Wet & Wicked: Forbidden Collection Of Lust

Twice As Dirty (IX)

Hugh’s POV~

The scotch in my glass wasn't even touched, just swirling around the ice cubes while I watched them from the shadows of the hallway. It’s been half an hour since Elara left the dining hall in the banquet room.

The party was still loud behind me, people laughing at jokes they didn't understand, drinking several expensive wines. I didn't give a s**t about any of them. I was watching the way Elara’s dress hugged her hips as she tried to slip toward the stairs of the company.

She looked like she was running.

My knuckles turned white around the crystal.

Good. Let her run. I liked the chase.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cole.

My son. The "heir." The kid who thought because he had a twenty-year head start on me that he could look at her like that. He fell into step beside her, saying something that made her shoulders hunch up.

He touched her elbow with that casual, soft touch that made my skin crawl.

I slammed my glass down on a side table, the clink echoing too loud in the quiet hall, and walked toward them.

"...you look like you're gonna be sick, sis," Cole was saying, his voice low, and smug. He was leaning in, crowding her space. "Is it Dad? Did he say something to freak you out again?"

Elara flinched, her eyes darting around. She saw me coming. I saw the panic there. She knew.

She knew exactly what I’d done to her in the study hours ago. I know she could still feel the sticky mess drying on her neck under that expensive dress.

"Cole," I said. My voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the air. "I told you to go over the acquisition papers for the morning meeting. Or do you get paid to stand in hallways harassing your sister now?"

Cole straightened up, turning slowly. That look on his face was filled with pure, distilled hate. He looked just like his mother when she was pissed off, and I hated him for it.

"Harassing?" Cole smirked, showing his teeth. "I'm just checking on her, Hugh. Unlike you, I actually give a damn if she's enjoying herself. She looks... overwhelmed."

He put that emphasis on my name. Hugh. Not Dad. Never Dad when we were fighting.

"Daddy, please," Elara whispered, her voice trembling like a leaf. She tried to pull her arm away, but Cole’s fingers just tightened. "I…I was just thinking about Mom. About how she’d hate us being like this. We’re supposed to be a family. That’s what she wanted."

Family.

I almost laughed in her face.

I stepped right into Cole’s space. I didn't look at him; I looked at her. My thumb itched to touch that spot on her neck where I’d marked her.

"Your mother," I said, my voice dropping an octave, "was a saint, Elara. A saint who couldn't see the forest for the trees."

I reached out, my hand going to her shoulder. I felt Cole stiffen beside me. Good. Let him feel small.

"She’s gone now," I murmured, my thumb pressing into the silk of her dress, right where the fabric was still damp from my release. "And the contract has changed. I am not just your stepfather anymore. I am your guardian. Your provider. Your everything."

"You're suffocating her," Cole snapped, finally dropping the charm. He stepped closer, his shoulder bumping mine. "Let go of her, Hugh. She said she’s thinking about Mom. Show some respect for the dead."

"Respect?" I turned my head slowly, looking at my son for the first time. "You want to talk about respect, boy? Respect is not hovering over a girl like a vulture because you can't handle the fact that the company and the girl will never be yours."

Cole’s face went red. "f**k the company. I’m talking about Elara. She’s not a piece of meat for you to parade around and then lock away in a tower."

"Watch your mouth," I growled, stepping into him. I towered over him, my presence blocking out the light. "You have no idea what I do in my private time. You have no idea what she needs."

"I know she needs someone who isn't... old," Cole spat, his eyes flicking to Elara, then back to me. "She needs someone who can keep up with her. Not a fossil who buys her affection with diamonds."

Old.

There it was. The dagger he always tried to hide.

I felt a dark, twisted smile pull at my lips. I looked at Elara. Her chest was heaving, the rise and fall visible in that low-cut dress. She was wet. I knew she was wet. I could smell the fear and the lust coming off her in waves.

"Is that true, Elara?" I asked, my voice a dark purr. "Do you think I’m too old? Too cold?"

She shook her head frantically, tears pricking her eyes. "No, Daddy. Please. Stop it."

"She can't even answer you," Cole sneered. "Let her go. Or I’ll make you."

I laughed. A dark, hollow sound that didn't reach my eyes. I leaned down until my lips were inches from her ear. I inhaled. She smelled like my scotch and her own terror.

"Make me?" I whispered, the words vibrating against her skin. "Go ahead, son. Try it. Touch her. See what happens."

Cole lunged forward, his shoulder hitting my arm. "Get off her!"

I didn't budge. I just stared down at him, my dominance rolling off me in waves.

"Elara," I said, never taking my eyes off Cole. "Tell your brother to leave us. Tell him that his 'father' is having a private conversation with his 'daughter.'"

She sobbed, a broken sound that grated on my nerves. "Cole, please. Just go. Please."

Cole looked at her, then at me. The hatred in his eyes was palpable. He knew he was losing. He knew that in this house, in this world, I held the cards.

"Fine," Cole hissed, backing up a step, but his eyes burned into mine. "Have it your way, *Dad*. But I'm watching you. And I'm not going far."

He turned and stalked off toward the billiard room, his shoulders rigid.

Silence rushed back into the hallway, heavy and suffocating.

I looked down at Elara. She was looking at me with those beautiful puppy eyes that looked way too innocent and I wanted to stain.

"Family," I murmured, my hand sliding from her shoulder down her arm, my fingers tracing the path Cole had just touched. "He talks about family, but he doesn't know the first thing about it."

I leaned in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear, my voice dropping to a whisper that promised sin.

"I married your mother because she was the only way to get to you, little bird. Every diamond, every party, every 'Daddy' that rolls off your tongue... it was all a down payment for this moment. For the moment when there was no one left to stand between us."

I pressed my body against hers, pinning her to the wall. I was hard again. Just from the fight. Just from the thought of possessing her.

"Now," I growled, my hand gripping her chin, forcing her to look at me. "Are you going to run to him? Or are you going to remember who really owns you?"

She whimpered, her eyes squeezing shut.

"Answer me."

"I... I remember, Daddy," she choked out.

"Good girl," I whispered, nuzzling her hair. "Now, go to your room. And wait for me. I have a lot more 'family business' to discuss with you."

I released her, stepping back into the shadows. She scrambled away, her heels clicking frantically down the hall.

I straightened my cuffs, my heart hammering a slow, dark rhythm.

Cole thought he was the rival. He thought he could take her.

He didn't know that I had already ruined her. And I was just getting started.