Chapter 24 Cyrus
CYRUS
The buzzing of my phone drags me from sleep. Next to me, Keira’s warmth tempts me to ignore the call, but years of conditioning kick in. I slip out of bed, careful not to disturb her or Ace, and check the caller ID.
Xavier fucking Blackwood.
“What?” I answer, voice rough with sleep as I step into the hallway.
“You’ve created quite the situation.” Xavier’s tone is flat. “The man you and your brother removed? Vincent Marconi? Turns out he was about to finalize a significant arrangement with Viktor Kozlov.”
My blood runs cold. Kozlov is the Russian equivalent of the Blackwoods—territorial, ruthless, and notoriously unstable. He controls the city’s suburbs with an iron grip.
“We followed the order you gave us,” I growl, keeping my voice low. “You didn’t mention any deals with the Russians.”
“Because I wasn’t aware.” There’s a rare note of frustration in Xavier’s voice. “Marconi kept that particular alliance close to his chest. Now Kozlov is on high alert, convinced we’re making a play for his territory.”
Behind me, the bedroom door opens. Ace emerges, looking on high alert despite being woken just moments ago. I put the phone on speaker.
“The streets are already shifting,” Xavier continues. “Kozlov’s men are securing their corners. Everyone’s scrambling for what they think Marconi was about to hand over.”
Ace’s expression doesn’t change, but I see the slight narrowing of his eyes.
“What do you need us to do?” I ask, already knowing the answer won’t be pleasant.
“Be ready. This could go several ways, none of them particularly peaceful.” Xavier pauses. “And keep your prey close. If Kozlov decides to retaliate, he’ll target what matters to us.”
The call ends before I can respond, which is probably for the best given the rage surging through me at the implied threat to Keira.
“Fuck,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair.
Ace remains eerily still. “We need contingencies.”
“Contingencies,” I echo, staring at the blank phone screen. “For Keira.”
The mere thought of her in danger twists my insides. It’s a feeling I’ve only ever experienced about Ace before—this overwhelming need to protect at all costs.
“Kozlov doesn’t fuck around,” I say, pacing the hallway. “If he thinks the Blackwoods are making a move on his territory, he’ll hit back where it hurts.”
Ace leans against the wall, his expression cold. “And everyone in Ravenwood knows we belong to the Blackwoods.”
“Which makes us targets.” I run a hand through my hair. “And now Keira—”
“She won’t agree to stay locked down,” Ace interrupts, voicing exactly what I’m thinking. “We’ve barely known her a month, and even I can tell she’ll fight us on this.”
I nod, remembering our argument about her dance rehearsals. “Her studio, her independence—she won’t give those up.”
“And we can’t exactly explain that a Russian crime lord might kidnap her to get back at the Blackwoods for a territory war she knows nothing about.”
The bedroom door creaks open, and Keira stands there, her hair mussed from sleep, wearing nothing but one of my T-shirts. My chest tightens at the sight of her, so oblivious to the danger swirling around her.
“Everything okay?” she asks, voice husky.
Ace and I share a look. We’ve never lied to her, not since we told her what we do.
“Work complication,” Ace says finally. “Go back to bed, we’ll be there in a minute.”
She studies us both with perceptive eyes before nodding and disappearing back into the bedroom.
“We don’t have a choice,” I whisper once she’s gone. “We need to arrange protection. Someone to shadow her at rehearsals, someone watching the studio.”
“Without her knowing,” Ace adds. “She already feels trapped enough between us.”
“I’d rather have her angry than dead,” I say flatly.
“Agreed.” Ace pushes off the wall. “I’ll call Felix in the morning. He’s discreet enough to keep an eye on her without being spotted.”
We return to the bedroom, my mind still churning with the implications of Xavier’s call. Keira’s sitting up against the headboard, her eyes alert despite the early hour. The sight of her there, safe for now, sends a wave of possessiveness through me that almost drowns out my concern.
“Go back to sleep,” I tell her, trying to keep my voice gentle. “It’s not even five yet.”
Keira shifts beneath the sheets, and the movement draws my attention to how the thin fabric clings to her curves. “I can’t,” she says, her voice low and throaty. “I’m too horny.”
Beside me, Ace lets out a groan that mirrors the one building in my own chest. All thoughts of Russian mobsters and potential threats dissolve instantly, replaced by a much more immediate need.
“Makes three of us, it looks like,” I mutter, watching as Ace strips off his boxers without hesitation. I follow suit, both of us pulling on our achingly hard cocks before letting them slap back against our abs.
The sharp intake of Keira’s breath is all the reward I need. She pulls back the sheets in one fluid motion, revealing her naked body beneath the T-shirt she’d stolen from me. Then she spreads her legs wide, offering herself to us without a word.
“Fuck,” I breathe, the sight of her open and ready sending blood rushing south so fast I feel lightheaded.
The worry about keeping her safe transforms into a need to claim what’s mine, what’s ours, to mark her so thoroughly that anyone would know she belongs to us.
I’m on her in an instant, drawn like a magnet to the sight of those spread thighs. All thoughts of Kozlov, Xavier, and threats evaporate as I grip her thighs and yank her to the edge of the bed.
“Who gets her first?” Ace asks, his voice strained with need.
“Me,” I growl, positioning myself at her entrance. I slide in with one powerful thrust, burying myself to the hilt. Keira gasps, her back arching off the mattress. “Fuck, you’re soaked.”
Her pussy grips me like a vise as I establish a brutal rhythm, watching her tits bounce with each thrust. Ace kneels beside her head, his fingers tangled in her hair as he claims her mouth in a bruising kiss.
“My turn,” Ace says after a minute.
I pull out reluctantly, my cock glistening with her arousal. Before Ace takes my place, I lean down and capture Keira’s mouth. Her tongue dances with mine, eager and demanding.
“Don’t stop,” she whimpers against my mouth.
“We’re just getting started, baby,” I promise, moving aside as Ace positions himself between her thighs.
Ace drives into her with precision, his strokes measured where mine were wild. I watch her face contort with pleasure, her eyes rolling back as he hits that spot that makes her come undone.
“Kiss her,” I command, and Ace bends forward, consuming her moans while maintaining his rhythm.
When he pulls back, I’m already moving into position again. We transition seamlessly, Ace withdrawing as I thrust back in, barely giving her a second to register the change before I’m fucking her hard again.
I claim her mouth this time, swallowing her cries as Ace watches, stroking himself beside us. Her pussy clenches around me, signaling she’s close. I break the kiss.
“Trade,” I tell Ace, who’s already moving to take my place.
We switch again, the movement so fluid it’s like we’re one entity with two bodies. Keira’s eyes are glazed, lost in the continuous pleasure of never being empty for more than a heartbeat.
We switch again, my body replacing Ace’s in one fluid motion. Keira’s heat welcomes me, her walls pulsing around my cock like she’s pulling me deeper. I grab her hips hard enough to bruise, driving into her with an intensity that surprises even me.
It hits me then, watching her face contort with pleasure—this isn’t just fucking anymore. This is something else entirely.
“Mine,” I growl, the word ripping from my throat before I can stop it. “Ours.”
Her eyes lock with mine, clear despite the haze of pleasure. Something passes between us—recognition, acceptance, need. I’ve seen that look before, but only in one other person’s eyes.
Ace.
The realization knocks the breath from my lungs. What started as a hunt, as a conquest, has become something I never expected. Keira matters. Not as a possession, not as a toy—she matters in that bone-deep, visceral way that only Ace has ever mattered before.
I’d kill for her. Die for her. Tear apart anyone who threatened her.
Fuck.
I glance at Ace, finding his gaze already on me.
He sees it too—this shift that’s happened without either of us noticing.
For thirty-one years, it’s been the two of us against the world.
The only person I’d ever sacrifice everything for was my twin.
The only life that mattered besides my own was his.
Now there’s Keira.
When Xavier implied she might be in danger, it wasn’t just anger I felt—it was terror. Gut-wrenching terror that someone might take her from us. From me.
I thrust harder, claiming her body while my mind reels with the revelation. This woman, whom we hunted and claimed like countless others before her, has somehow laid a claim on us.