Hidden In Brutal Devotion (The Brutal Duet Book 1) (The Brutal Series)

Cole

I had to dig some clothes out of my locker for Tia to wear so none of those gym fuckers could witness my beauty in her bare flesh.

She was so exhausted from our time with her, she laid curled up in Lucas’s arms all the way home.

I watched in the rearview mirror while I drove us back to the apartment how he cradled her, as though she’s a precious gift. He gently stroked her hair and dropped gentle pecks of his lips onto her head, and all the while, she laid there with her eyes closed, as though completely content in his arms.

When I opened the car door and reached for Tia, he shouldered past me like a pissed-off child and then barked orders at me to run her a bath with oils while he rocked her in his arms, as though she was damaged in some way. As though it wasn’t us who fucked her roughly into unconsciousness.

I stripped down when Lucas demanded I get in the bath with Tia, and only then did he hand her to me after he lifted her arms like a child and tugged the shirt from her body.

Tia’s eyes lazily searched around the room before landing on me with a look of content. She took my hand in hers and stepped into the tub, allowing me to wash her body under Lucas’s watchful scrutiny.

I lather the sponge and follow Lucas’s instructions without question.

He helped her out and he wrapped her up in a thick white towel while I mused whether to follow or see to my hard cock.

When he snapped my name, I jumped out of the tub like a good little lapdog. Grabbing a towel, I wrap it around my waist and join them in the bedroom. My bedroom.

Tia is lying on her stomach, her naked form filling my cock and making my balls heavy. Lucas palms her red, welted ass cheeks tenderly, rubbing something that looks like ointment into her skin.

He then traces over the engraved names resting above her ass, with his fingertip coated in the same substance.

Tia flinches, causing Lucas to coo in her direction, his tone of voice reserved purely for her. “Shh, baby girl. Let Daddy take care of you.”

His eyes are transfixed lovingly on her, as though she’s his whole world, while I stand leaning against the doorframe, hanging back and looking in on their time together like an outsider in my own room.

An intruder in their relationship. I swallow thickly at the thought. A heavy weight no longer in my balls but now sitting in my stomach threatens to make my heart explode into a million pieces. It constricts when his fingers glide over her spine and he peppers kisses into her hair.

“Such a good girl.”

My fists ball with anger. I gave him this. I gave him her, and now, I’m standing on the sidelines looking in.

When he leans over and drops loving words in her ear, I can’t stand it anymore. I storm past them and head toward the kitchen.

My temple pulsates, and my shoulders bunch tight as I pull the fridge open and take out a beer. Flipping the cap, I down it in one and then grab another. Just as I lift the bottle to my lips, Lucas appears.

I can sense his eyes on me, but I choose to ignore him. Instead, I close my eyes and tip the beer back. The cold liquid doesn’t so much as quench my need right now.

“Problem?” His deep voice sends a shiver through my veins, but I ignore him and continue drinking.

“I asked you a fucking question, Cole.”

My eyes pop open in annoyance, and I slam the bottle onto the counter and turn to face him. I can feel my face redden in anger, and I struggle to control the rise in my voice. “You don’t get to speak to me like that outside of the bedroom, Lucas. I might allow you to dominate in there, but out here, we’re equals.”

Lucas steps back as though my words have thrown him. I watch as he drags a hand through his hair, and his chest rises rapidly, but I ignore the feeling of him being hurt at my outburst and continue on with my own.

“She’s mine, Lucas, and I allow you to share her, so don’t push me fucking out!”

My words vibrate off the walls.

“I . . . I didn’t. I wasn’t . . . That’s not what I was doing.”

I step closer to him, and he steps back.

“Yes you fucking were. She’s mine to care for too.” I poke my finger into my chest. “All ‘Daddy looks after you’ bullshit. You’d never have dared utter those fucking words if I hadn’t said them.”

Lucas’s face pales, and I feel a brief flicker of guilt pang at my heart.

“I could take her away if I wanted to.” I smirk at him like an ass.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch movement, and when I turn my head, I see the heartbroken expression of Tia. Her eyes are filled with unshed tears, and the bedsheet is tugged so tightly around her, I don’t miss the whites of her knuckles gripping it as though it’s a barrier between us. My heart sinks at her expression.

Shit. I fucked up.

I move my feet in her direction, but she puts her hand up to stop me moving further forward.

“The only person I belong to, Cole, is me.” A tear falls from her eye, but she makes no effort to remove it from her cheek. “I get to decide. Not you. Not him.”

The double-ended meaning of the word him floods my blood with rage. She isn’t referring to Lucas‍—‍or maybe she is? But deep down, I know she’s referring to the man who hurt her, and that thought alone feels like a knife through my heart.

“I want to be alone tonight.” She stares down at the ground, her eyes empty, causing panic to whirl inside me. I can feel the tension and turmoil vibrating off Lucas; he’s unraveling by the second, the thought of losing her too much to bear. What the fuck have I done? All because I had a moment of jealousy.

She turns and heads toward the spare room, the one we plan on turning into a bedroom for Harper.

“Lucas, I . . .”

His eyes snap to mine, hate glaring from them, and the tremble in his voice proves he’s struggling. “Fix it!”

He strides away toward his office, slamming the door behind him and leaving me standing there, wondering where the hell tonight went wrong.