“Bye, dickhead.”
“Okay, that’s more true to character, but it’s too little too late. I’m still not buying it.” Church’s voice warmed, “I love you, Sev.”
Ugh. He knew he should say it back, but he couldn’t get the words to come out.
“Same.”
Church whistled again. “Whoa. It’s a fucking miracle. Ilse is never going to fucking believe this.”
Severin grunted.
“Later, gator.”
Severin rolled his eyes. Having kids was turning Church into Mr. Rogers. “Bye, doorknob.” He hung up before Church had a chance to say anything else.
Apart from the loud breathing of a puppy or two, the room was silent. He sat up and surveyed his study, and two puppy faces were suddenly at high alert, their brown eyes watching his every move.
“What? You think I should have said it?” He shrugged. “He knows what I meant.”
He got to his feet, stretched then rubbed his ear, annoyed at how sore it got when he was on the phone. Phones were annoying, but when brothers moved half way across the fucking country, they became a necessary evil.
Now, where the fuck was his girl? Puppies were all well and good, but shouldn’t his human pets be lurking around waiting to be of service? He needed to put shock collars on her and Rodrigo so they got reprimanded every time they went more than a room or two away. That should be a thing.
He chuckled to himself as he headed toward the kitchen, assuming Minnow was making lunch or something. It was about that time of day. Normally Ro would be in there with her, since he wasn’t complete shit at cooking, but he’d gone to his old house to get some paperwork.
The pups skittered ahead of him, careening into the kitchen, but although they seemed enthusiastic, Minnow didn’t greet them.
“You keep doing things like this and it makes me uncomfortable,” he heard her say. He stifled a laugh, wondering just how many puppies were licking her.
“Oh, play coy all you want, pretty girl. We both know what you want.” The low whisper was silken.
When had Rodrigo gotten home? He stopped to listen. Rodrigo was always so much smoother with her than he was.
“No. It’s not going to happen.”
“I hear you say no all the time.” The whisper turned harsh, guttural. “But in this house no one listens to you when you say no. That’s your thing, isn’t it? Playing at reluctance you don’t really feel?”
“I’m sorry if I confused you, Loïc. I’m nice to you because you’re Severin’s brother. You’ve had a hard life and you’re feeling lost, but I’m not interested in you that way, and I’m not what you need.”
He froze. Loïc? He shook his head, trying to pay attention and not panic.
“You’re already connected to two men, why not three?”
“We’re in a closed relationship,” she said firmly. “No one gets added without Severin’s say so, and I highly doubt he’ll want to add his brother. That would be inappropriate.”
There was a masculine snort. “If he shares you with his best friend, why wouldn’t he share you with his brother?”
“He just wouldn’t. I know he wouldn’t.”
“But you’d let me fuck you if he ordered you to.”
“No. I’d safeword. That’s a line I refuse to cross.”
She gasped. The sound broke Severin out of his shocked inertia and he strode into the room, ready to kill Loïc.
His brother had Minnow against the wall, his arms on either side of her, penning her in place. Although he wasn’t touching her, he was far too fucking close. She looked small and nervous with him menacing her that way. She only came to Loïc’s shoulder, and dressed in one of her short flared skirts and the kind of knee socks that drove Rodrigo so crazy, she seemed young and defenseless even knowing she and his brother were almost the same age.
“Step away from her, Loïc,” he growled, “or I’ll break your face.”
Loïc pushed off the wall and spread his hands innocently, his mouth twisted in a charming smile. “I didn’t touch her.”
“No, but you’re scaring her and pissing her off.”
“You’re like this with her all the time. I figured it was what she liked”
Severin forced down a growl. “She’s my submissive, and my fiancée. We have an agreement in place about how things are between us. Consent. A safeword. You can’t just step into my role because you live here.”
“Rodrigo does it.”
“He’s our fiancé.”
“So add me too.”
“No.”
Loïc’s hands clenched, and something flashed in his gaze that looked a lot like hurt. “Why not?”
“We’re all in a relationship with each other. Together. We’re not adding extra people, let alone my own brother.”
“What? Are you worried you and I will have children with two heads?” Loïc scoffed. “I won’t suck your cock, you won’t suck mine. Pas de problème. I want to fucking belong here, Severin. I want in. I’m tired of being the outsider in this house.”
“Loïc, you’re my brother. I’m not sharing my romantic relationships with you.”
“Romantique?” He spat. “Seriously? Forgive me, but I fail to see your relationships as anything close to romantic.”
“You don’t have to understand our relationships, you just have to understand we’re not going to include you as anything other than a platonic member of this household. If you want a relationship, you’ll have to find your own lovers. You have to work at it.”
Minnow, tactfully, didn’t laugh at that. It was kind of her, considering she’d done almost all of the work in their relationship at the beginning, while he’d only watched her and silently panicked.
Loïc walked to the kitchen island and put it between them. His knuckles were white where he gripped the granite top. His face was an ugly grimace but Severin couldn’t interpret the emotions that played in the subtle shifts of his eyes and mouth.
“Should I leave? Go back to Marseilles?”
Severin sighed. How was he, of all people, supposed to fix this fucked-up brother of his? But Loïc was all alone in the world, having just burned the house he’d always lived in to the ground, and sold off their mother’s company. What would that mean for Loïc’s state of mind?
“You can stay, at least for a while.” He glanced at Minnow, but she said nothing. “You can’t be like this with Minnow. She has to feel safe.”
“Or with Rodrigo,” Minnow murmured.
Severin raised his brows at Loïc, who flushed.
“I don’t get bossy with Rodrigo.”
“No, but you flirt aggressively with both of us whenever you catch us alone. It’s inappropriate.” Minnow moved to lean against Severin, and he wrapped his arm around her. Was she lending him strength, or borrowing some herself?
Loïc pressed his lips into a flat line. “I don’t know how...” He shifted his tall frame to sit on the countertop behind him, looking more angry boy than large man.
“How what?” Severin asked.
“Is this a fucking therapy session?”
He sighed. “This is your family caring about you, and giving you rules. If you want to stay here, you’ll follow the rules.”
“I’m not a child.”
“No, you’re not. Now finish your sentence. You don’t know how...what?”
“I don’t know how to interact with people if I’m not servicing them. I try to copy what the three of you do, but I guess that’s wrong because I’m not part of what you are to each other.” He swallowed. “I’ve been a whore so long. How do adults interact if they’re not fucking each other?” He didn’t pause for an answer. “I didn’t go to school. I’ve never had friends. I had older sisters who were mostly kept away from me, and a mother who only cared about her business interests and her orgasms. I don’t know how normal people act.”
“You can learn.”
“Maybe. Or maybe my brain is wrong, and I can’t learn.” Loïc’s face was a
neutral mask, the one that Severin had learned meant he was covering ugly emotions. “Martine was the only friend I had, and I don’t even think she liked me – which is probably fine since I’ll hate her until I’m cold in the ground.” His cold blue eyes blazed with fury. “I have nothing left but the three of you, and yet I don’t belong here either.”
He strode from the room, and Minnow tried to follow but Severin held her back.
“What are you going to do, Miss Korsgaard? Chase after him and assure him we want him here when we don’t? Why lie?”
Minnow sighed, watching the puppies sniff around the counters, hoping someone had dropped food on the immaculate floor.
“He needs something to hang on to, Mister Leduc. He needs to know his family cares about him.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to let him have you,” he growled. “I didn’t choke him unconscious for menacing you. That should be enough affection for a grown man.”
“Severin.” Her tone was reproachful.
“What did you just call me?” He narrowed his eyes at her.
She fell immediately to her knees and pressed her forehead to his legs. His hand went to her hair without hesitation.
“I’m sorry, Mister Leduc. I’m upset and I forgot myself.”
“Understandable. I’m sorry he cornered you like that. I should send him away, but if I do, I’m not sure what would happen to him.” That and he was getting attached to the little bastard.
“Don’t send him away. Now that you’ve been clear about boundaries, I’m sure he’ll leave me alone.” She leaned into him harder as he ran his hand through her hair. “I’m just not sure how to help him. He needs help, but I’m not a therapist.”
“I know. I tried setting him up with Dr. Jindre, but I don’t think he’s ready yet.”
“Who’s not ready for what yet?” Rodrigo walked in, his usual debonair self in his gray suit and black shirt, and shoes that were probably the height of fashion but looked long and pointy and silly to Severin. His hair was always so perfect, and he was so self-possessed, it made Severin want to make a mess of him. Rodrigo’s dark eyes met his in passing challenge, and passive aggressive dominance. Someone was fresh from work and full of himself.
“Loïc’s not ready for counseling, but he needs it.” Minnow sighed and butted her head against Severin’s leg, trying to wordlessly lure him into petting her more. The dogs had wandered over and kept trying to lick her face.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Rodrigo knelt on the floor and kissed the toe of Severin’s boot in greeting, then got to his feet and ran his fingers through Minnow’s hair before moving off to the fridge.
“I’m making lunch in a minute, so don’t start making yourself a sandwich.”
Rodrigo closed the fridge door and eyed her. “Maybe we should make you a sandwich.” He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.
“At what age do men stop thinking with their dicks and start thinking with their stomachs?”
Severin picked her up and sat her on the counter, then caged her in with his arms, realizing he’d just given his brother shit for doing the very same thing. It was different when it was him, damn it. “We think with both. It’s not an age thing,” he told her. “With you around, our dicks always get first billing.”
“Aww. You’re such a charmer.” She raised her face to his, pouting adorably when he didn’t kiss her.
“So why is the Loïc thing coming up now?” Rodrigo asked, leaning on the counter beside them.
Severin sighed and gave Minnow the kiss she so obviously wanted. Her smile was beatific. So spoiled, his girl.
“He cornered Minnow in here a few minutes ago when she was alone, and then when I interrupted him, he tried talking me into letting him into our relationship.”
Rodrigo ran his hands down his face. “I told him there was no way. Why is he still pushing?”
“He talked to you about this?” Severin asked. What the fuck? Why hadn’t Rodrigo said anything?
He met Severin’s gaze and shrugged. “A few times. He also asked me to accept him as a submissive.”
“And you said no?”
Rodrigo flipped him off. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”
Angry, Severin gave Rodrigo a hand signal that dropped the other man immediately to his knees. He grabbed Rodrigo’s hair harder than he ever would have with Minnow, mussing the perfect control he usually kept over his appearance. Rodrigo grunted in pain, then gritted his teeth as Severin kicked his knees farther apart. Severin stripped Rodrigo of his jacket, tie, and shirt, then crouched in front of him and captured his jaw with cruel fingers.
“Do you talk to me the way you’d talk to other men, Mr. Solis?”
“No, Sir. My apologies.”
Severin bit Rodrigo’s bottom lip hard enough to make him grunt, then slapped his balls. Rodrigo’s handsome face contorted with pain, but he didn’t cry out or swear. His expression alone was enough to make Severin’s dick hard.
“So my brother has been actively trying to seduce you both, and neither of you told me.”
“Yes, Severin,” Rodrigo admitted, not meeting his gaze.
“I didn’t want to ruin things between you.” Minnow shifted on the counter and the gap between her socks and her skirt hem displayed his brand of ownership on her thigh. “But yes, it’s true.”
Severin rose and began to slowly pace.
Fuck. If Loïc was being pushy with his submissives, what was he supposed to do? He didn’t want to toss the stupid kid out on his ear – he didn’t have anyone else in the world, except their sisters, who wouldn’t give him the time of day – but he also didn’t want him thinking he’d excuse this ongoing crusade to either insinuate himself into their relationship, or steal his lovers. For his own peace of mind and Loïc’s safety, either he had to send his submissives away, or send his brother away.
“You two are moving to Rodrigo’s until I get Loïc settled somewhere else,” he said finally. It would be good for Minnow to be closer to town anyway, right? She was always stuck at the house with him, and she was too loyal to admit she felt trapped. Maybe Rodrigo could take her on his next trip to Europe or something. She’d probably like that even if she objected.
“What?” Rodrigo said, his dark eyes troubled.
“No!” Minnow shouted, her tone bolder than a submissive’s should be. “No! You don’t get to run us off because this is awkward for you. Who’s going to cook and clean and take care of you? I need to be close to you.” She shook her head. “Absolutely not. This is exactly why I didn’t fucking tell you.” She slid off the counter and stormed over to him and shoved him with both hands, not that it budged him. “You’ve been trying to get rid of me since the day we met, and I’m not fucking going!” She made an adorable sound of rage and kicked his shin. Her socked foot was no match for the leather of his work boot.
He caught a handful of her hair and forced her to her knees too. “If you want to disagree with me, Miss Korsgaard, you’d damn well better use prettier words.”
“I –” Her breath caught and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Please don’t send me away, Master.”
“You’re being melodramatic, Miss Korsgaard. You’ll be fine. It’s not for long, and I think it’s best for not only you and Rodrigo, but for Loïc. If I can give him my undivided attention and get him moved somewhere and settled in his relationship with me, maybe he’ll feel better.”
“You said I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without you,” Minnow whispered, her fingers on her collar. “Now you’re just sending us away like it’s no big deal. So what? It’s a big deal unless you decide it isn’t? That’s not how rules are supposed to work.”
“He wants us out of here because he’s jealous. He doesn’t want Loïc lusting after you just in case you choose him instead.”
Severin’s anger flared at Rodrigo’s words. He wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t polite for him to point it out.
“You didn’t see wh
at I just saw, Rodrigo. I’m worried that maybe she’s not safe. I can’t guarantee they’ll never end up alone together again. I can’t supervise every interaction. I mean... I don’t think he’d do anything violent, but do we really know him? I’d send him away without hesitation, but he’s my brother even if he is a stranger, and he seems to be in a bad place right now.” As it was, he was itching to go check on him. Visions of Loïc’s limp body dangling from a noose in the foyer came to mind.
“Severin, I think Miss Korsgaard needs reassurance.” Rodrigo was glaring at him and subtly jerked his head toward her.
All of the emotions in the room were making him uncomfortable and he wished he could retreat to his forge and not talk to anyone for a few days. One by one, people were adding themselves to his formerly solitary life whether he wanted them to or not. They all wanted more than he had to give. He didn’t have good words to reassure people with, and he knew how to take care of Minnow after he’d beaten her now, but dealing with hurt feelings wasn’t within his realm of expertise.
“Take care of her, Mr. Solis.”
He strode from the kitchen as if it was on fire and, like a fucking coward, went to work on a bike.
Chapter Eight
Minnow woke to a series of tiny kisses making a shivery trail over her lower back. Sunlight filtered through her eyelids, bathing her mind in a warm orange glow. She stretched, every sore muscle and bruise reminding her of the night before.
The smile that had hovered on her lips died.
The night before, Severin had moved her and Rodrigo to Ro’s house. They’d had an amazing, orgasm-filled evening, but then he’d ridden his motorcycle off into the night, leaving her at her new home, with her new master. He hadn’t said the words, but she understood what it all meant.
The kisses trailed along her back were sweet and made her stomach tighten with need. She’d cried herself to sleep in Rodrigo’s arms, and he’d stayed with her through all of it, reassuring her when she knew he was probably feeling the exact same way. Fucking abandoned.
Tragic King (The Dominant Bastard Duology Book 2) Page 15