Chapter 12: Shared Spoils

The rain outside had turned into a torrential downpour, the heavy drops slamming against the balcony glass like a storm of iron needles.

Lucian hadn't moved from the bed. He lay beside me, his long, scarred arm pinned over my waist, pulling my bare back flush against his broad, warm chest. His breathing had evened out, but I knew him better now, he was a predator who never truly slept, his mind constantly calculating three moves ahead.

Down below, the heavy metallic crunch of tires grinding over wet gravel echoed through the estate driveway.

Damian was back.

My pulse did a frantic, erratic skip. I tried to shift away, but Lucian’s grip on my waist tightened instantly, his fingers digging possessively into my hip.

"Stay," Lucian murmured into my hair, his voice thick with sleep, yet laced with that unmistakable, iron authority.

"Lucian, he's back," I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs. "He's going to come straight up here."

"I know," Lucian purred against my skin.

A few moments later, the heavy brass handle of the master suite door clicked. The door swung open smoothly, letting in the cool, drafty air from the hallway.

Damian stood framed in the doorway.

He was drenched in rainwater, his dark hair plastered against his forehead, his black tactical shirt clinging to his wide chest and massive shoulders. The metallic scent of ozone, rain, and cold iron radiated off him in thick, suffocating waves. He looked wild, dangerous, and completely feral, like a demon fresh from a battlefield.

He didn't say a word. He slowly closed the door behind him and locked it with a sharp twist of his wrist.

His dark, rain-slicked gaze swept over the room, landing on the bed, on Lucian holding me naked against his chest, the ruined black velvet dress pooled on the floor, and the obvious, lingering evidence of what had just transpired.

A slow, terrifying smirk pulled at Damian’s lips.

"You didn't leave much for me, brother," Damian rasped, his voice low, gravelly, and laced with raw adrenaline.

"I left you a quiet estate and an empire with one less rival," Lucian answered smoothly, not moving an inch, his dark eyes meeting his twins across the dim, candlelit room. "Is Vicente dead?"

"Vicente is currently resting at the bottom of the Hudson River," Damian replied, stepping off his tactical boots with a heavy thud, then peeling his soaked shirt over his head in one fluid motion.

The firelight caught the gleaming rain on his chest, highlighting every hard line of muscle and the heavy black tattoos creeping up his neck. He unbuckled his tactical belt, dropping it to the floor alongside his heavy firearm, stepping toward the bed with that slow, panther-like stride.

My breath caught in my throat. The room felt tiny, entirely consumed by the overwhelming, combined presence of two identical men who held the entire city in their palm.

Damian stopped at the edge of the mattress, looking down at me. His dark eyes burned with an intense, unbridled hunger that made my core ache with fresh, helpless heat.

"Get up, Valerie," Damian commanded softly.

I looked at Lucian, but my husband simply loosened his grip around my waist, his dark eyes gleaming with quiet, dangerous amusement as he leaned back against the plush velvet pillows.

"Go to him, my love," Lucian whispered into my ear, his breath hot against my skin. "He fought hard for our throne tonight. He deserves his reward."

I swallowed hard, my body trembling as I slowly sat up, exposing my bare chest and flushed skin to Damian’s scorching gaze.

Damian didn't wait. He reached down, his broad, heavy hands catching me under my arms, and effortlessly lifted me right off the mattress. He sat down on the edge of the plush leather armchair beside the bed, pulling me onto his lap, straddling his legs.

He smelled of cold rain, copper, and raw heat.

"Look at you," Damian growled, his long fingers tangling into my dark hair, tilting my head back until my throat was completely exposed to him. "Smelling like my brother... trembling for me."

"Damian..." I whimpered, my hands coming up to rest on his broad, cold shoulders, my fingers digging into his slick skin as he leaned down and buried his face in the crook of my neck.

He didn't kiss me gently; he claimed my throat with hard, possessive bites, leaving deep, dark marks right over my collarbone where anyone in the syndicate would be able to see them tomorrow. I gasped aloud, my hips arching against his lap, finding the massive, throbbing length already straining against his heavy trousers.

From the bed, Lucian watched us in absolute, quiet silence, taking a slow sip from the crystal glass of scotch he had picked up from the nightstand.

"You're a mess, little bride," Damian purred against my ear, his broad hand sliding down my spine, his calloused fingers spreading over my bare buttocks, lifting my hips up. "He took you hard, didn't he?"

"He... he didn't give me a choice," I choked out, a sob of pure sensory overload catching in my throat as Damian unzipped his trousers with one hand.

"Good," Damian growled, his thumb pressing hard against my core, finding the wet heat left behind by Lucian. "Because neither am I."

He aligned his massive, hot length with my swollen entrance. Without a second of warning, he pulled my hips down, plunging his broad shaft deep inside me in one long, brutal stroke that sank all the way to his hilt.

A loud, piercing scream tore from my throat, filling the vast room.

Lucian’s dark eyes flashed with an intense, sudden flame from the bed as he watched his brother impale me. He didn't look away. He set his glass down, watching every rise and fall of my body on Damian’s lap with ruthless, possessive focus.

Damian didn't give me a second to adjust. He gripped my waist with both hands, his calloused fingers digging into my hips, and set a wild, punishing pace right there on the leather chair. He lifted me up and slammed me back down onto his thick length, every stroke driving so deep it made my vision swim with white-hot sparks.

Slap. Slap.

The sound of our slick skin colliding echoed loudly through the quiet room, mixing with the heavy rain outside and my own shameless, ragged cries.

"You belong to us, Valerie," Damian rasped into my ear, his breath hot, heavy, and frantic as he drove his hips upward with feral force. "Say it. Say who owns you."

"You..." I sobbed out, my arms locking around his neck, my whole body shaking as another massive, unstoppable wave of pleasure began to build in my belly. "You and Lucian... you both own me!"

"Good girl," Damian growled, his pace becoming frantic, uninhibited, and heavy, driving me straight over the edge.

I shattered. My inner walls clamped violently down around his thick shaft, convulsing in an intense, agonizingly sweet peak that made my head roll back, my throat exposed to the candlelight.

Damian let out a dark, animalistic roar against my shoulder. He drove into me three more times with ground-shaking power before he buried himself to the hilt, his heavy body stiffening as he poured his hot, heavy seed deep inside me, mixing with his brother's heat.

He held me tightly against his chest, his heart hammering like a war drum against my ribs as we both gasped for air in the dim, rain-soaked room.

Slowly, Damian stood up with me still wrapped around his waist, walking over to the king-sized bed. He laid me down softly in the center of the plush mattress, settling his broad frame on my right side, while Lucian shifted, sliding his heavy arm around my left side.

I lay trapped between the two identical, lethal brothers, their skin burning hot against mine, their breathing synchronized, their possessive mark on my body absolute.

Lucian reached out, his long fingers gently sweeping a stray lock of hair away from my wet cheek.

"Rest now, my sweet wife," Lucian whispered, his dark eyes locking onto mine with absolute authority. "Tomorrow, the five families come to swear allegiance to the new Don... and his queen."

Damian leaned over from the other side, his lips pressing a hard, possessive kiss onto my neck, right over the dark mark he had just left.

"Sleep well, little bride," Damian growled softly into the dark. "Because tomorrow... we show them what happens when anyone touches what is ours.”