Sins That Find Us, page 12
“Cat got your tongue?” James asked. He pushes up on his stump to look at me. “Do you need me to call Ari to teach you how to speak without your voice?”
I swallow thickly because it’s supposed to be a threat, and yet…I don’t think I could bring myself to feel very afraid if Ariel came in.
James’ eyes get bright. “I see. You don’t hate that idea, do you, darling?”
Again, I say nothing.
He shrugs, and then suddenly, two fingers are inside me, pushing roughly, spreading wide and hurting so goddamn perfectly. I gasp, my breath sticking in my chest as he flings his leg over me once more, then props up. His mouth is inches from mine, and just before I can force myself to beg, he kisses me. His fingers plunge even deeper as he presses his thumb against my clit, and the slow circles send lightning sparks under my skin.
I gasp soundlessly into his mouth, and he drags the metal in his tongue over mine, then sucks my lip between his teeth before biting down. I can feel it plumping, the tender, thin skin threatening to break as he fucks me harder with his fingers.
When he pulls back, I manage to suck in a lungful of air as he looks down at his hand. “You’re going to come for me, aren’t you, darling?”
I take a shaking breath, then meet his gaze. “Will you?”
“Come?” he asks. He speeds up his thrusts, presses harder on my clit, and I can feel my orgasm building too fast to stop. “You want me to come, darling? You want me to pull out my cock and jerk off on you?”
I want him to fuck me, but it’s obvious that’s not on the table, so I nod. I open my mouth to tell him that, but no sound comes out as my orgasm crashes through me. I feel myself gush, clenching around him, the sound wet and obscene as he continues to thrust inside me with his thick fingers.
I can barely see when he pulls out, but in the dim light from the sun behind the curtains, I can make out wetness glistening on his palm. He lifts his first finger to my lips and paints them. “Taste it,” he orders.
I do. Definitely not peaches and definitely not cream. His eyes are dark as he watches me chase every drop, and then he keeps my gaze as he licks his hand like it’s the most delicious thing he’s ever tasted. My pussy clenches again as he rises higher onto his knees, but just when I think he’s going to take his cock out, he braces himself on his hand, and he kisses me.
It’s devastating. It’s soft, and it’s sweet. He gentles the moment until my breathing matches his and I can no longer hear my heartbeat in my ears.
“You need rest, darling.” I start to shake my head, but he takes my chin between his thumb and finger and fixes me with a stare that says he’s used to getting his way. “I can’t promise this is going to be easy on you. I can’t promise that what happens next won’t hurt. But I can promise that you’ll get what you want from me—and probably from anyone else in this house, once you learn how to ask them the right way.”
I both do and don’t know what he means, but it’s easier to feign ignorance right now. I don’t think I can handle the reality of what he’s saying or what it might mean if I give myself up fully to all these men.
“I want you to sleep now. Dinner will be later on, and you’ll be eating with us.”
And that definitely sounds like a threat.
“Am I going to live?” I ask him.
He stares at me again, and I know in that moment, neither one of us is sure.
Chapter 12
ARIEL
I should probably be pissed off at James and plotting my revenge for taking what’s mine. I could have had pretty little Alice on her knees and begging in seconds. She was primed for it. I’ve seen her deep in her fantasies. I’ve seen the porn she likes and downloaded all those dark, erotic books she keeps around her house.
I know what she really wants from us.
But I also know James had laid claim to her first. My tantrum wasn’t appreciated by Kane, who decided to punish me by binding my wrists behind my back and forcing me to stand at his desk and watch James take Alice apart with his tongue and his fingers. It was worse that Kane didn’t watch and that he took away my ability to tell him what I thought about his methods of control.
But when it was over, he untied me, kissed me until I could breathe properly again, and then slapped me gently across the face. “It’ll be worse next time if you don’t remember to respect the man you love.”
And he wasn’t talking about himself.
But I’m also a greedy little psychopath, so while I will wait my turn because I really do love James as much as I’m able, I will also make sure that anytime any hands touch Alice, she’ll think of me first. James was too kind with her, and Phoenix is shit-scared of coming out of his room now that she’s allowed out of the basement.
Kane was conflicted—but that was to be expected. He’d had the same look on his face when James arrived here at the house, and I made it my mission to seduce him. Eventually, he’ll come around. He always does.
In the meantime, I will play with her.
Instead of wallowing, I head down to my workroom and sharpen my knives, then work out on my heavy bag until my arms feel like limp noodles and I’m breathing in sweat. The sun’s so low on the horizon it’s almost dark, and I glance up to see Phoenix leaning against the doorway, listening to me.
Unbinding my hands, I drop the wraps on the table, then cross the room and tug him close by his belt loops before bringing my fingers to his neck. ‘Stalker.’
He laughs and shakes his head before finding my lips for a kiss. “James sent me to fetch you for dinner.”
I wrinkle my nose. I don’t eat around anyone because eating has always been difficult, but I’m always expected to participate. Especially when we have guests. ‘Are you coming?’
He pulls back so I can see the incredulous look on his face at the stupid question because of course he gets a pass. Kane allows him to get away with everything. “I’m sure you’ll keep her plenty entertained.”
‘You mean terrifying her,’ I tap out on the back of his neck.
He growls and kisses me again. My work always gets him hot and bothered—whether it’s gently tormenting information out of someone or stripping the skin from their bodies. I think what he likes most of all is that I live for it—thrive on it. That I could turn on any of them at any moment, but I never will because what’s left of my shriveled heart belongs to them.
He has so little control over his life, so I can give him this. I can give him the remaining parts of me that are still human.
‘You’ll have to meet her eventually,’ I remind him, then stroke my fingers down the back of his neck.
He sighs, then turns and grabs his cane from where he left it resting against the doorjamb. He doesn’t usually have it, but it makes sense now that there’s a stranger in the house. Even though Alice isn’t quite that.
‘Did you enjoy the show?’
He scoffs as we head toward the house. Instead of speaking, he taps his response against my palm. ‘She liked it.’
My shoulders shake with laughter. ‘She more than liked it. She was ready to beg for it. He should have let her.’
‘He will.’
I shudder, thinking about how James tried to threaten her with me and how her pupils dilated, and she suddenly looked like just the thought of me joining them was going to make her come. I know James has a plan to convince Kane to let us keep her, and I’m not against the idea.
‘She might become our next misfit,’ I remind him.
Phoenix says nothing, but he always needs more time to adjust than the rest of us. We step up to the back door, and then he kisses me before heading up the stairs, and I feel a slight pang because I was hoping that he might give in just this once.
In truth, Alice will probably have to force it. She’ll have to be driven mad by the ghost of his presence long enough that she cracks. When that happens—when she forces her way into Phoenix’s little bubble—all hell will break loose. I just want to make sure I’m home to see it.
Grinning to myself, I pull out my pack of cloves and light one up as I make my way to the dining room. I can already hear voices—Kane’s low rumble and James’ lilting answer. There are awkward pauses which also tells me that Alice has joined them, and it makes me grin even harder.
I take a deep breath of the spiced cigarette, then blow out a puff of smoke before pushing the swinging door open and strolling over to take my seat across from James. He’s got Alice at his elbow, and I can feel her gaze on me, but I don’t give her more than a passing glance as I turn my attention to Kane.
He’s scowling because I’ve broken his no smoking at the table rule, and I don’t complain when he shoves a crystal ashtray at me.
“If you think I won’t fucking punish you for that in front of our guest, you have another thing coming,” he warns.
I laugh again and shake my head before lifting my hand. ‘I dare you.’
He meets my gaze with a warning, and I’m not sure how far I want to push it tonight. Maybe it’s the fact that he left me horny and needy after watching James and Alice that has me on edge. Maybe it’s knowing that things are changing, and no matter what we all might want, we might not get it. Alice is here, and I think she’d fit—the pretty little broken thing that she is—but it might not last.
She might give in to the foolish side of her brain that still wants to try and escape, and instead of having her scream in pleasure, I’ll be forced to give her that other side of me.
And I won’t lose sleep if it comes to that.
I glance at her again, and her gaze is wary, but she’s smart enough not to engage me just yet. My tension is probably visible, and I’ve just been chastised in front of her. She has no idea just yet how that little bit of humiliation can go a long way in getting me off.
If I wanted to scare her off immediately, I’d take out my cock and stroke it right there at the table, but I can see she’s not ready for that. But she will be. There’s fire in her, and need. There’s a willing soul beneath her skin that will have her on her knees.
I let myself indulge in the vision of spreading her out as our dinner, each of us taking turns with her, and her pretty little mouth begging for more. I adjust myself and don’t miss when Kane catches my eye, his own narrow.
Yeah, I’m going to be in trouble later, and I’m itching for it.
After all, what he put me through—he owes me.
“You need to eat, love.” The sound of James’ soft voice interrupts my more violent thoughts, and I glance up to see him staring at Alice. I know she’s been starving herself. I noticed way before James did, but I wanted to see how far she was going to go.
Most people panic when they start to face their own mortality. Their self-preservation kicks in. Instead, she pushed herself to the point of true starvation, and it wouldn’t have been much longer before her body succumbed. I’m impressed by her, yet oddly disappointed only because it would have been interesting to watch.
I have no regrets, though. Playing with her will be a lot more fun, and the house could use a bit of fun these days.
Alice says nothing, but she does look up and meet my gaze, and James follows suit. I smirk at him when his eyes narrow, and I lift my hand. ‘Daddy,’ I spell.
Not a letter of that word is a lie. He’s a natural caretaker, and even I appreciate it on my darker days when old memories threaten to choke me. It’ll be amusing to watch as Kane, Phoenix, and I all pull Alice to pieces and James puts her back together.
How long before she cracks?
Or…is she already shattered and glued back together?
I watch as Alice tears into one of the bread rolls and sops up broth, eating it delicately with her fingers.
It’s nice to be able to see her like this, without screens separating us. I pick up little details that we missed on the shoddy monitors—like how her fingernails are short and square-shaped and neatly manicured. Or how she’s got scars on her wrists like she’s broken out of bindings before.
She also doesn’t make noise at all, which I know is going to drive Phoenix up the wall, but I don’t think it’s on purpose. There were years we didn’t have access to her the way we did once Guido let her out of the walls of her home or boarding school, and I’m beginning to think the pretty little princess has training.
And won’t that be interesting to test.
I turn my gaze to Kane. ‘What now?’
Kane interprets for me aloud, which is annoying because the question was for him.
Slapping my hand on the table, I glare. ‘If she wants to know what I’m saying, she can learn just like everyone else.’
He gives me a long, considering look, then turns his gaze to Alice. “There are books in the library, and I’m sure Ari will show you videos online where you can learn ASL since he seems so very keen for you to understand him.”
I bare my teeth, but mostly because he’s not wrong. Oh, there’s something delicious about when my victims are tied down in my playroom and have no clue what’s happening to them. I love nothing more than giving them an order that could save their life, knowing they’ll fail because they don’t understand me.
It’s what little power I have over them after the way Guido robbed me.
I meet Alice’s gaze after a beat, and then I shrug, and she flushes prettily—dark and ruddy over the apples of her cheeks.
After what feels like an eternal standoff, she lets out a small breath. “Thank you.”
Mm. Interesting.
I stare at her a little longer, trying to see hints of the man who destroyed my ability to speak and tried to end my life, but I can’t find any sign that she’s like him. None of that is really a surprise. We’ve watched her long enough to know she’s just as much his victim as we were, but I was expecting more.
The soup is whisked away a few minutes later, and I barely pay attention to whoever Kane has serving them. A plate of roasted chicken drops in front of Kane, and I watch him pick at it as I catch his attention. ‘DNA test?’
He doesn’t look surprised that we know, and it’s obvious he’s not going to interpret that. ‘Tonight.’
I’m eager to see the results, and that makes my appetite perk up. I can tell Alice is uncomfortable with all the silence, but no one makes a move to remedy that. Instead, they all eat, and I revel in the anxiety trembling around the room.
I’m fairly sure Kane takes whatever material he needs for Alice while I’m upstairs because when I come back down, she’s in the parlor alone, hugging her body, staring across the dark courtyard. She looks confused and shaken, and I’m not sure if I want to poke at her and make it worse or go soft and seduce her into my bed.
Both are appealing.
I make sure my shoes are loud on the carpet since I can’t announce my presence, and even clearing my throat isn’t very loud, thanks to my ruined vocal cords. Alice stiffens when she hears me, but she doesn’t move from her position.
I slide in close, breathing in deeply and taking in the scent of lavender from her bath, and then I pull my phone out of my pocket and type on the screen. I only ever have to do this when Kane sends me on errands, and while it usually annoys me, I’m in too good a mood right now.
Are you alright? I move close enough for her to see it as I hold it near her elbow.
She scoffs after a beat. “You care?”
When she meets my gaze, I shrug. Yes and no. I don’t care the way people expect me to—the way pretty little girls like her want me to. I remember what it was like to feel different, but that was the young boy who died with the single glide of a knife across his throat. I was born from that mess, and there’s no turning back.
She understands that I’m not going to type out some long, soul-bearing answer, so she turns her gaze away again. “Do you know why they took my blood and spit?”
DNA.
She glances down at the phone. “To prove I’m my father’s daughter?” She laughs under her breath, then turns and leans her shoulder against the glass. Her eyes are bright with fire and defiance, and I kind of want to kiss her. She looks the way James did when he first arrived here. Ready to burn the goddamn world down.
Yeah. I want to keep her.
“Trust me, I’d give anything to not be related to that man. And I’m not just saying that to save my ass,” she adds. “He hates me.”
He does. We figured out a couple of things about Alice over the years. One is that her father hates her. And two is that her father is possessive over her future to the point that she’s his one weakness.
Don’t give up hope just yet, princess.
She glances at the screen, then glares up at me. “I’m not a princess, trust me.”
Well, I’m not convinced about that, but maybe she’s just not used to going as dark as I am—as any of us are. Not all princesses are the damsels of fairy stories. I can see this one as Queen of the Underworld, ruling at our sides.
I can see her lifting a knife and watching the life drain out of someone’s eyes.
I can see her standing beside us as we finally make Guido Romano pay.
The thought gets me hard, and I don’t try to hide it as I move closer to her. I’m not in a headspace that’s safe for her, so nothing will happen tonight. At least, nothing I want. But I am ready to stir the pot a little bit.
I lift my hand, watching the contrast of my pale, freckled skin against her tawny brown. Her hair is pitch-black and gorgeous, and I brush a few strands off her shoulder before I grip her chin and turn her to face me.
She licks her lips, and I can see from her eyes she wants this. She wanted this in the tub, before James stepped in.
“Are you going to kiss me?”
I nod, a single jerk of my head, and then I pull her close. I don’t kiss softly—I don’t do anything softly. My teeth dig into her lower lip as my fingers grab her by the hips in a punishing grip. I tug her close to me, rocking my dick against her like a promise of what’s to come.
She gasps, and I swallow the sounds down like they’re my own, tasting her tongue with mine and making her whimper. God, she’s going to be gorgeous when she’s ready to fully give herself over. And I can be patient for that.
