by Katee Robert
I’m still stewing on that by the time he’s towed me out of the shower and dried me off. I finally snatch the towel from his hands and glare. “How the hell would I know how you operate, Beast? You didn’t operate like this when we were together.”
He doesn’t have the grace to look apologetic. “You’re a smart woman, and quick on your feet. Figure it out.”
If we didn’t need him so much, I might strangle him. I truly might. I start to wrap the towel around my body, but stop when he shakes his head. “What now?”
“While you’re in this apartment, you’re naked unless one of us explicitly orders otherwise.”
I thought my capacity for shock was filled. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. “You can’t be serious.” They implied it in the car, but I thought they were bluffing.
“I am.” He tugs the towel out of my hands, and I let it go. As much as I might fantasize about pushing Beast out a window right now, the truth is that I could never dream to overpower either of these men. The thought both thrills me and fills me with dread.
I hate to admit it, but I am in over my head.
It’s a fight not to cover myself with my hands. They’ve already seen every bit of me. Clutching at modesty now would be silly and serve no purpose but to further humiliate me. Part of me wants to do it anyways.
Instead, I follow Beast back into the room to find that Gaeton has changed the sheets as requested. He’s tucking them in with a military precision and glances up as we walk through the door. His gaze travels from me to Beast and back again, and he seems to come to some conclusion. “We all sleep here tonight.”
The faintest tension works its way through Beast’s body. “Making some assumptions, aren’t you?”
Gaeton gives an arrogant grin. “By all means, sleep on the couch if you’re too precious to share a bed with me. Or, better yet, go home.”
If he goes home, I’ll be alone with Gaeton, and there’s no way we’re going to avoid having an uncomfortable conversation if that happens. The thought should make me happy, but it panics me instead. I stride to the bed and climb into it. I can feel Beast’s attention zero in on my ass, and so I take my time crawling to the headboard. I turn around and slither under the sheets in the middle of the massive mattress. He’s still staring, still on the edge of leaving. Damn it.
I prop myself up on my hands, well aware that the position arches my back and offers up my breasts. “Do what you have to do, Beast. I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to entertain ourselves while you’re gone.”
Irritation flickers over his face before he shuts it down. “You two are a pain in the ass.”
“That’s my line.” Gaeton booms out a laugh at the disgruntled look on Beast’s face. “Pipe down. I’m not going to maul you in the night.” I almost laugh at that, but he turns dark eyes on me. “You, I make no promises about.”
Despite my exhaustion, my heartbeat kicks up a notch. “What?”
“Tomorrow you’re going to wake up with my tongue in your pussy, Isabelle.” He doesn’t move toward the bed, for all the lusty threat in his tone. “You ready for that?”
Is this a trick question? As much as they’re tormenting me, the truth is that they’re tormenting me with pleasure. I came harder tonight than I have in longer than I can remember, and neither of them fucked me. I can take whatever they dish out as long as there’s orgasms involved. “Do your worst.”
“Oh, baby, I fully intend on it.” He stalks to the bed and climbs under the covers. Suddenly the massive mattress seems significantly smaller.
I eye the distance between us. Will we maintain it through the night? It seems improbable as hell. My chest gives a sickening lurch. Oh gods, maybe I’m not ready for this after all. Sex is one thing. Sleeping together is something else altogether.
“One last thing.”
I turn toward Beast pathetically fast, desperate for a distraction from the direction my thoughts have taken. He holds up the tiny purse I brought with me into the Underworld. I forgot about it, which says something about where my head’s been at for the last few hours. He tosses it onto the mattress next to me. “Update your sisters.”
My circling thoughts freeze. “Excuse me?”
“You’re here at their behest. Update them.”
I stare. Surely he can’t be serious. “You want me to tell them that I entered into a sex pact with both of you in order to get you back.”
The edges of his lips quirk up. “I want what I’ve always wanted from you, Isabelle. The truth.”
That stings. It stings far more than it has the right to. I don’t bother to argue. I won’t win this one any more than I’ve won the others. I just dig out my phone and type a quick update to the group text I share with my two older sisters.
Me: I have things handled. They’ll both be back in two weeks. I’ll see you then.
I’ve barely hit send when the replies nearly buzz my phone right out of my hand.
Sienna: That is not an explanation.
Cordelia: I’m going to need more details than that, Izzy.
Sienna: What she said.
Sienna: Texting isn’t cutting it.
Sienna: Video call incoming.
“Fuck!” I yank up the sheet to cover my breasts and pat at my hair. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not that it’s wet from a recent shower. My phone trills at me to accept the incoming video call. “Fuck,” I repeat.
“Answer it.” Beast still hasn’t moved from where he stands at the side of the bed. A quick glance confirms that Gaeton has no intention of moving from his spot, either. Currently both of them are out of frame, but I can’t guarantee they’ll stay that way.
I’ve run out of time, though. I take a deep breath and answer the call. Immediately the screen splits into two squares, each showing one of my sisters. Sienna has her blond hair twisted up and what appear to be two pencils stuck through to hold it in place, and she’s wearing the flannel bunny pajamas that her husband got her for Christmas as a joke. One wouldn’t know by looking at her that she’s got one of the most brilliant minds in Carver City—and possesses a complete lack of the moral ambiguities that plague most people.
On the other hand, Cordelia looks like she’s just come from some kind of event. I rack my brain to remember what was tonight, but I come up blank. Her dark brown hair hangs in waves around her perfectly made up face, and she’s got on a dark blue gown. For all that, exhaustion is written on her face.
Exhaustion that disappears as she focuses on me and narrows her eyes. “I thought you were having a meeting with them. Where are you? That isn’t your bedroom.”
My life would be significantly easier if my sisters weren’t so formidable. I draw my knees to my chest to ensure I don’t flash them. “I spoke with Beast and Gaeton as planned.”
Sienna snorts. “That’s not all you did tonight.”
Cordelia doesn’t blink. “And?”
I can feel the gaze of both men drilling into me from either side. It’s a fight not to shiver. “And, like I said in my text, they will both be back in their positions as generals in two weeks.”
Cordelia’s dark eyes flash. “That’s not fast enough. You have to—”
“Cordelia.” I cut in before she can pick up momentum. “I am doing what it takes to benefit the family. Trust me when I say that I negotiated the best deal possible, and there is no way to expedite things.”
That slows her down a little, but she doesn’t look convinced. She’s silent for a moment, obviously connecting dots that I’d really rather her not connect. “You made a deal with…both men.”
No use trying to lie. “Yes.”
“And now you’re naked in a bed that’s not your own.” She frowns. “No, I don’t like this. We’ll find another way.”
“There is no other way.”
All amusement flees Sienna’s face, and she goes ice cold. “There is always another way, baby sister. Where are you? If those two fuckheads think they can force you to be their sex doll
for the next two weeks, I’ll castrate them myself.” She will, too. Sienna wouldn’t win in a fair fight with either of the men in this room, but my middle sister has never fought fair. I highly doubt she intends to start now.
“That’s enough.” I inject my voice with confidence I don’t feel. “I’m safe. I’ll bring them both home when this is finished. Please don’t try to interfere before then.” I keep talking over my sisters’ protests. No matter what they think, seeing this through to the end is what I have to do. For them. For the territory. And maybe even for me, too. “I love you both. Be safe.” I hang up and switch my phone to silent.
Gaeton rumbles out a laugh. “Was that supposed to reassure them or incite them to come rescue you?”
I close my eyes and press the heels of my hands to them. “You’re not helping.”
“Wasn’t trying to.”
“They’ll be content enough once we’re back to fight against the Sea Witch threat.” I open my eyes in time to see Beast move my purse and phone to the heavy wooden nightstand. Part of me expects him to lock them out of reach, but that seems silly now. As they keep reminding me, I’m here because I chose to be here. I could walk out that door right now if I needed to.
I glance down at my bare chest. Well, there are some things impeding that plan, but the fact remains that this is my choice and I’ll stand by it.
No matter what tomorrow brings.
Chapter 9
Beast
I don’t expect to sleep. Rest and I aren’t on good terms, haven’t been since I took what little I owned and fled Sabine Valley, leaving the only family I’ve ever known behind. Leaving the only man I ever loved. Eight years later, and I still have no fucking idea if they’re alive or dead, if he’s alive or dead. I have to assume the latter. We were supposed to meet in Carver City, but if Cohen ever showed up here, I would know about it. He hasn’t. He never will now.
I was supposed to protect him and his brothers. I wasn’t good enough. Over the years, I’ve come up with half a dozen things I should have done differently, half a dozen opportunities I alone had to shift the tide. I failed him. His blood is on my hands, and that knowledge still haunts me in both waking and dreaming. Most nights are a slow ticking of seconds marking the path of the moon across the sky interspersed with restless dreams. I expect tonight to be more of the same.
So when I wake in a strange bed to Isabelle’s ass rocking against my hard cock, I’m disoriented as fuck. It feels like a dream, though mine are usually soaked in blood and loss. This is something else altogether, more like this moment something too good to be real. I don’t trust it, but I also can’t help myself.
I don’t want it to end.
I keep my eyes shut, unwilling to break the sleepy spell wrapped around me, and coast my hands up her body, tracing the curve of her hips, the dip of her waist, the fullness of her breasts. She grinds her ass more insistently against me. Like she needs my cock, but she’s just as caught in the dream as I am. Move too much and it all becomes real. Real motivation. Real consequences.
Another slow stroke down her body and she catches my hand, guiding it between her thighs. If I don’t think too hard, this could almost be a memory, rather than something playing out in real time. She didn’t sleep over nearly as often as I would have liked, but every time it happened, we woke up just like this. Her body moving restlessly against mine, my cock sliding into her before either of us was fully awake.
I cup her pussy and have to fight back a curse when I find her wet. Slowly, oh so slowly, I trace her opening. Teasing us both.
She goes perfectly still except to spread her thighs to allow me better access. Good girl. I drag my mouth over the line of her shoulder and shift down the slightest amount. She rocks her hips again and then my cock is there, pressing against her entrance.
I shouldn’t.
I can pretend this is a dream until the end of time, but there’s no mistaking the way Gaeton’s weight dips the mattress on the other side of Isabelle. We entered into this bargain together, and it feels too close to what we had before to just fuck her now while he sleeps on beside us. Too separate.
I circle her clit and open my eyes. And find Gaeton staring directly at me.
Shock freezes me. This is no dream. But then, I knew that the moment Isabelle moved against me. It’s been over a year since we woke up like this, except we never woke up like this, with Gaeton watching us with a lazy pleasure building in his eyes.
I raise my eyebrows in silent question. Apparently we were putting on a show and I hadn’t realized. Maybe it should bother me. This man has been my strongest competition since I accepted a position with the Man in Black. For nearly a decade, we’ve fought and jockeyed for positions of favor, both with Orsino and with Isabelle.
All that seems so far away right now.
At the end of the day, we want the same things. We always have.
I stop playing with Isabelle’s clit and pull the sheets off us, exposing us to Gaeton’s sight. There’s no mistaking exactly what we were doing, exactly how close to fucking we are. And then I wait, ignoring Isabelle’s restless shifting. She obviously hasn’t opened her eyes yet.
Gaeton takes his time. He stares at my cock long enough that I can actually feel myself getting harder under his attention. The man looks at my dick like he wants to suck me dry.
Last night was supposed to be a one-time thing, us proving a point, though I’ll be the first to admit one has to squint a bit to make that logic work. Truth be told, I don’t want it to be a one-time thing. All our pent-up aggression is one match strike away from being pure lust. I’ve always suspected it, but last night more than proved my theory. Having his ass like that was barely enough to whet my appetite. Surely he feels the same way?
Why not take advantage of this opportunity and fuck out some of these conflicting feelings over the next two weeks?
I press one hand to Isabelle’s stomach, keeping her pinned to me, and shift down a bit more to grip my cock with my free hand. I hold Gaeton’s gaze and stroke it, letting him see the challenge there. Letting him do with it what he will.
He doesn’t hesitate. He slides down the mattress and then his mouth is around my cock and I have to press my forehead to the back of Isabelle’s neck to keep from making a sound. The man doesn’t play coy. He sucks me down like his next breath is on the other side of my length.
In my arms, Isabelle has gone completely still. I feel her lean forward enough to see what Gaeton is doing and she lets loose the most delicious whimper. “Oh fuck.”
Gaeton slows his pace, and I don’t have to look to know he’s holding Isabelle’s gaze as he swallows me down. My hands are shaking and I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.
I never, ever, enter a sexual encounter without having a plan. Losing control is inexcusable when engaging in vanilla sex. Losing control when you’re in charge of a scene? No fucking way.
I’m not in control now. I didn’t have a plan when I started this, and now I’m simply hanging on to Isabelle and riding the waves of pleasure Gaeton’s giving me. He moves almost all the way off my cock and gives me several rough strokes while he tongues my slit.
This time, I can’t keep my curse inside. “Fuck, Gaeton.”
“Mmm.” He doesn’t loosen his grip on me but his whiskers brush my aching flesh and Isabelle’s body jerks.
“Is he licking your pussy, princess?”
I hold her still as she gasps. “Yes.”
A movement and he sucks hard on the head of my cock, and then he’s gone, obviously giving her clit the same treatment. Over and over again, until my legs are shaking and I can’t stand it any longer. “Finish one or both, Gaeton. Now.”
“Finish it yourself.” He fists my cock, guiding me to Isabelle’s entrance, until I’m buried in her up to the point where he grips me.
Holy shit.
I start to fuck her and she’s moaning and whimpering and shaking from his tongue on her clit, but Gaeton’s fist keeps us both fr
om what we need. From my cock seated deep inside her. From rough, strong strokes designed to get us both off. Instead, we’re poised on the precipice, pleasure tightening further and further.
Then Isabelle cries out and her pussy clamps around me as she comes. It’s still not enough. Fuck, but it’s nowhere near enough.
Gaeton moves down and then he’s licking my cock around where I’m buried in Isabelle, as if trying to clean her orgasm right off me. I reach around her and dig my fingers into his hair. Finally, finally, he releases me and I sink deep into her.
Which is when Gaeton starts on my balls.
I fucking lose it. “Roll over.” I don’t wait for them to obey. I’m already moving, hooking Isabelle around the waist and going to my knees behind her with Gaeton on his back between our spread thighs. I lean back and press my hand to his chest. “Don’t you fucking stop until I’m coming.”
“Yes, Sir,” he growls, and then his mouth is on my balls again and on the sensitive flesh behind them.
I press a hand to the middle of Isabelle’s back and she eagerly lands on her chest, her ass in the air. It doesn’t escape my notice that I had Gaeton in damn near this same position last night. It feels so right to do this now, to drive deep into her while his mouth is all over me below.
I feel fucking immortal. I don’t ever want to stop.
Gaeton grips one of my thighs with his big hand and then his wet finger is at my ass, pressing deep so that my own thrusts have him fucking my ass even as I fuck Isabelle’s pussy.
She fists the sheets, thrusting back to meet my strokes until the sound of flesh hitting flesh fills the room. “Harder, Beast. Fuck me harder.”
I comply. I grip her hips and yank her back onto my cock as I surge forward. Again and again and again, fighting against my building pleasure to ensure she comes a second time, to feel her pussy spasm around me again. And then she’s orgasming, writhing so intensely, I can barely keep hold of her. It’s too much. I can’t hold out any longer. I moan as I follow her over the edge, pumping her full of my come. She slumps forward onto the mattress and Gaeton lifts his head to suck my half-hard cock into his mouth. He releases me with a wicked grin. “My turn.”