Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Isla
I have no choice. He can see the truth in my eyes, in my responses.
“I want…” You. “This.”
“Goddamn right.” He fucks me harder.
I’ve never experienced anything this emotionally and physically explosive.
Suddenly Brennan—sweet, protective Brennan—is right there next to me, his ice-blue eyes burning with emotion. His scars are stark in the low light.
My chest tightens at the sight of him—so close, so steady—while Dorian’s relentless rhythm threatens to unravel me.
Brennan kneels beside me, and the mattress shifts under his weight. His presence washes over me, soothing me with a quiet strength that steadies my spinning world.
Very slowly he leans forward to capture my mouth in a hungry and fierce kiss. Then he plunges his tongue inside, tasting my cries .
Under the passionate onslaught of both men, I’m drowning.
Brennan inches his calloused fingers across my skin to find my nipple. At first, he teases it gently, rolling it between his thumb and finger. But then he pinches sharply, arcing a jolt of response through me.
I’m aching with a need I don’t want to feel. Yet I’m powerless to stop it as Dorian stakes his claim while Brennan silently promises everything will be fine.
Dorian tightens his grip and lifts my hips higher off the mattress. His muscles flex under his shirt as he pounds into me.
A low, guttural groan rips from him—primal, unrestrained. Then he momentarily goes still.
I’m impossibly full of him, and I can’t see him at all because Brennan fills my vision completely.
“Fuuuck.” Dorian moans, and he gives a final shudder before spilling into the condom with a force that shakes me. This is different than earlier, more intense and devastating.
With another curse, he pulls out. Then his hands are gone, leaving my hips to drop to the bed.
Moments later, Brennan ends the kiss.
As he eases away, he strokes my hair back from my forehead.
My body is bare, and I’m wide open, sprawled in front of them, and the realization makes me pull my legs together.
My body is damp from exertion, and my chest heaves as I struggle to draw air. I’m wrecked—raw inside and out. My pulse races, as if I’m caught in a storm I can’t escape.
Dorian looms over me, raking his gaze down my body. His breaths are heavy and uneven.
After stalking into the bathroom and returning without a condom, he grabs a robe from the chair.
The material rustles as he yanks it on. Then he ties it loosely around his waist. “That’ll be enough for now.” His words are delivered with a bone-chilling cold.
He stalks out, and the door bangs shut behind him with a force that rattles the frame.
Humiliated, I grab hold of my lapels, drawing my robe around me as I turn onto my side and curl up into myself. Dorian was dismissive and cruel, as if I’m nothing more than a toy he’s done playing with.
“He’s a fucking prick.” Brennan leaves the bed, just long enough to pick me up and situate me on a pillow. Then he traces my lips with his thumb. “I’m sorry for the way he treated you.”
“You had nothing to do with it.”
“The argument did.” For a moment, he glances at the door. “I haven’t seen him like this since…”
The words hang between us. “Since?” I prompt.
He shakes his head. “It was a long time ago.”
“I’m his wife.”
Silence, except for the sounds of Dorian in the other room, hang between us.
“Don’t I have the right to know?”
“He’ll tell you when he’s ready.”
I sigh in frustration.
“Doesn’t excuse any of this.” He shakes his head slowly, exasperation etched on his face.
He flexes his fingers, as if he’s holding back the urge to chase after Dorian and have a conversation using fists.
“How about a bath after…” He seems to struggle to complete his sentence. “That.”
I couldn’t have come up with a better word. There’s really no way to describe what had happened between the three of us.
And since I’m now chilled and I feel used, I nod. There’s no way I’ll find sleep anytime soon, and I definitely need to unwind.
Gently Brennan lifts me from the bed. In contrast with Dorian’s earlier manhandling, Brennan’s arms are strong but comforting as he cradles me against his chest. Appreciating that, I rest my head on his shoulders.
He places me on the counter, and I snuggle deeper into my robe.
As I watch, he runs the water and tests the temperature multiple times before finally turning off the faucets.
“Ready?”
He helps me from my marble perch. After everything that’s happened, I’m surprised that I feel a little self-conscious to untie the knot at my waist and stand in front of him naked.
“It’ll get cold.”
Probably not anytime soon with the way steam rises from the surface.
“Do you want the rest of your champagne? Or I could pour you a fresh glass since the other has been sitting for so long.”
“Thanks. But no.” When it comes to Dorian, I need to keep a clear head.
“You want to be alone?”
“I…”
Waiting, he folds his arms and cocks an eyebrow, showing he’s listening.
“Is he always like that? Dorian, I mean.”
“Like…?”
“The argument the two of you had.” The intensity had rocked her. She’d never seen such a raw display of male aggression and hoped never to again. “You two are friends.” At least that’s what I thought .
His hands flex, scars catching the light. “We have a complicated history.”
I’m willing to bet that’s an understatement.
“But there’s loyalty there. On both sides. I’ve fought for him before.” He pauses. “And paid the price. I’d die for the man.”
Steely conviction bites through his statement, and I know he means every word. Once more, I wonder what kind of mad world I’ve stepped into.
“Anything else?” he asks.
Everything and nothing. “I’m good.” It’s a fib, but my thoughts are so crowded I can’t pick out any of the threads.
“I’ll leave you to it then.”
“Thanks.” I appreciate his perception and consideration.
“If you need me…”
I won’t . But I don’t have the heart to say that out loud, so I settle for giving him a half smile.
Once he’s gone, I lock the door behind him. Not that Dorian would let a little thing like that stop him if he decided he wanted me.
I finally sink into the bath, muscles loosening as warmth seeps into my bones and chases away the horrible feelings that making love with Dorian caused.
Making love? I scoff. That was sex. Or worse.
Everything that’s happened in the last day and a half overwhelms me.
What the hell had I been thinking, challenging Dorian like that?
That behavior is so unlike me.
But maybe I am just tired of people telling me what to do and then doing what they say like some mindless puppet. I’ve had enough.
Yet I wasn’t prepared for the chaos I unleashed .
I could have crept back into bed. I could have kept my mouth shut. I could have backed down and apologized.
If I had it all to do over again, I’d make different choices.
Tipping my head back, I force out a slight laugh. No. Actually I wouldn’t.
My father may have sold me to the billionaire and his criminal sidekick, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be a compliant, obedient woman who hides in the shadows.
I sink deeper into the water, letting it cradle me, holding me together even though I feel like I might fall apart.
Later, after I’ve reheated the water a couple of times, I begin to yawn. Then I hear the men’s voices in the bedroom.
“Damn it.”
I should have gotten out a few minutes earlier and dived under the blankets and pretended to be asleep so I didn’t have to deal with them. Now it’s too late.
After draining the water and drying off, I wrap my still-damp body in my robe again. I cinch it tight. Then I double knot it so it’s not easy to get off.
And once again I scoff at my own actions.
If I have learned one thing tonight, it’s that Dorian will take what he wants.
Before leaving the bathroom, I catch my reflection in the faintly steamed mirror. My cheeks are flushed, my hair is a tangled mess, and my eyes are a confusing mix of defiance, exhaustion, and…
The truth is there in my gaze.
Desire.
Despite the way he’d discarded me at the end, Dorian had brought me off before he came. And his passion… I’d inflamed it. Intentionally. And a terrible part of me still craves him.
Steeling myself, I join the men .
Brennan is standing on the far side of the bed, and Dorian is closest to me. “You’re in the middle.”
Of course he’d insist on that again.
“Get in.”
Shaking slightly, I move toward him.
“You’ll sleep naked.”
“I…” I blink and look up at him.
“Do you want to argue?”
For a wild, foolish moment, I consider my answer. Yes. “No.” God knows what he’d do. Spank me like he’d threatened to do earlier?
As I struggle to untie the belt, I wish I hadn’t done such a good job of knotting it.
In an instant, he’s in front of me, brushing my fingers aside. “Let me.”
In seconds, the ends fall apart. Then he shucks the material from my shoulders, allowing it to pool on the floor.
“After you.”
My nipples harden, and I tell myself it’s from the cool night air. But I know differently.
Brennan slides onto the mattress, and I follow, instinctively pressing against him so I can keep as much space between me and Dorian as possible.
“He’s not going to save you.”
“Fuck if I won’t,” Brennan challenges, clamping an arm around my waist and holding me tight.
Dorian chuckles, the sound low and dark.
Against my backside, Brennan’s cock grows and thickens.
After turning out the lamp, Dorian climbs onto the bed and wedges himself against me, his hard ass against my belly. He’s a solid wall of muscular mass. Once again, he’s proved himself right. Nothing and no one can protect me from Dorian’s wrath.
Since I’m trapped between them, my body is buzzing, and my mind is racing. Despite the warm bath, sleep seems impossible.
“If you still have energy…” Dorian has read me perfectly.
“No!”
When I blink my eyes open, the room is flooded in golden light.
The rich, dark scent of coffee curls through the air—bitter and roasted, teasing me awake.