by Kate Stewart
“Well?” I prompted. My eyebrow lifted when he didn’t answer immediately.
“Well…” he said and then brought his finger closer to my face. I cringed when he lightly trailed his bloody finger across my cheek. “…I think my blood looks better on you.”
Chapter 33
ANGEL
“We leave for a few hours, and you start World War Three,” Lucas accused. Z laughed while he bandaged my arm.
I look up from pouring the much-needed whiskey to meet Lucas’s angry gaze. “I didn’t start it.”
“Then how did she get out or even far enough to get a goddamn kitchen knife?”
I drank the whiskey down in one gulp and reached for a second serving. “I got bored.”
“You’re fucking with me, right? She could have escaped.”
“From the looks of it, she could have killed you while she was at it,” Z joked.
I ignored Lucas’s anger and Z’s ribbing and focused instead on the naked wildcat who had cut me up. She sat gagged and tied to the chair I placed between my father’s desk and the couch. Lucas and Z had found us in the nursery moments after I smeared my blood on her cheek. She actually looked grateful to see them, or maybe she figured she’d been spared. Lucas and Z had tied her to the chair, and I pretended I wasn’t jealous of their hands on her body. She was naked except for the thin, short robe.
“We should lock her back up.”
“She’s fine here.” The anger in her eyes told me she didn’t agree. Tough. She wanted an out, and I gave it to her.
“What are you going to do about her little escape attempt?”
“More than she bargained for.” I stared into her eyes while I said it and smirked when she looked away. “Mian will be spending the night with me, and I want no interference.” She met my gaze again with panicked eyes. “No matter what you hear,” I added.
Z finished bandaging my arm and moved back. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I know it’s not.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
Mian looked all too interested in the answer, as well.
“Because bad ideas are what I’m good at.”
Chapter 34
MIAN
“She’s going to need her strength.”
I felt the promise behind his words. Surely, he didn’t think I’d actually sleep with him? A vivid flash of my first night here reminded me that Angel had been all too willing to take me without my permission.
Lucas sat me at the table while Z disappeared into the kitchen. He came back carrying a plate of grilled chicken, zucchini, salad, and a large roll of baked bread. The glint from a sharp blade was my only warning before Lucas cut through my ties. I rubbed my wrists to relieve the ache and then dug in without waiting to be told. A full meal wasn’t a part of my diet even before Angel decided to starve me, so I had plenty of time to build up an appetite. When the food was gone, and my stomach didn’t feel any closer to feeling full, Z offered a second helping. The only sound in the room was me savagely tearing into the food. A tall glass of ice-cold water suddenly appeared courtesy of Lucas.
“You should slow down before you choke,” he advised. I heeded it long enough to take a long sip of water.
“What were you thinking, princess?”
“Stop calling me princess. Princesses aren’t starved and beaten.”
“We didn’t beat you, princess. We spanked you.” He leaned in and whispered, “You were a very naughty girl.
I clutched the fork tight in my fist and slowly forced the excess air from my lungs. “You shouldn’t get too close.” I leaned forward and closed the distance between us until we were practically smooching. When his eyes lit up with delight, I added, “A fork could land in your eye.” I spanked his hand with the back of the fork, winked, and sat upright to finish my chicken.
“I knew we should have given her plastic,” Lucas muttered. I finished eating and was led back to the east wing. Lucas pulled me by my arm when I dug my toes into the carpet.
He was heading straight for the master suite.
I resisted harder, but then Z gripped my shoulder and spun me around. When he bent, I tried to knee him in the face, but he was too quick. With his shoulder in my stomach, he lifted me over his shoulder and carried me the rest of the way.
Lucas entered without knocking, and Z followed him to the master bath. Z let me go, and the sudden sound of rushing water caught my attention. I stared at the large white garden tub in the center of the room as it filled up with water. Lucas poured from a bottle and sweet scented bubbles sprouted from the water. “Let me guess. We’re all going to climb inside and play a round of rubber ducky?”
“Are you offering?” Lucas smiled, but it felt dangerous.
“Because we wouldn’t mind.”
I looked behind me to see Z lifting his shirt and flashing drool-worthy abs.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lucas reaching for his belt. They moved in closer from both sides. I panicked and planted one hand on Z’s naked chest and the other on Lucas’s covered one.
“She thinks she can stop us.” Z chuckled and pushed his chest into my hand in a test of strength. His skin was way too hot not to combust.
“Angel—”
“Won’t stop us. He won’t care to.”
“So you’d better be careful how carelessly you tease us,” Lucas added. “Because the next time,” his tone dropped to a whisper, “we might not stop.”
I was bathed, gagged, on my stomach, and tied to the large bed. The room had changed since the first time I was here. It smelled different. Less like death and dust and more like men’s cologne and smoke.
So I guess he still smokes.
It was a dirty habit, but somehow Angel made it alluring.
My arms began to ache by the time night fell. Angel still hadn’t made an appearance, and I wondered if he was off kidnapping more women and children. Had his father ever been so ruthless or was Angel still craving to make a point to dear ole dad?
I never heard the door open.
It was a woman’s husky moan that alerted me I was no longer alone. I craned my neck to see but didn’t get far. Two bodies stumbled through the dark into my view. The larger body lowered into the chair facing the bed while the one the sounds were coming from eagerly sunk into their lap.
The window curtains were left open, allowing the moon to illuminate the writhing figures. Their faces were hidden in the shadows, but I knew it could only be one person.
How could he not remember I was here?
I was too deeply ensnared by confusing thoughts to realize I was being watched. It wasn’t until the woman he had in his lap lowered to the floor that I noticed his eyes fixed on me. They seemed brighter, and I figured it was the moonlight highlighting them. I heard the jingle of his belt being removed, but his gaze wouldn’t let me go. I couldn’t believe he was getting his dick blown while I was naked and tied in his bed.
His whore must have been paid a lot of money. If she’d noticed me, she didn’t even blink. By the sounds coming from her throat, she was enjoying herself. Then again, maybe it was for his benefit. I watched her head move up and down and gritted my teeth when he gripped her hair to control her movements. He moved her head lower, and I completely stopped breathing when his hips lifted from the chair to aid in fucking her mouth. His slacks were lowered around his hips and the loose belt buckle jingled with each movement.
His groan of satisfaction vibrated down my spine, and at the same time, made my blood run cold. I closed my eyes only to open them again when I heard movement. The woman sat in his lap once again, but this time, she worked her body on him like a pro.
I hated her.
I hated him.
Was I jealous?
Fuck no.
I simply wanted them both dead.
She moaned loudly and dramatically. It might have been convincing if Angel moved or paid attention. He sat unmoving and uninterested in anything but me.
/> Gagged, I had no way to wish him a happy trip to hell. Bound, I had no option but to wait it out. But even though I wasn’t blindfolded, it didn’t mean I had to watch.
I snapped my eyes closed and thought I had won.
Until I heard everything. Every slap of their skin and ecstatic moan. I could even smell the thick scent of their sex.
Her moans suddenly turned to surprised gasps, and I realized it was because he was participating.
Rat bastard.
But I didn’t care, right?
I wasn’t supposed to care.
They sped up, grew louder, and more frenzied until they crashed. I just wished they’d burn while they were at it.
He slapped her ass, and she giggled before removing her long legs from around his waist. Angel bent to wrestle his pants back over his ass when the moonlight caught his hair. I froze and studied the strands a little harder.
They weren’t dark locks.
They were blonde. And longer.
It wasn’t Angel who shamelessly fucked and made me watch. Hands suddenly closed around my hips and yanked me by my lower half. I screamed against my gag, but the sound was too muffled to mean anything.
The man, who was clearly Z, sat back and watched with a smile. His pearly white teeth shone through the dark, mocking me at the same time I felt hips press into my ass. I yelled against my gag, but it didn’t make him stop. He pulled me into him and pressed his hips hard. I felt him again and again and realized I was being fucked.
It felt so real.
The only free movement I had was my head. I thrashed it about wildly until a hand shoved my face into the bed, all the while the phantom hips moved against my ass, and I felt his cock through the fabric of his pants. My body came alive while my brain screamed to fight a second before I heard him groan. Silence followed. He stopped moving, but I could still feel his body pressed against mine. Suddenly, I felt his breath tickling my ear and then a long, slow lick up the shell of my ear. “Enjoy the show?”
Angel.
Chapter 35
ANGEL
I never intended to touch her. Her body fell once she didn’t have my hands to hold her up.
“Damn…” Z spoke from my right. I glared at him when I noticed his attention fixated on Mian. The whore I hired was gone, so he must have sent her away. “That was hot as fuck.”
My stomach turned with regret and desire.
I fucked up.
But even knowing the truth, I still wanted more.
Touching her wasn’t part of the plan, but touching her against her will? That made me afraid to face myself.
Just what the fuck was she doing to me and why was I allowing her?
“I know what’s going through your head right now, but she asked for this when she escaped.” Z clapped his hand on my shoulder, and it took everything not to shove it off. I was disgusted with myself, but I wouldn’t show it by snubbing my best friend. I continued to watch Mian, whose breathing turned even and deep. She must have passed out from exhaustion. I hired the whore to fuck with Mian’s head and ended up fucking with my own. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. Bound and gagged, she still found a way to fight. It made my dick harder than any live show. Each time I saw her body was like the first time, but seeing her naked and bound made me want to convince her to forget we were enemies for just one night. She still wanted me even though she didn’t want to. How hard could it be to convince her? I’ve owned her desire since the moment she first knew what it felt like coursing through her veins.
“What are you going to do now?” Z questioned when I didn’t respond. I scrubbed my hand down my face and forced my gaze away from her.
“I’m going to go to sleep.”
“Next to her?”
I answered by stripping off my clothes. Mian wasn’t the only one who deserved punishment.
I woke up just as she was slipping from the bed, and I grinned. It seemed we were starting early. Reaching out, I caught her ankle and held on when she kicked out to dislodge my hand.
“Let me go,” she growled.
“Not a chance.”
She gave up trying to kick my hand away and snatched the lamp from the night table. Her swing was swift and missed my head by a hair. Wildly, she swung again, but I lunged and took her down.
“You have a lot of anger toward me even though it’s my bed you slept in last night.”
“Which is exactly why I’m going to kill you.” We tore up the bed fighting for dominance. I won, of course, but she made winning fun. I pinned her arms to the bed and fit my hips between thighs. She was still trying to catch her breath, and I enjoyed the sight of her chest heaving up and down as she panted.
“You done yet?”
“You dead yet?”
I thrust my hips against her and lowered my head. “Does it feel like I’m dead?” My dick was hard enough to break a brick and was only getting harder. I shifted my grip to one hand and brought the other to her face, but the sight of blood stopped me. A quick glance over her revealed it wasn’t her bleeding. My hand was bleeding at the juncture between my pointer and thumb. Without thinking, I sucked at the wound and looked down to see her watching me bleed without even a hint of remorse.
“This is the second time you’ve made me bleed.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t expect me to feel sorry, do you?”
Normally, her defiance amused me, but this time, I needed to see her yield. “You like my blood then?” Wisely, she chose to remain silent probably from the change in my tone, but it was too late to back down. I pulled the torn skin between my teeth until I tasted blood, and without warning, I closed the distance between us and stole her lips with mine.
She squealed and fought to dislodge me so I deepened the kiss until I was sure she tasted nothing but me… and my blood. Only when I had no choice but to let her up for air did I end the kiss.
She stared up at me in shock, but it was her dilated pupils that stole my interest, and I was willing to put my legacy and life on the wager that her pussy was wet. Even with my blood smeared at the corner of her lip…
“I want you.”
She looked as shocked as I felt but recovered quickly.
“Good luck with that,” she panted.
I smiled, but I could tell she didn’t trust it by the suspicious look in her eyes. “I could have you if I wanted.”
“Your stomach’s too weak for rape. Pussy.”
“For once, those sweet lips speak the truth.” I ran my nose down her neck and inhaled as much of her as I could. “When I have you, I want you willing and eager.”
She froze. “When?”
Her tone said there would never be a when, but her eyes said she was past ready. A knock on my door saved me from responding. I rolled off her just as Lucas and Z rushed through the door. They looked prepared to do battle as their gazes flitted from me to Mian to the bed.
“Gentlemen,” she said when the silence stretched too long.
“What the hell happened in here?” Z gestured to the lamp tossed on the floor.
“I tried to bash his head in.”
Their faces showed surprise and then they burst out laughing. Mian flinched, and quickly, her entire body stiffened when Lucas said, “Damn, girl. I bet you’re a firecracker in the sack.”
“You’ll never know.”
“You know better than to make promises you can’t keep,” he flirted.
She scoffed and turned away, but her entire body flushed red. She should have learned she couldn’t hide from us when she was naked. Lucas and Z snickered while I stood from the bed. “Return our guest to her room. She’s overstayed her welcome here.”
I had to force last night and this morning from my head. Having her sleep so close to me was an amazing test of control that I passed until this morning.
Now, I stood with Lucas and Z in one of the guest rooms surrounding the girl we took from her bed while she was sleeping.
“So how do you know Mian?”
“I told you we’re friends.”
“And neighbors,” I added.
“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes but then sat up straight at the look in mine. “Why am I here?”
“You’re here because of Mian. She took something from me, and I intend to get it back.”
“Mian wouldn’t do that.”
“Apparently, she would, or we wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
“What does this have to do with me?” She flinched, and I could tell by the regret in her eyes that she felt guilty.
“You’re incentive.”
“For what?”
“To give me back what belongs to me.”
“And what belongs to you?” she asked warily.
“My legacy.” I could see her confusion but didn’t bother to elaborate. The fewer people who knew about the book, the better. Those pages were power and the only rightful heir to that power was me.
“So what will you do with me?”
“In due time.”
“And until then?”
I looked to Lucas and nodded. He left and came back moments later carrying Caylen. She didn’t hesitate to rush forward and to take him carefully from Lucas’s arms.
“Why do you have him?” she cried and clutched Caylen closer. She backed away while her frantic gaze moved between us, probably to determine the most dangerous threat.
Lucas swore. “How old is this girl? She barely looks old enough to take care of herself.”
“He’s right,” Z added. “I don’t think we should trust her with him. She’ll run first chance she gets. Mian did.”
I stared at Mian’s friend and weighed my options. The kid had been fussy the past few days even though he’d been kept warm, fed, and clothed. The thought that maybe he missed his mother entered my mind, so I set him up in a temporary room in the west wing with Mian. I knew she could hear his cries when she began beating at the door and walls and yelling threats. I had no doubt he was the reason she pulled her little escape attempt.