Daddies Brat

India

My nipples peak and I slam my eyes shut as Stefan carries us across the floor. Tomas’ husked words play my body like a finely tuned instrument. I can do nothing more than follow Stefan for several

turns around the ballroom.

I hit a mental rewind on our conversation as one waltz melds into another.

He promises? What the hell does that mean?

I relax into Stefan’s warm arms as he holds me protectively. By the side, I see Maksym and Tomas tracking us.

Stefan is just as smooth on the dance floor as Tomas and as we glide across the polished marble, he makes me feel light as a feather.

All the swirls of combined perfumes and musky colognes from the other men finally dissipate and when I inhale, Stefan’s masculine scent fills my senses.

I shake my head but it does no good.

It’s all it takes to pull my mind off of Tomas’ words and onto the man who I no longer see as a hulking beast.

“Do you always dance like this with the women you take?”

His lip quirks up. “Like what?”

He might not have much to say, but his fingers do a lot of the talking for him. He traces the dip of my back and my breath lingers in my throat for a long moment.

I lean into his arms until my chest presses against his. “Like you’re making love to them,” I purr.

Just like Tomas, Stefan glides us to a swaying halt and I swallow a moan when his fingers press into my skin with heat and purpose.

What was it about these men drawing attention to us? I flash a sheepish smile to a passing couple I recognize as the governor and his wife. My mother will be receiving a call by tomorrow at the latest. Those two had lunch twice a month and by the extra-long looks aimed my way, there will be no end to the questions they will lay on my mother.

“I can’t remember the last time I danced with a lady.” He pauses. “I saw the look in your eyes when you were dancing with Tomas. I didn’t have to hear the words to understand the emotions behind your eyes. You feel what we feel. Do you deny it?”

Wow. Hard right turn there.

“I can’t explain it, Stefan,” I say quietly as though anything said above a whisper will break whatever spell that has fallen over the four of us.

“You don’t need to. Something draws us to you, India. Give us one night. Then I’ll rip you from the men’s clutches and return you to your home personally if you want to leave. They will fight to keep you and make no mistake, so will I. But I will see to it your desires are met first.”

His hand finds the place where Tomas had placed his, and the second the roughness of his fingertips finds my heated skin I whimper.

Does that make me weak? Probably.

“One night?”

My mind goes blank as his dark eyes watch every inch of my expression.

We’ve all but forgotten about our dance as we sway in place on the outskirts of the dance floor. I can sense Tomas and Maksym hanging back, giving us a moment alone.

Stefan brushes long brunette locks of hair over my shoulder and leans in until my nipples brush against his chest. The slightest touch causes them to pebble and I suck in a shocked gasp.

“Before you answer, you should know tonight you will learn the difference between men simply pleasuring a woman and men pleasuring the woman they love. I don’t plan on playing nice. I’ll use every dirty trick to make you never want to leave us.”

Stefan’s dark eyes gleam with sexual knowledge I desperately want to experience, but my mind and heart cling to his last words.

“Love?” Love? Could it be true?

“There’s no power in lying about how we feel.”

What is happening to me? Maybe I shouldn’t fight what I feel. We’re all adults and like Stefan put it, why should I refuse to acknowledge the truth and lie to myself? But love? Could the gnawing feeling of dread and anxiety eating at my insides have been because I fell in love with them?Text © owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

A flash of a shiver rushes me.

“Tell me how to take your silence. Should we step back, walk away, or are you curious as to why your heart races when we are near? Or why your body responds to our touches? Are you curious why the pain of our separation is fading now that we are together? I know why. The question is, are you still wanting us to be a filthy secret or are you ready for what comes next?”

There is not a part of me that believe any of them would walk away so easily.

Maksym and Tomas are making their way to us.

Smug and arrogant. All his questions lead back to one thing. Me admitting to myself I have more than just lust for these men. But what does that mean for my future with my father’s company? How do I move forward without ruining my future? Is love worth it?

If I said no and walked away, would I be able to pick up the pieces of my shattered life without them? I thought I could walk away once, but I know why I haven’t finished my code. It’s because every second of every day I was thinking of them. Should I text them and beg them to take me back? Or did their nonreply to my ghosting mean they were done too? It all stung and weighed so heavily on my heart that I couldn’t focus.

And then tonight they appeared. And my soul felt complete. How silly. I am in love with freaking mobsters.

“Speak to me, India.”

“May I cut in and steal a dance with the lady?”

I stiffen at the intrusion of a familiar voice.

The sudden interruption has me turning. “Mr. Thacker?”

I’m content where I am at and don’t make a move to comply with the request. I could be dancing with the devil and still not want to move.

“Is this man bothering you, my love?”

My stomach churns at Thacker’s pet name. It makes cold chills skitter along my spine. I was wondering when the slimy billionaire would get enough steel in his balls to approach. I noticed him walking on the fringes of the dance floor a few moments before, only I made the mistake of not preparing myself for the inevitable.

They did that to me.

I couldn’t afford the distractions and that is exactly what is happening here. I’m letting my heart win when I need to focus. I have a promise to keep.

Thacker places a heavy hand on my shoulder and I flinch. I’m sure he didn’t mean to be so brutish but the chunky emerald ring on his finger digs into my bare flesh.

I’m not a confrontational kind of person, but it doesn’t seem Stefan has a problem throwing his massive weight around.

“The lady is dancing with me.” He reaches around and grips Thacker’s fingers, crushing the bones against that gaudy ring of his. I take just a little pleasure in seeing the wince of pain shoot across his contrite expression.

“You should ask before touching,” Stefan warns.

Thacker jerks his hand free, shaking his fingers. “I’m not talking to you, piece of trash. Move out of my way. You’re nothing here. Why don’t you crawl back to your shadows and stick to the filthy streets where you belong? Otherwise, I’ll ruin you all. All I have to do is snap my fingers. Now step away from my woman.”

My brows rise. “Your woman? Thacker, what has gotten into you?”

And just like that my stealthy panther transforms into the hulking beast I first met.

Stefan pulls me behind him and in the next second, I feel Maksym and Tomas come up behind me. The three of them sandwich me between them and I know one more word from Thacker and it might be his last.

In front of me, Stefan’s shoulders rise and fall with his heavy breathing.

“You don’t want this. Take a breather, my friend. Walk away while you can. No harm done.”

Tomas speaks up from behind me and Maksym places a protective hand on the dip of my waist. “Believe me when I say nothing will make me feel better than to polish the scuff marks off the marble with your pussy face. Don’t push us.”

The men’s warning turns lethal and despite trying, Thacker can’t work his level of intimidation to match my three.

“Another time perhaps.” Thacker turns his attention to me. “I’ll be seeing you, India. We have business to discuss. Alone. Until then.” He fixes me with a dark look that has my skin crawling.

Stefan moves behind me and places a gentle hand on my back. The gesture is soothing, but I can’t take my eyes off the scene in front of me.

When Thacker melts into the crowd and everyone returns to their drinks and low whispering, all eyes on us, I take several steps backward. Thacker needed someone to stand up to him and it did my soul good to hear and see it for myself.

I inject levity into my words I don’t feel in the slightest. “I need some air. All the alpha posturing is clogging the throat.” I turn to head down a hidden exit that leads to the back of the house and the farthest from the guests. Maksym gives me a quick nod of understanding. “Sounds good to us.”

Their proximity is more potent by the minute and I’m having a hard time remembering why I thought falling into their arms and bed was a bad idea.

All three follow me from the ballroom and I duck into a small study on the opposite side of the house from the downstairs library. It’s also the side of the house closest to the street.

“Is there a back way out of here?” Tomas asks.

“Follow me.” I take them through a hidden door made to appear as part of the wall. It swings open and when we are all through, soft dome lights flicker on. “This leads to the underground parking garage and where the valet no doubt has your car. It’s how my father sneaks out for a round of golf or two when my mother wants to go antique shopping.”

Stefan wraps his arm around my waist and I fall in step beside him. “Remember how I said we would get you alone sooner rather than later?”

“I remember the words ‘one more night’ were used.” I find Maksym’s gaze over my shoulder as I speak. His tender smile defies his hard edges and shadowed expression.

“Yes,” they say in unison.

“And what is your answer?” Maksym asks in a hushed tone. He strokes a finger down my cheek.

Is it too woo-woo to believe some outside force has brought us together?

Math and science are my languages so I’m completely out of my depth.

That doesn’t stop me from feeling though. I have a good handle on how well they can play my body with a caress of a finger here and a look there. I absorb their presence and let their words from our shared dance replay in my mind. The emotions they stir in me and the need to feel each and every one of them under their touch.

We hurry down the back stairs and make our way through the seas of black Caddies and SUVs when we come to an abrupt stop beside a polished limo.

Stefan holds the door and I pause.

“Yes. My answer is yes,” I state confidently. And to be honest, it surprises the hell out of me.

Before I can question my actions, I follow Maksym and Tomas inside and Stefan quickly slides in behind me. He closes the door behind us and a pang of something to come hits me. A change.

Darkness cocoons us as they give directions to the driver.

“Where are we going?”

“Our place. Where it’s safe and free of any interruptions. We have a few things to discuss.”

Sweet, holy torture. No science class or computer skill ever prepared me for the dark, sinful promises in Maksym’s deep voice.

Agonizing anticipation hits me and I tremble.