Page 12 of Owned

A smile that was more fear than delight twisted across Avril’s full lips.

Lips I wanted to see wrapped around my cock—not smiling at my father.

“You’re right,” she replied. “You have been denied your desires for too long.”

A shiver rippled up my spine.

“Perfect,” Lucian said softly, as if he relished every moment of her discomfort.

He drew Avril’s hand to his lips and pressed them against her knuckles.

CRASH

The sharp echo of breaking glass filled the room and Lucian pulled away from Avril with anger in his pale eye.

“What—”

“Clumsy me,” Bastian sang out. “I think Valen’s right… Maybe I’ve had enough—”

Bastian’s feigned nonchalance was almost impressive as he pretended to survey the shards of shattered crystal that glinted like glass stars on the marble tiles. They were bright against the deep red of the spilled wine that seeped between them. “Forgive me,” Bastian added, as a grin stretched his lips.

Lucian’s unsettling gray eyes flickered with a fury I hadn’t seen in some time—but it was quickly masked. “Your recklessness is unbecoming, Bastian.” His voice was low and cold, but Bastian didn’t seem affected.

“Let him be,” Titus chimed in smoothly. “It’s just wine.” He took another sip from his glass and leaned back in his chair as though to show his indifference.

“Just wine,” Lucian repeated. His voice took an easy turn, as if he were speaking to children who needed correction. “Spilled, wasted… Careless.” He flicked his hand, and a pair of servants appeared like phantoms to clean up the mess. “I expect more from my sons.”

Bastian shrugged and rose from his chair, silent in defiance.

I followed his lead, eager for escape.

Titus stood last and considered Avril with dark humor before turning away. “A spring wedding,” he scoffed as he strode toward the door.

Lucian didn’t stop us from leaving, which worried me more than if he had.

He didn’t trust us, though.

Lucian’s fingers drummed against the table, and I could almost feel his thoughts as they twisted in his mind like iron vines as we slipped out of the room, leaving him with Avril.

Bastian was halfway down the hall, shoulders dropped in affected indifference, when I caught up with him. He had always been the most careless of us—quick to drink and quicker to act—but under Lucian’s scrutiny he could be cold and precise too.

“Are we really going to leave her alone in there with him?” I asked.

“What choice do we have?” Titus growled.

He was right. We couldn’t do anything.

“Think he’ll punish us?” Bastian asked with a quick glance over his shoulder.

“If he marries Avril as planned,” I said grimly, “he won’t have to.”

The slant of Bastian’s mouth turned dark. “He’s not going to fucking touch her.”

We all knew how all-consuming Lucian’s plans could be— But he rarely kept us out of them. And the fact that he wouldn’t answer Titus’ questions unnerved me more than I wanted to admit.

Titus was visibly irritated.

Unless we did something soon, Lucian’s hold on Messana would strangle our own designs.

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