Chapter 17
17
ALARIC
T here are two women living in my house. I’ve never lived with women before, not since I ran away from home at sixteen, but even before then, my mother was barely present and never attentive.
So I don’t exactly know what I’m doing.
Birdie and Violet have been here less than eight hours, and they’re both either mad at me or avoiding me. I’ve been hiding in my office long enough, but there are no pressing issues to keep me here. Which means I have to walk out there at some point.
My house staff has dinner ready at seven every night, and when I glance down to see my watch displaying half past, I know I can’t avoid them forever.
I’m supposed to be convincing Birdie to stay, but after that short interaction with Violet, I’m feeling like shit about it. I care about Violet. So actively trying to take away the only person she cares about feels too cruel, even for me.
Having a conscience doesn’t suit me. It’s getting in the way. Maybe I should just give them both a parting gift of a few hundred thousand dollars and be done with this.
But, deep down, I know what I want. It’s just not easy expressing it.
Rising from my desk, I slip my phone into my pocket and head to the door of my office.
“Dinner is ready, Mr. Stone,” my housekeeper says politely as I step into the hallway.
“Thank you,” I mutter in response. “Where are our guests?” I loosen my tie as I stride toward the dining room.
“Miss Violet is still in her room, and Miss Birdie is…taking a bath.”
I turn my head toward her. “Why did you say it like that?”
My normally cool-headed housekeeper looks a little uneasy. “Because she took two bottles of wine in there and shut the door.”
With a growl, I halt in my tracks. Ripping my tie from around my neck, I spin around and storm toward the main bathroom, the only room with a soaker tub. As I burst into my bedroom, I pause when I see a pair of light-pink lace panties strewn on the floor next to a black bra.
I don’t bother knocking.
Tearing open the door, I scowl at the girl up to her nose in bubbles. She lets out a yelp and then is lost in a fit of giggles.
“I found the wine,” she calls out before taking a long swig straight from the bottle.
“That is over a thousand dollars a bottle,” I say, shutting the door behind me. I step farther into the warm, rose-scented bathroom.
“Add it to my tab,” she replies with a slur. “Two million, one thousand dollars.”
Shaking my head, I undo each button of my shirt and slip off each of my shoes.
When she notices my actions, she slants her head. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting in,” I reply.
Emphatically, she shakes her head. “No. You can’t. I have a girlfriend.”
I hang my shirt on the hook and start on the button of my pants. “I didn’t say I was going to fuck you. I’m just getting in my own bathtub, Princess.”
“She’s going to kill you,” Birdie replies with a hiccup.
“I’d like to see her try.” With a chuckle, I slide my pants down. And when I pull my boxer briefs with them, I watch the way Birdie’s eyes catch on the length of my cock, hanging half hard between my legs.
Her eyes don’t leave my dick, even as I slide into the large soaker tub across from her.
“Are they all that big?” she mutters to herself.
My brow furrows. “Are what all that big?”
She bites her lip, and her cheeks turn red. “You know…” She giggles again, and I can’t help but smile in return.
I know exactly what she means, but I can’t resist the temptation to mess with her a little. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can you be more specific?”
She widens her eyes before glancing down. After a moment of struggling, she finally stammers, “P-penises.”
Leaning my back against the tub, I can’t help but stare at her with affection. I’ve never met anyone like Birdie before. So innocent, and yet so curious. I’m torn between wanting to protect her innocence and shattering it beyond repair.
“Cocks,” she adds so quietly I barely hear her. “Dicks. Wieners. Shafts.”
“Are you done?” I ask.
She tries to hide sheepishly under the bubbles as she nods.
“To answer your question—I don’t know,” I reply with snark. “This is the only one I’ve seen up close.”
“Me too,” she says before taking another swig. “I’ve seen pictures and videos on the internet, of course, but it’s different seeing it in person.”
My eyes lift at her casual admission that she occasionally watches porn, but I don’t press it because I don’t want to embarrass her.
“Would you like to touch it again?” I ask with a tilted smirk.
She shakes her head. “I told you no.”
“For now,” I reply. Leaning back, I drape my arms over the side of the tub.
“Forever,” she adds weakly.
Leaning my head back and letting the steam relax me, I smile. “Sure.” I snatch the bottle of wine and take a long drink. It’s a sweeter white wine, and honestly, I’m glad she’s drinking it. I don’t even know why I have it. I like my wine red and dry.
“I think my housekeeper bought this for special occasions,” I say before taking another drink.
“What could be more special than spending two million dollars on a wife?” Birdie says as she reaches over me to take the bottle back.
“I did that to save you.” I give her a furrowed-brow glare.
“Did you, though?” she asks, leaning her back on the opposite side. “You seemed awfully eager to save me. Two million! ” she bellows in a low, raspy imitation.
I growl with a grimace. “I had to get you away from those fucking monsters parading you around like cattle at the market.”
She’s biting back a smile. “Careful, Mr. Stone. You’re starting to sound a little heroic again.”
My brows pinch even further together. I’m not a good guy. Can’t I just care about this sweet girl without all the name-calling?
Her eyes study me for a moment before she speaks up again. “That night…before they came in to watch,” she starts. Then she takes another swig in the middle of her sentence. “You said you wanted to fuck me. And that you would be sweet and gentle, even though you didn’t want to be.”
My cock twitches at the sound of her saying that phrase: fuck me .
“Yeah?” I say, trying to keep my cool.
“Well, for what it’s worth…you were very sweet and gentle with me that night.”
“And? That took a lot of restraint, but I told you I wouldn’t hurt you.”
She’s staring at me with fuzzy focus, her bottom lip pinched between her teeth. Leaning forward, I snatch the wine from her hand again and bring it to my lips. As I sit back, I keep it with me.
“What’s on your mind, Princess?” My leg brushes hers, and she leans into the touch instead of pulling away.
When she doesn’t answer, I laugh to myself, lifting the bottle again. After pulling another swig, I look at her with a lazy grin. “You’re thinking about me fucking you, aren’t you? Or…you were thinking about last night when I was rougher with you.”
She scoffs. “I am not!”
With a chuckle, I shake my head. “You clearly are.”
When she tries to fight her laughter, she fails, and it slips out through her perfectly full lips. When she launches herself toward me to grab the wine, it takes me by surprise. I lift the bottle out of her reach, and she falls forward, landing straight in my lap. Her hand comes down to catch her fall and lands directly on my cock.
She squeals and immediately tries to climb off me, acting like my dick could kill her. Instead of letting her get away, I snatch her by the hips and haul her onto my lap, each of her legs straddling me.
“Alaric!” she gasps in a sultry whisper.
Her weight settles on my thighs, her legs parted, and her cunt just inches away from my thick erection. And just like that, her fight to escape my clutches dies.
Her eyes meet mine, and her lips part, breathing heavily as she stares down at me. Slowly, I bring the wine bottle to her lips, feeding it to her. Her gaze never leaves my face. Wine dribbles over her lips and down her chin, landing in the bubbles.
Her hair is pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head, her cheeks red from the heat. And her features are so perfect and sweet, it distracts me from the fullness of her tits in my face.
“You like it rough, Princess? Want me to remind you how it can be?”
Unconvincingly, she shakes her head. “I can’t.”
There’s something about the sincerity in her response that stops me from trying to convince her. If I wanted to have her panting and stuffed full of my cock, I could have it. I know it.
Something is stopping me, and I’m not stupid. I know exactly what my holdup is.
I can’t do this to Violet.
Noticing my hesitation, Birdie climbs off my lap and takes her spot on the opposite end of the bathtub.
When the bathroom door bursts open, Birdie squeals and covers her breasts.
“What the fuck,” Violet barks when she sees me and her girlfriend soaking together in a hot bath.
“Wine?” I reply, holding up the bottle.
She scowls at me and then at Birdie. “Is she drunk?” Violet asks.
I hold the wine bottle to my lips, taking the last swig left. “Yes, but in my defense, she was already drunk when I got here.”
Violet snatches a lush white towel from the counter and walks toward us, holding it out for Birdie. “Get out. You need to eat something.”
Birdie scoffs. “You are not my mother.”
“You’re goddamn right I’m not, but I’m about to spank you anyway,” Violet snaps through gritted teeth.
My smirk deepens. “Can I watch?”
“You shut up,” Violet yells at me.
Birdie crosses her arms and sinks deeper beneath the bubbles. “I’m not getting out, Violet. I’m perfectly fine in here, and you know Clarissa never let me relax like this. And she rarely ever let me have wine.”
She reaches for the other bottle and the corkscrew on the shelf next to her. I watch as she fumbles to screw it in, and I wince at how poorly she’s doing.
Violet is wearing a sympathetic expression but lets out an annoyed sound. “Give it to me.” Birdie hands over the wine and corkscrew with a soft, drunk expression. Violet screws into the cork correctly and yanks it out with a pop. “Here.” She hands the bottle back to Birdie, who smiles up at her with a cheesy grin.
“Thank you,” she murmurs before taking a drink. “Two million, two thousand dollars,” she adds, looking at me with a wink.
My heart swells in my chest. Why must she be so cute?
Violet stares down at both of us for a moment, her lips pressed together in irritation. Then, with a groan, she reaches for the hem of her black shirt and tears it over her head. I can’t steal my eyes away from her as she undresses, remembering how every inch of her body felt under my touch and my tongue.
Once she’s completely naked, she scolds us with a harsh command. “Move over.”
“Yay,” Birdie croons as Violet slides into the bath next to her.
The water rises with her body added to the tub, nearly spilling over. Not that I care. It fits the three of us easily. My legs are outstretched, trapped between their bodies.
Violet snatches the wine bottle from her stepsister and takes a swig. When she brings it down, she stares at me with narrowed eyes. “I bet you’re really loving this.”
I can’t help but smile. “I’m not hating it.”
“Do you want to watch us kiss, sir?” Birdie says with a drunken slur. She gives me a waggle of her brows, and it makes me laugh. She’s playing with me, using that title for me again.
“No, Birdie,” Violet says with a shake of her head. “You are too drunk, and we are not playing that game.”
“It sounds like a dangerous game,” I reply in a low, sarcastic tone.
“Don’t start.” Violet points a black-painted nail in my direction.
“Hey,” Birdie murmurs. “We’ve had sex,” she says to Violet. “And we’ve had sex,” she says to me. “And you two have had sex. We’re like a sex triangle.”
I watch as Violet manages to laugh a little but quickly bites it back.
“I don’t think Violet shares well, though,” I say, draping my arms over the back of the tub again.
Birdie shakes her head with her brow furrowed. “She doesn’t share well at all. She wants me all to herself.”
Violet clenches her jaw as Birdie rests her head on Violet’s shoulder. I watch as Birdie’s eyes flutter drunkenly. She’s going to pass out at any minute.
“You should learn to share, Violet,” I say softly as I watch Birdie fall asleep.
Violet licks her lips as her eyes stay glued to my face. I can almost see the wheels turning in her head. Am I a shameless asshole for even suggesting this? Probably.
But I am only a man. In a tub with two beautiful naked women.
And judging by the way Violet is staring at me, she’s thinking about it too.
Just then, Birdie’s head slides off Violet’s shoulder, landing face-first in the water. She’s so drunk, she barely even wakes up.
“Let’s get her to bed,” I say as I stand from the bath and reach for the towels. Climbing out, I quickly dry myself off and wrap a towel around my waist.
Leaning over, I slide my arms under Birdie’s naked body and hoist her out of the water. Violet quickly follows, draping a towel over Birdie before grabbing another towel for herself.
Once Birdie is dry, I carry her out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. Setting her on the bed, I ease her warm, naked body under the covers. She turns on her side and mumbles something before falling asleep on the pillows.
Standing up, I find Violet giving me a harsh glare.
“If she’s sleeping in here with you, then so am I,” she says, climbing in the middle. She’s still wrapped in her towel, but she obviously doesn’t trust me alone with Birdie long enough to even go put on pajamas.
I shrug before switching off the light and climbing into the bed behind Violet.
She faces me, curling her arm under her head. “Don’t get any ideas, Alaric. We’re not both staying forever.”
“Don’t you get any ideas,” I reply, brushing a drop of moisture from her shoulder. “You’re not both leaving.”