Esme
Had I hoped my three daddies would be at Inferno?
Honestly, I didn’t know. Was I pleased they were watching me with a hunger I’d ached for the first time I saw them? Again, I wasn’t sure of my answer.
Was I pissed with them?
Abso-fucking-lutely.
How dare they deny me that first night, disappear with my sister, and show up now, giving me those heated glances. Enculés , all three of them.
Choosing to ignore them, I noticed the avid attention of many other men around us. But where the three daddies had caused a blaze deep in my belly, everyone else left me feeling nothing. Telling myself it was because I was angry with them, I decided to put on a show for our new fan club.
Amelia kept watching the fourth man with the daddies. He was hot—I would admit that. With a complexion that was several shades darker than Amelia’s and those dark lashes that fanned around his hazel eyes, he was worth a second and a third glance. But as with everyone else except the three daddies, I felt nothing stir inside me when it came to him. Which was a good thing, because I wasn’t about to ruin my relationship with my bestie over some stupid guy.
No matter how hard Amelia tried to pay attention to me, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing over my shoulder every ten seconds. Knowing I would have the same difficulties with the three beast-sized men, whom I definitely did not want to see, I turned so my back was to the group. But I couldn’t resist teasing my bestie. “Have you seen something you like, Lia?”
Pink filled her cheeks, and she shrugged before swiping her finger through the decadent whipped cream topping of the drink the bartender had placed in front of her. As she licked away the sweetness, it was impossible to miss the groan from someone close by. She picked up her drink, her lashes fluttering down to hide the sudden flare of devilment in her lovely green eyes.
Yes! I was thrilled to see this side of her. Her awful family forced her to hide that part of herself, and I hated them all for it. All they did was tear her down—when they weren’t outright ignoring her existence. If I’d thought even for a moment that this club would give Amelia such confidence, I would have brought her there sooner.
Amelia picked up her drink and tossed it back, getting cream all over her lips. She licked it away, and I could feel the men around us moving closer. Whether it was unconscious or not, I didn’t care. I wanted them to surround us, close us off from the three daddies who were still keeping their distance.
Had they stayed away from Eloise so easily?
Refusing to give my sister so much space in my mind, I shook away the thought with a laugh. “That’s not how you drink that. Let me show you.”
Keeping my hands at my sides, I bent and wrapped my lips around the shot glass. The fluffy sweetness of the whipped cream hit my tongue. Tossing my head back, I swallowed and quickly replaced the glass on the bar top. As I straightened, I shot Amelia a wink while enjoying the impassioned groans of our audience.
“Yeah, I’m not doing that. I prefer my way,” Amelia said with a soft laugh.
I took in the crowd that had joined us at the bar. At least ten men were within range to touch, but not a single one of them were my daddies. Telling myself that was fine, it was exactly what I wanted, I licked my lips and was rewarded with a smoldering look from the man closest to my right. If I couldn’t have the attention of the daddies, I’d be happy with the attention of everyone else.
Lying to myself was not a talent I excelled at.
Skimming my tongue over my bottom lip to clear away any traces of the sticky, messy drink, I returned my focus to Amelia. “Your way was much sexier. But let’s get unbiased opinions to judge our techniques.” I pointed to a random man behind her. “Who shot it better?”
“Depends on what you’re trying to accomplish.” As if my asking him a question gave him permission to get closer, he leaned an arm on the bar top, crowding Amelia a little. She tensed and inched closer to me. “If you want to show us you can deep-throat it, your way was definitely the correct form. But if you want us to know you like to have your beautiful face dirtied up, then this angel’s way was the superior form.”
Pretending to consider his input, I tapped a finger to my chin. I was having way too much fun with this to stop it so soon. “This requires further experimentation. Bartender! Another round for me and my girl.”
Our bartender poured the drinks. Beside me, Amelia shifted closer to me in an attempt to get away from the guy I’d asked for an opinion on our skills. I discreetly grasped her hand and switched places with her, giving my new friend a sultry look from beneath my lashes to distract him so he didn’t try to follow her. If he did, I’d clip him in the balls. When he only grinned down at me, I relaxed a little. Otto and Astro were skulking around somewhere close by, out of sight so we could have our fun, but all it would take were a few taps on my smartwatch and they would unleash upon anyone who attempted to so much as touch me.
Once I was sure Amelia was comfortable, I watched the bartender squirt dollops of whipped cream on top of our drinks. Amelia reached for hers, ready to shoot it again, but I stopped her. “No. First, we’re both going to do it my way, then we will do it your way. Everyone votes. Majority winner is how we shoot them for the rest of the night.”
Uncertainty flickered through her eyes, but she nodded, her gaze going around the crowd until it landed on the hazel eyes of the man she’d been checking out practically from the time we’d crossed over to Inferno. Like the other men near us, he’d moved closer.
And, of course, my three daddies were with him.
Not my daddies.
They weren’t my anything. Not if Eloise had already had them.
A shudder went through me at the thought of my sister getting even a taste of them. First. Second. Last. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t fucking think clearly when it came to her being near them.
Plastering a smile on my face, I instructed Amelia, “Hands behind your back. No cheating.”
She rolled her eyes at me and did as I said before we both lowered our heads. Amelia coughed as she tossed back her head, the whipped cream and alcohol tickling her throat. I downed mine and returned the glass back to the bar top, quickly licking away the trace of cream I felt on my top lip. When I looked over at my friend, she was already being tended to by the hot stranger she’d been fascinated with. Wordlessly, he wiped her chin with a napkin while she cleaned up the stream down her neck where she’d spilled some of the blow job shot from her mouth.
She was so besotted, I didn’t think she saw anyone else except him. But I saw beyond him to his friends and instantly felt a flare of energy jolt through my entire body. Mr. Bear was so close, all I would have to do was step around Amelia to get to him. His dark eyes traveled over me in a rush, sending heat flooding through my veins. Holding back a gasp, I attempt to look away, only to get caught in the snare of Mr. Panther. What felt like a hum of electricity started pulsing right below the surface of my skin. Blinking against the fog that seemed to be dimming my sight, I shifted my head and was hit by Mr. Golden Lion’s smile.
That smile should have been outlawed. It went straight to my head, trying to block out every ounce of common sense. I swallowed hard, a voice in the back of my mind attempting to remind me that they were Eloise’s. But damn it, that voice kept getting fainter with each passing second.
Stop it!
Calling upon the last of my willpower, I let my hair fall forward in hopes of blocking out the three daddies. Out of sight, out of mind. Right?
So, so wrong.
“Line ’em up again!” I told the bartender, causing everyone around us to cheer.
Don’t look at them. Don’t you dare look at them.
Easier said than done. Sweat began to bead on my skin from the effort it took to resist the impulse to look at them again. As soon as the drinks were poured, I picked them up and offered one to Amelia. “Ready?”
Her green gaze returned to the man at her side. “So ready.”
“One. Two. Three, shoot.” Tossing the drink back, I made sure to be as messy as possible without—hopefully—looking like an idiot. From the rumble of male groans and appreciation from all sides, I figured that was a safe bet. I grinned widely at those closest to me. “Show of hands! Option A, my way?”
Almost half the crowd lifted their hands. A heaviness filled my chest when I saw that the three daddies hadn’t raised theirs. I pretended to count, skipping over the big men. “Now, Option B, Lia’s way.”
More hands went up, and I was not the least bit pleased when the daddies didn’t raise their hands yet again. But Amelia’s doting admirer sure as hell did, which had a genuine laugh bubbling forward. “You win, Lia.” I gave in gracefully.
“Another round,” someone directly behind me called out. Several other women moved in on either side of Amelia and me, wanting to partake in our fun. Amelia took another shot with us but then requested a glass of water from the bartender. I gave an approving nod, glad she’d decided to cut herself off so she could keep a clear head about the man showing her so much attention.
I wanted her to have a good time. She could indulge in whatever debauchery she pleased, but I didn’t want her to have regrets.
And I promised myself I wouldn’t either.
Leaning on the bar top, well aware the undersides of my ass cheeks were on display, I tapped my nails on the smooth surface, giving the man to my left a sultry glance. He wasn’t as old as any of the daddies. If I had to guess, I would say late twenties at the most. He was good-looking in that surface kind of way that so many men were able to pull off. But that was all it was. It didn’t go past that. I could see in his eyes that he lacked what I needed. Brown hair styled back from his face, expensive suit, nice shoes.
There was no sprinkling of gray in his hair like Mr. Bear. Or laugh lines around his eyes like Mr. Golden Lion. He didn’t carry himself with nearly as much confidence as Mr. Panther. And while he left me feeling absolutely nothing, I knew how to make myself feel good. All I needed was a dick to ride. He wasn’t Mr. Right, but he could be Mr. Right-Now. “It’s been a long, rough week. I’m in need of something hard to help me unwind tonight. What do you suggest?”
He dipped his head closer to me, his breath brushing over my cheek. But before he could whisper a suggestion in my ear, he was abruptly gone. All the air felt like it was being forced from my lungs as I looked up into Mr. Bear’s dark eyes. My heart stopped, only to give a painful double beat in the next moment.
Inhaling sharply, I was overwhelmed with his scent. Fresh and earthy, like a cool spring day in the middle of a forest. Yet his eyes were ablaze, basking me in his heat.
I didn’t want to react to his nearness. Hated that my body so happily snapped to attention before him. He was mere inches away, no part of him brushing against me, but my entire body had goose bumps.
“Another drink, Mr. Barclay?” the bartender asked.
“Water,” he growled.
Ah fuck, he growled.
It was deep and rough, and that was exactly how I wanted him. On me. In me. All night long.
“For the lady as well. She’s cut off from anything containing alcohol for the remainder of the night.”
I shivered at the sound of another voice, so close to my ear. It took strength to shift my gaze from Mr. Bear to Mr. Panther, who had moved in behind me. His breath caused a few locks of my hair to tickle across my cheek, and I almost whined at the ripples of pleasure that rolled through me.
Until I realized what he said and thankfully returned to my senses. Turning so my back was against the bar, I shot Mr. Panther a scathing look. I spoke to the bartender. “I might be a little tipsy, but I am not drunk. There is no reason to cut me off.”
Rainstorm-gray eyes glimmered with a flash of lightning. “You’re going to hydrate or be escorted out.”
“Yeah? By whom, you?” I challenged. “Do you own this place?”
“I know the owner,” he said with a shrug.
“So does my father, and yet I’m not throwing that weight around like a bag of dicks to cut you off. Don’t attempt to micromanage me, asshole. You won’t like the consequences.”
“Your father is a friend of T.M. Pearson?” Mr. Golden Lion purred, moving in to stand right in front of me. “And who might he be, little vixen?”
Too close. Too close. Too close.
Not close enough!
I inwardly warred with myself, simultaneously hating and loving their nearness. Being surrounded by their body heat. Having their scents tease my nose felt like I was getting a contact buzz. It took everything inside me not to press my face into their chests one at a time and sniff them.
“Arnaud Barbier,” I supplied before I stopped to consider the repercussions. Damn it. I never threw Papa’s name around. If I was somewhere that our family had a membership or an open tab, I had to give his name and then any security codes for verification. But I didn’t go around announcing who either of my parents was.
That was one of the few things Eloise and I both agreed on. We didn’t want to go through life being given anything based on our family’s social status and wealth. People got weird when they knew our lineage for many reasons, rarely anything good. We never knew who was friend or foe, which could go either way when push came to shove.
Regretting the slip, I peered from one daddy’s face to another, searching for a reaction. Mr. Bear and Mr. Panther appeared unmoved by the name-drop, but I didn’t let myself relax. No reaction was still a reaction and something that people could hide behind. I would have been more at ease if they had shown a flicker of recognition. Arnaud Barbier was a name that anyone who could afford a membership into Inferno would know well. Someone didn’t have that kind of money without knowing who my father was.
And if they were hooking up with my sister, then they would definitely know him. Eloise wouldn’t toss the Barbier name out to a crowd, but she would let the three daddies she was fucking know her full name.
“Arnaud has two daughters,” Mr. Golden Lion said, dipping his head so we were sharing the same air. “Which one are you?”
I frowned, sure this was a trick question. “.”
“.” Mr. Bear—Barclay, whatever—growled my name.
I seriously needed him to stop those rumbling sounds. They were too intoxicating. I wanted to crawl beneath his skin and live there so I could always have access to all his grumbles and growls and huffs.
“Hello, little ,” Mr. Panther murmured.
“Hi,” I breathed and then quickly shook my head. Stop it, Es. “I’m sure Eloise has told you three all about our parents.”
“Who?” Mr. Panther asked, his brows drawing together.
I glowered up at him. “Eloise. My older sister. You know…” Confusion swirled in his eyes, and I paused. “She comes here often.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, little love. I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Hope twisted in my chest. “You don’t know Eloise? About an inch or two shorter than me. Honey-blond hair. Light-brown eyes. Has a birthmark on the inside of her left thigh.”
I’d never seen biological sisters look less alike than Eloise and me. No one could possibly say either of us wasn’t beautiful. As much as my sister made me want to choke the life out of her, I did love her and thought she was gorgeous.
We were both combinations of our parents in different ways. I’d gotten my facial features from our mother, while my hair and eyes came directly from Papa. Eloise had gotten her slightly smaller height from Maman , while getting the shape of her chin and nose from Papa. From old family pictures, Eloise had looked almost identical to Papa’s sister practically from the time she was born.
Mr. Panther’s lips tilted up in amusement. Of the three of them, he had the least aggression coming off him. But that was a problem for me. I wanted them to be aggressive over me. Possessive. Territorial. I wanted them so obsessed they couldn’t bear to have me out of their sight for more than two minutes without their sanity taking a direct hit.
“Just because this is a sex club doesn’t mean we’ve seen every member naked. I apologize if you think we’re disrespecting someone you care about, but the woman you just described could be any number of women who frequent Inferno. But I honestly have no idea who you are talking about. Plus, blondes aren’t my type.”
Fighting the growing yearning for him to be speaking the truth, I searched his face for a moment before doing the same to Mr. Bear. Nothing on his face made me think he knew who Eloise was. “Are you sure you don’t know Eloise?”
“I’m unsure why you think we know her,” Mr. Golden Lion said, tucking a few locks behind my ear and then taking advantage so he could skim his fingertips down my cheek and neck until he reached the top of my dress. He traced his index finger over the top of my cleavage. And my body, that in-heat bitch, arched under his touch.
Perhaps I wanted to believe that they had no clue who my sister was. Had Eloise lied to me? It wasn’t implausible. She could have seen how affected I was and used her knowledge of who they were to push my buttons. Remembering that hate-filled gleefulness in her eyes gave me reason to suspect she had done just that to cause me pain.
Maybe, just maybe, it was nothing more than a coincidence that they all walked over to Inferno from the Ignite side that night.
While I was still debating that possibility, Mr. Golden Lion stepped closer, blocking me in completely. Both his giant hands brushed along my body, memorizing the shape, firm heaviness of some areas, the softness of others. Swallowing a moan, I tipped my head back so I could look at all three of them better, drinking in the sight of each one.
I’d think of ways to kill my sister for lying to me later. For the moment, I wanted to soak up being in front of the three daddies who had been starring in all my fantasies. Having their full attention. Basking in their touches and hungry gazes.
If Eloise wasn’t with them—and, by their own admissions, she wasn’t. Hell, they didn’t even know who she was—then it was okay for me to have a little fun with them.
“What brings you to Inferno, Barbier?” Mr. Golden Lion asked, a playful glitter in his eyes.
“I want to be fucked.” I cocked a brow at him. “Why else would I be in a sex club?”
Mr. Bear snarled something that was too low for me to understand, pushing in closer. His front pressed to my side, his head dropping so his face was buried in my hair. I couldn’t hold back my moan. This was where he belonged. Where he should have been from that very first night I’d spotted him and his friends across the club.
He inhaled sharply, one hand going to my throat in a way that had my body melting into his. I hadn’t given much thought to someone giving me a five-finger necklace, but damn if it didn’t send a rush of pleasure straight through me, soaking my panties. “You came here in search of a fuck?” he rasped, that growly voice full of a possessiveness that sent a delicious shiver down my back.
“Yes,” I answered honestly—defiantly…and only a tiny bit breathlessly.
That aggression I loved so much doubled, his mouth finding and nuzzling my ear before giving it a sharp nip. “You would have let anyone touch you?”
“Maybe,” I sassed, not lying to him. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if Mr. Bear hadn’t extracted the guy I’d been talking to earlier. I’d been considering having sex with the man, but he hadn’t given me so much as a small spark of attraction. Still, I’d come to Inferno in an attempt to fuck my three daddies out of my head.
His fingers tightened, not quite obstructing my airflow but letting me know he was very much the one in control. “Wrong answer, .”