Page 83 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“Hey Belle, it’s okay.” Holter grasps the back of her head. And then he glares at me like I’ve done something wrong.

I sink to the sofa. My fucking ankles throb. The ice in the freezer was something Dr. Pertusio placed there for me. I haven’t touched it, nor do I plan on touching it.

What I do need is Annabelle. Her touch is better than any artificial pain relief. “Come here, Little Krill.” I hold my arms out for my moon and tide. She glances at Eros but comes to me. I wrap her up in my arms, and for the first time today, my heart rate slows and my vision clears. I breathe in the smell of her hair, the intoxicating apple scent filling my lungs. I kiss along the top of her ear.

“I’m okay, Nico.” She nuzzles into my chest, her body touching mine all the way to our toes. She gives me a squeeze and tips her head back. “If I had a block, this wouldn’t have happened.” Her lips twist into a smirk, a smirk that doesn’t irritate me nearly as much as Eros’s does.

“If Eros had any brain cells, this wouldn’t have happened,” I growl back, glaring at him across the room. I still want to have it out with him.

Holter’s staring at me. He’s on guard mode. He thinks I’m still on the knife’s edge about Eros. Holter’s vibration is palpable. The least movement, and he’ll have Annabelle out of the way and me pinned to the ground. Last week, we were evenly matched. Now? I’m not going to admit it out loud, but he could take me. Hell, Eros’s brittle seaweed of a brother could take me.

“Hey!” Annabelle shakes her head. “If this is going to work, we have to be kind to each other.”

Holter and Eros both laugh.

Annabelle lets go of my waist. “Seriously. Stop it! Kindness.”

“Belle? We’re doing our best.”

“Really? Do better.”

“I know something we’re not half bad at.” Eros drops the bloody cloth on the island.

“You’re shit at it.” I pick up Annabelle. Her stomach rests on my shoulder, her head hanging over my back. I’m getting stronger every day. No amount of Arg-leth in my veins could ever make me weak enough to not be able to carry her. I’m five strides down the hallway before the other two even move. Annabelle is holding on around my waist, her braids brushing the backs of my calves.

“Nico?” She slaps my ass. I keep moving. “Nico? We should—”

I slide the hand that isn’t around her waist up the inside of her tunic under her underwear, as she calls them. Finding her pussy wet. “We should pound it out before we do anything else.” I wiggle my finger over her clit as I reach the bedroom.

“That’s so not—” She moans. I put her on the side of the bed, carefully leaving my finger swirling around. She thrusts her hips into my waiting hand. This. This is what I need. My mate crying out with need, taking what she wants. Using me how she needs me.

Like a barracuda, she rolls away from my hand and jumps on the side of the bed. Standing on the mattress, she is as tall as I am. “Take off your tunic. Now.”

The smallest of smiles takes hold of my lips, but I stand firm, my hands on my hips. Behind me, Holter and Eros are shedding their clothes. But Annabelle needs a challenge. She doesn’t need us all to be her shark puppies. She needs someone who is her equal.

“Nico.” Her low warning makes me hard. She sucks in her lips and puts her hand on my shoulder. “Take off your tunic and get on your knees.”

Her defiant smile has me hard. “Make me.”

Her hand slips into my pants. Her fingers cup my balls, rolling them in her palm. Eros and Holter move to the edge of the bed. They’re naked. They’ve followed her orders like obedient soldiers.

I’m not a good soldier. I’m not good at anything.

She slides her fingers around my cock and eases up and down. Pumping me. I’m not following her directions, but she owns me, and she knows it. I wrap my hand around her neck, turning it sideways as I lurch forward and suck on my mate mark. Reflexively, she squeezes my cock.

My eyes roll into the back of my head. Another motion like that, and I will come in her hand. “Annabelle, let go.” My voice comes from my diaphragm. It’s low and rough.

“Make me,” she growls.

I glance over my shoulder. Holter and Eros lie on the bed.

“You need a little help there, Commander?” Eros laughs.

I flip her on her back, her hands pinned above her head. My mouth is watering to taste her.

“There you are.” Her eyes twinkle. Oh, she’s going to pay for that, and I won’t mind having a little help.

My lips are on hers, our mouths dueling, her kiss softening to my touch as we go on. Holter’s close. When I lift my lips from hers, I incline my head to him, and he’s not shy about taking over. I’m off the bed, my tunic gone. From the side table, I get rope. It’s not something we’ve used before, and it’s not something we’re going to use today. Not on Annabelle, anyway. I pin Eros’s wrists, wrapping them before he reacts. His head is too caught up in his cock. I hook the end of the rope to the beam on the ceiling so that his arms are held up but his feet are securely on the floor. Standard equipment for a pod bedroom.

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