Page 4 of Mastered by Them (Rose and Dagger #2)

Danica

I swore to never give him the time of day. I told myself I would ignore him until our wedding. I would only interact for “official engagement business.”

Yet here I am, lip-locked with the insufferable incubus, kissing him like it’s the key to survival. His jacket surrounds me like a hug. His soft, spicy scent envelops me as well. A moan gathers in my throat as he cups my cheek and our tongues and lips move against each other.

What the fuck am I doing?

With a gasp, I pull out of the kiss.

He drops to his knees, his face level with my hips.

“What are you doing?” I hiss.

“Showing you I can be a good husband.”

I should get out of here. I was already planning on claiming a headache and bowing out early—Dmitri and Leah’s idea.

But then Edmund presses his whole face against my mound. And inhales.

I’m too surprised to speak. No guy has ever done this before. I’m still wearing my dress and underwear. And he’s just kneeling there, breathing me in.

He places a hand on each of my thighs. Warm. Firm. In control. He slowly pulls up my dress, baring me to the empty lake.

“Is your cunt as sweet as your mouth?” He looks up at me in question.

I can’t answer, I can only shake my head in confusion. Thoughts are gone, replaced by the sizzle in the air between us.

“I’ll taste you to find out.” He hooks a finger around the edge of my underwear.

I gasp. “Edmund. Here?”

His green eyes seem to glow in the moonlight. “Go ahead and shout when you come. Then everyone will know I’m pleasing my future bride.”

“You sick perv—” My words break off as he yanks down my panties and replaces them with his face.

His lips immediately start moving against me. Reflexively, I thread my hands in his hair, gripping to keep him close. Obscene, wet sounds fill my ears, competing with my pounding heart. So good. So fucking good. My hips rock forward, chasing his contact.

He pulls back.

I whisper, “Don’t you dare fucking stop.”

His eyes glitter with amusement. “I’ll only stop when you tell me to. Hold your skirt for me, princess. I want to use my hands.”

Gathering up the fabric in my fists, I watch as he presses his mouth to me again. His eyes are on my face, watching my reaction as he licks and sucks at my clit. Gentle laps, teasing. He slides his finger through my arousal and pushes inside me.

“ Yes .” I say it quietly, but it’s difficult to keep quiet when every movement of his tongue, lips, and finger offers more and more pleasure.

He hums against me, kissing and licking. I lean back against the wall of the boat house. I’m grateful he gave me his jacket—I won’t get splinters in my shoulders.

Molten lust builds within me, filling my limbs with heat, causing my hips to rock forward. I grind against Edmund’s mouth.

His shoulder moves while he feasts on me. Is he—he can’t be—he’s jerking himself off. I wish I could see better. It’s so hot, the way he touches me, the way he’s touching himself. His licking, sucking kisses push me further toward the edge.

I gasp. “I’m—I’m close.”

He moans against me, a rumbling vibration. At the same time, he crooks his finger forward and rubs that very special spot inside me.

I come apart, clutching my dress and his head, my legs shaking. If it weren’t for the wall at my back, I’d fall. He grunts and pushes hard against my leg. A splash of warm, viscous liquid hits my calf as he comes, too.

“So good,” he murmurs before going right back to licking and sucking at me, his finger pumping slowly while I come down. “Let’s do it again.”

Too sensitive. I can’t come again. Worse, if I do, I won’t be able to keep quiet.

“Stop, stop, stop.” I yank on his hair. “I hate you, I hate you.”

He leans back with a grin. Cool air hits my exposed pussy, a stark difference from the heat of his mouth. His green eyes find mine and he slowly eases his finger from me before popping it into his mouth, licking up my juices. “Do you really hate me?”

I look past him, at the lake beyond, at the obliterating darkness and the hidden terrors within. Yet I feel safe with Edmund. Physically, anyway. Emotionally? I’m sure my heart will be shredded by the end of all this.

When he stands and takes me in his arms, I melt into his embrace. He nuzzles my neck. “I don’t think you hate me.”

His mouth finds mine again, even while he’s arranging my clothes and zipping up his pants. I taste myself on his lips and tongue, kissing away my own pleasure.

“Edmund.” A deep voice sounds from the other side of the boat house. Troy. My heart does a little somersault. “Ed and Francis are looking for you.”

“Be right there.” Edmund grins and traces the corner of my lips with his finger. “I love the way you hate me, angel.”

I’d stab him with a sharp comeback, but I’m still weak and shaking from my orgasm. Fucked into playing nice, I guess.

Edmund gives me another look up and down, then nods, satisfied I’m all put to rights. He takes my hand and leads me around to the front of the boat house. Now that we aren’t pressed together, I notice it’s gotten chillier, and not many people are standing around outside.

Troy, however, is waiting for us. “You better get inside fast. Ed and Francis are pissed.”

“About what?” Edmund keeps hold of my hand.

“Mirarosa. The docks, a shipment.”

“Fuck.” Edmund presses a brief kiss to my cheek. “I’ll see you soon, angel. Troy will take care of you for the rest of the night.”

He hauls ass across the lawn, his long strides taking him into the house.

I face Troy. “Uh…hi.”

His blank face relaxes into a smile and he presses the back of his hand against my warm cheek. “You’re flushed, little girl. Have some fun back there?”

“Shut up.”

He grins.

Champagne. I need more. I need lots of it.

* * *

Troy

Another shipment of whiskey, straight into the bay.

Caleb shouldn’t have come here tonight. Just because the two families are joining together, doesn’t mean Vorsong Circle is going to ease up. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

While Edmund, Ed, and Francis have their impromptu meeting, I’m tasked with watching over Dani.

She’s drinking too much, and if she doesn’t slow down, I’ll have to cut her off.

But I can’t deny, she’s adorable when she’s tipsy.

“The lake is scary.” She leans against my shoulder as she says it, like it’s so terrifying, she needs my protection.

“What’s so scary about it?”

“You can’t see in it. People could drown. There are probably dead bodies in there.”

“So that means you don’t want to go skinny-dipping?”

She gives me an affronted look. “With bodies ?”

“Well.” I gesture between us. “ Our bodies.”

Her gray eyes light up when she laughs. I love seeing her like this. Bubbly, happy. Not so angry or scared.

“Troy, what would it take for you and Edmund to leave all this?”

Her question seems to come out of nowhere, but she must’ve been thinking on it for a while. Her smile is still in place, but it’s a serious question. One I’ve thought about often.

“We aren’t leaving it.” I take her free hand in mine. “We can’t.”

She sighs. “I guess I can’t leave my family, either. Best I can do is misbehave a little, have a good time.”

I can see where this is going, and much as I’d like to…”Not tonight.”

She tugs on my hand, pulling me toward the boat house. “I want to take that thick cock of yours in my mouth, Troy.”

A passing server hears her, loud and clear. His eyes go wide in shock.

I clap a hand over Dani’s lips. “Nope. Not tonight.”

She shakes her head free of my hand, laughing. “Why? It would feel good. I got head earlier, behind the boat house. It’s fun. You’ll like it.”

“You’re drunk, baby girl.” I take her empty champagne flute and lead her to a decorative metal chair in front of some rose bushes. She’s still giggling. Goddamn, what a cutie. I hold up a hand. “Wait right here, don’t move.”

In several quick strides, I catch up with the server and impart the importance of his non-disclosure agreement. He nods, terrified. He knows who he’s working for, and who he’s talking to. I swipe a bottle of water from his tray and use it to fill Dani’s champagne flute.

When I return to Dani, her giggles have subsided and she’s staring out at the dock, a frown on her face. Her smile reappears when she catches sight of me. She holds out her hands in a “gimme” gesture, so I pass her the flute.

“No, not the champagne. I meant you . I want you, Troy.”

Cuts me straight to the heart. She’ll marry Edmund. Our arrangement might not have to stop entirely, I don’t know. But either way, it won’t be the same.

“Troy.” She pouts.

Well, they aren’t married yet. Guests have all but gone. None but a couple of servers remain outside, collecting dishes and trash.

I lift her up, sit in the chair, and plop her back onto my lap.

She shrieks and laughs, water spilling over the front of her chest and dress.

I want to lick it from her skin, follow the little line of her cleavage with my tongue.

I want to indulge her desire to take my dick in her mouth and suck me down.

The thought of her looking up at me with those gorgeous, pale gray eyes while she does it? Makes me so fucking hard.

Dani lifts the flute to her lips. Her nose wrinkles as she takes a sip. “This tastes weird.”

“It’s water.”

“Troy!”

“You’ve had enough champagne.”

She smiles and shakes her head. “You’re right. Everything’s fuzzy and fun.”

“Good. Was it fun before, whatever you did with Edmund back there?”

Her lips purse together. “A lady never tells.”

Probably for the best. The fucking torture of knowing, of not knowing?—

“It’s a good thing I’m not a lady.” She giggles again. “He pulled up my skirt and licked me, Troy. He told me he wanted me to shout his name so everyone would know how he can please his bride, or some shit like that. And it worked. I came so hard.”

My cock stiffens even more. I can imagine it happening. I wish I was there.

“I can’t believe we’re engaged.” Her free hand tangles with mine. “I’ll wear his wedding ring and he’ll wear mine, and”—she laughs again—“we’re supposed to live happily ever after?”

“I guess so.” My voice is gruff. I don’t like thinking about it, not when it’s just the two of them.

“Well, it’ll never work.” She leans against me.

“Why not?”

“I like him too much.” She sighs. “I like you too much.”

Amused, I say, “You’re always going on about how much you hate us, though.”

“Yes.”

“You’re a little mystery, Dani. You know that, right?”

She kisses me on the cheek.

* * *

Edmund

The window is open so I can hear the sounds of the party wrapping up. I hope Danica doesn’t leave without me. I want to make her come at least four more times tonight—on my mouth, fingers, and cock.

I obviously didn’t get her to fall in love with me by our engagement party, but she sure as fuck loved what I did with my mouth. It isn’t enough, but I’ll keep trying.

While my father strides back and forth, I take out my phone and pull up a list of accommodations in Caperna.

“Ed.” My grandfather settles himself into an armchair in front of the bookcase. “Calm down or you’ll wear a hole in the rug. And your mother was rather fond of this one.”

My father stops pacing and comes to rest at the desk. His blue eyes blaze as he stares at me. “Your pal Morraine fucked up again.”

I don’t have the fucking time for this. Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I take a casual stance. “Fucked up how, exactly?”

“While he was here, drinking our champagne, another shipment of whiskey sank to the bottom of the ocean.”

Another half-mil, gone.

Caleb needs to take his head out of his ass. I don’t know what he was doing here at the engagement party, anyway. It was idiotic to let him come. But I’m not going to take the fall for that.

“I didn’t invite him tonight. I don’t know who did.” Let my father work out the math. It was undoubtedly his mistress, Caleb’s mom, who issued that particular invitation. If she couldn’t be here, she wanted Caleb to keep an eye on my father.

This is exhausting.

The worst part is that even if Caleb took a day or two off, our security shouldn’t flounder in the interim. Our operations should continue seamlessly, independent of a single man’s supervision. Caleb’s fucking up. Troy has said it more than once.

“We need to consider alternate security.” I focus on my grandfather instead of my father.

My father is too besotted with Caleb’s mom to make any changes.

He accuses me of feeling too much, but here he is doing the same.

Ignoring poor performance in favor of his mistress’s feelings.

And I get it, Caleb is my friend. But I’ve seen for myself that the Mirarosa docks are defensible. So when security fails, it’s on Caleb.

My grandfather cocks his head in thought. “We could put Manchester in front of it.”

“Manchester won’t leave Edmund.” My father shakes his head. It was one of the conditions of Troy returning to the family—he wanted to be on my detail, and only my detail. Surprisingly, my father has continued to honor that condition. Maybe he knows Troy will walk, otherwise.

“Victor, then.” The way my grandfather says it doesn’t leave any room for argument. “Have him shadow Morraine. He’ll decide if Morraine needs to be replaced.”

I don’t need to worry about my friend—Caleb will still have a role in the family even if he’s replaced. Hell, he’ll probably be moved to a cushier role because of his mother’s influence.

I tune them out while they discuss other issues with the business. They have guys on the ground, searching for Vorsong members. Our guy in law enforcement will keep an eye out, too.

All is quiet outside. Danica’s probably long gone.

I go to the window and try to see in the darkness.

The paper lanterns on the dock are dark.

All that’s left is the light of the moon and a renegade set of twinkle lights on the far left of the lawn, opposite the boat house.

I think I see a flash of silver. Is that Danica?

I squint. Arms are wrapped around her. I know it’s Troy without having to look. I told him to watch her, and he will.

Between the two of us, she’ll always have someone to take care of her.

“…and Danica Aseyev was quite the hit, wasn’t she?” My grandfather chuckles.

Hearing her name has me involved in the conversation again. I turn back to the room, trying to look casual. I don’t want my father accusing me of feeling too much. I know the scorn that comes with that observation.

“She’s a pistol. She’ll do well in the family.” My father’s approval is more subtle than my grandfather’s, but I’m glad to hear it. Of course they like Danica. How could they not?

Our discussion doesn’t end for another hour. Danica and Troy leave. He has to half-carry her across the lawn. He’ll get her home safe. I scroll through some ideas on my phone before finally landing on one.

When it’s finally time to go, my father stops me in the hall. “Don’t fuck this up with the Aseyevs. We need this alliance, Edmund.”

I stare into his cold, blue eyes. “I won’t fuck it up.”

He strides away. I pick up my phone again, book ferry tickets and a hotel suite for Caperna, and send it all to Danica.