Page 28 of Blood Claims (Garnet Dagger Mafia #2)

KNEEL TO TIME

VANESSA

W hen Victor told me about the gala, I was nervous.

And not just in the moment, but more like… all day!

All day, I was on edge, because shopping was one thing, but going out to a very public event with me on their arm felt way too soon.

That little thrill trying to dig its way into my doubts was one I managed to keep at bay.

Because I knew I should have allowed myself to feel excited that they wanted to take this relationship to the next level.

But then this thought was squashed the second I thought of the witch and her damn curse.

One that I so badly wanted to believe was all bullshit, just like Tal and Victor said.

Frustration had eased in them both, because at least now they knew the root of my self-doubt and why it had started to grow in the first place.

They knew it all.

It had been like an unstoppable tornado tearing up the memories of my life and tossing the pieces of it out there for them to see. I had borne it all.

And what’s more, they had listened.

They had listened and offered me a kind of loving comfort of the likes I never knew.

It had been some soothing balsam for my shredded heart, they were slowly fixing me, piecing me back together again.

As my love for them continued to grow, they were becoming impossible to resist. The vows to keep my heart protected practically dissolved the moment I stepped foot back into the penthouse.

But they wanted to push me to do more by making a public appearance.

Forget about just the stigma we would receive around two brothers dating the same woman.

But two billionaires only usually seen with the most beautiful women hanging off their arms…

Now that made this a double whammy in my book, and not one I was ready to face.

And what was worse, I didn’t know what would happen should my name get out there…

and my pitiful background along with it.

I could just see the headlines now,

Trailer trash girl bags herself not one billionaire, but two!

I couldn’t bare it!

I couldn’t get out of it either. Both brothers brushed off my fears as being nothing they couldn’t handle, whatever that was supposed to mean, I had no clue.

Instead, they just led me to the guest bedroom I was used to and over to a closet that had originally been empty. A closet that was now filled with clothes. Most of which I recognized from what had been bought for me. But there were also some definite additions.

The underwear draws, for one, because I didn’t remember stepping foot in any lingerie stores.

Although it only took a second to take in all that sexy lace, satin, silk, and yes, even leather, to know the brothers definitely had a hand in this…

four to be precise. And as for colors, there were sets in every shade, I swear.

Enough that I could have worn something different every day for six months!

And don’t even get me started on shoes, because there was no way I tried all these on.

There was a whole wall of them, it looked more like a shoe shop than one woman’s closet!

Of course, I had protested, although the sounds I made could have just been interpreted as me simply struggling to breathe.

To which they had each kissed my head and walked away chuckling, leaving me standing there, gaping at every woman’s dream closet.

I stood in my robe, looking at all the options, feeling like a fish out of water. There were so many dresses to choose from, it was making my head spin. So, in the end, I closed my eyes, ran my hand along the dresses and stopped randomly, grabbing the first thing I touched.

This ended up being a gorgeous deep sapphire-blue, satin dress that was speckled with rhinestones, making it look like stars on a night sky.

The skirt landed just above the knee in elegant folds, whereas the top was slightly more daring.

The fitted bodice had a corseted back, which meant I didn’t need to wear a bra and the thin spaghetti straps helped keep the curvy girls up.

It plunged into a V-shape, showing off my cleavage that I knew the brothers would appreciate…

along with the mesh cut-out panels at my sides that were also covered in rhinestones.

To this, I added simple, strappy, heeled sandals that fit my feet perfectly.

Of course, it wouldn’t make me supermodel tall, but it at least added some height.

Shoes and underwear weren’t all I found, because the mirrored dresser in the bedroom was now filled with everything a girl would need for getting ready for a night out.

Brand new, top end makeup that would have cost thousands, and every hair tool and product a hairdresser would need to create a masterpiece.

Which naturally made getting ready a lot easier because I had worried that I would look drab, fabulous dress or not.

So, for my hair, I rolled into a low bun that I thought made me look chic, leaving my shorter lengths to frame my face with a bit of curl.

I tried to match the colors of my dress with my make-up, giving myself a blue cut-crease line with silver across the lid.

Stacey had taught me how to do liquid liner… she was a pro at it, being a goth. She told me that instead of swiping it across my lid, the trick was to just dab the side of the brush on inner corners of my eyes, and only to swipe the brush at the ends to achieve the cat-eye flicks.

“I think she would be proud,” I said aloud, nodding to myself in the mirror. It didn’t look too bad, if I said so myself.

All that was left was for me to add some lipstick. The amount of times I reached for the nude one wasn’t even funny, but in the end I forced myself to be bold and grabbed the deep burgundy one instead.

“Hell, I might as well go all the way with this,” I told myself, considering I had never worn something like this, nor had I ever been to a gala before.

Christ, but the last party I had gone to had been for a friend’s birthday, a girl who used to work at the store.

And as for the last dress I wore, well, there was no forgetting that one, or more like the way the brothers had stripped me out of it.

Which made me nervous wondering what they would think of this dress.

And let’s just say I was no longer playing the little goth girl.

No, this was the big leagues.

And it was terrifying.

A testament to this was when I jumped the second I heard the knock. I stood from the stool at the dresser and turned to face the door, then after taking a deep breath, I call out in an unsure tone,

“Erm… come in…” My words failed me, and my mouth dropped at the sight that entered the room, although I managed to mutter a very uncool, “Holy shit.”

Tal had stepped through the door wearing a sexy as sin three-piece black suit, with satin lapels, a black shirt, and blood-red tie that matched the handkerchief in his breast pocket.

His sandy-blonde hair had been styled back in a regal way that transformed his easy-going, handsome features into some Greek God of Olympus.

That strong jawline of his tensed at the sight of me and I didn’t need to question why.

“Fuck me,” he hissed as he ran his gaze down the length of me and back up again.

And by the time his eyes reached my face, the green in them was completely lost to glowing silver.

I swear, the intensity in them was powerful enough to burn me from the inside out.

But then Victor joined him, adding to the moment as he walked in whilst fixing the cuff under his suit jacket.

“I have called for the car to… Fuck the goddess,” he gritted out when he saw me, the news about the car a thing of the past. And dear god, but he had no mercy on me either.

Victor was wearing an all-black tux that looked as if every inch had been tailored to perfection.

His shoulder-length hair tied back at the nape of his neck and styled like his brother’s, so it was all back from his gorgeous face.

Those regal cheekbones and dark brown eyes gave new meaning to tall, dark, and handsome.

Fuck, was this really my life?

“Cancel it,” Tal snapped in return, glancing to his brother for a split second before his intense gaze was quickly back to me.

I swallowed hard, especially when Victor slipped his cell from his pocket and, after a tap on the screen, gave a curt,

“Give us an hour… maybe two.”

My eyes widened, before I protested.

“But we will be late.”

Tal grinned and while taking his first steps toward me, said in a confident tone,

“Yes, Little Peach, yes, we most certainly will.”

I visibly gulped again, especially when Victor joined him. Both men prowled toward me like I was the only thing on the menu… and an evening of rich socialites and the uber wealthy wasn’t even on their radar.

But I was.

“By the Goddess, you… you look so beautiful tonight,” Tal said, for once stumbling on his words, which wasn’t like him at all. Naturally, I blushed, and it only deepened when Victor cupped my cheek and told me,

“You’re breathtaking, Vanessa. You make it hard for us to want to share you with the world.”

I dipped my chin down to try and hide my shy reaction, one he wouldn’t allow for long. Victor tipped my chin back up with a crooked finger, telling me,

“Don’t ever hide from us.”

I sucked in a quick breath, one that was stolen the second he leaned down and captured my lips. As for Tal, he positioned himself behind me to kiss his way up my neck, something that was easier now my hair was pinned back.

I moaned in Victor’s mouth before he deepened the kiss on a growl. His hands framed my hips and yanked me closer so I could feel his erection through his pants.

“See what it is you do to us, Nessa.”

“See how hard you make us… how much we crave to touch you,” Tal added, making my head fall back to his chest once Victor had released my lips.

Victor then dipped his head down and kissed my heaving cleavage before making his way up my neck like his brother.

“Yesss,” I moaned again, as it seemed that Tal wanted to help his brother out.

Doing so by slipping his fingers under the straps of my dress so he could pull down the bodice.

I then felt the tug of ribbon at my back, making the fabric easier to slip down past my naked breasts once it unraveled.

And as for Victor, he wasted no time at all before palming one and lifting it to his awaiting lips.

“Such beautiful tits… you’re a fucking feast for us, baby,” Tal told me, to which his brother agreed by biting down harder and making me cry out as he rolled my taut nipple between his teeth.

As for the Greek God at my back, he plucked at the other one, pinching it between his fingers in time with his brother’s ministrations.

“Perhaps it’s time we become a feast for her,” Victor said after letting my abused nipple slip between his teeth, my breast dropping slightly with a shudder.

“Mmm… what do you think sweet, innocent, Vanessa? Do you wanna take both our cocks?” Tal hummed at my ear, making me tense quickly in their hold.

“Erm… I… er.”

Victor chuckled at my nervousness, before easing my fears by clarifying,

“With your mouth, babe.”

“Oh,” I uttered, making Tal laugh, even though he was quick to add,

“But soon, we will know the feel of this virginal tight little hole of yours.”

There was no mistaking what he meant by this, because he gathered up the back of my skirt and ran his fingers up the crack of my ass.

His fingers dipped in slightly, just over my black lace panties that barely covered the skin.

I shuddered against him, and I could feel his lips turn into a knowing grin as he kissed my bare shoulder.

As for Victor, he was ready to take this further, starting with his first command.

“But for now…” He paused long enough to lower his face and growl down at me,

“…Kneel, girl.”