Is this my life now?
I’m leaning back on my hands, feet dangling off of the sink in the bathroom of my house as Damon runs a warm cloth over my legs and beyond. He’s being ridiculously gentle with the bruised and raw parts of me while his twin is rummaging through my drawers, muttering to himself. Angelo insisted he get to pick out the replacement underwear and shorts, and rather than argue, I let him.
“Almost done, Sparkles. I’m going to rub some arnica on the marks so they don’t hurt, but the color will stay. Just keep relaxing,” Damon says in a low, soothing voice.
Biting my lower lip, I look down at him as I remember something Angelo said before we collectively lost our minds. “Ang said your mom is going to kill you. Is that true?”
He stops, looking up at me with a little smirk. “She’ll be a challenge, but after what just happened, it should be smoother.”
What the hell does that mean?
As if reading my mind, Angelo walks in with a scrap of lace and short skirt in hand. “Ma is pretty old school. She has a lot of ideas about what demons do and don’t do—which we don’t ascribe to, but she’s going to make you earn her respect. I’m not worried, Princess.”
I scoff. “I don’t beg for anyone’s approval. What did we fuck up, in her opinion?”
There’s no need to ask why I have to bother with their parents. Luca Gemini is the head of one of the biggest mobs in the city, and I have no doubt we’ll be summoned to his presence eventually. I’m not na?ve enough to believe I can give the finger to the matron of the Gemini organization without consequences, so I need to know what transgressions she will lie at our feet.
Damon sighs. “Mating with both of us fixes one problem. She’s always known we’d have to share a mate. It’s the nature of our twin flames.”
Good to know.
“However, we didn’t ask for approval, nor did we formally present our plans, so there’s that. Plus, eventually, we'll have to deal with the others.” Angelo shrugs. “And we showed some of our traits before it was time.”
Frowning, I tilt my head at him while Damon applies the cool cream to the bites, scratches, and bruises. “Huh? You lost me there.”
“The saving grace is we didn’t reveal our full form, so that’s a good reply to her complaint.”
“Wait. Let me get this straight—you aren’t allowed to show anyone your demon? Ang, I’ve seen your wings and shit before. And as you said, I’ve fucked demons in the past and seen their appendages. It can’t be that strict a rule.”
They look at one another with a grin and Damon takes over. “Sparkles, that wasn’t our true form. The rules of the court are explicit, especially for high demons like us. Demon visage is only for famiglia, court events, and battle. Luckily, we only showed half and two parts of that equation apply, so we should be able to skate by on that rule.”
I narrow my eyes, feeling annoyed, but then I remember Fae only show their full Fae transformation in similar situations. Outside of royalty, who do whatever the hell they please, we keep the full monte to ourselves. “Well, you haven’t seen all of me, either, so I guess we’re even.”
Angelo pauses, looking surprised. “You shocked me with the mind speech thing, though it explains so much about you and Reb. But that glowy, tattooed shit isn’t all of it?”
“Hell, no.” I laugh, shaking my head. “While you lot keep your scary shit undercover for the legions of the underworld, my people keep the stupidly beautiful appearance of our full Fae form under wraps, so people don’t hunt us down for pets. I promise you, your imagination won’t do it justice, especially if I let the succubus out to play as well.”
Take that, you arrogant jackasses.
He hands me the lingerie and the skirt as I slide off the sink. Once I’m dressed, I give them an unsure expression. “What else aren’t you telling me? And what did you mean by ‘deal with the others?’ I’m not dating anyone else.”
A low growl rumbles out of little D, and my hand automatically strokes his hair. He purrs, and my eyes widen, making Angelo chuckle. “There’s that, of course, but it’s because you’re not dating us, Princess. You’re mated to us, which is much more serious. It commands different responses, respect, and responsibilities—from all of us, including the rest of our famiglia and the demon world.”
What?!
“Are you saying you idiots have made me an actual princess?”
“More like a queen-to-be,” Damon murmurs as he continues nuzzling my hand. “Ma will step down someday.”
Panic. All panic , no disco.
“No, no, no. I’m a brawler—I race cars and smack people on skates. Guardians protect charges, not sit on thrones and eat grapes, while men act like dickless tyrants.” I back away from them both, feeling my chest tighten as the gravity of what’s happened sinks in. “And I’m not built for monogamy. Or motherhood, for that matter.”
Damon pouts when I move away and Angelo bursts out laughing. Anger fills me and I feel the magic welling within as the sensation of being trapped makes me lose my temper. Neither of them moves, but their mirth is apparent as they watch my fury build. Sparks arc across my fingertips and finally Angelo reaches forward and hauls me against him.
“We aren’t from the old school, Princess. Our queen does what she wants—even if it’s our friends.”
Their… friends?!! What the actual ? —
“The only people who don’t see what’s coming are you and Reb. We’ll square our little polycule with our folks, Sparkles. Dad wants Angelo and I to take his place when he retires. If he wants us to rule, he will have to accept our terms.” Damon rises and presses against my back, sandwiching me between them again.
“Archer won’t have an issue—Samara has her own harem. Javi might have a fight on his hands because his folks are as old world as ours, but we can handle it as a family. I have no doubt you’ll get the stubborn women who rule our clans to respect you.”
I swallow hard, shaking my head. “I won’t need to. None of this is true, and you guys are insane.”
“Rebel’s gonna be the hard sell. He’s so fucking stubborn, and he’s purposefully kept you in the little sister box to keep you at a distance. He’ll be worse than the moms, for sure.”
I turn to look at Damon, my expression full of disbelief. “You are both certifiable and we need to get back to the rave before the others check on the tracker and notice I’m missing.”
Angelo winks at me. “Trust me, Princess. We didn’t inhale any Fae dust. You’ll find out soon enough. Once they get a whiff of our scent, it’s going to be a race to see who can lay claim next.”
I elbow Damon in the gut when he snickers and then stomp on Angelo’s instep hard. “Just take me back and keep your big traps shut. I have a big match with the Mollies and a triathlon to train for—I don’t need this Gemini bullshit to distract me.”
“Famous last words, Princess.”
My response is swallowed by the vacuum of Damon’s portal as he does exactly what I asked at the perfect time to also please his brother.
Men are so fucking dramatic.
***
When we step out of the rip in space and time, I can’t stop myself from looking around to make certain I don’t see anyone suspicious. I hate that it’s becoming a knee-jerk reaction, but after the fight at the club and the trolls tonight… I’d have to be an idiot not to watch my surroundings more closely.
“Don’t worry, Sparkles. We won’t let anything get near you,” Damon whispers in my ear.
Snorting, I arch a brow at him. “You remember that I had the troll situation handled when you both flew in like giant vultures, right? The hellfire was a bonus, but I was warming up my magic while I toyed with them.”
They don’t need to know I wasn’t sure I had enough power to eliminate all three. Their egos are as big as their monster dicks as it is. I probably shouldn’t say the monster dick thing out loud, either, come to think of it.
“If you say so, Princess.” Angelo grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Far be it for me to argue with the queen.”
My eyes widen, and I yank my hand away. “Oh no. Uh-uh. Absolutely the fuck not. I don’t want either of you saying shit like that until I’ve come to terms with this myself and spoken with… whomever I need to speak to.”
They look at one another and then turn back to me with bright smiles. “Your wish is our command.”
Gag me with a spoon.
“Hey, dickheads!”
The voice comes from the backstage area, and I stride towards it quickly. I’d know Archie’s laid-back drawl anywhere and where he goes, the other two will be close by. If I can gather them up, I might finally enjoy the music before someone tries to kill or fuck me again.
My life is seriously out of control; I know.
Leading my demon shadows down the path to the outdoor lounge, I find Archie, Javi, and Reb sprawled on giant cushions. The lounge is tricked out to look like some Arabian Nights fever dream, and the boys are clearly enjoying the benefit of all the illegal substances in the air. I cross my arms over my chest, looking at them with an amused smirk—finding all three of them violating Reb’s edict makes my shitshow look small in comparison.
“How did you guys plan to keep track of me, much less defend me, when you’re all tripping balls?”
Archie rolls to his feet, wrapping his long, lithe frame around me. “Wheels, I’m so glad you’re here! We have great news!”
I give the rest of them a ‘help’ look, but they just snicker. Guess I’m on my own with the touchy-feely hockey god. “Um, that’s great, Arch. What’s your news?”
“My mom texted, and she’s pregnant again!”
Javi snorts. “That’s not the only news. He’s just dealing with knowing that his folks are still banging it out.”
Nope. Not discussing any of their parents’ sex lives. Or mine, for that matter.
“Tell us the other news then,” Angelo says, winking at me. “And congrats, man. Which dad do you think got it done?”
“Nooooooo…”
I choke as Archie clings to me tightly. He’s definitely not ready to joke about his dad’s knocking his mom up. I run my hand over his back gently. “Okay, okay, buddy.”
Rebel laughs as I try to comfort his friend, then finally stacks his hands behind his head. “You and I got officially entered in the trike, little sis. I got the green light from Roadrunner’s race manager.”
“That’s why we're here,” Javi adds.
Damon grins at me. “They had to make nice with the big shots. That’s why they broke assface’s decree.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Sariah Templeton simply refused to leave Scheherazade’s lair to talk business,” I grumble as I try to pry Archie off without upsetting him.
None of them have a witty retort for that—Sariah is a cobra shifter, and she’s as tough as they come. Her only concern is making money for the racing division, so she would have been happy to take their meeting anywhere Reb wanted. He’s one of the top five racers in the league and that woman knows where the bread is buttered.
My stepbrother just wanted to torque me off by being a giant hypocrite. Typical.
“Since you’re all fucked up…” I glare at Javi. He should have been the voice of reason and he failed. “We should head home. Reb and I need to train for both of the big events tomorrow. And all of you will help, so you need to sleep this shit off.”
“I’m coming with you,” Archie mumbles.
The twins share a look and I hiss at them while Reb and Javi help each other up off of the silly cushions. “Fucking fine. All three of you can sneak in once we get Rebel to bed, but keep it quiet . And say nothing about my goddamned commands.”
Angelo just grins wickedly, blowing me a kiss before mouthing ‘as you wish, Princess’ at me.
What in the hell am I going to do with these boys?