Captivated

  Her eyes widened but she pulled her underpants off and got into position, and Vincenz wanted to sigh happily. Instead, he slid his palms up her thighs and held her in place. “Turn around.”

  She did and slid her fingers through his hair, yanking the way he thought she would. “Now. Take it from me.”

  She hummed and scooted forward just a little bit more, his hair still in her hand as she pulled him toward her sweet, juicy pussy. As if he needed the incentive.

  That’s when the mattress dipped as Julian got in the bed. When he spoke his lips were against Vincenz’s cock. “I wish you could see her perched on your face this way. The pretty line of her back, the sweet curves of that ass.”

  She writhed with a small sound of delight and need. Vincenz closed his eyes and gave over to her, gave over to the insane pleasure as Julian’s mouth surrounded his cock over and over.

  One hand braced on the wall behind the bed, the other in his hair, pulling him closer, she turned her head on a gasp of pleasure to discover Julian watching her in the mirror just across the room.

  The angle was perfect for such a thing and a warm flush raced through her as she couldn’t tear her gaze from Julian, even as Vincenz did his damndest to devastate her and make her come right that instant.

  The dark, heady power rushing through her as she continued her hold on his hair, all while she watched Julian suck Vincenz’s cock and then … dear gods … began to slowly fuck his hand as he did, rendered her nearly mindless.

  She managed to straighten a little, using her free hand to cup her breast, testing its weight. Julian narrowed his eyes a moment and then widened them again when she pinched the nipple hard enough to make herself catch her bottom lip between her teeth.

  Julian couldn’t tear his gaze from the sight of the three of them in the mirror. Hannah, all her glorious, thick, dark hair cascading down her back as she arched, pressing her cunt into Vin’s face. Taking what she wanted without apology. Her nipples stood hard and dark. Breasts swaying slightly as she churned her hips.

  Vin’s face was nestled between her thighs, but the long, lean torso was burnished by the sun, the dusting of gold-blond hair on his chest, the trail leading from his belly button to his cock was visible.

  He shifted his powerful thighs to wrap them around Julian’s shoulders and that’s when he had to shift to his side to get at his own cock. Needing relief.

  And then her gaze had shifted until it snagged on his, moved to his hand on his cock and that beautiful woman of his began to tug and roll her nipple with a free hand.

  He groaned around Vin’s cock, sucking it back as deep into his throat as he could until Vincenz made a ragged sound. Hannah gasped as Julian knew it must have vibrated through her pussy. He watched in the mirror as Vincenz’s fingers dug into the flesh of her ass and hauled her closer, holding her there.

  It must have been stellar because Hannah’s eyes went soft and faraway, glazed the way they did sometimes when he topped her. The hand that’d been on her nipple slapped the wall as she cried out.

  A deep pink flush rose from her ass, up her back as she let her head fall forward when she came.

  And then she got off and Vin pulled her in for a kiss and she swallowed Vin’s groans as Julian took him deeper.

  “Would you like some help?” She slid down to where Julian was, on the other side of Vincenz’s body.

  Vincenz snarled a curse, but Julian pulled off his cock to grin at her and capture that mouth in a kiss that tasted of her and now Vincenz. She squirmed to get closer as their kiss parted enough to admit Vincenz’s cock with a flurry of lips and tongues.

  Vincenz’s hands gripped the bedding so tight his knuckles went white as he arched up to meet them both.

  Julian broke the kiss. “When I’m done with him, I’m sticking my cock in you so deep you’ll have trouble walking.”

  Before he could apologize for speaking without thinking, her lashes went half-mast and she purred, her mouth right above his, “Promise?”

  At that, he and Vincenz both groaned.

  “You’re going to kill me.”

  Julian grinned at her and then went back to Vin’s cock as she slid her palms over the both of them, over every part she could touch, all as she kissed, licked and nuzzled whatever part of Vincenz’s cock that wasn’t in his mouth, and his balls.

  They hadn’t done this yet, this unified cocksucking, and he hoped like seven hells she and Vincenz would try it on him someday. And then he wanted to laugh. Of course she would. Now that she’d seen how they both reacted, she’d do it because she loved to please them.

  Vincenz writhed, restless, muscles tight as they continued. Every few strokes Hannah would return to his mouth and they’d kiss, a flutter of tongues against the head and crown of Vincenz’s cock until he grabbed hold of both his and Hannah’s hair, holding them in place, letting them know he was done being toyed with and wanted to come.

  So Julian took him deep and steady, keeping him wet and the rhythm fast until Vin growled, thrust even deeper and came in a hot rush before falling boneless back to the bed.

  Julian was on her in a heartbeat, rolling her to her belly and entering her from behind in one hard stroke.

  He was in no mood to take it slow and easy. Need crawled over his skin, brought his balls up close to his body.

  Vincenz watched them both with that satisfied smirk he often wore while they where all in bed together.

  “You two are fucking hot.” Vincenz took her hands and pulled, straightening her arms above her head as she arched her back to get more from Julian.

  He slapped her ass. Hard. Three times until her whimpers went into breathy moans. “Can’t take my eyes off that. So beautiful.” Indeed she was, stretched out beneath him, her body receiving his, cunt a hot, wet vise around him, rippling and squeezing until he nearly lost his mind.

  And when he finally came and fell to the side, Hannah wedged between them soft and warm, he let himself tumble into sleep. For just a little while. Because he knew he was safe.

  Chapter 27

  He’d gone over the plan with her several times. Enough that at the last attempt she narrowed her eyes and showed him her teeth.

  “I know you get it. I just … it’s dangerous.”

  They’d made their way to the passage up in the hayloft and had gone inside. It was the only place he’d felt safe discussing the logistics of the plan for the operation.

  They needed to head to the heart of the palace, using the panel in his mother’s suite of rooms. From the intel he’d received that morning, Carina’s rooms had been given to someone else so they couldn’t use those.

  Ciro hadn’t been sleeping in Esta’s bed for some time, though he did still go to her for counsel from time to time. Which was good. It meant she still had some use for Ciro, which kept her alive.

  Her suite of rooms was closest to her husband’s offices, and hopefully they could get a better read on what was going in inside the palace from her once they were in.

  “Don’t take her job away.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I know you worry for her. About involving her. But she helped you and your sister both get out. She’s already involved. You have to let her help. And you have to see her.” Hannah sat, her back against the wall of the passage.

  “It’s not her job.”

  She waved it away lazily. “Of course it is. She’s your mother. He’s taken every single one of her children from her. I can’t begin to imagine how angry that must make her. And perhaps getting you and Carina out safely was her way of telling your father that she would do her job no matter what. She couldn’t save your younger brother. But I doubt she’d bypass the opportunity to not let his death be for naught.”

  Her delivery was patient. Quiet. She didn’t try to talk him into seeing things her way. No. What made Hannah such a powerful force was that she herself was sure of what she said to him.

  “It’s too late anyway. We have no other options.” He hel
d his hand out and she took it, standing.

  Julian came back around the corner. “I followed the passage all the way to her room. No one’s been back here in a very long time.” He marched right up to Vincenz and kissed him soundly. “You ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  And they walked. It didn’t take very long.

  “I’ll go first.” Hannah smoothed a hand down the front of her skirts.

  “The fuck you will!”

  She sighed like he was a moron. “I’m dressed like a personal attendant. If anyone sees me, they won’t look twice. Hopefully. Anyway. You two …” She indicated them both with a flick of her wrist and a raised brow. “You two will catch attention in a woman’s room, for goodness sake.”

  Oh.

  “If you get yourself hurt, I will personally kick your pretty ass after I have to kill whoever hurt you.” He took her upper arms and hauled her close. She smiled up at him.

  “Do you think I’d argue with such a plan? I love you, Vincenz. I want to help, but I’m not stupid. I’ll go through, be sure the area is clear, and you two can follow.” She tiptoed up, kissed him softly and moved to Julian. “You too.” She kissed the furrow between his brows. “I love you.”

  Julian hugged her tight. “Be careful.”

  And with that she squeezed through the low passage door and was gone.

  She knew she’d come out in a large closet so that part wasn’t a surprise. She held still and listened hard for any noise, but heard none. At the door she listened again, heard nothing and peeked. No one was around so she eased out into the pretty sitting room just beyond.

  Her heart beat so hard it made her a little dizzy, but they needed her to do this. Vincenz needed her to do this for more reasons than one and so she did.

  When she opened the door to the bedchamber it was to find Esta Fardelle sitting at her window seat, staring out at the dark night beyond. Startled, she stood and began to speak. Hannah put a finger to her lips and moved quickly to Vincenz’s mother.

  “Are you well?” She curtseyed and then straightened. “I’m new. My name is Yalta.”

  Esta’s eyes widened and she nodded, looking all around. “Yalta, yes, I’m well. I didn’t expect you. Is it just you then?”

  Yalta had been Vincenz’s first horse’s name. Apparently this was a key phrase between him and his mother as they’d made to get him out of Caelinus. She clearly understood that there was something going on and let Hannah lead.

  “I was mending one of your gowns in your closets. I hate to bother you about this, but would you take a look to be sure I’m doing it the way you’d like?”

  Esta followed her to the closet and closed the door after them, locking it and pushing a low table to block access. Hannah went to the crawl space and opened it, standing to the side to allow Vincenz and Julian through.

  When Esta saw Vincenz’s face, she nearly crumpled, but he caught her. He caught her with a hushed cry and the two held each other for long moments. Hannah tried to hold her tears back but it was impossible as she watched them together. As she knew she’d never have this moment with her own mother again.

  Vincenz and his mother both needed each other so much. It was moving simply to watch them fall apart and then help each other pull together again. Julian moved to Hannah to hold her to his side, his eyes glossy with unshed tears.

  “We can speak in here.” Esta tried to gather her wits as the embrace broke.

  And then Vincenz told her what they were there for, what they needed and what Ciro had done to Petrus.

  They switched to rapid-fire Imperial with the taste of Caelinus. It was difficult for even Hannah to follow and she’d grown up speaking Imperial as a second language.

  “I hate him. I hate him and I want to destroy him the way he’s destroyed everything and everyone I ever cared about.”

  “You’re coming back with us when we finish this. Wait in the passageway so you won’t be discovered.”

  “You’ll need me here to run interference. You can’t risk it.”

  “He’ll be dead so don’t fret about him.” He said it in such a matter-of-fact way that even if she didn’t know him, she would have believed his claim. He took his mother’s hands. “I will not leave you here again.”

  Hannah realized Vincenz got his spine not from his father but from the woman who barely reached his chest currently staring him down.

  “It’s quiet now. Wait here and I’ll go check on his office.” Esta changed topics smoothly.

  “Don’t take any risks.”

  “Of course.” She was gone in moments, leaving them all in her closet.

  Hannah said nothing but took his hand, squeezing it. He took a deep, shuddering breath and pulled himself back together. “She’s coming back with me even if I have to bundle her over my shoulder to do it.”

  “Of course she is.”

  Vincenz relaxed a little and turned to breathe her in. His Hannah. Home in so many ways. “Thank you, baby. I forgot to introduce her to you both.”

  Julian snorted a quiet laugh and stepped in to kiss Vin on the other side. “Let’s just take this all one step at a time. She’s had enough shocks for one day.”

  Vincenz waited what seemed like an eternity for his mother to come back. In fact he’d started to pace. Hannah and Julian had stood back to give him room. Julian tended to Hannah while he pretended not to and she pretended not to notice. He found their interplay charming and it eased some of his nervousness.

  * * *

  They’d kept the passage panel unlatched, at the ready should they need to jump back inside, but when there was noise out in the main room, he recognized the footfalls. Just one person. A small person. Had to be his mother and as they stood out of the direct sight of the opening door, she poked her head round and entered, closing it in her wake.

  “There’s no one in his office just now. There’s a late-night feast down in the great hall so the guards are all there. You picked a good time to come, I suppose. I know where the elevator is. Let’s go. It might be your only chance today.”

  Vin took a deep breath and nodded. His weapons were hot and ready to go. Hannah straightened and stood tall, ready. Julian led up the rear, getting their back. No more time to waste so he nodded at his mother. “I know where it is. You stay here. We can’t take the risk of you being tied in with us if things go badly.”

  “He already suspects me. He rarely speaks to me anymore. I have nothing left to lose.” With that she turned and headed to the door. “I’ve been taking chances with that monster my whole life. I want this over. He took every single one of my babies and I want him to pay.”

  Hannah sent him a look that told him he needed to let his mother do this, even if it was the last thing he wanted.

  “Fine. But if I tell you to go, you have to go. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes.”

  The hallways were the same as they’d been before. The same glossy black stone floors and walls. The same portraits in the long hall. Well, his was gone. Carina, being female had no such portrait to remove, but he was sure any and all mention of her had been expunged from the official records anyway.

  She’d been right; the halls were empty in what would prove to be a disastrous breach of protocol for his father but a lucky one for them. Once they’d made ready to round the last turn to where his father’s offices were, his mother held her hand up and waved them back. Vincenz stopped, holding them up as she continued to walk.

  “Ma’am, can I help you with something?”

  Must be a soldier.

  “I’m looking for a guard. I heard a crash. Probably birds hitting the windows again, but one can never be too safe.”

  The sounds of their talking dimmed and shortly after, he peeked around the corner to find it empty, so the three of them moved to his father’s office door. Hannah pushed herself to the front and began to hack into the system of locks and security on the door. She’d already disabled the surveillance system while they’d been
in the closet earlier and they’d discovered his father’s long hallway had no cameras at all. Gods only knew what he’d been up to that he’d make that stupid mistake.

  She continued to work in that way of hers, all her focus on the task at hand until the door popped open and they slipped in, closing the door in their wake.

  He indicated the next doors that led into what he and Carina had always joked was his father’s throne room. Only now it had an actual throne on a dais. Seven hells.

  Julian sent him a raised brow, but said nothing as Vincenz led them to the elevator just beyond. His mother wasn’t the only one who knew where it was. He would have preferred to take the access stairs in the elevator shaft rather than the elevator, but it was inaccessible except for through what appeared to be a guard office on the other side of the thick walls. And they couldn’t risk that.

  Hannah got to work, and he came in behind her, propping the system open as she ripped holes large enough for him to get in behind her. Soon enough the elevator arrived and they took the chance and got on.

  No cameras in there either.

  Hannah indicated they hold as she pulled on a respirator and some gloves. They had no idea what the lab would be like and she refused to let them take extra risks. He and Julian followed suit and pulled their weapons out, training them on the door as it slid open.

  The lab beyond was impressive. Hannah had to admit it as she took a look around. The containment appeared to be solid, which made her relax a little, but also led her to believe there were some dangerous things there. They clearly had the right place.

  She sent them a glare and mimed that she’d kill them both if they took the respirators off and not to touch anything but the comms they needed to get inside of.

  And then she went to work.

  From what she could tell as she went through each station’s data, the lab was a veritable chamber of horrors of viral and biological agents. She wished she had a full containment suit, but as that wasn’t an option she did her best as she downloaded the data and introduced the chlorine that would kill each one of the viruses in the containment units.