St Just glanced at his brother during the dinner; the guests were having a grand time, no doubt; Ava was trying her best to climb on Liam’s lap but he was having none of it.
Exasperated, she turned her attentions to Hussain Khan, the dealer from Pakistan, who was only too happy to oblige.
As the cars drove away in the darkness late into the night, Finn turned to his brother.
He had a speculative gleam on his face.
“The little Pet’s got you riled up, Liam, my man,” he said, making it sound half statement, half question.
*
Liam O’Grady was a man who had worked his way through many thousands of women. He had begun when he was young, still in his teens, breaking the women who worked for his father; for his father had also run a popular wh*re house.
But after his old man’s demise, Liam had taken a momentous decision and had shut it down; the thought of making women sell their bodies for his profit had been an abhorrent one for the young man and his long-suffering mother, who had been alive at the time, had fervently seconded him.
But he still had women flocking to his bed for more and then some.
*
Finn was a different kettle of fish, as their mother Maggie had once declared. He was cool and in control, and had never been as much of a lover as Liam. Women instinctively stayed away from him, knowing his penchant for punishment, for that was the way Finn St Just got off.
*
Now, standing in the dim porch lights, watching the last of their guests leave, the taillights of the cars becoming a blur in the distance, Finn St Just glanced again at his half-brother.
The chiseled jaw, the set mouth, the unruly black hair and the stubbled jaw, all of it gave Liam O’Grady a rakish look, but when he was in bed, he controlled his women, making them beg for release. And Finn did not deny that he enjoyed watching his brother play with their partners, after which, he would also take his turn.
*
Tonight, however, Liam looked…torn.
He looked angry at having been disobeyed by the chit of a teenager, but the sexual tension around him was like a cloud, a dark cloud of want and desire and Finn knew that the little girl upstairs was going to be totally unprepared for the onslaught Liam would unleash upon her. He felt a twinge of pity for her.
*
Bianca Cruz had looked so terrified, her big brown eyes wide in apprehension, her soft plump mouth parted. And then that T-shirt
Sweet Jaysus, he had never seen any woman look so sensuous in a f*cking Tee shirt, for f*cks’ sake. It had clung to her rounded breasts, full and heavy and as she had bent to pick up the books she had dropped to the floor in her anxiety, it had given everyone standing around a tantalizing glimpse of her magnificent chest.
Liam’s face had been like thunder as he stepped forward to shield her from the lascivious Pakistani’s gaze but Finn had known that the sight had turned his brother on.
*
Now Liam turned to him, the cleft in this chin clear in the moonlight as he growled,
“There’s a girl upstairs, bro, who is going to find out exactly what it feels like to disobey my orders.”
*
Bianca
I fell asleep soon after Alfred the butler turned the key in the lock, this time making sure that I was trapped in the large bedroom.
What could I do anyway, I thought bitterly, leap from the second-floor balcony of my room? With luck, I might end up in the swimming pool directly below, with a broken leg.
When I came awake slowly, I stretched and yawned. It was dark outside and I looked at the bedside clock which read 2 am.
Musing about how Liam O’Grady had looked, emerging from the pool that morning, buck naked, his splendid body glistening with water droplets, I felt my face turn warm.
And nearly jumped out of my skin as the key turned in the lock and the door opened.
*
I sat, frozen, my hands drawn up, arms wrapped around my knees that I had pulled up to my chest in a futile way to defend myself.
Defend myself from what exactly, I did not know.
Alfred stood thee. He looked as neat as a pin and I wondered in some hysteria if the man ever moved a muscle on his bland weathered face.
“Follow me. The masters are waiting for you in the library,” he said officiously and I rose, padding to the door.
He indicated that I should precede him and I walked down the heavily carpeted corridor, my palms damp with fear.
When we reached the first floor, he nodded to a door at the side and I followed him as he rapped on it.
*
“Come in,’ snapped O’Grady’s impatient rasp and I wanted to stall, to hang back but with an exasperated sigh, the old butler pushed me none too gently in the small of my back and I stumbled and entered. The door swung shut behind me ominously.
*
I looked about me, my hands clasped together. The lights were dim but a fire was lit in one corner of the room. Two large chairs, leather armchairs, had been placed on either side and St Just lolled in one, his eyes on me, I knew, although I could not see him clearly.
His back was to the flames and so, his face was cast in shadow.
But I could see Liam O’Grady clearly, alright. He stood, his shirt opened to his waist and I noticed the thick gold chain he wore around his neck for the first time.
Deciding to bell the cat, I began awkwardly,
“I’m sorry Sir…I…”
Bu he cut me off with a brusque,
“Come here, little Pet.”
I swallowed. There was no way out. I took first one step, then the other and went to stand before him, my head lowered, unable to meet his eyes.
*
His voice had been hoarse and now, when I stood before I peered up at him through my lashes. I was again aware of the silent golden gaze of St Just upon me, but there was no denying that my breath was coming faster because of O’Grady’s overwhelmingly masculine presence in front of me.
I could make out his broad shoulders, inhale a whiff of his masculine spice, mixed with the whiskey he had drunk and the musk of his body.
I gulped and began aagian,
“I …uh…made a mistake…I forgot the time…”
A hand snaked out and gripped my nape so suddenly, I looked up at him, startled, my prepared speech dying on my lips.
“Ah, lass. Is it that you want to be shared by my friends? Is that what you want?” he sneered, his voice like a whiplash on me.
The horror, undisguised and plain on my face drew a snort from the silent man lounging in the armchair by the fire.
My face flamed and it was not just because of the fire;
Shaking my head wildly, my long braid whipping across my shoulder, I raised my hands in supplication as I said,
“No…please…don’t…”
He stepped to me and I saw a thin, cold twist to his firm mouth.
My eyes seemed to be fixed on his mouth for some reason and he reached out and gripped my elbows, propelling me forward.
Suddenly, Liam O’Grady lowered his dark head and his lips crashed on mine, soft and persistent and once again, I trembled, helpless before his experienced onslaught. His tongue, his teeth, all of it were used like weapons to disarm an already weakened opponent and from far away, I became aware of another pair of hands, cupping my full breasts.
Finn St Just had come to stand behind me, his body cradling mine just so, but enough to make me whimper as his hands worked busily, taking off the shirt I had changed into.
Why did I change into a shirt? I asked myself absently but O’Grady was kissing me, pushing my bra away and his mouth descended on my nipples and I squealed.
*
Now, I was a naked figure, trembling before them, because somehow, the two of them had divested me of my clothing, all of it.
I had never been touched like this before and O’Grady raised his head, flushed and dark with passion and a touch of mockery, as he growled,
“Never did this, eh?”
I shook my head dumbly and he smiled, just a tight twist of those beautifully shaped lips and bent his head to my taut, firm nipples, first one, then the other. St Just was nipping at my earlobe, sucking on my neck, nuzzling, then biting and I was moaning now, having never been touched like this before…
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