Page 25

25

Thea

M y panties were far too wet to be a fire hazard. How dare Landon suggest he might start an OnlyFans! The mere thought of him stripping off for online subscribers made my blood boil. He was mine, goddammit!

Then reality crashed over my head like a 15-foot wave. Landon wasn’t mine. None of them were. What the fuck was I thinking?

I tried to push Landon back, but the guy was a solid wall of muscle. Not as broad as Kyril, but just as ripped. The moment my hands touched his pecs, I shivered. Naturally, all that did was encourage the horny bastard.

He ground his cock into me, further scrambling my brain. Milo watched us, apparently enjoying the free sex show. Kyril was in the room the guys had set up as a gym, but he’d likely appear at any moment.

Verity was my main concern. She could walk in at any moment. I’d left her watching a Princess Diaries DVD but if she lost interest, she’d come looking for me.

“Landon, we can’t do this here!” I hissed. “My baby sister is in the house!”

Some of the heat in Landon’s eyes faded as my words sunk in.

“Fuck.” He pulled back before scraping a hand across his stubbly jaw. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

Some of the anger I’d felt toward him since the Christmas Gala faded. It wasn’t his fault the sex tape went global, yet he was suffering too. Yes, he’d reacted badly to the audio clip of me agreeing to plant drugs on Cassian, but he had every right to think I’d played them all.

I had lied. Repeatedly.

Not because I wanted to, mind you, but still. Lies were lies.

Landon bent down and kissed me before moving over to the other side of the room to switch the coffee machine on, whistling something jaunty.

“You two need to fuck,” Milo advised from the kitchen island. “It might help.”

I glared at him, not appreciating his input. “Is that so you can watch?”

“Yes, absolutely. I’d love to watch Lan fuck you. Can I watch?”

Milo’s eagerness at the thought of playing voyeur was disconcerting. Did none of these guys ever experience jealousy? Landon seemed happy to watch me fuck Kyril, and also Cassian. And vice versa. Milo apparently didn’t mind watching either.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to ignore the unresolved arousal thrumming through my body. Maybe it was time I left. If I stayed here much longer, my self-control might lose the will to live.

“I better go check on Verity,” I mumbled. Maybe a dose of schmaltzy romance might settle my libido.

Before I’d even left the kitchen, we all heard the sound of a car pulling up outside the front door.

“Are we expecting anyone?” Landon asked, worried. Milo shook his head and looked at his phone while I surreptitiously grabbed a sharp knife from the counter. I didn’t think my father would have discovered my location yet, but it was better not to take any chances. Hopefully, Kyril and Dario hadn’t gone far.

It occurred to me I’d started seeing Dario as one of us, rather than the enemy, and quickly buried the thought.

“Looks like a taxi,” Milo replied, peering through the window, then he smiled. “Oh, he’s arrived.”

“He?”

“Cassian.”

What the actual fuck? “Why is Cassian here?” I gritted out, completely taken aback that the man who hated my guts was now spending Christmas with us. Like I didn’t have enough shit to deal with.

“He messaged me this morning to say he was on his way.”

“And it didn’t occur to you to mention this?”

“I thought it would be a nice surprise.” Milo’s smile vanished. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Um…” Landon grimaced awkwardly. “I think what Thea is trying to say is that the last time she saw Cassian things were, um, a bit tense…”

“Tense is a fucking understatement,” I muttered, edging back to the doorway. If Cassian was here, I should go pack a bag or something. I doubted he’d want me around. Maybe I should have accepted Eden’s offer of a loan after all. At least that way I could fund a hotel for a few nights.

Taking my sister with me would make it more difficult, but I could sell it to her as a surprise vacation. Dublin had pretty Christmas lights this time of year. Verity would love to see the lights.

I slipped away while Landon bickered with Milo. There was still time to order a taxi and call Eden. She’d help me out. I dashed upstairs to throw some clothes in a bag and grab the phone Kyril had given me so I could keep in touch with Eden.

“Everything OK, a chara ? Have they broken your pussy yet?” Eden chuckled like a loon down the phone and then hiccuped. In the background, I heard a deep male voice cussing her out. At a guess, it was one of her cousins. Not Declan, as I didn’t recognize the voice.

“Ronan says hello,” she laughed. “And also he’s available if you need another member for your harem.”

Ignoring her lewd suggestion because I needed another man like I needed a Brazilian butt lift, I asked, “Eden, can you lend me some cash?”

“It’s kinda late for last-minute Christmas shopping, babe, although Amazon might still deliver.”

“Cassian’s arrived, which means I need to leave.”

“That dickhead? I thought he was at his parents’ place?”

“Apparently not.” I dashed into the bathroom to collect my toothbrush and a hairbrush. I’d miss this house. The sound of the ocean never failed to soothe my chaotic thoughts.

She muttered something derogatory about pencil dicks. “Want me to send a car?”

“No, I can get a taxi. You’re busy.” And also drunk .

“I’m not busy at all.” The background noise faded, and I heard a door click shut. “We’re playing stupid board games and the guys are losing, so they won’t mind if we stop.”

Waiting for a car would take too long. “It’s OK. I’ll call a taxi.” Kyril gave me some cash for gifts, which I hadn’t touched. It was more than enough for a ride out of here.

“Right, OK.” There was a brief pause. “You could try talking to him, Thea? He’s had time to cool down and he knows now what happened.”

“No, he won’t have forgiven me. Trust me on that. Verity and I are better off leaving.”

“Thea, it’s not safe out there!” Eden’s voice rose a notch. “I get why you think running away is the answer, but I think you’re making a mistake.”

“So you won’t help me?” I shouldn’t have asked. Eden had already done more than enough for me. She was probably sick to the back teeth of a friend who’d turned out to be nothing but trouble.

“That’s not what I’m saying! Sheesh . You know I’d do anything to help you!”

“Doesn’t matter, I will figure something out.” Before she could say another word, I hung up. Relying on other people never worked out well for me. I loved Eden, she’d been the best friend I’d ever had, but it was time I got my shit together and figured things out on my own.

I grabbed a few last items from the bathroom and then hooked my bag over my shoulder. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take long to sort Verity out and wait for a taxi.

Ignoring the little voice in my head that told me to stop and think about this, I yanked open my bedroom door, only to find Kyril waiting for me with a thunderous expression on his face.

“Going somewhere, kotenok ?” he growled.

“Move. I’m not in the mood.” I tried to shoulder-barge my way past him, but he dug his heels in and refused to budge.

“No, you’re not leaving.”

For fuck’s sake . Eden must have called them the minute I hung up on her. That bitch!

“Yeah, I am.”

He pinned me to the wall. “No, you’re fucking not!”

Realizing I wasn’t going to get him to shift, not without causing him some serious harm, I deflated like a popped balloon.

“Fine,” I huffed, somewhat petulantly. I’d stick around until after Christmas and then leave. It was a big house, with more than enough space for Cassian and I to avoid each other. For all I knew, he wasn’t planning on staying for long anyhow.

“You and Cassian need to talk.” My eyebrows shot up.

“What’s there to talk about? He thinks I betrayed him.”

“So did Landon, but you’re fine with him now?”

“Not fine,” I huffed.

“Oh really? You seemed pretty friendly not long ago, while he had you pressed up against the counter in the kitchen.”

Oh fuck, had he seen that? My cheeks flushed.

“Yes, kotenok , I saw everything .” He edged closer until my back hit the wall. “Maybe you and Cass just need to fuck it out of your systems.”

“I’m not fucking him again.” OK, so I wasn’t wholly against the idea. For all his faults, Cassian was hot as fuck, and the Daddy vibes he gave off definitely got my motor running. But fucking him again would be a mistake.

It was bad enough I’d let Landon dickmatize me in the kitchen. The pair of them were bad news. Kyril got a pass because he’d rescued me and never bad-mouthed me. And also because being here made me horny as fuck, and I needed at least one fuck buddy to relieve the pressure.

Was it pregnancy hormones? Yep, I still hadn’t taken a test. So sue me. If I was pregnant, there was nothing I could do about it for a few days. Or at all.

“Let’s go downstairs and eat. Everyone’s sitting at the table waiting for us.” He stroked my cheek and leaned in, brushing my mouth with his. For once, his kiss was more about reassurance than passion, but it didn’t stop the sparks from igniting deep in my core.

Not wanting to go down and see Cassian, I drew him closer, deepening our kiss. In no time at all, he grew hard against my belly.

“Bad girl,” he groaned. “I can’t go back down with a hard-on. Your sister is in the kitchen.”

“Then let’s stay here,” I suggested hopefully, avoidance being my middle name.

He reluctantly drew back after one last lingering kiss. “No. You two need to talk. But first, food. I can hear your stomach growling.”

Dammit . Since when had Kyril become the voice of reason? Had the universe flipped on its head overnight?

I rolled my eyes and threw the bag I’d packed on the bed. “Fine! Just know that if he starts bitching at me, I will fucking stab him in the dick.”

“He won’t,” Kyril promised. “From what little he said, he’s dealing with a ton of shit from his father.”

Was that why he’d traveled to the back of beyond on Christmas Eve? I knew from overhearing the guys talking that Lucian Forsyth was not a happy bunny. Hardly a massive shock. The sex tape had derailed Cassian’s engagement and probably cost Lucian a fuck ton of money in terms of losing business with Camilla’s father.

Not my problem, but still. If Lucian was anything like my father - and from what I knew about him, I suspected he was - then Cassian had been under immense pressure since the sex tape went viral.

“I could eat,” I admitted reluctantly as Kyril took my hand. Seeing Cassian would likely kill my appetite, but it was Christmas. If nothing else, we’d all have to play nice for Verity’s benefit.

“Good. Now let’s go and be mature adults.”

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Kyril tugged me back into his arms before I could push the door to the kitchen open. Landon’s laughter caught my attention. His mood had picked up after days of sulking. Was our sexy moment in the kitchen earlier the reason?

The delicious aroma of spiced stew set my stomach off again. It seemed like my body didn’t care about Cassian’s presence - it wanted food.

“If you’re a good girl,” Kyril whispered in my ear. “I’ll reward you later.”

A shiver of anticipation slithered down my spine as I imagined what that reward looked like.