Smooshed into the backseat, I sat in silence while Ivan and Nia spoke in quiet tones. "Why no tell me you Petter?" Ivan asked. Nia shrugged. "I figured you knew. It's not exactly a secret around here."Ivan shifted to look at her for a long moment. "I thought you prostitute who works Petter. Not Petter."Nia's shoulders bumped into the air again. "Not my fault you don't listen to the club gossip. I've been with the Petters since I was six."Questions burned in the back of my throat, buzzed around my brain. I willed Ivan to ask them. Figured they'd get answered that way. I doubted Nia would answer any of my questions at all. "Slave?" Ivan asked. Nia's chin dropped in a short nod. "According to my mother, my father is a Petter. I'm searching for him." Something in her tone had me squinting at the back of her head. Her kinky black curls were a riot of midnight in the low lights of the dash. I wanted to reach out and squeeze them in my fingers. See if they were as resi
The emotion in the car was stifling. Overwhelming. I felt like I couldn't breathe. Which was stupid. So freaking stupid. So what if the brothers were having some kind of emotional reunion. Didn't matter to me. As long as the Petters went down, they could fuck each other on the car hood for all I cared. Raphael shook his head. "You think I'm dead."The driver shook his head. "I know my wife. Know her moods and when she's being sneaky. I've known about you for the last handful of weeks."Raphael shook his head again. His hands clenched into fists as he looked out the window. Tension vibrated off the man in seismic waves. If I didn't know any better, I'd assume he was trying to rebuild his walls. To shove himself back into some kind of shell. Become someone he thought he should be so his brother would love him. Reaching out, I shook my arm. Allowed one of my knives to fall out of its forearm holster and into my palm. I dug the tip of the knife into Raphael's thigh. Felt the s
Fuming, I stomped into the kitchen. Bracing my fists on the kitchen island, I breathed through the rage that swamped me. He thought he could just show up and take over. Take charge like he always did. Shove me to the side. Poor little Rafey can't figure out how to get out of a wet paper bag, he can't possibly run point on taking down our biggest enemies. Her scent caught me first. I looked up, turned, tried to wipe my expression clean. Seeing her in good lighting for the first time, I studied her. Even after a long night, she looked beautiful. The tip of her nose pointed up the slightest degree. Gave her a slightly impish look. But the expression in her aquamarine eyes killed any notion of flights of fancy. "Have any coffee?" she asked. That hadn't been what I expected her to say at all. I blew out a thankful breath. Shrugged. "I have no idea. But I'll check for you. Go take a seat." I pointed to the small four-seater dining table and chairs. She smiled. Nodded. "I'll do
I watched him go. He'd somehow managed to twist and turn everything I'd said around to suit his negative narcissism. He was skilled at that part of psychopathy, that was for damn sure. He might have gotten the last word this time, but I was determined to show him that he wasn't an evil person. Massimo was waiting outside the door. His face was thunderous as he allowed his brother to pass him. When he turned back to me, his eyes were cold and held my death. "Never again. Do you understand me?"I looked at the man. Let his threat roll off me like water off a duck's back. "Do you know that he plans to allow the Petters to kill him?"Massimo jolted slightly. "I won't let that happen."I snorted. "Yeah, and you and your wife seem to be doing a real bang up job making him face his demons."Massimo's hands clenched into fists. "What do you know of his demons? You barely know him."As if time was the only thing that allowed a deeper knowing of someone else. Sure, time was importan
I stood outside her door. My heart pounding in my chest, my belly twisted in knots. She hadn't touched me, had, in fact, kicked me from her room. And I was close to being more turned on than any other time in recent memory. Taking the few steps that would lead me back to my room, I opened the door, went in. Closing the door behind me, I looked at my bed. Felt my dick twitch at the idea of sitting on it naked because she told me to. And then having a discussion about sex. Hopefully, lots of sex. Lots and lots and lots of sex. I blew out a breath. Laughed at myself softly. She was right, we needed to get through this meeting with Mas and Ivan before we let the good times roll. Stubbornly, I refused to think about anything beyond tonight. No future plans for those on the chopping block. I could give her tonight. Give her all of my nights until we took the Petters down. Shoving away from the door, I walked deeper into my room. The closet was full of simple clothes in my style.
Inside, I was shaking. I hadn't felt him move. Hadn't felt the air shift. Nothing. One second my life was flashing before my eyes. The next, I'm on the floor and Raphael is threatening to kill himself to keep me alive. No one had ever offered to die for me. Most had barely noticed me enough to think about me twice. That this broken man had blurred into motion in defense of me? I was floored. And humbled. And pissed off. And turned on. I was going to beat him purple. Then fuck him until we both passed out. As soon as we got out of this infernal meeting and did our interview, he was going to be mine. Ivan got back to his feet. Swayed as he found his chair. He looked at Raphael, a look of pride on his face. "Nice shot. Good moves. Do it again, I kill you." Raphael burst into laughter. It had a crazy tinge to it that didn't bode well, but he sucked it all back in. Locked it down. I wiggled my ass against his dick. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough of a reward if the twitchi
My hands shook as I kicked off my pants like they were on fire. Standing in the room naked, I scrambled on to the bed. Excitement and nerves made me feel like I'd downed an entire bottle of champagne. My dick was a steel spike as it rose up from my lap as I sat in the commanded cross legged position. I wanted to cover up with a pillow, but she hadn't said anything about a pillow. Or covering up. And I wasn't going to take the chance that it would get me in trouble. Not this close to heaven. A soft knock on my door had my chest squeezing and my belly jolting. I opened my mouth to tell her to come in when the door swung open. She stood there. One dark brow raised on her pretty brown face. She was dressed in the same clothes. I was a little sad she wasn't naked or at least in her club clothes, but I figured I'd get to see those again some other time. She was here. And she wanted to dominate me. I shivered as anticipation raced over my skin. It stole my breath for a moment. Wat
I focused on my breathing. This guy...he alternately shredded and shored up my control. It was fascinating and infuriating at the same time. I couldn't wait to see what we would achieve together.We still had a few things to discuss however. Important things. Almost as important as the hard and soft limits. At least to me. And because they were important to me, we would be discussing them. At length. "For this next part, feel free to speak at any point. Don't interrupt me, because that's just rude, but you don't need express permission to speak." I held his gaze, let him see I meant what I said. He nodded. Smiled. "Thank you, Mistress."A thrill went through my body at his words. With previous partners it was rote. Just something that was expected-especially in the club. But from Raphael it felt special. More meaningful. Deeper. "Now, one thing I always want to discuss is need. Why do you need someone to dominate you? What do you think it will do for you? What can I do to
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