Mistaken by Fate (2 page)

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Thank you.” His phone chimed, and he sighed. “I’m going to go take care of our wayward sister.”

Garrett watched his twin walk away and took a deep breath, letting the bullshit fall away. Whoever this sub was, she deserved better than to submit to a Dom who was distracted by the rest of the world outside that room. He walked into the room and quietly shut the door behind him.

His twin sure as hell had a sense of showmanship, though Will would deny it to his dying day. The perimeter lights were all down, leaving only the cluster above the bed lit and bathing the room in shadows. The chest at the end of the bed was in every private room, but his twin had decided to start his mindfuck early, because he’d laid out a variety of toys for the woman to get a good look at. A little fear primed a subbie for greater pleasure, but this wasn’t the way he’d have gone about it.

Intentionally ignoring the woman, he surveyed the items.
Canes? Really, Will?
His brother was a fucking ass. There was no way he’d use them on a brand new submissive, no matter what the implied threat was.

Garrett shook his head and finally gave in to the urge to drink in the sight of the woman kneeling beside the bed, her head bowed, her dark hair trailing down her back.

The image hit him like a punch in the gut. Ass or not, he was going to have to give Will a bottle of whiskey or something, because this subbie was exactly his type. He’d stopped lying to himself years ago about why he was attracted to petite brunettes—it all sourced back to
one
particular petite brunette.

And now here was this woman, a first-timer who was a dead ringer for Ridley.

His cock went rock hard, and his heartbeat pounded in his ears. How many times had he fantasized about being the one to fully initiate her into the darker shades of sex and dominance? More than he could possibly count. They’d barely dipped their toes into the possibilities back in high school, just enough to whet his appetite for dominance, and to show him exactly how hot she found submitting. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to take a deep breath, and then another. He wasn’t some fumbling almost-virgin, and this woman deserved better than to have him fall on her like a ravaging beast.

He almost felt bad that he was projecting the fantasy onto this stranger, but she was here to be initiated, and he was only too happy to be the one to do it. If he pretended she was that ghost from his past? Well, he wasn’t a fucking saint.

He circled her, taking in every detail. She tensed, but she didn’t move or twist around. He liked that—her willingness to trust him even though he was a stranger.
Holy fuck
. Her body was killer, arms toned, breasts exactly how he preferred them—more than a handful—and those lips. They were pretty and pink and it was all too easy to imagine them wrapped around his cock. He caught himself reaching out to touch her, to see if her skin felt as soft as it looked, and snatched his hand back. Damn it, he was better than this.

To remind himself of his role here, he cleared his throat, and said, “From this point on, you will call me, ‘Sir.’ Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.” She licked her lips, and it was everything he could do not to groan aloud. The sub hadn’t done a damn thing and she was already killing him. At the rate he was going, he’d be shoving his cock inside her the second his pants came off. Another deep breath that did nothing to calm his raging desire.
Next step, Reaver. Focus on getting the foundation down so she’s right there with you.

“Tell me your safe word.”

“Frankenstein.”

Frankenstein
had been Ridley’s favorite old-school monster movie in high school—barely edging out
Dracula
and
Creature From the Black Lagoon
. He was a damn fool for remembering that so many years later, but his head was full of all sorts of useless trivia when it came to that woman. He scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to keep himself in the present. “You will use it if you need to, do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.” She tensed, and he waited for each muscle to relax before he reached down and gave into the desire to run his fingers through her hair. It was just as soft as he’d imagined. Softer.

“Good girl.”

Chapter Two

Ridley flinched when he touched her hair, but he didn’t do anything but run his hands through it, over and over again, from root to ends. By the third time through, she had relaxed completely and was fighting not to lean into his touch. Had she ever been with someone who played with her hair? She never would have considered it an erotic thing, but with
his
hands on her she was halfway ready for him right now.

It was more than just his touch, though. It was the whole thing. She was kneeling, naked and blind, and completely at his mercy. And there were those sex toys to consider. Was he going to use them on her? She strained her ears, but there was nothing except the soft sounds of his breathing and her heart pounding in her ears.

Being so blind and helpless made her tremble, but it wasn’t in fear. She wanted him to keep touching her, to command her, to take her in whatever way he wanted. She blinked behind the blindfold, trying to focus, but it was no use. Her world narrowed down to his hands in her hair.

He cupped the back of her neck, the heat of his big hand marking her as effectively as if he’d tattooed her. It was enough to bring the rest of the room into focus, the faint chill that had her skin breaking out in goose bumps, her nipples pebbling…though she couldn’t even pretend to blame the temperature of the room on the latter.

“Up.”

She started to obey, but her body wasn’t quite working right, and he had to loop an arm around her waist and lift her to her feet. The move pressed the back of her body against the front of his. He was wearing jeans and what felt like a T-shirt. She shook her head. No, that was wrong. She hadn’t seen Will wear jeans since high school. He was always in slacks.

Maybe it was part of his kink?

He maneuvered her to the bed and set her on the edge, his strong hands her only anchor in a world of darkness. Then his touch was gone, and she almost cried out from the loss. “I—”

His voice lashed her. “Don’t speak unless I ask you a question.” He waited, and she bit her lip to keep from doing just that. Apparently he was satisfied, because he said, “Spread your legs.”

Holy shit
. She was just supposed to spread her legs and let him…
Damn it, this is what you wanted
. Ridley bit her lip harder. Yeah, this was what she wanted. But she also wanted his hands on her and, seriously, would a kiss be too much to ask? Again, her mind went back to the toys on the chest. Was he moving in that direction? She couldn’t be sure. The thick carpet cushioned the sound of his footsteps to the point they were practically nonexistent. Another layer of helplessness—she couldn’t even hear him coming.

“Is there a problem?” Great. Now it sounded like he was laughing at her.

“No, Sir.” But Will wouldn’t laugh at her—or anyone. He was too serious. Laughing at a woman who was in this position was more Garrett’s gig than his twin’s.

Annnnd now she was just looking for reasons to think about that asshole instead of the nice guy she was with.

She spread her legs.

It was hard to say, but she thought he might have hissed out a breath. The silence stretched on, a beat, two, three. And still he didn’t say anything. Against all reason, knowing he was looking at the most intimate part of her heated her blood. It made her feel wanton and the best kind of dirty. She spread her legs a little wider and arched her back. This time she was
sure
she heard him curse under his breath.

“You’re a troublesome little subbie.” He ran his hands up the outsides of her thighs to her hips, startling her. The touch was so proprietary that she whimpered. How the hell did he make her feel so…
owned?
His thumbs stroked the sensitive skin just beneath her hipbones. “Would you like me to keep touching you?”

Was that a trick question? She might die if he
didn’t
. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good.” Rope slithered around her knee and then pulled tight as his knuckles brushed her sensitive skin. “Hands on your thighs.” The rope criss-crossed over her palm and around her wrist, pinning her palm to her thigh. He then repeated the motions with her other leg, leaving her unable to move and splayed open for him.

She expected to panic, but the only thing she could focus on was how full of need his binding her made her. The ropes were soft and pliable, nothing like she’d imagined they would feel like. Instead they were…sensual, sliding over her skin like the best kind of silk. His big hand came to rest between her breasts, not touching anything that would be considered a hot spot by anyone, but she arched into the touch like a cat demanding to be petted.

The bastard laughed. “Lusty thing, aren’t you?”

It was something he’d know if he’d gotten
any
of the signals she’d been throwing for the past few months. She held her breath as he ran his hand down the center of her body to cup between her legs. “And wet, too.” He pushed a single finger into her, slowly, almost as if he was testing her.

Pleasure spiked through her and, despite herself, she couldn’t hold her moan in. It seemed to please him, because a second finger joined his first, stretching her, filling her in a way she hadn’t been in ages. She hadn’t been this turned on since…

Ridley took a shuddering breath, trying to focus on the
now
instead of the
then
. The blindfold didn’t help—without being able to see Will, it was all too easy to imagine another man’s hands on her, ones that were similar and yet so different from his.

She moaned again, this time in frustration. Why couldn’t she just let Garrett go? She refused to let him ruin this, especially since she was finally meeting a need that had been neglected for far too long.

“You’re thinking too much.” While he kept up the maddening strokes between her legs, another hand gripped her hair, tightening until sharp sparks of pain shot through her scalp. Combined with the pleasure radiating through her, it only made her need sharper. Suddenly, she wasn’t thinking about anything but what he’d do next.

“Better.” There was a delicious growl in his voice, one she’d never heard before. His fingers inside her twisted and his thumb pressed against her clit, brushing it with each thrust. She tried to move, to take him deeper, but the ropes brought her up short, digging into her skin, the feeling inexplicably making her even hotter. She couldn’t have gotten free if she wanted to.

God
, she was so close…

His hand tightened in her hair, forcing her to arch her back even more, the position a forcible reminder of exactly how little control she had. “You’ve been craving this for so long, I can tell. And I’m only too happy to give you exactly what you need.” He fucked her with his fingers, all the while keeping up the maddening circling of her clit, until her breath sobbed from her lungs and the room spun around her. He twisted his wrist. “Come for me. Now.”

And, God help her, she did.

He didn’t stop, drawing out the delicious shivers she couldn’t seem to control. Ridley moaned again. “God, Will, that feels so good.”

He froze, his fingers still knuckle deep inside her. “What did you just call me?”

Confusion rose, drowning out the pleasure of his hands on her. “What? I thought…” She trailed off, suddenly terrified to finish that sentence. It was Will here with her. It
had
to be Will. The alternative was too horrifying to even contemplate.

Rough hands ripped the blindfold from her head, leaving her blinking, trying to adjust to the assault of light on her eyes. She tried to focus on the man standing in front of her, to prove her fears were completely unfounded.

But then he moved and reality came crashing down on her. “Garrett?”

…

Garrett stared at Ridley, horror taking the place of need. When she called out his brother’s name, he’d
recognized
that voice, though the last time he’d heard her use that tone was years ago, and she’d been calling out
his
name.

Big brown eyes blinked up at him. Holy shit. He’d just been acting out one of his top fantasies without even knowing it.

And she’d thought he was
Will
.

There was so much wrong with this picture, he didn’t know where to start. The rational side of him knew he had no right to the hurt spiraling up with each breath, but it changed nothing. He sat back, even though the temptation was there to keep going, driving her out of her mind now that her eyes were wide open and she knew exactly whose hands were on her.

He couldn’t do it. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Ridley flipped her hair over her shoulder, an impressive move considering she was still tied seven ways to Sunday. “I’d think that’s obvious.”

The pieces all clicked into place. “You were going to seduce Will.” When she didn’t deny it, he could actually feel the blood pounding in his temples. “You have no idea what you signed up for.” She didn’t look at him, so he took her chin and forced her to. “Will would eat you alive.”

“Maybe I would have liked it.”

The pounding in his ears got louder. He’d wanted this woman in his bed since he was young enough not to know what to do with her if it had ever happened. “You’d safe-out inside of five minutes.” He waited, but she just gritted her teeth and glared. “He’d get off on marking up your pale skin and hearing you scream.”

It wasn’t strictly the truth, since his brother was more than capable of taking on a shiny new sub without traumatizing the hell out of her. But this wasn’t just any sub. This was
Ridley
. She wasn’t the type to enjoy being on the receiving end of the things he did.

Unless he was wrong and Ridley really
did
want the darker edge?

The ugly feeling in Garrett’s chest got worse. “Why Will? He’s got women throwing their panties at him already. What makes you think
you
would be the one to make him settle down?” Every second she stayed silent, glaring at him like this was all
his
fault, drove his temper closer to the surface. “Tell me right fucking now, Ridley. Why Will?”

She lifted her chin. “Because he’s everything you aren’t.”

He jerked back, feeling like she’d reached out and slapped him. She
would
think that, wouldn’t she? And the worst part was that she wasn’t wrong. Will hadn’t broken and run at the first chance he’d gotten. He wasn’t the one who’d blown it with Ridley in a way that ensured no second chances.

No, that had been all Garrett.

He went to work untying her, doing his damnedest not to notice how good the ropes looked against her skin. It didn’t matter, because this shit was over. The temptation was there to push, to see if he could seduce another orgasm out of her. Inexcusable. He’d walked away from her eight years ago for her own damn good, and going back on it now would be a mistake.

Or that was what he told himself as he coiled up the rope and dropped it next to the trunk at the end of the bed. He knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t seem to manage it. “Not Will, Ridley. Anyone but him.”

“That’s my cue to leave.” She pushed to her feet, looking as shaky as a newborn giraffe.

“For fuck’s sake, sit your ass down before you fall down.” He didn’t wait for permission to grab the comforter off the bed and wrap it around her shoulders. She glared at him, but she let him lead her back to the bed to sit.

“Stop touching me.”

“It’s called aftercare, baby. Get used to it.” He didn’t pull her into his arms because she looked like she’d take off his hand if he tried, but he did tuck the blanket more firmly around her.

“I know what aftercare is.”

“Then you know every sub gets it after a scene.” They hadn’t gone anywhere near as far as he’d planned, but between the bondage and orgasm, she needed some time to find her feet—and he was a bastard for hoping it took her a while to recover, because
he
was the cause of her weak knees.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, she shrugged out of the blanket. “I’m okay.”

“Ridley—”

“I’m
fine
.” She didn’t look fine, but this time, when she stood, she didn’t shake. She was fucking magnificent, standing there naked with her hair wild and her body still flushed from what he’d been doing to it. Even the fury in her dark eyes did nothing to check his need. She pulled her dress over her head, very pointedly not looking at him.

He followed her to the door, still watching her stride. They hadn’t gotten far, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d been deep in submission. He’d have to be a bastard and a half to let her walk out of here without making sure she was okay. “Let me catch you a cab.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“Maybe not, but I’m going to do it anyway.” He kept pace with her down the hall, part of him disappointed she didn’t so much as miss a step. She was fine. She didn’t need him—didn’t want him.

No, she wanted his fucking
twin
.

The elevator doors opened and she stepped in, turning neatly to face him. “Newsflash, Garrett, since you’ve seemed to forgotten—you don’t get to decide who I’m with. You lost that luxury eight years ago when you left me.”

He’d done it on purpose, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Not now. Not ever. Instead Garrett fell back on the same response he’d given her every other time this had come up. “We were never together, baby. You might have held a torch for me, but—”