I hunched over as I ran across the roof. Black and empty threats trailed through my mind, one after the other. Little Mouse was going to catch it. And I would be the one to throw it at her. Her soft laugh drifted through my head. Even my brain called me a liar with the disbelief that tinged her mental chuckle. I knew I would never hurt her. Not really. Not after everything she'd done for me. But damn, did I want to. Even just a little. Before I could process the reality that I wasn't alone, I fell to the roof's floor. Pain saturated every part of my consciousness. I soaked it up like plants in a drought. It was beautiful. Sweet. Sharp. I blinked as I was rolled over. Looking up into the dark face above me, I realized I'd had no idea what beauty truly was. "Listen up, you dumb shit. They're mine. Step on my toes again, I'll beat you to death."My dick twitched. She snickered as her gaze darted down the length of my body. "Fine, then I'll stuff you in a padded room."
A shaft of light burned across my consciousness. Even from behind closed lids, I felt the searing pain scorch along my optic nerve. What the hell had I gotten into last night? I sent my brain searching for the answers. Inhaled around the sudden influx of delicious agony that ripped through my mind. It was amazing. Almost beautiful. Beautiful.A fuzzy face flashed before my mind's eye. Brown skin made ebony under the moonless night. Only the otherworldly eyes stood out in the dark. A color that reminded me of something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Stay out of my lane," she'd said. Her voice was a smoky murmur that rode the currents of midnight and stroked over my body like diamond studded velvet gloves. My skin prickled at the memory of her voice. As if she'd offered me a BJ and not to stuff me into a padded cell, my dick jumped to attention. She'd read my body in a single sweep. If I weren't so turned on, I'd probably feel humiliated that I was so easy to r
"Come here, Pet. I have something for you to clean," Anders said from across the room. The sneer in his voice when he used the hated nickname I'd been given as a child sent rage flooding through my system. But I hadn't survived in this world by letting my rage get the better of me. I would do my job, get him off, then go back to doing my true life's work. Ridding the world of the Petter clan. Nodding, I got up from my small island of pillows in the corner of the room. With a walk slinky enough to make a zig zag jealous, I allowed a false heat to enter my eyes. Anders wasn't the worst of the group, but he certainly wasn't the best of them either. At best, he was stupid. At least he wasn't mean. He couldn't tell the difference between real or faked anymore. I worked hard to make sure none of them could tell the difference. It was made a little easier when I could heat my eyes with rage that they mistook for desire. My performance was flawless after all of these years. My l
CREAK!My eyes slid closed as the betraying noise heralded my arrival. Considering I was supposed to have been back last night, I knew I was in some seriously deep shit. Not that anyone had come to look for me. Jerks. I could have died out there. Had the photographic evidence to prove it. But no one, not even my jailer had come to find me when I didn't check in. "Bang," Ivan said in a quiet voice from directly behind me. I jolted. My fingers tightening against the door knob. It squealed its displeasure. "You're dead." He drilled his granite fingers into the soft spot of my kidneys. Shit. I winced, knew I was going to be pissing blood from the quick strike as my body flexed under the blow. Leading with my elbow, I tried to get in a good attack. Ivan's husky laughter as he easily dodged my blow made me grit my teeth. "You still telegraph your movements. All this time and you are still worse than baby Shadow when she was still in puberty."The jab, verbal and physica
I tipped my head back and scrubbed the day away under the hot wash of scalding water. Two more captains had needed their pipes cleaned this afternoon. And one general had wanted her snatch waxed and eaten. But, I'd gotten more treats for my troubles. And it was finally time to leave the mansion and go to the club. The club where I got to be in charge. Where I was the one giving orders. But where every single person wanted to be there. Not a single one of them were forced into it. I still had a role to play, a job to do. But at least at the club, I didn't have to act like the little Pet everyone called me here. No, at the club, I was top bitch. A message scrolled across the smart TV that I used as a mirror. There was no such thing as privacy in this house. Not that it was a house. But I certainly wasn't calling it home, that was for darn sure. POSSIBLE LEAD AT S&BIt wasn't signed. Nor were any further instructions given. Just the statement. I nodded to whoever was b
Memories played through my mind. Purposely replaying my past to try to block out the ridiculous melody that played was the only comfort I found while in my padded cell. My mind flitted from one to the next. Some were happy. Some were sad. Some were just mundane. But the hard ones. The tough ones. The scary ones. Those were the ones that made me wish I were someone else. My life had always been privileged. My family was wealthy and powerful. I played by the rules because I liked what that power and wealth gave me. A certain untouchable quality that meant I could do what I wanted...within a certain set of parameters. Women were toys. Relationships were simply social constructs that I perpetuated because they helped me get women and allowed me to show off said privilege. Nik's voice trailed through my head in one of the many dressing downs she'd given me over the past year since invading my life. "You're nothing but a sick fuck with a bully streak, Rafe. I've met men like y
The car ride was silent except for the sound of the road passing under the tires. The low murmuring was relaxing. Added to it the pumping heat in the car and the comfortable heated leather seat, I felt like I was in a high dollar spa. It took us almost an hour, but we finally pulled up to a gate that appeared out of nowhere. If I thought we lived out in the middle of the boonies, then this was BFE. A man at the gate stepped out from his little hut. Bundled like this was the Arctic Tundra instead of early winter in Sweden, his breath fogged in the air in front of his face as he waited for Ivan to lower the privacy tinted driver's window. His smile was quick and ready when he finally saw who was driving. A quick spate of Swedish, and we were rolling through the gates. It reminded me of Willow and Ryker's home with its winding driveway up to the house. The stark spear of trees in the low fog against the intermittent lights lining the drive was eerily pretty. But even that had not
With a delicate hand, I carved my name into Romeo's back with the blade of the scalpel. He held still even as his chest heaved from the combined pain and pleasure that flooded his system. A low sultry moan filtered between his lips. I could barely hear it under the whoosh of the fans in the medical section of S&B. Carefully, I kept an eye on his hands. He had a gag in his mouth and a cock cage on. His hands were his option for calling out his safe words. I made sure to write my full scene name. No one needed to know my personal name. Only those partners who had been with them for at least five years were allowed to utter it. And then only under certain circumstances. Romeo had not yet earned that right, but Johan had. If any comments were made once Johan submitted the photos through email, I would have at least a direction to pursue for this ridiculous blackmail. Romeo's body jerked under my hands. I looked up quickly, assessed the situation. Johan was playing with his c
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