Iniquity (Dahlia Saga Book 5)

by Natalie Bennett

  “I’m sorry,” I said, looking between the two of them.

  Silence seemed to settle around us after that. Ethan eventually moved away to take his boiling water off the stove.

  Declan watched him, then reached down and grabbed my hand, pulling me from the chair without a word. He led me towards the stairs, nodding with his head when Ethan looked over at us.

  We went upstairs to our room, shutting Hannibal in the hall. My stomach dipped down, knowing what we were going to do. No one said anything, though. Not at first. Declan walked me to the bed, pushing on my shoulders so I sat down.

  He turned to Ethan then.

  They embraced for only a second before beginning to kiss.

  It was more…passionate than usual.

  Ethan reached down and grabbed Declan’s cock, massaging it through his slacks. My pussy clenched, I scooted up the bed until I was leaning against the headboard, letting my dress rise above my hips.

  Lips parting, I watched my beautiful men undress one another, never breaking their kiss. Declan’s solid body pressed against Ethan’s, smooth skin meeting inked.

  Declan grabbed Ethan’s cock, Ethan placed his hand on Declan’s ass, forcing his fingers between the toned globes. They groaned together, kissing harder as their hands moved in unison.

  “Do it,” Declan commanded, breaking away from Ethan’s mouth, his voice low. “Play with your pussy, sweetheart. Let us watch you come.”

  I brought my hand to my underwear and pulled them aside, exposing myself. I licked my fingers, lowering them to my pussy slowly.

  Declan went down to his knees, and still watching me, he put Ethan’s cock in his mouth.

  “Ah, fuck,” Ethan breathed, grabbing hold of Declan’s shoulders.

  I slid two fingers up and down my slit, easing them into my pussy. I moaned, feeling a trickle of wetness slide down between my ass cheeks. I knew how to make myself come; they’d taught me. I toyed with my pussy until I did, closing my eyes when the rush of pleasure rolled through my body.

  They were on the bed before I could comprehend that they’d moved.

  “You are so fucking beautiful,” Declan rasped.

  I opened my eyes and found myself staring right into his gorgeous silver ones. They worked together to remove my meager articles of clothing.

  When I was entirely naked, Declan dragged me towards him, lying down so he was flat on his back. Ethan helped maneuver my body, spreading my legs so I straddled Declan.

  “You want me?” he asked, aligning his solid cock with my entrance.

  I replied by beginning to slide him inside me. I tried to go slow. He and Ethan made me take all of him at once. Something between a moan and a scream flew from my mouth. His cock filled me entirely, stretching me, forcing my pussy to adjust around him. The pressure was everything I’d come to love. I knew I could handle it.

  “You’re going to fuck him, and I’m going to fuck you,” Ethan murmured in my ear, beginning to kiss down my back.

  He moved all the way down to my ass cheeks and spread them wide open, burying his face between the globes a second later.

  I lurched forward, held in place by Declan’s hands on my hips. He began to thrust from beneath me, bringing me down on top of him to meet each one.

  Ethan’s tongue flicked in and out of my ass, dipping down to tease where Declan and I connected, then coming back up. I curled my fingers into fists, crying out loudly.

  “You feel goddamn incredible,” Declan rasped.

  Ethan gathered some of the arousal dripping from pussy to Declan’s balls, and swirled it around as lube.

  Ethan positioned his cock between my ass cheeks. I glanced back into his warm, copper eyes letting him know it was okay.

  “I’ll make it good,” he promised, placing a lingering kiss on my lips.

  I shut my eyes as he pushed in slowly, then withdrew, moaning when I felt him all the way inside me there. He reached around and shoved down my dress to get to my breast, taking hold of them with both hands.

  “Harder,” I demanded, pushing back at him, then rolling my hips to feel more of Declan. Ethan started pumping into me, every one of his thrust pushing Declan deeper.

  “Yes,” I moaned, feeling my body begin to tense.

  I came twice before Ethan withdrew, leaving my ass sore and his sweat mixing with mine on my back.

  I fought to catch my breath, sucking in another when Declan flipped me over and fucked me until I came again, cursing when my nails split his skin.

  “You two look gorgeous together,” Ethan sighed. He ran a hand up and down his cock, watching Declan pound into me until he came with a low moan, cock jerking as his semen covered the bed.

  Declan took hold of my face, turning my head so he could kiss me. I held onto him, threading my fingers through his dark hair as he continued to move inside me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ethan

  There was something comforting about the sound of her breathing. Or, maybe it was just having her beside us that gave me a deep feeling of contentment. I toyed with a strand of her silky hair, twirling it back and forth between my fingers, thinking over everything that had happened.

  “Do you feel like taking a ride?” Declan’s gritty voice came from the other side of her naked body.

  “I thought you were asleep.”

  “No…my back hurts,” he muttered.

  I choked back a laugh so as not to wake Helena and sat up.

  “I can’t sleep, so we might as well.”

  The bed dipped from our movements, evening out once we both stood up.

  Being as quiet as possible, we navigated the darkness of our room and dressed in silence. We slipped out without Helena so much as stirring, creeping through the lower level of the house like two bandits.

  The sun was hours off from rising, so there weren’t too many places in Riverview that would be open. “Where are we going?” I asked when we got outside. Then I saw what he had on. A full-on black ensemble that consisted of sweats, an under-armor shirt, and tennis shoes. “Why are you dressed like your about to go commit a crime?”

  “We commit crime for a living,” he replied. “And these are regular, casual clothes. Why are you dressed like you’re about to go run a marathon?”

  I looked down at my gym shorts and beater. “You didn’t specify a dress code.”

  “Come on.” He tapped my forearm and headed for his car.

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked again once I was seated in the passenger side of his car.

  “I’m going to tell you a few things.”

  By the time he finished piecing together the puzzle I hadn’t been fully aware of, I was a bit stunned. His mom was ginormous bitch, and apparently a come-guzzling slut. Too bad she hadn’t choked on some of it.

  “Is there anything else?” I asked, preparing to clear the air about all the phone calls I’d been receiving. Now seemed better time than ever.

  “The rest can wait until we leave our destination.”

  “You can tell me where that is at any time.”

  “Helena mentioned that Tonya told those two women where to find her.”

  “Yeah, and?” I asked.

  “Aunt Tony never called me.”

  “And there’s no way she would have let us be blindsided,” I finished.

  “Not only that, but if Clarice would have hit the button to be buzzed in, we would’ve known she was at the gate. She didn’t.”

  I cracked my window to let in some air.

  “Let’s run down what we do know. They wanted Helena, because she probably seemed like an easy in. They knew—know--more about the Dahlia than any average person should. That’s on your mom. If they’re working with this Ian guy, maybe they thought the sister angle would help.”

  “Except it doesn’t make sense why they would think that. Helena’s outlook on family isn’t like anyone else’s.”

  “But they wouldn’t know that,” I pointed out.

 
; “True.”

  He drove through the downtown portion of Riverview, passing by all the tidy shops and storefronts. A plot of land had been leveled for new development. I expected to see a lot more of that now that the Agnelli’s were moving here. I trusted everyone knew what all of this would mean in the long run.

  “Where did Helena tell you, Ian was staying?”

  “The Waldroff.”

  “The same place as Clarice,” he stated.

  Damn. I’d missed that, and it was so obvious. I looked at the time displayed on his Audi’s screen. I knew it was still late. It only took approximately thirty minutes to get from the Dahlia into town, and sunrise nowhere in sight.

  “You’re not going there now, are you?” I already knew the answer, but it never hurt to ask.

  “You know I am.”

  “What do you hope to accomplish at almost three in the morning?”

  “You’ll see when we get there.”

  There were about fifteen things wrong with this. “What if Clarice is Helena’s sister?” I asked, that only being one of them.

  “Then she should have come to our home like a respectable woman and not some two-faced cunt befriended by Dakota. Helena is more than most people deserve, especially people like them.”

  I glanced over at him, taking in the grip he had on the steering wheel. I wasn’t used to seeing him this angry so frequently. He was a king at maintaining a poker face and reigning in his emotions.

  This stuff with his mom needed to end.

  She was a toxin that should have been removed long ago. She’d hurt him her entire life but using Helena for her own bullshit agenda was a new low.

  “What is Dakota’s issue with Helena?” I wondered aloud to steer him away from the sister topic. If I dug that sore open anymore, he’d likely snap Clarice’s neck the moment he saw her.

  “Dakota doesn’t fit the mold. She’s the outsider of the bunch. She wanted someone more like her to be with me, us. Why she cares at all is a mystery I don’t care to solve.”

  “Doesn’t fit the mold?” I questioned.

  “Helena. Katie. Morgana. Do you know what they all have in common?” He took the last turn that would lead to the motel. “They’re tragedies, wronged by everyone who was ever supposed to love them. We are monsters, shamelessly so. No one should love us. But they do.”

  I swallowed the lump of emotion that lodged in my throat, then cleared it with a cough as he pulled into the motel’s parking lot and slowed. “Do you recognize which car they were in?”

  Being there was only three vehicles total parked here, it was easy to point out which one Clarice had been a passenger of.

  He cut his headlights off and pulled up beside it, killing the engine before popping the trunk.

  “Are you coming?” he asked, offering no explanation as he opened his door.

  I scoffed. “As if I’d let you do whatever it is, you’re about to do alone.” I got out of the car and fell in step beside him once we bypassed the hood.

  He walked right up to the door Clarice’s ride was facing and started to knock. It was nothing more than an educated guess that this would be the correct room or not.

  “Who is that?” a groggy females voice called from the other side.

  “You have two minutes to open the door before I procure a key and open it myself,” Declan replied.

  “What?” the voice shrilled, suddenly awake. “Get the hell out of here before I call the police!”

  “Call them,” Declan shot back. “And when they answer, let them know I said you have one minute.”

  I grinned and shook my head at him. “The bullshit you have me doing in the middle of the night,” I laughed under my breath.

  “My sense of adventure is one of the reasons you love me so much,” he retorted smoothly.

  There was a conversation in rapid whispers, and then the telltale turning of the deadbolt.

  The motel door swung open, revealing the blonde, Tessa, in nothing but a tank top and boy shorts. She retreated immediately, giving him plenty of space to step inside the room. I followed, shutting the door behind me.

  “Do you usually answer the door to strangers half-dressed?” Declan asked.

  “You’re him, aren’t you?” Clarice asked from a safe distance away. “The Andrew?”

  “I don’t know any Andrews, but if you meant Andreou, then yes. I’m one of many, which one were you expecting?”

  “You can’t do anything to me,” she replied, standing taller. I had to commend her attempt to look intimidating in nothing but a night shirt.

  “What are you doing?” Tessa hissed at her, moving further into a corner. At least one of them seemed to have some common sense.

  “I came here under the impression you wanted to meet your sister,” Declan stated flippantly.

  Unsure of what angle he was coming from, I watched on in silence.

  “At…” Clarice looked over at the motel’s alarm clock. “Nearly four in the morning? And threatening us?”

  “How else was I going to get you home without making a scene?”

  “We didn’t threaten anyone,” I added as a cliff note.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” Clarice said. “Where’s Helena? Is she here?”

  “At nearly four in the morning?” he replied sarcastically. “She’s sleeping comfortably in bed. I would like to be back before she wakes so we can eat breakfast together. So, if you could put both put some pants on and hurry your asses along, I would appreciate it.”

  “I just said I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m not here to get involved in this psychopathic circus you’ve got going on. I came here to get my sister away from you and be on my way. I’m not afraid of your sick ass family.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. I was starting to strongly believe she was in fact Helena’s sister, and Dakota had obviously filled her head with an endless amount of bullshit. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

  Declan slid his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants and pursed his lips.

  “I can hear just fine. I don’t give a fuck about what you’re saying, because you aren’t listening. If I must drag you out of this room by the hair kicking and screaming, I will gladly do so.” He looked over at me. “Now I threatened them.”

  It took effort to keep my face impassive and not laugh my ass off. He was a fucking maniac, but damn did I love him.

  “Let’s just go with them,” Tessa spoke up. She skirted around Clarice’s stiffened form and grabbed a random pair of pants from a suitcase.

  “You should be like more her,” I said.

  “Why now?” Clarice asked, beginning to move towards a different suitcase. It was apparent she was going for something; her body language was obvious as hell.

  Declan watched her closely, making no conscious effort to go anywhere.

  Tessa froze midway between one of the full-sized beds and us. As expected, Clarice reached into her bag and withdrew a small black handgun, aiming it right at Declan.

  “I have my CCW.”

  “Congratulations, I have a chateau,” he replied.

  A look of confusion flashed across her face. She didn’t understand what he meant.

  “Get over here Tessa,” she commanded.

  I tisked my tongue. “Unless your friend is going to pull that trigger you should just keep coming this way.”

  “I will,” Clarice warned.

  “No, you won’t, and I’ve had enough of these theatrics.” Declan walked right up to her, snatching the gun from her hand with what looked like zero effort, bending her arm behind her back, causing her to cry out. “Rule of advice, if you’re going to threaten to shoot someone, don’t. Just pull the fucking trigger.”

  He nudged the back of her legs and forced her to start walking forward towards the door. “If you even think of screaming, I’ll cut your tongue out.”

  I turned and opened the room door, ushering Tessa to walk out in front of me. Declan went around us, still leading Clari
ce by her twisted arm, making her go to the back of the car.

  “Get in,” he instructed her.

  “What?” she sniffled.

  “Get. In.”

  With a defiant look on her face, Clarice climbed into the Audi’s trunk almost gracefully.

  “Your turn,” I said to Tessa. She stared up at me with a plea in her hazel eyes. I was the wrong person to ever ask for help. I’d never been a hero. I wasn’t going to start being one now.

  Seeing she would be getting no assistance from me, nowhere near as brave, she made her way to the back of the car and climbed in beside her friend. Without a second glance at either of them, Declan slammed the trunk shut.

  Halfway home, it began to drizzle.

  Without warning, Declan pulled over and put the car in park.

  “Porter offered me the chance to leave here,” he announced.

  He’d been silent all the way up until now. I’d let him be, knowing he’d speak up when he was ready to talk. I hadn’t been expecting this conversation.

  “Does this have to do with the proposition you told me about?”

  “That was the proposition. Move to Redwood and oversee another Chateau.”

  I propped an elbow on the windowsill. “That’s ironic. My family keeps trying to convince me to move back and help my Dad run one of the mills.”

  “Huh,” he mused. “That’s who’s been blowing your phone up?”

  “Yep.”

  Silence descended between us. The rain started to fall harder, triggering the Audi’s wipers to click on.

  “We’re fucking fools,” Declan, laughed lowly, leaning his head back against his headrest.

  “I knew this before you did,” I joked. “All of this could have been avoided. Helena could’ve told us about Ian. You could’ve told me about the file. I could’ve told you about the phone calls.”

  “Well, we’ve all fucked up now,” he sighed.

  “True.”

  “I’m not going anywhere; I want to make that clear. I never entertained the possibility; I just wasn’t sure how to turn Uncle Porter down.” He reached out and fiddled with some of the icons on the Audi’s screen, turning on the defroster and heated seats.

  “I’m going to stay here with my family. Helena. And you if you decide to stick around”