Page 24 of The Devil's Daughter

“And if she doesn’t? What if I’m right, and you and I have just opened Pandora’s box… Wait, you didn’t see her little show yesterday, did you? She’s a fucking bomb waiting to go off if we don’t give her some outlet. Now that she knows you want her—hell, thatIwant her—she’sgoingto want to explore these feelings.”

“How the fuck do you know so much?” he snaps. “You the fucking Virgin Whisperer or something?”

“I’m just very observant when it comes to women, and in case you missed it, she’s not a virgin anymore. We both had a taste, and I know the second I leave you alone in here, you’re going to remember every perfect second of being inside her, of being the man who had her first, and you’re going to soap up that dick and whack off until your balls are empty—but it won’t stop you wanting her. If you’re anything like me, she’s an itch you’ll never be able to scratch without going back for the real thing.”

His jaw flexes and a vein beneath the ink covering his neck begins to pulse rapidly. But he just sneers at me. “Get the fuck out of here before my brother catches you perving on me in the shower. You don’t want to piss him off, because he can ruin your life.”

It isn’t an empty threat. Ben’s the muscle and is smart as a whip, but Baz is brilliant when it comes to cyber security. Which also means he can royally fuck my entire corporation with a few keystrokes, if he puts his mind to it.

Just as I turn to leave, he calls out, “When Baz figures it out, let me handle him.”

“Why would you tell him?”

“I don’t plan to, but he’ll know. Secrets aren’t a thing for us. But he doesn’t need to know everything. If I can, I’ll make him believe it was just me. He’ll be jealous, but he’ll deal. If he knows about you… I can’t promise he won’t do something to get even.”

11

Ben

Why I feelthe need to protect Drake from Baz, I have no clue. A nagging voice tells me it’s because he isn’t wrong—that we have a connection. I’m just not ready to listen to it yet. I’m still trying to process the fever dream of a three-way I had with him and Elle last night.

He utters a reluctant “thank you” before disappearing out the door so I can shower in peace. Of course his prediction is spot-on, because the second he’s gone, I close my eyes and picture the series of events that led to Elle straddling my hips to pop her precious cherry on my aching dick.

I can’tnottake care of myself. I’m hard within seconds, fist wrapped around my shaft, stroking up a foamy lather with that sweet, expensive-smelling soap. She was so goddamn tight, so hot and wet, but the look in her eyes was what did me in—as ifIwereherfantasy come true. Every sweet second, she was fully invested, even when Drake took over, pounding into her moments after I’d spilled inside her, bringing her off again while she clung to me, kissing me into oblivion.

Jesus. If I didn’t have to face my brother soon, I’d just stand in this fucking shower and jerk off to the memory all damn day. But what I said to Drake wasn’t a lie, which dampens my enjoyment, preventing me from getting hard a second time.

It can’t happen again. Not as long as either of them are in danger. Not while Amador has it out for Arturo and his daughters. And not while this new, mysterious threat is hanging over Drake’s head.

I shouldn’t have let it happen the first time, but I wasn’t exactly coherent when they came into my room. It wasn’t until I was sandwiched between them that the haze of my blood-drenched nightmare faded, only to be replaced with a need so thick it was like quicksand. I can’t let myself be such a slave to my impulses again, no matter how much I want to explore these new desires; for Elle, who I’ve always loved, but never imagined would want more than friendship; and for Drake, an attraction which came over me so unexpectedly I have no idea how to properly compartmentalize it.

In an effort to shock my system back into business, I flip the temperature to cold and am gratified by the icy, slightly brine-scented water that blasts against my heated skin. I angle the spray to my crotch, then back to my head, bending to let it cascade over me before tilting back and letting out a roar of pent-up frustration. The yell clears my head enough to focus so I can at least mentally prepare to face Baz.

There’s no sign of him on this deck, so I find the elevator up, following the scent of fresh coffee and bacon to the open-air dining area, where I find my twin digging into a plate loaded with food from a small buffet. He’s alone, which is some relief, because it makes it easier to relax. I load up a plate of breakfast for myself, pour a mug of coffee from the carafe, and sit at the four-person table situated under an awning that shades the deck.

“This is sweet as hell, isn’t it?” Baz says, gesturing around us with a crispy slice of bacon. “Much better gig than we had with Papá Flores.”

“It has its bonuses,” I agree as I slather butter on a piece of toast. “That doesn’t give us an excuse to treat it like a vacation, though.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the little bit of downtime we get. How’re you doing today,hermano?”

I concentrate on my food as I give a slight shoulder twitch, catching myself just a touch too late. He’s referring to my night terrors, which aren’t something I’ve bothered hiding from him in ages, but he knows full well that my stupid shrug-off is my biggest tell that I’m hidingsomething.

Clearing my throat, I offer, “Not too bad,” but his eyes are narrowed on me already.

Rather than look pissed, his lips twitch in a smirk. “Drake?”

When my eyebrows shoot up, he chuckles. “Youreallyneeded to get laid. Glad it helped.”

“It’s not what you think…” I begin, then catch myself, because maybe his assumption is the safer one.

“Brother, I don’t need details,” he says, then shuts his mouth and tilts his chin toward the doorway behind me. I know both by the way he just clammed up and by the smile that lights up his face that Elle’s here. A breeze coasts over us, carrying the scent of her sweet soap to us before she plops down in the chair next to mine.

“Morning,” she says with a delighted grin, snatching a piece of bacon off my plate and crunching into it. I clench my jaw, giving her a sidelong look that hopefully conveys a warning. She just bats her eyelashes at me, pops the last piece of bacon in her mouth, then sucks off her fingertips.

Fuck me sideways, this isn’t helping.

I cautiously slide my gaze back to Baz, but whatever joy that was there has transformed to dark mistrust. His jaw is clenched so tight the muscles spasm and his knuckles have gone white around his juice glass. He just looks between the two of us for a few beats before letting his gaze rest on Elle.

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