hang in the air just out of reach, taunting me. “I asked for a paternity test when the time came because when I told her I wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility, she demanded money. I thought that was her ploy, so I went to Dad.”
His face is etched with pain and fear, and I realize he’s worried I’m going to walk away.
“You have a child?” I question gently, reaching for his hand and slipping it into mine. When he shakes his head my heart gallops and my stomach drops. My brows crease into a frown as I stare at him.
“My father paid her, one million dollars to get rid of it.” His mouth purses into a grim line, but he doesn’t meet my gaze. I know why. He’s ashamed. It’s written all over his face. Guilt is a terrible emotion to live with for so long, and it’s been eating at him all these years.
“And did she?” I question.
He nods slowly and the words that were hanging in the air pop, dropping like lead weights. It resounds in my ears and I realize it’s my heart hammering.
“I’m sorry.”
His gaze snaps up to mine. “You shouldn’t be sorry, Ella. When I saw her after the fact, she told me she’d never wanted a child but needed money to get out of all her student loans and debt. She told me I was an easy target. She took the money and loved every moment of being free of the burden of being a mother.”
“Is she still a part of your life, Carter?”
“No. I wanted to tell you because it should come from me, no one else. There’s nothing to be jealous about. I spoke to Bennett and he’s agreed that if you decide to do this, it’s the three of us. Together.”
He doesn’t say anything more and I wonder if I should say something. Do I
console him? I’m not angry. I can’t be a hypocrite and judge him on something in his past. Mine is littered with violence and heartache.
“She’s a mistake that happened so many years ago. I fucked up and I moved on. Nothing about her makes me want her, but when I look at you, I know in my heart I want everything with you. I want us.” He pulls me against him affectionately.
“Carter, I’m—”
“I’m not prepared to lose you.” His tone is adamant, confident in what he wants, and our gazes lock in a heated stare. His words are a salve to the open wounds in my heart and mind. I want to climb inside him. I want to find myself again. “Come on, eat your breakfast. I think we need to spend some time together.”
“I have work today.”
“Bennett will join us. You need a day to recoup and it will give you time to see how things would be between the three of us.”
“Are you two? I mean…”
“We’ve been together a few times, yes,” he answers my unasked question with honesty. That’s what I love about them. Both Bennett and Carter tell me what’s on their mind. There aren’t any games behind their words.
“Wow.”
“We’ll play tonight. Would you like to see us together?”
I never thought I’d be turned on seeing two men together, but the thought of him and Bennett causes my nipples to harden. “Yes.” I find myself responding because I do. I’d love to see it. “And as much as I’d love to spend the day with you both, there’s some urgent work I need to take care of.” There’s a new client I’m working with and even though the day out shopping sounds like my idea of heaven, I need to make sure we land this deal.
“Okay, but tonight, it will be the three of us,” Carter promises with a mischievous look in his sapphire gaze. An illicit promise.
Bennett
Leaving Ella last night was difficult, but I needed a moment to process. Everything happened so fast. She was perfect. Taking both of us like she was made to do it. We healed her. I felt it in her touch, heard it in her whispers.
But this morning’s meeting was important. I need to keep her safe and I’ll do anything in order to ensure her life is no longer threatened by that arsehole. As soon as I walked into the office, I knew something was wrong. Both men I hired left an hour ago, and now I find myself at the place I never wanted to visit again.
“Hello, Dad.”
“Bennett, come inside. We need to talk.” He glances at me. It’s been four years since he’s seen my face, but the whisky on his desk tells me nothing’s changed. An alcoholic father and a mother who ran off with some drug addict. It’s a wonder I actually made something of my life.
“We do need to talk,” I tell him, stalking farther into the dimly lit room.
My father has money. A lot of it. But I never took a penny from him. I didn’t want his filthy blood money. Nothing he’s ever done has been above board. All the deals he made, every pound he earned was nothing but payoffs from criminals. And now, he’s got me on his arse for one particular man.
“Do you know this man?” I chuck the photo on his desk, right under his nose. His dark eyes drop to the color photograph, then up at me. Guilt is written all over his wrinkled face. “How can you sit there calmly knowing this arsehole is on the loose?”
“What’s got you in such a huff about him? He has nothing to do with you.” His eyes meet mine with an expression of anger.
I shake my head at the uncaring façade that he portrays. A man who’s been known to prey on innocent girls and my father is in bed with him, so to speak.
“Do you know what he’s wanted for?” I don’t tell him about Ella. I can’t. “This arsehole is going to die and I’ll make sure of it.” My tone is acidic, but when he stares at me I realize he has no idea what I’m talking about.
“Are you really going to break up a lifelong friendship over a woman?” he finally utters, realizing there’s more emotion behind my outburst than I should’ve let on. He slips into his office chair and watches me, tenting his fingers under his chin.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Carter will be beside me when I drive a fucking knife into this arsehole’s chest,” I hiss, but he doesn’t agree. He waits a beat and continues.
“I sent him away a long time ago. I’m not responsible for what he did when he wasn’t here. I’m sure you remember the day he left.”
I nod.
“I never denied he did questionable things, which is one of the reasons we sent him to the U.S.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“We found out he had a problem,” he admits easily.
Yes, I know he has a fucking problem.
“It was after the Hamilton girl came forward.”
That’s when my world knocks off-kilter. I can’t feel the floor beneath my feet. It’s as if I’ve been punched in the gut. Winded. Sick. Bile rises into my throat and it burns.
“Katherine? Carter’s sister?”
He nods.
“What the fuck? How did you not report the fucker?” My voice rises and I know everyone on the floor can hear me. However, my father sits calmly like he’s just told me about the weather.
Anger.
Rage.
Fury.
My body vibrates with each one of those emotions until I only see red. The monster will pay. I’ll fucking ensure he never sees the light of day again.
He meets my gaze and then I see it. The truth of what he did is evident.
“It’s your fault, isn’t it? She’s here because of you,” I accuse him because I know it’s true. How else would Ella have found me or Carter? It was a sick plan from the start and we played right into it. How the fuck can my father live with knowing what was done to these girls? Katherine has been through the same thing Ella’s experienced all because of a sick monster.
“I know you’re angry, but you don’t understand my thinking. I felt bringing such publicity would hurt our family name as well as the Hamiltons’.”
“Like fuck it would! He raped Carter’s sister. He’s a sick fuck. I’ll kill him myself,” I growl, pivoting. I pull his door open and glare back at him. “Don’t you dare come near me. You’re as bad as he is.”
With that, I walk out on the man who raised me. The man who taught me who I was. And as I step into the lift, I realize I have no idea who the fuck I am anymore.
* * *
“Bennett.” My office door flies open and I glance up to find my best friend.
I glance at Ella. She’s been taking notes on our new acquisition, but I need to talk to Carter privately. “I’m sorry to cut this short, sweetheart, but I need to speak to Cart about something. I need his help and it can’t wait.” My body is still fueled with anger as he steps into the office and shuts the door.
“What’s up?” The concern on my best friend’s face is clear.
When he reaches Ella, he grips her shoulders, rubbing them methodically, which seems to calm all three of us. The tension is mounted high in my office. The three of us shared something intimate and to have them both here relaxes the anger waging war inside me.
“You know I’d do anything I can to help.” It’s true. He would.
“Ella, I’ll call you in once I’ve spoken to Carter.” I’d rather not have Ella here for this.
She stares at me for a moment with worry marring her beautiful face. My words may be gentle toward her, but my tone isn’t. Then she nods and leaves us to it. The man I trust my life with cocks his head to the side, staring at me in question.
“I found the man.” I need to give him more than that, but I’m not sure how he’s going to take it. I didn’t do so well with the news, but the problem is, this has more to do with Cart than it does me.
Silence falls around us. It’s an angry, rage-fueled hush. He slips into the seat Ella just vacated, waiting and watching for more. I didn’t want her to hear the horror Katherine faced. I’m sure the talk of this happening would have the memories flooding her mind sending her into anoth
er state of panic.
Carter doesn’t question me; he doesn’t say anything. The silence is deadly.
“I was at my dad’s offices today,” I inform him. “My team found the arsehole who’s hurt Ella, but there’s more to it than that.” My voice is a deep rumble.
My phone rings. When I glance down, I notice it’s Sarge, the man who’s going to find the predator and bring him to me for his last rights.
“Sarge,” I answer, listening to his response. “Mate, I need a location on the man in the photo I sent through. I’m not sure about the name he’s using at the moment, but can you run a facial recognition on him? Real name Carlo Bianchi, but I have a feeling he’s been using an alias.”
“Yeah, whatever you need. We’ll find him,” Sarge responds. “What do you want us to do after we’ve located him?”
“I need two men on him immediately. Don’t engage. This is personal and needs to be handled with the utmost care and privacy.” Our eyes meet and realization dawns on his face. There’s no mistaking it. We’ll handle this. “Thanks.”
“My uncle?” he questions. His voice is dangerous. There’s venom coursing through him. I see it alight in his eyes. It burns like a goddamn beacon in the night.
“There’s more.”
“How much fucking more?” he growls, anger dripping from every word. Sighing, I sit back, trying to figure out how the hell I’m meant to tell him that the man who hurt Ella also hurt his sister.
“His first victim,” I utter, dragging my stare to my best friend. “It was Kat.” There’s no verbal reaction, merely a white-knuckle grip on the arms of his chair. There’s a deafening silence that hangs between us once more. This is indeed personal. “My fucking father was in on it. I don’t know the details, Cart, but there’s some shit that went down. I’ll find out what. But we need to keep Ella safe because I have a feeling he’s coming for her with revenge in mind.”