I wiggled free of Ainsley's touch. My stomach threatened to rebel at having her hands on me. Even through the barrier of clothes, it felt wrong to have someone other than Stretch touching me. "Get the fuck on with it, Ainsley. I'm sick and tired of your shit," I said it under my breath as we passed the mayor and his wife. The man was one of the best we'd had in our city for a long time. After the wars that sprang up following COVID-19, he'd been a voice of reason. The man was a huge advocate of self-policing and natural consequences. "Then you should have just done what I told you to do the first time around, lover," Ainsley said. I clenched my fists to keep from slugging her in the face. I wasn't a violent man, and definitely not against women. But this particular one made me want to do her physical damage. Especially after she kidnapped Stretch to force my compliance. "What do you even want with the land, Ainsley? There's nothing out there. We've checked. Multiple times."
I turned around and stepped forward. If anyone would be getting punished, it was going to be me. Not these brilliant, brave men who'd done nothing but accept me for who I am. I dipped my head. "Master."He stepped closer and I forced myself not to move or shiver. He punished weakness to a brutal degree. "We've missed you in the village, Hollyn. It's time for you to come home."Grumpy, sweet, brave, stupid Grumpy, stepped forward, wrapped his arm around my waist. "That won't be happening. We're keeping her."My eyes fluttered closed. Hollyn. I squeezed them shut now. No. No. No. Get out of my head. I screamed it. Howled it. I grabbed both Tove's and Grumpy's hands. I needed their help. This close to the master, I needed their help to resist his call. Their fingers entwined with mine. Take what you need, sweetcheeks, Grumpy said. I believe in you.So do I, Tove added. You'll kill them. They have no magic of their own. You'll rip their spirits from their chest
I pulled Hollyn's limp body up into my arms. She'd crashed into sleep as soon as we were ensconced in the car. Tove jogged forward, hit the button for the elevator as Tag parked the car. "When do we start the campaign?" Tag asked softly as he joined us in the elevator. "Tomorrow. We need to figure out what they want the land for. There's no way they went to this much trouble just for a buried communication line or the right thereto." Stretch wrinkled her nose as she settled herself deeper into my arms. "Did you see her when she stepped up to that douche, Patrick?" Tove asked Tag. "I about blew my load right then and there. Nothing sexier than your woman getting all feisty.""Or when she cowed Ainsley," I said. "As soon as we were out of eyeline, she dropped me like a hot potato. Keep that bitch away from me, Thane." I tried to mimic Ainsley's voice. By the chuckles from the other two, I was pretty successful. "Damn, I'm glad she's back," Tag said as he watched her.
I knocked on Thane's door. "Come in," he called. Tove was coming down the hall, adjusting his sleep pants over his junk. He raised his eye at me. I shook my head and turned into Thane's bedroom. And stopped dead. Sweetcheeks was sitting cross-legged on the bed. Naked. Her hair was slicked back with moisture as she patted at her skin with a towel. Thane had a satisfied smile on his face as he lounged back against the headboard. "Ask away, Stretch." He shot me a smile and a wink. I looked at the lady in question. "What's up, sweetcheeks?"She nibbled her bottom lip. "I just got to ea-er, umm-blow Thane's head." He winced and laughed. "Give head, suck my cock, blow job, Stretch."She turned back to me. "Right. Those things. And now I feel all empty and achy."I held my breath. There were only two of us left and she only had one available opening. I raised my eyebrows. "And?" I needed her to spell it out. "And, as long as I can keep my butterfingers, I was wonder
Thank the gods and the stars and the thunderstorms and everything else that it was the freaking weekend. I rolled over. My body was achy and sore from another night on the floor. Last night, after another round of showers, the sunshine of my life had grabbed the duvet off Thane's bed and curled up on the floor again. Not one to let dust settle on me, I was on the floor and curled around her before the other two figured out what the hell was going on. I opened my eyes. Bright, blinding light pushed through the unfiltered windows. Thane was already gone from the sleep pile. Probably working on the campaign to bring Ainsley and her craptastic family down for good. I pushed to my feet and made my way out into the living room. Yup. There he was. Face buried in the computer, coffee steaming gently next to him. "Find a good place to start?" I asked as I got my own cup of brain juice. "Yeah. You also got a few emails that said WALSH on them."I looked at the computer again. Fi
Who was crazy enough to break into the triplet's home? I tried to look around Thane's shoulder. But they were so broad that all I saw was the edge of the room. I wanted to see the face of the idiot stupid enough to breach their lair. Not to mention, that feminine voice was so familiar. I had to know what was going on."Who are you and how the fuck did you get in here?" Tag snarled. The former Marine and ultimate protector of the group. My Grumpy.The female snickered. "I've never heard of a deaf dragon. I just told you my name. Breet. Although it's spelled B-R-I-G-I-D. Make sure you get it right." Her accent was wonderful. Along with the sing-song cadence of her voice."Telling me your name doesn't mean shit. Who are you to Hollyn?"Brigid chuckled, the sound musical. "You really need to brush up on your history, love. But fine, as I can see you're big and strong. I'm Brigid. One of the goddesses. Who do you think has been hearing your prayers of late?"My eyes went huge.
Almost as if I could hear the wheels spinning in Stretch's head, I surrendered myself to the idea that she was going to jump on this like white on rice. She'd constantly put the needs of us, our protection, our safety, ahead of her own. Even though it resulted in her being kidnapped.But there might be a particular hiccup based on something Brigid had said. I cleared my throat. "Brigid, you said that the three of us are dragons. Is that correct?"The goddess nodded. "Yes. Of the Old Faith. Clan Ladon was one of the highest ranking clans in Eire."I nodded. Glad to know our ancestors had been top of the barrel back then. "Well, when Hollyn here touched us the first time, each of us had a strong reaction. None of them similar."I looked at Tagan, our middle brother. I wasn't up to date on all dragon lore, but I was pretty sure fangs and sucking blood weren't characteristics of them.Tag's eyes widened before he shut down his expression. He turned to the goddess. "What if all th
I didn't care if the man was her father or the savior of the natural world. I was going to damage him. Especially for treating this moment like it was something on a game show.Sweetcheeks had never mentioned her father in all the time we'd known each other. Granted, it had only been a little more than a week, but still. For him to just traipse in here like this. I was going to shoot him. Hopefully soon. Not kill him. But let him see how it felt to have holes ripped into him without warning.Sweetcheeks shook her head. Her heart was pounding so hard, I could feel it against my chest. Along with the slight vibration of her body.I wrapped my arms around her, secured her to my body like I was the parachute and she was getting ready to jump from the plane.She settled slightly. Pushed herself further into my grip, tugged my arms around her tighter.I was afraid I was going to crush her lungs. But not my sweet girl. No. She was made of sterner stuff.She released a heavy sigh a