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For all of the ladies who wished Buffy, Feyre, Peyton, Katniss, Aelin, Rachel, Bella, Rory and Sookie never had to choose…
Go, Mom. Way to score that rich peen.
“Hey little lamb, come out and play.”
now I want to cry and punch something simultaneously.
Something in my chest tightens at the thought of Briar and her mother being here. This is my house. Where my mother used to live. And they’ve just… taken it over.
“No more hazing Briar. No more underwear,” he commands, shaking his head. How the hell did he know about that? Did Briar tell him? “What were you thinking? I raised you better than that.” Yeah, until you forced me to cohabitate with the hot-as-sin stepsister.
We turn to Hunter, who walks up to the billowing smoke, the flames nearly licking the skin of his arms. For a second, we remember—the body, haphazardly dumped here, the way the town grieved, the way people expected Hunter, then a gangly fifteen-year-old, to cope with the gruesome death of his mother. His best friend. He was never the same. Taking something metal from his pocket, he kisses it before throwing it into the fire, and I realize it’s his mother’s locket. We may think we’re up here drinking, having a good time, but for him? This is a goddamned funeral.
“You’re all the same, aren’t you?” My voice is quieter than I expected, edged with emotion. “Men. Men who hurt women.” Like last night, his expression falls for a second. Good. I keep pushing. “You rape us,” I growl, and his eyebrows fly up. “Defiling us, teasing us, invading our space, ensuring even our home doesn’t feel safe,”
People are still terrified of the Kings, but I’m about to pull a checkmate. Hunter, Ash, Ledger, and Samson are about to witness how this Queen attacks—slow, premeditated, and lethal.
“Okay, but today—” “Will not happen again,” he growls, pushing against me. I gasp as his body collides with mine. “I made damn sure the guys knew they were not to touch you ever again. And that was before I knew what actually happened. I’m sorry, Briar. Truly.”
“Why are you fighting it?” he asks softly. “Think about how good we could be. Together.” I fight the urge to nod, to agree wholeheartedly, but my mind is screaming at me. “Truth be told, I haven’t been able to concentrate since you arrived in Greythorn.”
Hunter cornered me and kissed my neck in my schlubby pajamas. I make a mental note to buy some nicer ones. For me, not for him.
I bend down and tie my sneakers, looking up just as Briar comes onto the track. I stifle a laugh as she glowers at everyone, her expression sour and displeased. My dark, little rain cloud.
“I assume this means you’ll be giving me a ride home,” she says, her voice low. It hits me then—this dress, the way her eyes land on mine—it was for me. For us. I saw her looking, saw her long neck crane above the crowd, her grey eyes scanning, hoping to land on one of us. Come out and play, little lamb. “If you’re good,” I answer, and when our eyes meet in the rearview mirror, something darkens in her pupils. I’m not going to be able to think of anything else until I’m inside of her.
Ash’s arms slide around her stomach as she sits on his lap, and I smile. These guys are my best friends. My soulmates. There is no jealousy.
I find myself thinking about my friends in ways I never did before, sharing her, knowing they’re happy, knowing they like her just as much as I do. Seeing her through their eyes is exhilarating, and something savage burns through me when I think about watching her… with them.
We used to be the Kings of Ravenwood. I guess I never realized until Briar Monroe showed up that we needed a Queen.
Maybe they’re still messing with me. Maybe this is all just a game for them. But… maybe it’s a game I want to play, too.
“You wouldn’t fight it, would you? If I could make you come so hard that you saw stars?”
“Admit that you would scream if I was deep inside of you, fucking you senseless.”
“Let me own you,” he growls, nibbling my neck. “Yes,” I whisper, my voice barely audible.
Have you thought about how it would feel to fuck each of us? To see how we’re all different…”
I finger fucked his sister. And I know it bothers him that he wasn’t the first to do it.
I don’t blame her for wanting to fuck all of us. I’ve never been one for polyamory, but I don’t think any of us are willing to give her up, so it may just be where we’re all headed.
I clench my fists as I watch Samson Hall walk ahead of me, careful not to step on the trash littering the floor. He’s a smartass—and because of our history, I have a soft spot for him. I shake my head and look away. It was a long time ago.
“Fuck me,” he murmurs, narrowing his eyes. His low voice lands in my core, sinking like molten lava. “I dare you. And I want to be the first.” He pauses. “You want it, too.”
“Tonight changed everything,” he murmurs. “You’re ours now. You realize that, right?” I laugh. “You can’t stake ownership over me.” “I don’t mean we own you like a slave,” he muses. “But at least for me, now that I’ve had a taste of you, I don’t think I can go back. And I think I can speak for all of my friends.”
They’re all so different—and they all bring something different out in me. It would be impossible to find a guy with all their good traits—mysterious, filthy talker, bad boy, romantic—and I feel lucky that I get to see what it’s like with each of them.
I’m not religious, but she makes me want to kneel before an altar and confess the downright filthy things that run through my mind when I think of her.
“I never kiss on the first date, Briar.” “But—” “Trust me,” he adds, his eyes darkening. “I won’t be so nice next time.”
Pulling me into him, he whispers, “I want to fuck you in those boots one day.” I let out a breathy gasp, but quickly recover. “If you’re lucky.”
“Good girl.” Brushing the tangled hair out of my face, he cocks his head. My breathing halts as he smiles down at me, his lips twisting to the side slightly. “This is so fucking hot.”
“Do you think I care if you fucked Ash?” I murmur, my lips feathering against her neck. Her eyes flutter closed. “I told you before, fuck one of us, or all of us. They’re like my brothers. As long as you’re mine when you’re with me,” I finish, kissing the pale, delicate skin behind her ear.
She’s my kryptonite, and I knew the instant we met that staying away from her was never going to be an option.
“It’s like you’re a zipper,” he says slowly, running a finger down the middle of my chest, mimicking the movement. “You go your whole life zipped up, and then someone comes along and starts to tug. Inevitably, you’ll be unzipped—and you won’t be prepared for what spills out. That’s how I feel when I’m around you.”
“We each get our share of you,” he muses. “We protect you. Show you that sex can feel good again. Date you, fuck you, worship you…”
I’m too distracted by the pool to pay attention—and I’ve already seen Ash naked from the waist down—but Samson surprises me. He has a cock piercing, and the guy is hung.
“I feel like an animal around you,” he says, his voice gravelly. “I am a feminist, I believe in women’s rights, and consent, and all of that…” He swallows, and I admire the way his throat bobs. “But you make me wild. Feral,” he growls.
“Is that for me or for her?” Ash asks, swallowing. Samson smiles and looks between us. “Both, I think.” A tremor of excitement runs through me when Ash reaches out and brushes a piece of wet hair off Samson’s forehead. And then he pins his eyes on me. “Get over here,” he commands. Fuck.
“Which one of us do you want where, Briar?” Ash asks. I look between them. How can I possibly choose something like that? Who has to make that kind of decision in real life? Is this real life?
“Briar,” Ash purrs. “Where do you want me?” I pull away from Samson, tipping my head back as Ash kisses my neck from behind. “I want to see you two together first.”
