I hurried through the penthouse, cleaning up the various scattered piles of clothes that remained. I got the last shirt on a hanger as the public elevator doorbell rang. "Ha, ha, suck it!" I pumped my fist in the air. At least I'd won one game so far tonight.I rushed out to the entryway. Smiled as I saw all three of my girls come out together. "Perfect timing." I darted forward, grabbed bags of groceries and baking staples.Tali was dressed in her favorite yoga pants and sweatshirt. Her hair was up in the perfectly stylish messy bun that I was always jealous of. Her feet were stuffed into her I'm not leaving the house for anything but an emergency' slippers. She had another bag looped over her arm. "I've got the liquor. Hard and wine. When do we start?"I laughed and waved her in. "As soon as you can get a glass and the drinks poured.""Woohoo!" She passed by me. "Let's get our drink on."Nik slid in next. Her red hair was flowing down her shoulders, her face scrubbed clean
"Bet's to you, Penn," Rafe said around the end of his cigar. "Or are you going to pussy out again because you can't leave your phone alone?"I laid the device screen down on the table. Fought to clear my mind. Damn, I really had underestimated Willow's ability to seduce and tease. The picture she'd just sent me...I was going to make her recreate that photo. Naked except for an apron that barely covered the goods. And a splotch of frosting on her ass cheek. Only this time it would be my hand on her ass instead of a spatula slapping whipped sugar against that delicious flesh. Special edition cupcakes.I cleared my throat. "What's it at?"All five men growled. "Two hundred," Foster said. "If I'd known we were going to be playing such low stakes, I would have stayed at home."I snorted as I tossed in my chips. "Oh please. You're like the nerdy kid no one invites to the party. You jumped at the chance to be here."Foster glared at me, his dark eyebrows so at odds with his brigh
I disconnected and let out a soft scream. "Girls, I think we're all going to win tonight!" I danced in a small circle, pumped my fists in the air. When no one else joined me, I stopped and looked around. All I saw were bedroom eyes, flushed cheeks, and fidgeting. Even Tali. Ballbusting Tali was looking a little turned on. "What? No!" I stomped my foot. "This is so not fair. What did they say?"Nik looked away. Tali just smiled. Jessa's expression looked like she either witnessed a horrific accident or saw her personal god. The timer dinged, drawing my attention. I pouted all the way to the oven. The wave of heat that blasted me in the face mocked me. All my girls were getting their own boxes heated, and here I was, stuck pulling cupcakes from the mechanical box. It reminded me of the last eighteen months. Except this time I wanted to be turned on. My phone buzzed. I was tempted to ignore it. But I certainly wasn't going to get turned on baking by myself. That cal
I groaned. "Dammit.""She top you again?" Rafe asked. I nodded. "Fucking women.""Can I put my computer away yet? Taking pictures of all you isn't really how I saw this evening going. Not to mention lying to all of them with my wicked Photoshop skills."Turo and Nico just laughed. "At least we're not actually getting naked. Nor are we as hard as you've made us out to be."We all laughed. "I would be leaving. Dick does nothing for me," Mas announced. We all nodded. I shuddered. Nope. "And since we have abandoned any and all pretense to playing poker, I will be leaving anyway." Mas rose from his chair and gave a short wave. He was through the door and had it closed behind him without a sound. I looked at his brothers. "Seriously, does he have some kind of ninja blood in his DNA? Is he actually a voodoo priest? Into witchcraft? Did he meet the devil at a crossroads and exchange sound for his soul?"They all stared at me like I was an idiot. "The man moves and d
I bit my lip to keep from sobbing as I leaned back against the door. This was so stupid. I knew he wasn't casting me aside. But goddess did it feel like it. If this is what mojitos did to me, they were forever and always on my no-go list. I dashed my fingers under my eyes. Stop being such a child. He was treating you with care. Love. Respect. And you're going to go all girly on him? Whine and cry because he won't let you have sex with him while you're inebriated? Grow the fuck up, Cold and Analytical screamed at me. I knew she was right. Knew Ryker loved me. That by not touching me in even a slightly altered state, he was putting me above his own needs. I'd felt how hard he was as I slid down the front of his body. He was setting himself aside as well. His own needs. It wasn't just mine he was rejecting. I sighed and moved to the vanity. I got my face wash out of my bag, grabbed a wash rag. Scrubbing my face, I winced as the tender flesh on my palm nagged at me with the hot
Her body went limp against me. I'd never realized the intimacy of holding someone as they slept. That complete and utter trust to slide into oblivion. It was a treasure I hoped never to grow tired of. To take for granted. The candles' flickering glow provided soft light in the room that I now considered ours' instead of just mine. Her words flickered through my mind again. It's only been three weeks. Are we moving too fast?'Snickering at the thought, I curled around her tighter, shivered as the heat finally fled from my overly warm skin. It would be stupidly fast if it were anyone but Willow. Most of my flings lasted barely this long, but I'd never cared. Was usually looking for the next one. I wasn't rabidly guarding the woman. Hell, I was more likely to be ushering her out the door with a nice piece of jewelry or shopping trip to thank her for her time and attention to detail. The idea of even contemplating that reality with Willow had my belly twisting in knives and jealo
That night"Momma, you don't have to cook when you come here, you know. You can just sit down and enjoy your family," I said as I stirred the sauce. We were going full Italian tonight. Simple, filling, and easy: Spaghetti and meatballs with enough garlic bread to kill a vampire coven. With side salads in fresh vinaigrette, it was going to be easy enough to concentrate on the bigger picture tonight without worrying about the food. She waved me away. "Go help your brothers bring your table in. Your sister and your man should be bringing chairs." She shooed me out of my own kitchen...that was at least par for my particular course. I headed off towards the freight elevator. It apparently opened on the other side of the elevator from Ryker's public entrance. I got to be a literal door stop to keep the doors from sliding closed every thirty seconds. Ah, the lives of the rich and famous. Well, at least my guy was rich. I had a trust fund, but hated using it since it came from my
"Nik has found proof of their involvement not only with de Silva, but also with supplying Errington with at least ten of his victims. Direct proof.""Twenty-two. The collective finished. I just got the update," Nik added. Ryker nodded. "Twenty-two." I watched Willow for signs of upset or illness. When she did some deep breathing exercises, I felt pride well deep inside me. "Here's my thought. According to the love of my life, Winslow and Beverly always make a huge deal out of the people they've helped with their foundation. A huge slideshow of self-congratulations and humble bragging."Tali smiled. "You want to put the victims up there. Force them to see their faces again."I nodded. "I want to not only put their faces up there, I want one of the women gathered here to read their names. Their birthdate, their death date. I want Jessa-if you're up to it-to read aloud the cause of death. I want to shove it down these people's throats that we see them for the monsters they are. T
I crept along the rooftop. The target was staying in the long term suites across the road. It was our first night, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders the farther we got from New Trenadie. The next moment, I crashed to the roof's floor. "Damn it." She snickered. "Still a sucky spy, Raphael." She slid her body over mine.I sucked in a breath. Nodded. Hell, I practically begged her for it. But without words. When she got that tone, my words were not necessary. She smiled. "I'm not going to beat you to death. Nor am I going to stuff you into a padded room." She bent down, flicked her tongue over my lips. "But I will tie you up, spank you, flog you, fuck you, and then make you do it all over again. My dick went to iron between her legs. Her laugh was husky. "I'm keeping you, Raphael. Do you understand me?"My heart settled. Skipped a beat. "Yes, Mistress."The end.
My phone dinged with a new incoming text message. Considering my phone had been going off since the wee hours of the morning with Willow and Ryker announcing the baby was finally coming, I was tempted to just shut it off. But it could be something important. And since Angelo and I were at home with the other babies, it fell to us to make sure we kept everything running as it should. I grabbed the phone. Unlocked the screen. A video message popped up. Raphael and his girl, Nia. Their heads mushed together to get into frame. "Momma, I have to leave. But I wanted to tell you I love you. And thank you for everything. I will let you know when I get back." Nia smiled. "I'll keep him safe, Momma. I swear it.""Bye, Momma," they said together before they ended the call.I smiled even as tears filled my eyes. Angelo looked up at me from his spot on the bed. He was restrained, a ball gag in his mouth. I held the crop up high. "Our last baby is finally happy, Angelo." I s
Two weeks later I glared at the woman on the table. "I still don't know why I have to be here. I barely know you."Willow snorted. "Because you're scarier than anyone else in my family. And I don't want those doctors trying to get all bitchyyyyyyyy." Another contraction hit her. She clamped down on my hand hard enough that I thought I was going to need surgery to remove the bones from each other. And this little firecracker had more strength inside her than her grip would show. Raphael had told me some of her story. She'd told me the rest of it. A ritual the Amatucci women apparently indulged in was something called Girls' Night. Really it was a bunch of drinking, talking about sex, and watching movies while we ate enough of Willow's confectionaries to give ourselves diabetes. Willow blew out a breath. "Ryker can't handle seeing me in this kind of pain, so he has to stay out in the lobby with the rest of them. You're second chair." She panted. Demanded some ice chips.
Three days laterWalking into my parents house when they didn't know I was alive was a risky thing. A multitude of crappy things could happen. Not the least of which was Momma killing me for real this time. Or Papa crying. Or either of them fainting."Go on," Nia said as she shoved me forward gently. "You're already here. Just go into the kitchen. Nik said she told them to wait for her in the kitchen."I nodded, felt my palms go clammy as my breath backed up in my lungs. This could go terribly wrong. So fucking horribly wrong. Man up, Si, that no longer too small voice said inside me. Since I'd been actively listening to it more, he wasn't so easy to shut up. Even when I wanted to. Thankfully, the nasty bitch who lived inside me was getting fainter. Although he could still throw a temper tantrum to beat a two year old. "I'm right here. And I'll be right here the whole time. They've waited long enough, Raphael." She nudged me again. Even as bile rushed up the back o
We all stood in the kitchen, guzzling water by the gallon. I hadn't been this dehydrated since the last time I got in trouble at Petter Manor. But at least this time it was due to happy tears and reunification. Raphael sat and watched it all. Just absorbed it. But he never got so far away I couldn't touch him. That I even needed to touch him still blew my mind. But I wasn't going to question it. He helped steady me when it felt like everything inside me and around me was bending and flexing too fast for me to catch up. "What are your plans for tomorrow?" Liam asked as he finished his third glass of water. "Tomorrow is the gala. I'm going to string Anders up-the guy who had you kidnapped again. I'm going to tell everyone the Petters have been blackmailing and abusing and paying off that the Petters are dead and gone. That they're all on watch." I studied Liam and Lilly. It blew my mind that they had gone into the government side of this dirty world. That they willingly put t
Nia came over to me while I was helping drag some bodies away. "Hey Raphael, can you come with me, please?"Foster grunted at me as we got the body up on the catering cart. "Go. I've got this." I nodded, turned back to Nia. "Sure, Nia." She took my hand and we walked from the room. Her hand was trembling in mine. It was only the slightest degree, but it might as well have registered on the seismic scale. "You good?" I asked her softly as we walked down a set of stairs. She said nothing, made no movements except to keep walking. I pulled her to a stop. Made her look at me. "Are you good?" I asked again. Her eyes were wide, as if she were trying to stave off the tears. "Amelie and Anton..." she blew out a breath. "They're t-""The only two people you love in this world." I smiled sadly. "I know, Nia."Her eyelids fluttered shut as a tear escaped down her cheek. Her breath was shaky as she exhaled. "I got them away from here. Put them in with a good woman with a hu
Day before the gala "Charlie team in position," the man's voice came through the little earbud I wore in my right ear. I kept a tight hold on my fear. My relief. My heart. All of the planning, all of the tears, all of the arguments. It all came down to this. "Delta team in position," Raphael said through my ear. "Foxtrot team in position," another voice said. I still wasn't quite sure who was who by their voice, but I'd done an okayish job of remembering names and faces. The fact that I had a team full of women with me made me like the Amatuccis even more. They didn't discriminate. If someone had the skill and the drive to join the security teams, they were given a position. "Estrogen team in position," I said. A series of clicks came through the earbud. I'd made a single joke about Echo team being full of vaginas. They called us the Estro team now. Since we were collectively badass, I didn't really care what they called us as long as it wasn't disrespectful. "A
Her babies? She had kids? I shook my head. Knew there had to be a different story, but I needed to get her back with me to learn it. I set her down on the chair. Pushed her head down between her knees. "Breathe, Nia." I made my voice hard. As hard as I dared when all I wanted to do was cuddle her up and carry her away. Nowhere was my fierce and strong Dominant. Right now, she was a broken, hurting woman. I would hold her together until she could find herself again. Ivan came rushing into the room, his gun drawn. He lifted it to the ceiling when he saw what was going on. One of his brows rose in question.I gave him a brief rundown of what I knew. Which was damn little. I shrugged when I was out of information to share. Mas came hopping in behind Ivan. He didn't have a weapon, but he did have concern etched on his face. "Who the hell are you?" a voice said from behind me. I whirled around, putting Nia behind my body as I faced the threat that shouldn't be there. A
After rushing through the shower and the delicious meal that Raphael put together for breakfast, I walked into the space Ivan and Klara had set up for me. Everything was as I left it, but that didn't mean a whole lot. Especially in a place I didn't control one hundred percent. Brushing the weird vibe away, I walked to the computer. Booted everything up. Once it was up and running, I went through my process of accessing my cloud accounts. Jasper had set some up for me that weren't the typical commercial kind. Luckily, I'd memorized the process, or I'd be up a creek with zero paddle at the moment. A ReadMe file was highlighted when I got all the way into my account. I right clicked, read through the metadata how Jasper showed me. Recognizing his signature, I opened the file. Ms. Flower~I've attached all of the information I could find re Cucumber Butt and Pretty Mean. You'll find them in the associated files.I snickered at Jasper's sense of humor. That kid was a genius and