by Dani René
My nights are spent in the arms of one of my brothers. I love them more than I ever thought was possible. In each of them, I’ve found different parts of myself.
James ignited something dark within me. He’s the one I go to when I crave the darkness that only he can deliver. When we’re together, it’s like taking a trip to hell and back. We enjoy dancing with the Devil and allowing the darkest parts of us out to play.
When I’m feeling silly or adventurous, I seek out Harry and Henry. They are the perfect blend of funny and sweet, and with double the parts there’s nothing that those two can’t do. Over and over again, they take me away to a place where I don’t ever want to return from.
In Benji, I found the other half of me. My soulmate. He’s shown me love that I never thought was possible. When I’m sad, he knows exactly how to make me feel better. He is the force that grounds me to this earth.
It no longer feels wrong when I’m with my brothers. It feels right, safe, and warm.
Without them I wouldn’t know how to breathe.
With them, I’m at peace. With them, I’m free. With them, I’m complete.
About Murphy Wallace
Murphy Wallace is an International Bestselling Author with works in several different genres, but mostly in Dark Romantic Suspense.
Her heroines are caring, strong, and independent and will protect their loved ones with everything they have. Her heroes? They can't get enough of their ladies! These men embrace their wild love and sassy attitudes, and if you even think about crossing them, they won’t hesitate to deliver dangerous retribution.
When Murphy is not writing or getting in touch with her inner child at Disney World, she enjoys reading, coloring, and spending time with family.
She currently resides in a small Eastern Florida town with her husband, who doubles as her best friend, and their two boys.
She has a cat named Maisy who is her constant writing partner.
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Part VI
Snow’s Surrender
Lylah James
Potential Triggers:
Snow’s Surrender is dark and taboo. It contains scenes which some readers may consider dubious-consent and there’s a very brief scene of explicit rape. There is no hero. But yes, there’s a villain. Nothing about this book is hearts and flowers. But yes, it is filthy.
Chapter One
Snow
When my phone rang and I saw that it was my mother calling, I instantly knew something was wrong. She never called otherwise. I was put in a strict girl boarding school at thirteen years old, and two months later, I was completely forgotten.
Mother only called once a year. On her birthday - because it was all about her and she needed to remind me to wish her. She wasn’t exactly a bad mother, per say. She used to the best, when I was still younger. The sweetest, the most caring and loved being a mom.
But after my father passed away from liver cancer, everything changed.
Death changes people, and mother – she became the worst version of herself.
The phone rang for a second time and I picked up the call. “Hello.”
“Dear,” she breathed, with a little giggle. “Oh, you won’t believe it! I’ve met someone.”
Again?
“Oh.”
She didn’t even notice my lack of enthusiasm. Mother kept on gloating about her new man. If I had to count how many men she had been with and claimed to love in the last four years, well… I didn’t have enough fingers to count.
“He is so charming. Duncan is everything I had been looking for in a man! Oh, and he’s rich. Like, filthy rich.”
Right, of course he was wealthy. Mother had her standards, after all. Especially now that we were basically broke. Mother took four years to spend all the money my dad had worked for – he worked tirelessly for twenty years. Climbed up the ladder, became one of the richest and most respected men of the country and now here we were – almost penniless.
This was the exact reason why mother only dated wealthy men. She didn’t love any of them. It was all about the money, the lifestyle, her filthy rich standards.
“…married.”
My back straightened and I sat up fully on my bed. “What? Sorry, what did you say?”
“Duncan and I got married last month! We just came back from our honeymoon. Oh, it was so lovely…”
She kept on and on but I had already zoned out. Married? Yes, mother dated men like it was her favorite pastime, but married? I couldn’t even think.
“You didn’t tell me,” I whispered.
“I wanted to. But everything happened so fast, dear. He swept me off my feet, literally.”
“Oh.”
I wasn’t even surprised she waited this long to tell me. I wasn’t on her priority list, after all. But my chest still ached. I was her daughter; my mother got married and I had absolutely no idea. How messed up was that?
“Duncan said you can come to visit. You have to, Snow. I’m not asking.”
“School–”
“You’ll be done in two weeks, anyway. You can come then. I already spoke with the headmistress. This is your final semester and you will come and stay with us after this.”
“What?” I snapped. “I already told you, I will be working here after–”
“Out of question, dear. We will talk about this later. I have to go now. We just came back from our honeymoon and I still need to unpack.”
She hung up and I almost, almost threw my phone against the wall. Ugh!
Absolutely not!
Mother or Duncan whoever wouldn’t be able to convince me otherwise.
Two weeks later, I found myself outside of Duncan’s Estate. Oh, he was rich, alright. Filthy rich. His Estate had to be twice bigger than ours. A king in his own world. I was not surprised. He was exactly the type my mother went after.
I walked up the path that led to the huge, wooden double doors. The Butler was already waiting for me there. “Good morning, Miss White. I’m George. It’s nice to meet you, please come in.”
I nodded at the man with a smile. He must had been in his early fifties. His bald head was shiny and there were no wrinkles on his clothes. His shoes were polished and he stood straight, taking my small suitcase from me without another word.
Ooh-kay then.
I followed him inside, taking everything in. The place was massive and immaculate. I had to confess, I liked the mix of modern and antique feel of the mansion. It didn’t feel exactly homey, but it also wasn’t completely frigid.
“Where is my mother?”
The Butler – George, climbed up the stairs, with me right behind him. “She went out for tea with her friends, as she always does on Saturdays.”
I almost let out a humorless laugh. Of course, my mother went out with her friends. It has been long four years since I had seen my mother. She couldn’t even skip one tea party to be home when I arrived here.
We stopped in front of a closed door, which I assumed would be my room. “And Duncan?” I asked cautiously.
“Mr. King, your step-father, is out for a business meeting. He’ll be home around dinner time.”
I scoffed. Step-father. Ugh.
George opened the door and my eyes widened as I stepped inside. The room looked like a replica of what my old room was – the one I left behind almost five years.
“A room fit for a princess,” my father would say, with a loving smile.
“How?” I breathed in shock.
“Mr. King wanted you to feel comfortable and at home,” George responded without missing a word.
Everything was the same, down to the purple comforter and the Snow White and The Seven Dwarves poster on the wall, next to the dresser. “That’s nice of him.”
“Your mother approved also.”
This room was the younger version of me. I was seventeen now, two weeks away from being eighteen, an adult. This room wasn’t me anymore, but it was sti
ll nostalgic. Emotional, to say the least. It reminded me of my past, of my father… and all the good memories.
But it was also a bitter reminder of what I had lost…
“I can serve you lunch in your room, if you’d prefer that. Dinner time is at seven, both your mother and Mr. King would be home by then.”
George was gone before I could blink and he left me alone in the room, filled with the memories of my past. I sat down on the bed, bouncing a little on the soft mattress.
I must have fallen asleep without realizing. Because the next time I opened my eyes, I was curled up in the middle of the bed, drifting between the world of awake and unconsciousness. I slowly stretched, my muscles protesting. It was a good nap though. I felt so much better now.
Rolling over in bed, I faced the window only to gasp. My heart hammered in my chest as I scrambled to sit up, holding the purple comforter to my chest – as if it’d keep me safe.
The drapes were down and heavy, keeping the sunlight out and plunging the room into darkness. With only a bit of light coming from the slit of the curtains. Enough for me to see the shadow of a man.
“Who–”
The shadow moved away from the window, taking one step closer to my bed.
Chapter Two
Snow
“Who are you? And why are you in my room?” I snapped.
“Hello, Snow,” the shadow said, absolutely unconcerned by my outburst. His voice had a rough timbre, as if it was unused. It sounded harsh to my own ears.
My lungs expanded and crashed against my rib-cage. Fear slithered down my spine and I slowly scooted backward. “GEORGE!”
The man shook his head. “He can’t hear you. The room is soundproof.”
“I–”
WHAT?
Frantically, I looked around the room, trying to find a weapon. Was he an intruder? Someone who worked here? If so, this was not okay!
“Get out,” I hissed.
He chuckled. “This is my home, Snow.”
“If you think you can hu–” I paused, his words finally registering into my slow brain. “Wait, what?”
He pulled one of the drapes away, bringing light into the room. The shadow was no longer a shadow. The man came into view, his body first… and then his face.
The first thing I noticed was that… he was huge. He had to be twice my height, size and weight. His shoulders were broad, the black jeans he wore was tight over his thick thighs and the material of his black shirt stretching over his muscles like a second skin.
I have had no contact with any men since I started the all-girl boarding school. Men, overall, were still a mystery to me. And this one? He was not at all what I imagined a man to be like.
My gaze snapped up, to his face. Heat bloomed across my neck and up to my cheeks. His face was… sculptured. That was the only way I could described it. He had a small beard, which made him look older.
There was something familiar about this intruder.
And when realization finally dawned to me, a little too late… I was filled with indignation.
“Duncan?” My step-father?
An unreadable expression flitted across his face, gone as quickly as it appeared and I never got a chance to think about it. His lips twitched and he slowly grinned. “Call me, Mr. King. We are not on any intimate level yet, Snow.”
“Or I could call you step-father,” I sneered.
Duncan stepped closer, standing near the bed and he peered down at me. “Now, now… don’t you think we should get to know each other first before we go from strangers to… step-father?”
There was something in his dark eyes. Something strange. Something dangerous. Something wicked. This man was no gentleman – which reminded me…
“You let yourself in without even knocking. Actually, what’s worst is that you were in my room while I was sleeping. This is highly inappropriate, Mr. King.”
His crooked smirk was back again. “Our definition of inappropriate is vastly different, Little Snow.”
Excuse me?
The headmistress would have had a stroke if she heard Duncan speaking to me like this.
Duncan King was strange and astonishingly improper.
“Where is my mother?” I scrambled off the bed, standing on the opposite side. Keeping a safe distance from Duncan made me feel a little more at ease. Thank God, I was still clothed when I had fallen asleep. Or this would have been even more awkward… and unsettling.
Not to say the least, inappropriate. I could hear the Headmistress’s voice echoing in my ears.
“It looks like she’s not home yet. Your mother is very…”
“Reckless? Lively? No, how about, careless? Wild? Hasty? Irresponsible? Yes, she’s all of that.”
Duncan’s eyebrows went up. “You’re angry she’s not home when you came here, I see.”
No, I was furious she abandoned me when I was thirteen, to live a care-free life.
“Your wife had better things to do. A tea-party. But that’s fine, it gave me some time to sleep – which you interrupted, Mr. King.”
“I did no such thing; I was silent for hours. You woke up on your own.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. But it only brought his attention to my breasts. His gaze went there and Duncan King unabashedly stared at me.
I was smaller and shorter than most girls at the boarding school. But Cecelia, my friend, would always say I was blessed with big breasts. I grew them earlier than my other classmates.
It always brought attention to me. The Headmistress called me into her office once and explained to me that I had to bind my breasts, the old-fashioned way. The bra wasn’t enough and the other girls felt too self-conscious and uncomfortable.
Cecelia said they were prudes and jealous of me. I thought my breasts were nice at first, but I slowly started to hate them.
And now…
I’ve never had a man look at me with such… interest. Probably because for the last five years, I had never been in contact with any man. So brazen, Duncan didn’t even hide the fact that he was staring.
There was just something in those blatant hazel eyes that made me trembled. Maybe it was the look of appreciation… or how he stared so leisurely, slow and deliberate, as if taking all his time to drink in the sight of me.
Goosebumps peppered my skin and my nipples tightened. My bra and shirt did their job at concealing the hardened buds but I wondered if Duncan knew.
Sweet Lord, this was wrong.
I dropped my arms, feeling so out of place. I didn’t know how to react, what to say, how to think. I licked my lips, swallowed and then found my voice again. “Well, can you leave now? I would like to be alone.”
Duncan’s eyes finally landed on my face. His jaw tightened as if finally realized what he had been doing. His eyes darkened and he nodded.
I watched as he silently left the room and the door clicked closed behind him.
My knees knocked together and I sagged against the bed, losing all strength in my legs.
Duncan King was bad. No, he was atrocious.
And my reaction to him was appalling.
So wrong.
So inappropriate.
Chapter Three
Snow
I took a bath, sitting in the tub for a very long time. Closing my eyes, I tilted my head back against the edge. Duncan King appeared in the darkness. His villainous face and his wicked smirk. I gasped, scrambling in the tub. Water sloshed over the edge as my heart thudded hard in my chest.
My skin prickled in awareness but I was alone in the majestic bathroom. The water was warm, but I had gooseflesh again. I felt watched, but I knew I was wrong. There was no one here but me.
This man – Duncan King – who did he think he was? Coming in my room without my permission, staring at me like that – as if he has every right to admire me with such blatant interest.
And why didn’t I say anything to him? Why did I let him stare?
My breasts felt tight and heavy. I cupped
them into my two palms and my thumbs brushed against my hardened nipples. My breath hitched; they had never been this sensitive before. I caressed the pink buds with my thumbs again, feeling my nipples grow swollen under my soft touch.
It felt…strange, but nice. I liked the feeling. My eyes closed, enjoying this new sensation.
My belly pooled with warmth and there was an insistent pulse at my center, between my legs. I clenched my thighs together. Slowly, my hand drifted down, toward where I ached.
“You shall never touch yourself where you bleed between your legs. It is forbidden.”
My eyes snapped open; I gasped and snatched my hand away before I could touch myself.
The Headmistress’s voice echoed in my ears.
“You will ache. You will be tempted. But temptation is evil.”
I did ache.
I was tempted.
But this was forbidden.
I had been taught to resist temptation and I wouldn’t dare forget all my lessons in one day.
“Your husband shall enjoy the fruits of your sacrifice. When you bleed for him, you will finally understand. He shall give you pleasure, and give your empty womb life. And you shall bear him sons and daughters.”
I almost sinned.
I left the boarding school yesterday, entered this unknown place today… and Duncan King had tempted me. All in one day.
Frustrated, I climbed out of the tub.
No, I was stronger than this. I wasn’t going to fall in this trap. No matter how handsome his villainous face was or how beautiful his hazel eyes were.