Traded (Blood Ties Book 5)

I gripped the vanity as I listened to the water rush in the bathroom next to mine. I knew he was in there, knew she was in there, too. I clenched my jaw as I imaged exactly what they were doing, her hands all over his body, his mouth on hers. Jealousy seethed inside me. But if I was honest, it wasn’t just him fucking her that had me riled.

It was him, his moodiness, his silence.

He was never silent.

Not with me.

I was his fucking brother.

I sucked in deep breaths and lifted my gaze to the ruthless motherfucker in the mirror, the one with stark white hair, dark roots showing, and unflinching, murderous eyes. I stared into those eyes, ones that others thought were like my brother’s. But they weren’t.

They were colder.

Cutting.

And nothing like the stare which had settled on me when Colt came into the hallway minutes ago. He’d barely looked at me, just pressed that fucking chip in London’s hand and walked away like I hadn’t spent the entire fucking night worried out of my goddamn mind about him.

That wasn’t like him…

Not at all.

The muscles of my jaw flexed. My grip on the vanity tightened until I pushed back and yanked my shirt over my head, then kicked off my boots. The jeans were the same as I’d had on before, but the shirt was one I’d grabbed from the warehouse after disposing of Daniels’ body…

Because the other one was soaked with blood.

I tossed all my clothes into a heap on the floor, then stepped into the shower and switched on the spray.

There was blood under my fingernails. The shit had worked into the edges and stained the cracks. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. Screams still rang inside my head, and guttural husky hisses of air from a man who had no tongue.

I opened my eyes and turned to pump shampoo into my hand and lathered my hair. The thud of the water being switched off sounded next to me, causing me to glance at the wall. Moody bastard. He could fucking have her if it was that important. I reached down and grasped my cock as a savage burn of anger rose.

He could have her.

Pain flared like a fucking knot in my chest. One that worked its way deeper. I braced my hand on the wall, then leaned forward and unleashed a moan. Jesus.

I tried to suck in air as the bathroom darkened and swayed.

My hand slipped on the tiles, and I crashed against the wall.

I was having a fucking heart attack.

My damn knees wobbled. I jerked my gaze up and slammed my fist against the wall. Thud. “Brother,” I croaked, but the word was a whisper…under a howling need.

What the fuck is this?

As the bathroom grayed, I tried to focus. I needed to go to them. I needed…

I slapped the faucet and ended the spray. The moment I did, that strangle-hold in my throat eased. Air rushed in and drove away the darkness, a little bit, at least. I stumbled out, grabbed a towel from the rack, and wrapped it around me as I lurched toward the door.

My senses sharpened in the hall. Every one of them zeroed in on her. Her energy, her anger. Her fucking desperation. I made for her bedroom door and pushed it open. Inside, movement came from the bed. Him…and her.

Blue eyes flashed my way as I quietly closed the door.

She didn’t even notice me. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back as he slid his fingers through her hair. Saying nothing, he watched me approach the bed before he turned back and kissed her.

She gripped his arm and her lips parted as he took her. The way he dragged her against him mesmerized me. I’d seen him kiss her before, seen him fuck her, too…but nothing like this.

This was desperate and consuming.

This was…

Love.

That’s what this was.

She must’ve sensed me then. The panicked catch of her breath came before she jerked her gaze my way and found me standing at the foot of her bed.

Silence…that’s all there was between us.

I waited for her to say the words. Get the fuck out, Carven, or leave.

I’d pushed her to say those words before.

I’d wanted her to say those words.

But fuck me…

If she said them now—cruel fucking terror slammed into me—if she said them now, they’d destroy me. Goosebumps raced along my arms. I’d once thought she was pathetic and weak. Jesus, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

She was more ruthless than any Son.

With one word, this daughter could tear out my fucking heart.

But she didn’t say the words I was terrified to hear. Instead, she shifted closer to Colt, then lifted the sheet on the opposite side.

I was moving before I knew it, aware how fucking desperate and needy I looked. But I didn’t give a fuck. I dropped the towel to the floor, rounded the bed, and climbed in.

She reached for me instantly…her arm slid around my waist. I looked down at her reddened, swollen lips from my brother’s mouth. Then, I gripped her jaw and kissed her.

She yielded.

Eased back against the pillow.

Gave herself to me as I plunged my tongue deep.

While my brother watched.

His hand skimmed her ribs and cupped her breast. Fuck me if the sight of that wasn’t a shot of adrenaline. I broke away, sucked in a hard breath, and looked down.

“You like this?” I watched my brother’s fingers slide over her tight nipple. “Like my brother’s hand all over your breast and my tongue down your fucking throat?”

She swallowed, then whispered. “Yes.”

My pulse thundered. “You want us both?”

Her eyes widened. “Yes.”

I lifted my gaze, meeting that careful fucking stare.

He said nothing, but that wasn’t a no, was it?

It wasn’t a fucking no.

I lowered my head and moved down, licked the tight peak of her other breast, and shoved the sheets aside. “Legs open, daughter. We’re gonna need some prep here.”

She complied. So. Fucking. Fast.

Her legs splayed. Her pussy was already wet as I pushed my fingers inside. “Brother?” I managed as my cock hardened at the feel of her.

He hesitated for a second, then lowered his hand and dragged it down her body to find her clit.

“Oh, God.” She shuddered under our touch.

I looked down and watched his big thumb brush over that tender little nub as my fingers fucked her.

Him.

Her.

Me.

We were going to share her, just like we’d shared everything, including the body of the woman who’d given us life. The vein under my cock throbbed at the thought of that, driving all the way to the head. She was practically dripping as my brother shifted lower in the bed.

I slid my fingers out, caught all her moisture, and rubbed it against the tight ring of her ass.

“Fuck…” she whimpered, and closed her eyes as Colt licked her nipple.

Her body clenched and shuddered as I slowly pushed in. “Open your eyes, Wildcat,” I commanded. “Look down.”

She did, tilting her gaze to watch us. My brother lifted his head, found her gaze, then rubbed his finger over her clit as he slid down in the bed.

I carefully pushed my fingers in deeper as I stretched her. “Look at how fucking well you take us.” Her body clenched as he slipped two of his big fucking fingers inside her. Slick coated his knuckles as he thrust.

“Look at how your greedy cunt needs him. You fucking need him, right?”

Her answer was a tortured moan.

I liked the sound of that.

My wildcat opened her legs wider. “That’s it, my perfect fucking whore. Lift your knees.”

She opened all the way for us as I lowered my head, worked the spit in my mouth, then dribbled it down. It ran between my brother’s fingers when he opened up her cunt. The sensation made her catch her breath.

I thrust my hips on instinct, humping the goddamn air. Christ, I’d never felt anything like this. I was out of my fucking mind with the need to fuck. But I had to take my time…I had to make it good for her.

I licked my lips as my spit combined with her wetness and slipped around my fingers, then I pushed two fingers back in. Her ass clenched around the invasion as her body worked to take it. But it was softening with the stretch, and warming. “That’s the girl.” My words were husky. “Open that ass for me, baby.”

She dropped her head back and drove her hips down, which caused me to reach deeper inside her. Colt spread her wide, then spat himself, and watched the trickle run the length of her cunt before he gripped her shoulders and pulled her toward him.

I used the momentum, slid her leg over his thick thigh, and moved behind her. “Breathe, Wildcat,” I urged as I grasped my cock and pressed against her opening. She pushed her ass against me, letting me ease the head in.

“Jesus…fucking, Christ,” I moaned as I slipped back out, only to push in once more.

She took it all that time, that tight fucking muscle like a fist around my cock. She bucked, then moved out and back. Something rubbed the head from the inside, stroking, pushing. It took me a second to realize what it was…

It was Colt.

He thrust deep inside her. The pressure collided against me. I gripped her hips, held her steady, and timed his thrusts to meet the pace, and I tried to keep it together. But every time he drove inside her, it nearly sent me over the fucking edge, caressing me through her.

My fingers dug deep into her flesh. I knew it was bruising, but I couldn’t stop…I couldn’t…

“Harder,” she moaned. “Carven…fuck me harder.”

Her words were all I needed. I reached up, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and yanked her head back, hard enough to shock her…but not to hurt. I never wanted to hurt her again. “Tell me, Wildcat,” I grunted. “How does it feel to be fucked by both of us?”

Her body clenched and trembled around my cock as Colt thrust harder, and unleashed a growl. She bucked and jolted with the impact. I drove deep, forcing her body down around him. “Christ, you fuck so good. You were made for this, Wildcat. You were made for us.”

“Oh, God…oh—” My little whore stilled, and her ass pulsed around me as she came. “Jesus…”

I held on, my fist in her hair, the other on her shoulder as I drove her body down hard and rammed all the way in to the hilt. “Fuck… me,” I moaned as my cock kicked and I came hard. Colt lowered his head and released a grunt as he slammed home inside her time after time. He was relentless, desperate and powerful. Her body jolted with each thrust, until he gave one loud growl, deep and guttural, and filled her pussy with warmth.

I felt that warmth.

Felt it all.

Stars collided behind my eyelids, blinding white. I lost myself in the neon glow, the aftershocks of her body milking every goddamn drop from me.

I eased my hold from her hair and dropped my head forward to kiss her shoulder, then nuzzled the side of her neck. I couldn’t stop the need to touch her, not even if I wanted to…and for the first time in my life, I didn’t want to.

Her asshole gaped when I slid out. Cum coated my cock as it pressed against her ass when she eased against me.

“You okay?” Colt gasped.

She tried to catch her breath, then nodded instead and whispered, “Very much okay.”

He wedged her between us as she dropped her head beside his and tried to catch her breath. The room was filled with those raspy sounds as we all came back to Earth.

“You do NOT fucking leave me, do you understand that?” She lifted her head and met that deep-blue stare. “Because if you do, it’ll kill me.”

My brother searched her eyes and it was as though, in that second, he was a stranger. I’d never seen that desperation in him, not in all the years we’d been together. Not even when he’d taken those beatings in Hell had he looked at me the way he looked at her.

“I promise,” he answered carefully.

I waited for her to nod and close her eyes…but she didn’t.

“Carven,” she whispered, and turned her head to me.

My heart thundered and panic bloomed as I met her desperation.

“I need you to say it,” she urged. “I need you to say you’ll never leave me.”

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The world seemed to stand still.

She wanted me? She…really wanted me? “I promise,” I managed the words.

She made sure they were the truth, too. Whatever she saw eased her fear. A breath escaped those lips, lips I wanted.

I leaned forward, cupped her cheek gently, and kissed her more tenderly than I’d thought I had in me, then let her go. That act alone terrified me. I’d never cared before, hadn’t even wanted to look at them. Sex had been a battleground, one where I took without consequence and left them broken after. But not her…not my Vivienne.

For her, I’d be different.

I gently released my hold as a look of exhaustion washed over her. She closed her eyes and exhaled softly. Tonight had been brutal, for all of us.

“Good.” Her hand grasped mine and dragged my arm around her waist. “That’s real good. Just need to…have a sleep n—”

She was out cold in a second. I’d never seen someone fall so goddamn fast. One minute she was talking, then the next, she was gone. I stared at her for a second, mesmerized by the rise and fall of her chest.

Then I slowly became aware of him.

That unflinching stare was already fixed on me. But he said nothing, as though he hadn’t yet decided if I was worthy. Maybe I didn’t know if I was either. Still, the seconds stretched between us and the…the push-pull intensity grew. What the fuck is going on with you?

The words rose inside my head.

I wanted to say them, but they never came.

The feel of her body against mine turned hypnotic, drawing me into how fucking perfect this was. I didn’t dare move, terrified I’d break the spell. Instead, I watched him, knowing this was what touching Heaven felt like for a soulless bastard like me. Until she whimpered, then jerked.

Colt swung his focus to her barely a second before I did. We stared at the woman who fucking terrified and transfixed us both as she fought demons in her sleep. My arm tightened around her and Colt shifted closer.

“No, get away from me,” she whimpered, making Colt freeze as she shook her head. “Carven,” she moaned. “Carveeennn…”

My pulse thundered at the sound of my name. Panic rose at the frantic speed of her breaths. At first, I thought I was her tormentor…I sure as fuck deserved the title, until…

“Carven, help me. Help me, please…”

I clenched my jaw, that savage part of me roaring to the surface. Give me someone to kill.

Give me anyone…

I needed to—

I froze, stopping myself cold. How the fuck could I kill the monsters inside her head? I didn’t know. But I had to find a way. Fuck. Me. I’d find a way. “I’m right here, Wildcat,” I whispered, finding my brother’s gaze once more. “I’m right here.”

Her breaths slowed as she cracked open her eyes. She wasn’t awake, not fully, at least. Still, she was aware of me. “Am I worth it?” she whispered.

I scowled. What?

Then it hit me. That day at the Four Seasons, the one when I’d hated the fucking world. Those were the words I’d spat at her…you’d better be worth it. Jesus. That was what I’d said to her.

Agony rushed in, ripping me apart rib by rib to get to that festering, pulsating thing in my chest. “Yeah,” I answered as I stared at Colt. “You are.”

With one hard exhale, she closed her eyes once more and drifted.

I knew then…

Knew we were so fucked.

There was no going back now.

Not for him.

Not for me.

Not without her.