Beauty [A Faery Story 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (36 page)

“You’re going to fight this until the end, aren’t you?” Lach asked. “Do you deny our claim on you? I know you feel the connection. So it has to be something else. Do you honestly believe what the hag said?”

The hag had looked straight at her and said that all her husbands wanted out of her was a crown. She’d said they wouldn’t have a problem getting rid of her once they had secured her kingdom.

She wasn’t at all certain they didn’t want the crown. Certainly Gillian wanted them to have it. But she was fairly certain of one thing. They didn’t want her dead. The hag didn’t understand what it meant to be a bondmate. Lach and Shim might not believe in her abilities, but they would want her alive. They would need her.

“I’m not an idiot, Lach. I know you don’t want me dead.”

“And I don’t want your brothers’ crown. I’ll prove that to you when we go back to the Unseelie plane and stay the hell out of this war. Your brothers can have this plane. We have our own kingdom.”

And that was just one of her problems. This was her plane. “You can’t expect me to walk out on this war.”

“I can and you will. This isn’t your war anymore. You’re the princess of the Unseelie, and you will rule over that plane. Your children will be in line for the Unseelie throne. I won’t allow you to stay here and be slaughtered for a crown that isn’t your own.”

She felt her fists clench in frustration. This was exactly what she’d worried about the whole long trek to the river. And she couldn’t even think about children. Except she might have to. Her marriage had been consummated. She’d awakened with the evidence of it all over her thighs, mingled with her virgin’s blood. And still, her children would be half-Seelie. And no matter what Lach said, until her brothers had produced a child, she was still in line for the throne and so would her children be. In line for the throne and in Torin’s line of fire. “I am not leaving until Torin is dead.”

“You’ll do as your husbands request. And your brothers. They want you safe as well. They don’t want you in this fight.” He reached for her hand, catching it before she could move away. “Come along. Shim is waiting for us. It’s time we had that talk.”

She hurried to keep up with him. “Talking requires one person to listen. I doubt that’s going to be you.”

A single shoulder moved up and down. “Shim was always the better listener.”

He was deeply frustrating. “Lach, would you just abandon your plane?”

“Never really thought about it, and it’s not the same. This was never really your kingdom. It belonged to your brothers.”

“By your definition the villagers shouldn’t have fought either, but they did. Not because this is their kingdom, but because it’s their home. It’s where they raise their children. It’s where their parents gave them birth. Damn it, Lach, you can’t expect me to leave.”

Lach stopped, taking a deep breath. “I understand, Bronwyn. I truly do, but you’re too important. I can’t allow it and neither will Shim.”

She turned away from him. She wasn’t exactly sure what to do. She wasn’t stupid enough to go off on her own again. That had been a spectacular failure, but she couldn’t let them haul her off the plane. She’d be barefoot and pregnant in no time at all. She’d be pregnant with babies who would probably be incredibly oversized and grow into ridiculously arrogant and handsome young men.

Her brothers. Her brothers would be more reasonable. Well, perhaps Cian would be more reasonable. He would see her worth.

“I’ll stay for the time being.”

Lach’s voice rumbled out of his chest. “Bron, this marriage is for life and you know it. You’re caught and there’s no way out. Why are you acting like this, love? I don’t understand. You’re acting like you don’t know a thing about us, like you never kissed me, never held me. Bron, we’ve been together since we were children. All of my life, I’ve known you.”

She shook her head. “You’ve been ready for this all your life, but I haven’t. I didn’t think it was real, and honestly, Lach, it wasn’t. It was a fantasy. I was a lonely child and an even lonelier young woman, and what do you really know about me? I didn’t even know your names until recently.”

“Because you’re the broadcaster, Bron. Your psychic power is far stronger than either of ours. You broadcast, but you didn’t listen very well.”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to listen.”

“Well, Shim and I have spent all of our lives listening to you.”

“I know you love the feel of sunlight on your face.” Shim stood behind his brother, his eyes illuminated by the firelight. “I know that when you’re alone and all you can hear is the wind rushing through the wheat you planted and the sun is high in the sky, you feel powerful.”

Tears pricked at her eyes because he’d so beautifully explained the sensation. “It’s because I planted it. I knew people would be able to eat because I worked.”

Lach took a step in so he was shoulder to shoulder with his brother. “I know your laugh. It hasn’t really changed since you were a child. When you laugh, it isn’t some polite thing, you laugh from your gut and it fills my every sense with joy. You light up the room when you walk into it, even if it’s only a dream.”

“I am no beauty, Lach. Haven’t you figured that out by now? I know I projected myself that way in our dreams, but I’m not beautiful. I don’t even look noble anymore. My hands are callused, and my skin is tanned from the sun.”

“And I’m scarred. Shim is the only one here who didn’t try to look perfect,” Lach pointed out.

Shim shrugged. “It’s because I am perfect.”

Bron laughed a little. “I don’t mind the scars, Lachlan. I just know that the world isn’t going to view me as a beautiful princess.”

“We do. Gods, Bronwyn, you’re the loveliest woman in all the planes. Do you really need the world to think so, too?” Lach crossed his hands over his massive chest, the stance so arrogant, but she could hear the boy he’d been.

He’d been the protector, even in their dreams, even when he’d been a child, he’d been the one to go first. Not because he had to lead, but because whatever happened, he wanted it to happen to him instead of her or Shim.

And Shim had been sweet, so sweet. He’d been the one to sit for hours just holding her hand as she looked out over imaginary lakes and ponds. When she would cry, Shim had been the one to hold her while Lach looked on, his fists tight, angry that anything could make her sad.

They had been dreams, but she did know these men.

It was just far more complex than simply giving in.

“I could make it easy on you, Bron.” The look on Lach’s face let her know she wasn’t shielding at all.

And neither was he. He sent her an image or Shim did. It didn’t matter. She was blasted with the mental image of her tied up and waiting for their pleasure. But only after she’d earned it. She’d terrified them, and they wanted a piece of her hide.

Like Dante was disciplining Kaja. They could show her. They could initiate her into those dark pleasures. They had trained for it, studied the art of giving pleasure, but they had taken none themselves.

Shim smiled. “I wouldn’t say none, love. Just none from other women. There was an enormous amount of yanking our own dicks. I swear, Lach there damn near wore out his wrist when we were teenagers.”

Lach slapped his brother on the chest. “Like you were better. I was the one who had to listen to it. Bronwyn. Bronwyn. Oh, you feel so good, Bronwyn. The only consolation was that he never lasted very long.”

“I did so.”

Despite her precarious position, Bron felt a little joy at seeing them act like obnoxious brothers. This was one thing she definitely remembered. They had always bickered.

She was so damn confused. She wanted them, but she wanted her freedom, too. She wasn’t sure she could ever go back to being that perfect little princess she’d been raised to be. She’d lived too much, seen too many things.

She turned her back on them. If she gave in, she’d be exactly what they wanted. Sweet and submissive and more than likely pregnant in a month. She would be relegated to the sidelines. It couldn’t happen. “You two go. I’m going to stay by the fire. We’ll talk again when we see my brothers, and we’ll sort out this whole marriage thing.”

“Marriage thing?” Lach parroted her, pure astonishment in his voice.

“We have our answer, Lach. It’s time to go,” Shim said.

She was surprised at the disappointment she felt with Shim’s utter reasonableness. It was wrong, but she’d wanted a bit of a fight. Her stomach was in knots. She was in a corner, and she had no idea how to get out. She wanted to sleep with them, wanted the comfort of their big bodies surrounding her, but she didn’t want the responsibility of making the choice. It wasn’t fair. She was being exactly what Dante called her. She was a brat, but she couldn’t make herself turn around and ask for what she wanted.

“You’re right,” Lach said, his voice a grave finality.

She wasn’t going to cry. Damn it all. She wasn’t. This was what she’d wanted. She’d wanted time to sort everything out without the distraction of lips and tongues and hands and cocks.

She gave a little shout as Lach hauled her up and tossed her over his shoulder. “What?”

“You gave us your answer, princess. We’ll do this the hard way.”

She screamed a little as Lach’s hand came down on her ass. “How dare you!”

“Oh, I dare, princess. You’re going to find out just how much I dare. And don’t you even start saying this isn’t exactly what you want. You broadcast so loud I’m surprised the damn squirrels can’t hear you. You want us to take you. You want to be able to wake up in the morning and go right back to believing you can get out of this. Well, I’m going to tell you that you’re getting what you want. We will take you, but you’re going to know you’re ours by morning, love.”

The fact that his words were so very true did nothing to assuage how angry he made her. “Put me down now, you overgrown idiot.”

Another smack. “Every time you curse me, I’m adding five to your punishment. You’re at thirty right now. Thirty smacks to that sweet ass of yours. Do you really want more?”

She wasn’t getting any reason from an overly possessive vampire. She looked toward the fire hoping to find a vampire more amenable to her cause. “Roan. Roan, my brothers are paying you, right?”

Roan never even looked up from the fire. “Not at all, princess. Your brothers don’t have a single piece of gold between them. Your father-in-law is paying me. And he’s paying me quite handsomely. I would advise you to take your very well-earned spanking with dignity and then attempt to please your husbands. I think you’ll find you have an enormous amount of power over them should you choose to use it wisely.”

Damn mercenary. “You aren’t going to be any help at all.”

Now the mercenary looked up, and there was a grin on his face. “On the contrary, Your Highness, I think you’ll find I’ve been very helpful. After all, I’m the one who gave them the kit I think they’re about to use on you. It has all sorts of helpful items in it.”

Gillian stood up, her eyes flickering between her brothers and Bronwyn. “Can’t we talk about this?”

“Sit down, princess,” Roan said in a deep voice that he more than likely used on soldiers to keep them in line. “You are not going to come between husbands and their rightfully bonded mate. They won’t hurt her. They’re bonded. They feel what she’s feeling. Do you think your brothers would enjoy her pain?”

Gillian sat back down, wiping at her eyes. “It seems I’m the villain at every turn with you, Bron. I know you won’t believe it, but I do love you. And so do my brothers.”

Lach strode past Shim, his long legs eating up the forest floor.

“Is this really what you want, Bron?” Shim asked. “Because we can be gentle.”

“She doesn’t want gentle.” Lach kept right on walking.

Bron held her head up. It was either that or watch Lach’s perfectly formed backside move. “Fuck you, Lach. And you can fuck yourself, Shim.”

Lach stopped. He set her on her feet, but she didn’t stay there long. He got to one knee and flipped her neatly over. She found herself facing the grass, her ass in the air. Oh, goddess, she’d pushed him. She’d known what she was doing, and she’d done it anyway because she wanted this. She wanted to see what made Kaja moan, but she didn’t want to ask for it.

“You know exactly what you’re doing, don’t you, Bron?” Shim sounded a little tortured. “This doesn’t mean anything to you.”

“Shim, there’s no use talking to her. She knows what she wants, and she’s figured out how to get it.” Lach’s big hand steadied her. “One last chance, princess. We can play this the way we would prefer. We would prefer to simply love you tonight. There will be time enough for games later. We want to bond. We want to know you inside and out.”

And then they would know how to handle her every single time. She was already at a disadvantage since they seemed to be able to read her thoughts. No. She couldn’t let them in. This was all she could give them. For now. Maybe forever. “Fuck off, Lach.”

His hand hit her ass with a loud crack, and tears sparked from her eyes. The pain was sharp and cut through her. Lach barely gave her time to process the first one before he struck again. Ten times his hand rained down. Bron couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t think past the feel of Lach’s hand on her ass.