Lili Germain - Six Brothers

He sits on the end of the bed and pulls his black boots off, dropping them by his feet. I slide over, placing my hand on the back of his leather cut, testing his reaction.

When he doesn’t push me away, I crawl onto his lap and straddle him, running my fingers through his short black hair. My leg is much better and though it still hurts when I move like this, it’s bearable.

“Are you okay?” I ask him, turning my head to the side a little. I stare straight into his dark brown eyes, almost the same color as his pupils, and I’m struck by how different they look to Jase’s. The colors are all the same, but the look in their eyes is poles apart. One says gentle, and the others scream predator.

I put my hand between us, rubbing the spot where Dornan would normally be hard at the mere sight of me. But today he’s not, he’s too distracted and he is the one with revenge on his mind. He pulls my hand away and lets it fall between us, smiling.

“You’re a doll, trying to make me feel better.”

I shrug. “You can talk to me, you know,” I say. “I can listen as well as fuck.”

He laughs, and for once the sound is light, without intent. It’s…normal. I am shaken as I try to assign that seemingly innocent laugh with the monster lurking inside.

Don’t ever let your guard down, I think to myself. Last time he was sweet the fucker stabbed you.

“I’m sorry about your leg,” he says, as if he knows what I’m thinking. “It was a bad day. Burying Chad…you’re not supposed to bury your own kids, you know? They’re supposed to bury you.”

Wait… he’s apologizing? To me?

I nod, suppressing a smile. “I know.” I’ll bury you, no problem.

“What did Mariana do that was so bad?” I ask him.

He sighs. “Bitch tried to take my son and leave. Fucked my best friend. Stole enough fuckin’ money from this club to ruin us.”

So she was having an affair with my father.

“I’ll never do to you what she did, Dornan.”

I’ll do worse.

He runs his hand through my hair, his mind elsewhere, and I smirk as I realize what he’s yet to confirm.

I’ve got him.

The son of a bitch is starting to love me.

“Pack a bag, baby girl,” Dornan says abruptly. “A couple days we’ll be gone. You’re riding with me, and when we get there you’ll be riding me with that sweet pussy of yours.”

I fight the innate urge to roll my eyes and smile instead. “We’re going on a trip?”

“Yeah.” He doesn’t offer anything more, and I don’t dare ask where, even though I’m dying to know. I hate surprises.

“Should I pack for cold, or hot?” I ask, hoping the question is neutral enough. “I want to look nice for you.”

“Hot,” he says. “We’re going inland.”

Right. It’s a big fucking country. We’re going east somewhere, I guess. That’s a lot of states.

“Baby girl.”

“Yeah?”

Put something pretty on. One of those dresses of yours that shows your titties off. Tomorrow we ride, but tonight, we party. Maxi’s birthday’s tomorrow.”

“What did you get him?” I ask.

A slow smile spreads across his evil face and I see that glint in his eye that always means trouble.

“I got him two virgins,” he says. “Never been fucked before.”

“Wow” I say, smiling even as my heart drops and I die a little more inside. “You’re a generous daddy.”

He fists my hair roughly, his lips touching my cheek. “I need something from you, too, baby girl.”

My stomach roils.

“Anything for you,” I say sweetly.

“These girls, they’ve got zero experience. And Maxi…he’s impatient. I was thinking you could be there to…guide them, I suppose.”

My eyes light up. “Of course. What a great idea.”

It’s a fucking brilliant idea. My smile is so big that I’m worried my face might break.

“You’re such a good daddy,” I say, staring up into his face. “I’ll give him the best birthday he’s ever had.”

I think of the package Elliot got for me, wrapped in cellophane and tied with twine.

I think of how I’m going to take Maxi so high, he’s going to come crashing back down to earth in a cataclysm of blood and pain.

“It’ll be beautiful,” I whisper against his chest.

The party that I’ve only just heard about is in full swing down the hall when I enter the large communal room that houses the bar. I’m wearing one of my burlesque costumes, complete with lace underwear, suspenders, a fitted corset, and patent heels. All black.

I am the angel of death tonight, after all.

Something flashes in Dornan’s eyes when he sees me sashay into the room.

Jealousy. Dominance. Pride.

I belong to him in his mind, and though it makes him proud to show me off to everyone, it also irritates him. In his mind, even letting me out here in these scant clothes must be a massive thing and something he’s probably only doing to cheer up Maxi, who is devastated by Chad’s demise. The two were like best friends, and it seems fitting that after tonight, they’ll be buried in the family plot side-by-side.

It’s been the longest two weeks of my life since Chad bit the big one and seizured out on the floor of the garage. I’ve been fucked and stabbed by an enemy, kissed by one ex-lover and cradled close by another. I’ve lost blood and almost considered running away, but tonight, my resolve is unwavering.

It’s poetic justice that the same day Maxi entered the world twenty-eight years ago, the day he was laid on his mother’s chest and took his first breath, is the day he’ll be leaving it. And while everyone around me is celebrating another year of life, my curled-up lips are smug with the certainty that this night will mark his final breath.

I wind my way through a throng of twenty-something guys wearing leather cuts, drinking beers, and talking in an animated fashion.

Dornan is standing with Maxi and Jazz when I approach him. As soon as I’m in reaching distance, he pulls me aside, his fingers digging into my flesh. “Remember,” he hisses, “You’re not to fuck him or touch him. Right?”

“Right,” I say, winking at him. “I’ll school those little girls on how to give a man a good time.”

“Good girl,” he says, patting my head. “I’ll see you later—for this.” He grabs my hand and places it on his hard-on. I smile and squeeze it a little. “I’ll be quick,” I say. “An hour, tops.”

He nods. “Get those bitches ready. I’ll send him down in ten. I want him to have a good birthday, you hear?”

“Loud and clear,” I say, stepping away from him and back out into the hallway. I make my way down to the third bedroom on the left and knock softly before entering. I close the door firmly behind me and look around.

Dornan’s already told the girls to wait in Maxi’s bedroom, a square box identical to Dornan’s room. Even the bed is in the same spot. Two girls sit on the edge, smoking cigarettes, their makeup woefully overdone and their clothes disturbingly tight. One blonde, one brunette. My breath catches in my throat as I see they’re kids, definitely not legal, and without the slightest idea of the hell they’ve just signed up for.

There is a wooden chair in the corner, complete with arms. It’ll be perfect for my needs. I pull it out and sit in front of them, crossing my legs languidly, my arm draped over the side of the chair.

“Names?” I ask, staring pointedly from one girl to the other.

The left one, the more confident one judging by her body language, clears her throat. “Anna.”

I nod and look at the other one, my eyebrows raised.

“Melody,” the brunette says flatly, narrowing her eyes at me.

“How old are you girls?” I ask. “It’s imperative that you’re honest with me.”

“Sixteen,” they say in unison.

“And you’re virgins?” I ask.

They both nod.

“And you’re here to have sex?”

They both shrug and nod.

My eyes drift to the window, which is barred from the outside just like the rest of them.

I wish it wasn’t.

I’d kick these two girls out of the window and call their mothers to come get them.

Then again, if they’re in a place like this, maybe they’ve got mothers like mine.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask them. “This isn’t a romantic place, you know. These guys won’t stop once they’ve started. It’s going to hurt.”

The confident blonde looks at her friend who shrugs in response.

“We drank some vodka before we got here,” she says. “We’ll be okay.”

I sigh. “Don’t you want your first time to be with someone special? The person you’re going to marry?”

“What the fuck, old lady?” the brunette says, and I have to give her props for speaking up, even if the term old lady makes me cringe. “We know what we want, and I sure as fuck don’t want to get married to anybody, so quit trying to save us.”

“We want this,” the blonde adds, slurring her words slightly. “Maxi is hot. And he’s a Gypsy Brother. If he wants to fuck me, let’s go.”

I nod. They’ve made it abundantly clear that they want to have sex with him, and that all I’m doing is standing in their way. Great. Now that I know I can’t stop them, they may as well be a part of my plan.

“Come on then,” I say, standing and motioning for them to follow me. “We need to get you ready for the birthday boy.”

I enter the bathroom and turn to wait as they follow me in. Pushing the door to, I fumble in my bra and pull out two white tablets that I’d been keeping in my suitcase for an occasion such as this.