CHAPTER NINE
Captain’s Hall, Freedom
S hay
My eyes flutter open. Instantly, I meet Robyn’s beautiful gaze.
How long has she been awake, watching me sleep?
She kisses me. “Morning.”
“Morning, love.”
I wish that every Sunday morning could start like this.
Each night that I go to sleep, I can’t help the fear that all of this is a dream and I’ll wake up back in my dark past.
But then, when I wake up in Robyn’s arms, relief and happiness surge through me.
It makes me feel fucking alive.
Only Robyn has that effect on me or to be fair, D’Angelo.
Although, his methods are less sleepy cuddles and more fucking my throat until I can’t think of anything but the taste of his thick cock or spanking me hard enough that I walk around in a contented daze because it’s like I can feel his hands on my arse for the rest of the day.
He’s a beast.
Just how I like my men…as I’m discovering.
I’m curled around Robyn in her bed. We’re lying caught together in her violet quilt. She looks bloody gorgeous in Eden’s YOU HAD ME AT MEOW t-shirt.
I’m naked.
Why would anyone wear clothes, when they don’t need to?
I play with Robyn’s long hair, twisting it around my fingers. She smiles.
Above me, the ceiling fan spins slowly.
I love Robyn’s bedroom. It’s a special feeling, when she invites us all to tumble into her bed together in the evening.
It’s my favorite room in the mansion.
The walls are painted a soft, welcoming blue. Couches, a wardrobe, and a chest of drawers are surrounded by waves of books and abandoned chocolate wrappers.
I glance over Robyn’s shoulder at Eden, who is sitting with his back against the wooden headboard.
He’s already dressed in black leather trousers and a gray sweater. He’s also already working, typing one-handed on a laptop that’s balanced on his knee.
I frown. “Hey, it’s Sunday. Why is your bosshole overworking you? We’ve both been exploited enough. I won’t have it happen again. Your working hours are in your contract. Won’t Jude give you one day off?”
“Watch it, cucciolo,” D’Angleo says, icily. “This bosshole is right here. I’m the one who wrote those hours into the contract, remember? It’s Eden who insisted on working today. If you know how to get your brother to rest, then share with the room.”
I glance at Eden. “He doesn’t rest. He’s worse than me.”
D’Angelo arches his brow. “I guess we’ll have to work on that.”
Eden ignores us. He continues to focus intently on the screen.
I frown.
What’s so important?
I scan over D’Angelo. He’s only dressed in his suit trousers. I take the time to admire his gorgeous muscled chest, as he pulls on his shirt.
His clothes are neatly stacked on the heavy antique chair by the window.
Light streams into the bedroom through the floor length window, making D’Angelo’s skin glow. His black curls look even silkier.
D’Angelo catches me looking. He shoots me a cocky grin.
He picks up his tie and hangs it around his neck. “Keep staring at me like that, and I’ll take these off again.”
“How’s that motivation for me to stop, darlin’?” I give him a sultry, half-hooded look. I push the quilt off me, rolling onto my back. I stretch out, allowing both Robyn and D’Angelo to see the long, athletic line of my body and my cock, which is already at half-mast. I casually start to wank. “Shouldn’t you strip for me for once?”
D'Angelo’s eyes darken, as I knew they would, with outrage. “You’re going to regret that. Hands off what’s mine.”
“Mean.”
But I still stop stroking my cock.
Robyn pushes herself up to sit next to Eden, sleepily. “Can he regret it somewhere that I can watch?”
I laugh. “Voyeur.”
“Am I denying it?”
“Cody,” Eden says, still not looking up from the keyboard.
I pull a face. “I’m kinky but I’m not inviting Robyn’s brother to watch.”
D’Angelo starts (frustratingly) to do up his shirt buttons, hiding the skin that I’d been intending to kiss and lick. “Usually it’s Robyn shouting out her Dad’s name in bed and wrecking the mood. Please don’t say that you’re going to start bringing her brother into it as well?”
Eden finally looks up from his screen, confused. “He sent me an email reminder. He’s boating with coach at ten a.m., and he needs Robyn to be there.”
There’s something off about Eden’s tone.
Worried, I study him.
He’s hiding how much pain he’s in. But then, what’s new?
I’ll get him pain meds at breakfast.
But there’s something else.
His expression is stoic and shuttered.
Yet I know him as well as I know myself.
Possibly, better.
And he’s freaking out.
Robyn runs her hand through her hair. “Wouldn’t it be better for Code to go with just Mike? If I’m there, then—”
“Go.” Eden’s expression tightens. “He needs you.”
Robyn glances at Eden in surprise.
Then she gently places her hand on his arm. “Of course, phoenix. I’ll always support my brother. Did he talk about this yesterday, when you saw him?”
Eden nods.
“Then I trust you.”
Such simple words, but I see how hard they hit Eden.
He turns to meet Robyn’s gaze. He swallows, before placing his hand over hers and squeezing.
“Adorable as you look in a fluffy kitten t-shirt, you’ll need something warmer to wear, if you’re going out on the lake.” D’Angelo strides to the chest of drawers.
When he pulls open the top drawer and starts rummaging through Robyn’s lace and satin panties that make me want to see her wearing them at the same time as tear them off her, Robyn lets out a startled squawk.
She dives over the bed, scrambling past me.
I squawk myself, as she accidentally elbows me in the balls.
“Oi, watch the boys,” I yelp.
“Sorry.” Robyn leaps off the bed toward D’Angelo.
“The boys?” D’Angelo looks around, amused. He twirls a tiny red thong with a huge bow at the back. Robyn blushes. “More like the girls . Why don’t you wear this today, cucciolo?”
I scowl at D’Angelo, but my cock twitches.
Damn.
The cock doesn’t lie . It’s excited by the idea of dressing up in Robyn’s panties.
D’Angelo looks smug.
“It’s pretty,” Eden says, glancing at the thong. “My brother should be reminded of his place.”
Traitor.
“Too late, I’m wearing it.” Robyn slams the drawer shut.
D’Angelo tries to pull it open again, but Robyn slams it shut a second time.
Then she snatches the thong and holds it to her chest.
Disappointed, I sit up. “Hold up, you want to wear a thong, while boating with your family?”
“Yep…?” Robyn replies.
D’Angelo leans against the chest of drawers. “What are you hiding, principessa?”
“Nothing.” Robyn makes a show of pulling off her granny panties, which she usually wears during a period, and drags on the thong underneath her t-shirt instead. She grimaces. “I haven’t worn this before. Now I know why. Neve bought it for me as a comedy Christmas gift. Stop looking like I stole a treat from you, Shay. There’s no way that your boys would have fit in this.”
I glow. She thinks I have big balls.
“Don’t worry, cucciolo.” D’Angelo’s smile is sinful. “I’ll order some specialist male panties for you. How about a corset? Suspenders?”
I flush. “You own me. Dress me up however you like, darlin’.”
I mean that.
D’Angelo’s pupils dilate.
He starts to do up his tie smoothly. “Right answer.”
Robyn hurries back to the bed, squirming to sit next to Eden like he’s some kind of protection.
To my shock, Eden suddenly swings the computer around to face the rest of us. “No one else owns us.”
His voice is threaded with anguish.
Instantly, I sit up.
I edge toward Eden. “Never again, Dee. What’s wrong?”
Eden looks down, struggling to work out the right words. “I’ve been monitoring the fan club. I didn’t know whether to tell you what’s been going on. I want to shield you but…”
Anxiety surges through me.
D’Angelo straightens, and his expression instantly becomes serious. “Tell me.”
“There’s a group who call themselves The Misfits. They’re superfans.”
Eden brings up a website that I haven’t seen before. It’s plastered with official and unofficial photographs of the team. What’s disturbing, however, are the posts and messages streaming across it.
They’re intense.
Personal.
Objectifying.
They’re nothing to do with hockey and everything to do with us as people.
Everything to do with possessing us.
“Shit.” Robyn hurriedly begins to read through the messages.
D’Angelo prowls to the bed, before grabbing me by the shoulders and pulling me in front of him, so that we can read together.
“It’s going to be all right, cucciolo,” D’Angelo murmurs against my ear like he knows how much this is freaking me out. “You’re safe with me. These are just words online. They can’t touch us.”
Is he right?
It feels more than simply words.
“They aren’t superfans.” Robyn is ashen. “The superfans are the ones who watch all the games, buy the merch, and support the team’s talent every way that they can. This is people whose parasocial relationships are one-sided. They’re deluded. Look at this one…”
“ You can’t pucking live without me, Atlas ,” D’Angelo reads. “ I’ll make you give me your jersey and kiss me at the next game. ”
“ If you date anyone but me, D’Angelo, I will kill you .” Robyn’s eyes are wide with shock.
“ Be my Prince Charming . Guess that one’s for me. There’s a picture. It’s written in blood.” Bile rushes up my throat.
“Have you sent this to security?” D’Angelo demands.
He wraps his arm tightly around my waist, possessively. I need the hard feel of him close to me because as much as he’s telling me that no one is going to take me away from him, I won’t let anyone take him either.
Eden nods. “Why do they think that you’re dating them? They’re strangers.”
Eden is not looking away from me.
I know that he’d have his arm around me to be certain that I couldn’t be taken away as well, if he could.
I’m relieved, when Robyn understands Eden’s unspoken distress from simply his look and entwines her fingers with his.
“That’s why they’re dangerous,” Robyn replies. “They’re deluded that they’re in a relationship with whoever it is, whether a celebrity, sport star, or an idol. Then they strip that person of their bodily autonomy and cross every fucking line that there is. They create a fake image in their head of what the celebrity is like.”
“The true danger will come if any of us act differently to that image.” D’Angelo’s lips pinch. “What happens, if they find out that we’re dating? Break our winning streak? Or mess up on the ice and shatter the illusion of the tough players that they’ve built up in their heads?”
We’re fucked.
I shudder. “Any scandal becomes personal to them.”
“It’s this woman, RebelLover22, who is the biggest red flag.” Eden clicks on a link.
“ 22? ” D’Angelo snarls. “She’s using my fucking jersey number? Robyn’s favorite number?”
I’m certain it’s the fact that it’s Robyn’s favorite number, special between the two of them, which pisses D’Angelo off the most.
The woman is lucky that she’s not in the room.
She has a fantasy in her head of D’Angelo but she truly has no idea what the real man is like.
If she did, she’d be fucking running for her life right now.
Eden presses on another button, and a video starts up.
“Fuck me,” I breathe, shakily.
A woman who appears to be in her forties with greasy, gray streaked hair and a too wide smile like she spends her workday telling people to have a nice day appears on the screen.
She’s dressed in a faded white wedding dress.
We all stare at the screen, frozen.
“I have a question for Jude D’Angelo.” RebelLover22 is softly spoken and looks directly into the camera with the same joy as if it really is her wedding day. “Will you marry me? You only have two possible answers: yes or yes.”
She laughs, high and manic.
“Turn it off,” D’Angelo snarls.
Eden snaps the laptop shut. He slides it onto the floor, hiding it away.
Yet he can’t hide the truth that there are a group of people out there who think that they have a right to own us.
I thought that nobody could take away my freedom again, even inside their heads.
I was wrong.
Silence.
D’Angelo is breathing hard. His arm tightens around me.
I stroke the back of his hand. “It’s okay, darlin’.”
“It is,” Robyn says, more firmly. “We don’t need a piece of paper to make things official between us. I definitely don’t need to wear a dress that makes me look like a crushed meringue. In our minds, hearts, and souls, we’re already married.”
She looks as possessive as D’Angelo is feeling in response to the video.
She holds up her hand, and the light catches on the rings that we gave her.
D’Angelo growls, yanking me by the hair with him further onto the bed toward Robyn. “Lie down.”
I hiss at the tug on my scalp. “Brute.”
I obediently lie down, however, where he shoves me next to Robyn.
I know that he’s trying to distract us from the video and anchor me in the way that works best.
It’s strange that being manhandled is the thing that makes me feel safe, when it’s D’Angelo who is doing it.
Then D’Angelo cups Robyn’s cheek. He kisses her, passionately.
Robyn moans, meeting him with equal eagerness. She grabs him by the back of the neck, drawing him into a deeper kiss.
My cheeks flush, as I watch them.
They’re hot together.
The perfect couple.
I’m fucking lucky to be allowed to fit together with them sometimes.
Robyn is still holding tightly to my brother’s hand.
When Robyn finally pulls back, she’s breathing hard. “Fuck, you’re the best kisser.”
D’Angelo somehow manages to look unaffected. “Wife.”
“Husband.” Robyn grabs D’Angelo by his tie and yanks him into another kiss.
My chest tightens.
What am I?
What’s my twin?
Will Eden and I ever be like husbands to Robyn in the same way? I know that I’m asking a lot but I can’t help what my heart wants.
I’ve wanted it almost from the moment that I saw her.
Robyn is licking across the seam of D’Angelo’s lips, stroking along the length of his tie. He lowers his lips now from hers to kiss along her jaw.
She slides her gaze to mine. “You’re all my husbands for a lifetime of moments together. You understand that, right?”
My expression brightens.
She means all of us?
I bounce on the bed, pushing myself up onto my elbows.
I grin. “You hear that, bro? We’re hers too.”
Eden’s eyes darken. “We don’t need to belong to someone to love or be loved.”
“You’re right.” Robyn’s gaze becomes tender, as she plays with Eden’s fingers. “D’Angelo and I like to play at this. But you don’t need to, or we can take things at your pace. This is your first relationship, Eden. We won’t all be at precisely the same stage in our relationship or have the same dynamic in it. That’s fine. I only wanted you to feel secure that I view you as equals.”
Eden turns on his side to fully face Robyn. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Robyn murmurs.
“We have a problem though.” I try to sound stern, but it’s hard when inside I’m burning brightly with joyful sunshine. It’s obvious that everyone in this bed can tell. Robyn’s eyes are dancing. “You told Jude here that he’s the best kisser. When my tongue is buried between your thighs, kissing your sweet pussy, I’m certain that you’ll sing a different tune.”
“Cheat,” Eden rumbles.
“She didn’t say where she could be kissed,” I cheekily point out.
“How about this,” D’Angelo’s look is devilish, “we hold a contest. Fuck everyone on that website. They only own the fake us. This is real life — us in this bed right now. Other people won’t ever know about our secret life. What truly goes on behind the players’ closed doors. So, cara mia, do you want to know who the best kisser is?”
“ Yes .” Robyn shivers, sprawling further down on the bed, caged beneath D’Angelo. “Shouldn’t there be a reward for the winner?”
D’Angelo tilts his head in thought. “I was planning something for your birthday that you were naughtily hiding from us. I haven’t forgotten that, principessa. I’ll create a special kink game. I’m going to make sure that you enjoy celebrating your birthday from now on. How about the winner today gets to play? We’ll use the traffic light system for the safe word. Are you green?”
My eyes widen at the way that Robyn’s smile suddenly becomes as devilish as D’Angelo’s.
Uh-oh.
Robyn smirks. “One hundred percent green. Bring it on.”
“Oh, we will.” D’Angelo’s gaze becomes dangerously competitive. “Remember that you asked for this, cara mia. All. At. Once.”
“Like Dracula’s three sisters,” Eden mutters.
Immediately, Eden lets go of Robyn’s hand, pinning her down by her shoulder instead.
Then he starts to kiss her like it’s the only way that he’ll survive.
D’Angelo sensually slinks down Robyn’s body, pushing up her t-shirt and sucking kisses against her sensitive skin as he goes.
Robyn is attempting to writhe but can’t move.
D’Angelo grasps her by the knees and pushes her legs up in the air.
Eden never gives Robyn a moment’s break from his intense kissing.
He really has been practicing.
D’Angelo clicks his fingers at me.
Eagerly, I join him between Robyn’s thighs.
“Worship our goddess.” D’Angelo grabs me by the arm and shoves me between Robyn’s thighs.
My cock hardens. I sigh in frustration, rubbing it against the mattress. The friction fires delicious sparks through me.
D’Angelo crisply smacks my hip. “Focus.”
It’s hard, when my orgasm has been pushed down for over a day already.
Shit, I need to come.
This is about proving to Robyn, however, that my talented tongue is the best.
I can do this.
I freeze, sliding my hands up to Robyn’s trembling hips, instead.
D’Angelo kisses up Robyn’s leg from her thigh to one of her favorite spots behind her knee.
She moans, clutching the quilt, desperately.
My expression becomes determined.
Her kisses with Eden are tender.
Sweet.
Intimate.
D’Angelo is kissing her on spots on her body that only he knows about. It’s like he’s mapped out exactly where will make her come apart.
He knows her better than any of us. But I can bring Robyn more pleasure than they can.
Does that mean I’m only the fucktoy in this bed?
Was Blythe right about me?
I ruthlessly block out the thought.
Does it matter, if that’s my role?
I’m not ashamed.
It brings me pleasure to serve others. It makes me fulfilled, when I pleasure the people I love.
I can accept that now.
Maybe that leaves me open to being used and abused. But Robyn and D’Angelo aren’t like that.
I’m strong enough to understand and fight for my own needs and desires. And right now, those are to mouth and kiss over the front of this thong.
Robyn whines.
I smile against the lacy material. I wish that I could shove it aside and lick deep into Robyn’s pussy to show her what I can truly do with my tongue. But I’ll have to wait until Monday for that.
Instead, I suck the material into my mouth. Then I lick around its edges, teasing at her skin.
Robyn’s thighs quiver.
I graze Robyn’s skin with my teeth, then soothe her with kisses. I pull the thong away, letting it snap back. Then I pull it aside with my fingers just enough to reveal her clit.
Fuck, I love every part of her gorgeous body.
My hair brushes against Robyn’s skin. I take her clit lightly between my teeth, teasing it. Then I kiss it, desperately.
I look up at Robyn through my eyelashes.
She’s still kissing my twin. But she’s looking down at me .
Her gaze is scorching.
I’m kissing her clit like I’m kissing her lips.
Robyn has her three men worshiping her body in a contest.
Who’s she going to choose?
Pick me.
I kiss Robyn now, light and feathered, over and over.
D’Angelo kisses down her leg toward her foot.
Robyn’s eyes widen.
D’Angelo is standing in his half-opened shirt with his tie hanging around his neck. He never normally looks this disheveled.
Seeing this dominant man kissing her foot in a way that’s not even slightly submissive, but rather like a claiming of every inch of her body, is a revelation.
It’s also an offering.
She’ll never choose me.
I look back at Robyn, expecting her to be transfixed by D’Angelo.
To my shock, however, she’s still looking at me .
Plus, it’s with a tenderness that makes me tighten my hold on her hips and kiss her with a new fervor, hoping that she feels the depth of my love.
My obsession.
She’s everything.
It only takes one more brush of my cock against the covers for me to come.
I don’t come because of the smell of her cunt, which I love, or the taste of her clit.
I come because of that tender look of hers.
I want Robyn to look at me like that forever.
My back arches, and my toes curl.
I feel like I’m being turned inside out, the orgasm is so intense.
My eyes flutter shut.
At the same time, I feel Robyn convulse and come beneath me.
I keep her pinned.
“F-f-f-uck.” Robyn gasps.
I keep lazily kissing her through the aftershocks.
I’m sated and contented in a way that has nothing to do with my own mind-blowing orgasm.
When Robyn is too sensitive and squirming, I give her one final kiss, before dropping her thong back into place.
I wrinkle my nose, sitting up and away from the sticky, wet patch underneath me.
Eden will change the sheets later. He always does.
He’s an awesome brother.
Eden rests back against the headboard, but I notice the way that he holds onto Robyn’s hand.
D’Angelo lowers Robyn’s legs, massaging her calves. “All right, principessa?”
“Amazing,” Robyn says, dreamily. “You’re all incredible kissers.”
“Who won?” I ask, bouncing up and down.
D’Angelo stills me with a hand on my shoulder.
My heart speeds up.
Say me.
I want to play the kink game.
Kink is kind of my thing. Plus, I didn’t know how much I needed to feel that Robyn won’t reject me.
I know that she won’t in theory, but if she chooses my kisses over D’Angelo’s, then she truly won’t.
Right?
My stomach is tied in knots.
Why isn’t she saying anything?
Eden is looking too serious as well.
Should I be hoping that he won?
I bite my lip.
Okay, I hope that either my twin or I win.
But still, is it bad that I hope that she chooses me ?
Robyn pushes her hair out of her eyes. “You were each good in different ways. I can’t choose between you. How about I say that you were equal? Then you’re all winners.”
Eden’s shoulders relax. “Works for me.”
D’Angelo stands up, doing up his tie. “More fun in the kink game.”
I stare between them.
I should be happy to be equal.
Somehow, it still hurts.
I duck my head, hiding my expression.
The knot in my stomach becomes tighter.
Unexpectedly, the bell for the front door, which is linked up to D’Angelo’s phone, rings.
I startle.
No one uses that apart from the security team and sometimes, coach.
“That better not be coach dropping in uninvited again.” D’Angelo hurriedly does up his shirt.
He’s taking too long because his OCD is forcing him to tap out rhythms of three on each button. His expression is tight with frustration.
Coach has this effect on him. Protectiveness races through me.
Would coach mind if I opened the door to him naked?
“I’ll deal with it,” Eden offers.
D’Angelo shakes his head. “I’ll be back in a minute. Be prepared in case it is coach and he decides to storm in here. Cucciolo, at least cover your cum stained stomach.”
I glance down at myself.
Whoops.
D’Angelo strides out of the bedroom.
I squirm around next to Robyn and drag the violet quilt up to my chin, as well as hers.
“What are we going to do about the Misfits group?” Eden asks, quietly.
Robyn looks pensive. “Monitor for now. The board don’t want any scandals. As long as they don’t break into real world stalking, then we can control this. I’ll continue to work on the team’s image. The mainstream press is overwhelmingly positive about the team, when at the start of the season they were negative. It’s social media that we need to work on and fuck, that’s much harder to handle.”
I wring the duvet in my hands, listening out for D’Angelo.
I can’t hear any voices.
I deliberately ignore Eden’s sternly disapproving glare, as I wipe my sticky stomach clean on the quilt (he must have forgotten how I’d use a sports sock in dorms).
Then I hear D’Angelo’s footsteps in the corridor, and he stalks back into the bedroom.
He’s holding a small, expensive looking red and black jewelry bag.
Eden scrunches up his nose. “What’s that?”
“A delivery.” D’Angelo sounds wary. “One that we weren’t expected. This is from the top jeweler in Virginia. It’s my favorite for buying cuff links. This is meant to be a surprise, huh?”
Robyn is frozen.
I have a horrible feeling that D’Angelo is not going to get the surprise that he’s expecting.
“Don’t,” I warn.
D’Angelo opens the bag and pulls out a small, luxurious velvet box. It’s the same blue as his eyes.
My stomach twists.
Who bought him this?
D’Angelo’s eyes light up. He flips open the box.
Inside is a pair of cuff links in ruby that are shaped like devil horns.
They’re gorgeous. I have no idea how much they cost.
A lot.
Probably more than I’ve earned in my entire life.
D’Angelo smiles. “I love them, principessa. Are they for the Halloween party?”
Robyn pales. “I didn’t…”
Eden stands, on the alert. He looks as tense as I am.
“Wait, you had them print a beautiful note on the lid of the box.” D’Angelo strolls to the window, holding the box up to the light. It gleams off the ruby of the horns. Then he starts to read, “ For my prince of devils …”
D’Angelo trails off.
He looks like he’s been punched in the gut. Then he hurls the cuff link box against the wall with a bang.
Eden strides to D’Angelo and wraps his arms around him.
I can’t hold myself back.
What the hell does the note say that’s disturbed D’Angelo?
“I didn’t buy you those cuff links,” Robyn says. “I’m guessing that none of us did.”
I throw the quilt off and jump out of the bed.
My pulse races.
I snatch up the box and scan the note:
For my prince of devils. Let me be your corrupted angel. Wear these and think of me. XXX