33. Chapter 33
Victor
The club pulses with music and conversation around us, but it barely registers as I stare at the vision before me.
Grace kneels on a leather mat, wrists bound in front of her with black rope. Lili stands beside my chair, my hand resting possessively on her hip. Both women are stripped down to the lingerie from the final images in the album. I requested that they wear it tonight, and of course they obeyed.
The album sits on the table beside me. Open to the last page. The image of Grace kissing one of the scars on Lili’s thighs.
I stand and circle Grace, letting my fingers trail across her shoulder, down her spine. She shivers.
“You gave me something tonight,” I say, voice low enough that only they can hear. “Something vulnerable. It’s the best birthday gift I’ve ever received.”
I stop behind Lili and press my mouth to her ear. “Now I’m going to take what’s mine.”
Lili’s breath catches. Grace’s head bows lower.
I retrieve the implements I’ve prepared. A leather paddle and flogger for impact. A small, sharp blade for a ritual I’ve wanted to enact for a long time. Alcohol wipes. Gauze. Everything laid out with precision.
I start with Grace. The paddle connects with her ass in a sharp crack, and she gasps. Three more strikes, evenly spaced, until her skin flushes pink beneath the fabric of her thong.
“Count,” I order.
“One. Two. Three. Four.”
I move to Lili. She meets my eyes, chin lifted, and I see the challenge there. She wants this. Needs it.
The paddle lands harder on her flesh. She takes each strike without flinching, though her fingers curl into fists.
“Good girl,” I murmur. Both of them respond to that. Grace’s back arches. Lili’s lips part.
I set the paddle aside and pick up the blade.
“We talked about this,” I say, turning the steel so it catches the dim light. “Are you still willing, Spitfire?”
Lili nods. “Yes, Sir.”
I position myself behind Lili first. My hand slides up her thigh, fingers ghosting over the scars that another man left on her skin. She tenses.
“These don’t belong to him anymore,” I say, staring up at her. “Tonight, I’m reclaiming them.”
I press the blade flat against her skin, not cutting, just letting the cold of the metal register. She exhales.
“Do you trust me?”
“With everything.”
I angle the blade and make a shallow cut parallel to one of the tooth marks. Not deep enough to cause serious damage. Just enough to draw blood.
Lili hisses through her teeth, then moans. The sound goes straight to my cock. But I tell him to settle down. This isn’t about me. Not exactly.
I lower my mouth to the cut and taste copper on my tongue. Her body shudders beneath my hands.
“That’s it,” I murmur against her skin. “Feel me marking you. Claiming you.”
I repeat the process next to each of the angriest scars. When I’m done, there are six fresh cuts on her inner thighs, each oozing with bright red blood.
“Grace,” I command. “Come here.”
She rises from her knees and crosses to us, eyes wide.
“Kiss her scars. The new ones.”
Grace kneels between Lili’s thighs and lowers her mouth to the fresh cuts. Lili cries out, the sensation clearly overwhelming. Grace’s tongue traces the blood, and I watch them both, my hand working the buckle of my belt.
“Good girl,” I tell Grace. “Now make her come.”
Grace adjusts her position and slides her fingers between Lili’s legs while her mouth continues its worship. Lili grips my shoulder for balance, her body trembling.
I free my cock and stroke myself as I watch them. Two women I love, giving themselves to each other and to me.
Lili breaks first. She screams as the orgasm rips through her, her nails digging into my arm. Grace doesn’t stop, drawing out every last shudder.
Then I pull Grace up by her hair and bend her over the arm of my chair. Two fingers slide into her pussy, finding her soaked.
“You’ve been so patient,” I growl. “You’ve earned this.”
I replace my fingers with my cock and thrust into her in one smooth motion. She cries out, and Lili moves to kneel before her, capturing her mouth in a kiss that muffles her sounds.
I fuck Grace hard and fast, one hand gripping her hip, the other tangled in her hair. Lili’s hand reaches beneath her, finding her clit and working in rhythm with my thrusts.
“Come for me,” I order. “Both of you. Now.”
Grace shatters around my cock, her walls clenching tight. The sensation triggers my own release, and I bury myself deep as I come.
Lili follows moments later, shuddering against Grace’s mouth.
We collapse together in a tangle of limbs and breath.
I hold them both and something settles in my chest.
Home.
This is home.
The suite is quiet after the chaos of the party. I sit on the edge of the bed, watching Grace apply ointment to Lili’s thighs where my marks are already beginning to scab.
Lili winces slightly as Grace’s fingers work over the tender skin, but she doesn’t pull away. Her eyes meet mine across the room, and I see something soft there. Trust. Gratitude.
Love.
The word still catches me off guard sometimes. I’ve spent years convincing myself I wasn’t built for this. That the violence in my blood made me unsuitable for anything beyond temporary connections. But here I am, with two women who know exactly what I am, and stay anyway.
Grace finishes her ministrations and caps the ointment, setting it on the nightstand beside the photo album. The album sits open to the last page. Lili standing defiant but wounded. Grace on her knees. Both of them more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen.
“I shared some of what Jacob brought us with Matteo and Luke today,” I say, breaking the comfortable silence.
“The recordings are damning. Griffin Price has been orchestrating more than we realized. He’s connected to criminal networks across three continents, and he had connections with Bryce Cameron, and Kara Lindon while we were at Yale. ”
Grace nods, her expression sobering. “Owen mentioned he’s still working on connecting everything.”
“He is. But that’s tomorrow’s problem.” I stand and cross to where they’ve settled against the headboard. “Right now, I have something else on my mind.”
Lili raises an eyebrow. “Should we be worried?”
“That depends on your answer.”
The words come out steadier than I feel. Inside, my heart is hammering against my ribs.
I sit on the bed, facing both of them. Grace tucks her legs beneath her, giving me her full attention. Lili remains still, watching me with those sharp blue eyes that miss nothing.
“I want you both to move in with me,” I say. “Permanently.”
Silence.
Grace’s face lights up first. The smile that breaks across her features is bright enough to cut through every shadow in the room.
“Yes,” she says immediately. “It’s where I belong.”
She launches herself at me, arms wrapping around my neck. I catch her, pulling her close, burying my face in her curls. She smells like body wash, sex, and home.
“Good girl,” I murmur against her hair. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
When I look up, Lili hasn’t moved. Her expression is careful. Measured. Not the immediate joy I saw in Grace.
My chest tightens.
“Lili?”
She takes a breath and holds up her hand. “Let me say this before I lose my nerve.”
I wait. Grace shifts in my arms but doesn’t pull away.
“I love you both,” Lili says. “More than I thought possible. Being with you these past weeks has shown me what a real relationship can be. Safe. Healthy. Filled with joy.”
“But?”
“But I don’t know what my future holds.” She looks down at her hands, twisting the edge of the sheet between her fingers.
“Phineas is still an issue. The divorce isn’t final.
I don’t know what happens when all of this is resolved.
I don’t know who I am outside of being his wife, outside of working to not upset him. ”
She meets my eyes. “I can’t promise forever when I don’t even know who I’ll be in six months.”
The words hit harder than I expected. Not because they’re a rejection. Because they’re honest.
“I’m not asking for forever,” I say carefully. “Yes, I said permanently. But I’m asking for now.”
“That’s not fair to either of you. Grace just committed to building a life with you, and I’m sitting here saying I might need to walk away. That’s not the same thing.”
Grace reaches out and takes Lili’s hand. “It doesn’t have to be the same thing. Tyson said something to me the other day, and I want you to hear it. It pissed me off at first.”
I lean back enough to raise an eyebrow at her, wondering what pearl of wisdom the chef dropped on her.
She gives me a small smile, then lifts Lili’s hand to her chest. “He told me I needed to be the person you feel safe walking away from if you needed to. And I want to be that for you, Lili. As hard as it would be for you to leave us, I would understand.”
I hate that Tyson is right. As usual, the bastard gave excellent advice. “Stay,” I say. “For as long as it feels right. No pressure. No promises you can’t keep. Just us, figuring it out together.”
Lili’s eyes glisten. “You’d really accept that? Uncertainty instead of commitment?”
I lean forward and cup her face in my hands. “I’d rather have you for a moment than not at all, Spitfire. Stay with us while you figure out your next steps. And if you need to leave, leave. We’ll still be here if you want to come back.”
A tear slips down her cheek. I catch it with my thumb.
“OK,” she whispers. “I’ll stay. For now.”
For now.
It’s not forever. It’s not a guarantee. But it’s a start.
Grace squeezes Lili’s hand, and I pull both of them against me. We settle back against the pillows, limbs tangled, breathing slowly synchronizing.
The photo album sits on the nightstand. A reminder of what we’ve built. What we’re still building.
Outside these walls, Griffin Price is plotting. Kara Lindon is watching. Phineas Draven is rotting in a warehouse while we decide his fate. The world is full of threats that will demand our attention tomorrow.
But tonight, there is only this. Three people who found each other against impossible odds. Who chose each other despite the chaos.
Grace’s breath evens out first, her body heavy against my chest. Lili takes longer, but eventually her tension melts away, and she curls into my side.
I stay awake a while longer. Watching them. Protecting them even in sleep.
Tomorrow, we face whatever comes next.
But tonight, we have this.
And for now, that’s enough.