Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Monroe

I’m so furious, I can barely think straight. The feast was going well enough, if a little boring, until the Paine brothers showed up and sent everyone into a tailspin. The sheer fucking audacity of their picks for Brides might make me admire them if I wasn’t among the number.

Not just me.

I turn away from Broderick and survey the warehouse the Paines brought us to. A giant room with doors lining the walls on either side of the massive one we drove through to get here. People have scattered like rats fleeing a sinking ship since we climbed out of the trucks, and I can’t find my sister or uncle among them. Winry. Damn it, I should have been thinking of her this whole time instead of needling Broderick Paine.

Winry isn’t like me. No amount of training and browbeating by our mother could hammer out the softness she carries. She’ll never be ruthless or cold or willing to cut down her enemies first and ask questions later. Why in the name of the gods did they pair her with Cohen Paine? Even a glimpse of him is enough to label him a stone-cold killer, just like me.

Better that she end up with someone like the man standing behind me, radiating impatience. Broderick might be the second-born Paine, but he doesn’t have the same cold ruthlessness that comes off some of his brothers in waves. “If your brother hurts my sister, I’ll skin him alive.”

Broderick stops short, looking at me like I’m a poisonous snake that just opened my mouth and spoke. “No one is going to be hurt. No one is going to be forced.”

“You say that, and yet your scary big brother just said to consummate the handfasting, no exceptions.”

“For fuck’s sake, Monroe.” He seems legitimately insulted. “There are half a dozen ways to consummate without having sex, and they have all night to figure out a way that won’t harm anyone. Give us some credit.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I will.” Will Winry do the smart thing and submit to get it over with? I think she will, but sometimes when she gets scared, she acts against her best interest. My chest gets tight at the thought, but I have too much control to let my worry show on my face. I smile up at Broderick, and his flinch makes me feel the tiniest bit better. “I don’t bluff. If Cohen harms Winry or scares her or makes her cry, I’m going to fucking gut him.” I doubt I can take the burly redhead in a fair fight, but I’ve never been in a fair fight in my life—at least outside of feast days.

“No one is going to hurt your sister.” Broderick narrows his pretty, blue eyes. Really, all of him is pretty. Most of the Paine brothers have a brutal edge to them, but he’s traditionally handsome with a strong jaw, sensual lips, and nice, high cheekbones. He’s kept his hair at a length just longer than a buzz cut, and it leaves his features in stark relief. Paired with his broad shoulders and strong body, it creates quite the image.

Sleeping with him is going to be no hardship.

Especially since he’s already shown he’s so easy to provoke.

“You’re not worried about your uncle?”

I almost laugh. As if my uncle isn’t one of the best warriors our faction has to offer. It doesn’t matter what his history with Ezekiel Paine is; he’ll handle himself tonight. “Jasper will be fine.” I tilt my head to the side, smiling widely and enjoying the way Broderick’s jaw clenches in response. I can do nothing to help my sister right now. Best to get this over with and find her in the morning. “Are you stalling, dear husband? If someone weren’t paying attention, they might think you’re scared of little old me.”

“I’m not stalling.” He spins on his heels and resumes his march toward the door that’s obviously our destination. It looks identical to the other doors on the side walls of the warehouse—plain and gray.

I cast one last look at the space behind me and force myself to put aside my worry about Winry. She’ll be okay. She might be soft, but she’s still an Amazon. Someone soft in our faction is still someone a thousand times more capable than anyone else.

The room Broderick leads me to isn’t anything to write home about. It’s spartan in decorations, containing only a bed, a wardrobe, and nothing else. There is a door to what appears to be a private bathroom, which is something, at least.

I turn as Broderick shuts the door. He seems to make himself look at me, and I don’t imagine the heat in his eyes. He wants me. He doesn’t want to want me, but the desire is there all the same. Silly man. Between that and the way he was making heart eyes at the pretty brunette, he’s all but handed me the keys to the kingdom, along with a map to navigate his pressure points.

He motions at the bed. “Let’s make this quick. We don’t have to have sex—”

“Yeah, no. I don’t care how you’ve played this out in your head, but you won yourself a Bride, and you’re going to do this properly.” It’s necessary to ensure the Bridal peace holds…so when I go back to my people at the end of this year, I’ll have all the information I need to crush the Raider faction one and for all.

In the years since Broderick and his brothers were driven out of Sabine Valley, the Raider faction has become the weakest of the three. No matter how brilliant Eli Walsh is at leadership, he never reclaimed what the Paine family had previously accomplished. Eight years is a long time. It means Abel and the others are an unknown quantity. The fact they were able to infiltrate the city long enough to stage that show at Lammas means they’re a threat in a big way.

I’m the Amazon heir. It’s my job to step between my people and whatever threats arise. If that means I need to crawl into bed and ride Broderick’s cock until he passes out to ensure we have a year of peace, then I’ll do it. I would do it anyways, because I want to. But a year? It’s a long time to gather information on the Paine brothers while they can’t move against us. I’d be a fool to let that opportunity go by unexploited.

I am no fool.

I start for the bathroom door. “Give me two seconds to shower the blood off, husband.”

“Don’t call me that.”

I don’t bother to hide my smile as I glance over my shoulder, and his flinch in response is more than reward enough. “How on earth did you survive this long with skin that thin?”

Broderick opens his mouth, seems to reconsider whatever he was about to say, and huffs out a breath. “I don’t have thin skin.”

“All evidence points to the contrary.” I step into the bathroom and almost laugh. It’s just as spartan as the bedroom itself; it’s entirely white tile with only a sink, toilet, and showerhead. It’s also positioned in such a way that if I leave the door open, anyone in the bedroom will be able to see the entire bathroom. Good for security and ensuring a captive doesn’t get into trouble. Bad for Broderick’s blood pressure.

I turn on the shower and pull off my clothing slowly. I can feel his eyes on me. I know what I look like. Beauty is just another weapon in my arsenal, and Broderick might hate me, but he’s affected. Maybe he hates me because he’s affected. Even knowing him all of one evening is enough to make me suspect that’s the truth.

When I’m naked, I step beneath the spray and tilt my head back. The earlier fight in the arena wasn’t a particularly long or brutal one, but my knuckles sting and my thigh is a little sore where that bitch got in a few good kicks. Juniper of the Mystics isn’t heir, and every time I deal with her, I have cause to be grateful for that fact. She’s a blunt instrument waiting for a hand to wield her. She’s got a temper, and she’s remarkably easy to bait. If I’d been fighting her older sister, Fallon, the fight wouldn’t have been nearly as simple.

I slick my hair back. Fallon is a Bride, too. I wonder how she’s taking the consummation. That woman has ice in her veins, and she’s as feral as a wolf when it comes to… Well, literally anything. Poor little Gabriel Paine. He’s bitten off more than he can chew, too.

I feel Broderick standing in the doorway before he speaks. “That’s enough. Let’s get this over with.” His voice has gone hoarse.

I turn slowly to face him and open my eyes. Gods, the way he looks at me. Like he wants to fight and fuck and then run as far and fast from me as he can. He’s got a shit poker face; another fact I file away. Those blue eyes are practically an inferno as his gaze follows the path of the water down my body, tracing over my lips, my breasts, my stomach, my pussy, my legs.

“See something you like?”

He shakes his head slowly, but he can’t seem to raise his gaze from my breasts. The sheer intensity on his face has goose bumps rising over my skin. I don’t know what changed in the last few minutes, but any hesitation is gone. He flicks his fingers at me. “Get over here.”

I wring out my hair slowly, letting the tension between us become thicker and thicker. It feels like the moment before a storm breaks, the air thick and heavy with promised violence. I lick my lips. “Make me.”

“Monroe.”

Gods, the way he says my name. A warning I have no intention of heeding. When’s the last time I danced on the edge of true danger? I can’t remember. No matter how brutal life can be in Sabine Valley, I’m at the top of the hierarchy. Aside from clashes with the other factions from time to time, no one fucks with me. No one even dares to try.

I suddenly very much want Broderick to do more than try.

I flick my hair over my shoulder. “Make me,” I repeat. His eyes flare in response, but he doesn’t move. That’s okay. I have more than enough ammunition to provoke him at this point. Still, Broderick seems to have an honorable streak—to his eventual detriment—so I throw him the smallest of bones. “Play with me, Broderick Paine. If you want to be the conquering warlord, you can’t just ride in on your big brother’s coattails and let him do all the work. You want the Amazon heir?” I motion to my body, my nipples going tight when he follows the movement. “Earn it.”

He tenses, obviously fighting himself. “I have no desire to hurt you by accident.”

He really is too easy. I laugh. “Please. As if you could.” I weave my wet hair into a quick braid to keep it out of my face. “Do you know what I think?”

“I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“I think you’re weak.” I tilt my head to the side, pretending to think. “Or is it because of the pretty little girl-next-door brunette that we met on the way in here? What was her name…” I snap my fingers. “Shiloh.”

“Keep her name out of your mouth.” He takes a step forward.

I weigh the distance between us. Close but not close enough. He just needs one last little push to send him hurtling over the edge. I lower my voice and lean forward a bit. “You can call me by her name if you want. Since you’re obviously too much a coward to have closed the deal with her.”

“Monroe.” On his tongue, my name sounds like a curse. I kind of like it.

“Actually, I have a better idea.” I give him a slow, predatory smile. “Maybe I’ll say her name instead. I bet her pussy tastes as sweet and innocent as she looks.”

Broderick moves, faster than I would have given him credit for. If I weren’t waiting for it, he would have caught me flat-footed. As it is, I sucker punch him and slip past. He careens into the wall with a muffled curse, but he’s recovered by the time I reach the bathroom door. Tough bastard.

“You bitch.”

“Don’t think you’ll turn my head with pretty compliments.” I twist around and back toward the bed.

Broderick looks like he wants to wring my neck. He rushes me, and even though I try to dodge, he hooks an arm around my waist and takes us both to the bed. I’m fighting as soon as my back hits the mattress, but he’s ready for me this time. He grabs my wrists and forces them over my head, dodges my attempt to knee him in the balls, and wedges himself between my thighs. All in the span of three seconds.

Impressive.

He growls. “It didn’t have to be like this.”

“On the contrary.” I shiver, my desire making me forget myself for a moment. Broderick really is a worthy opponent, though I’d cut out my own tongue before I admitted as much. “It most definitely had to be like this.”

He looks like he wants to argue, but I stop the words by arching up and kissing him. He tenses against me. For a moment, I think he might keep fighting this, but he makes a low sound against my mouth, and then he’s kissing me back. It’s just as much a battle as everything has been up to this point. We fight for dominance even as he shifts my wrists to one hand and reaches between our bodies to shove two fingers into me.

Broderick lifts his head and glares. “I fucking loathe you.”