The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (53 page)

“Derek, work her breasts
.
I’ll bring her to the point.
”

She tried to look at Damian to see what he was doing, which earned her a brutal slap on her buttocks from Derek, sharp enough to make her eyes water
.
“Keep your eyes on Donal,”
Derek
growled
.
“You are on your knees
to please him, not yourself.”

“Poor little girl,” Donal soothed
.
“She pleases me very much
.
Keep your eyes on me
,
sweet
heart.”

Thankfully, Donal’s warm eyes and reassuri
ng tone were enough to hold her
.
S
he didn’t turn when Damian knelt right at her side and reached down between her legs and began exploring
.

She groaned loudly, both from the surge of pleasure and the struggle not to look
.
“Stay with me, little girl,” Donal said, sensing how hard it was for her
.
“You know there’s nothing I love more than watching you take my cock in your mouth.”

Somehow Derek and Damian happened upon the same rhythm, Derek massaging her breasts, D
amian her bud
.
Donal sensed it
and began to match them, pumping into her mouth
.
She screamed then, building dangerously close
.
Damian pulled back just enough
.
“Donal?” 

“Soon
.
Damnation that feels good,” he hissed
.
Donal’s cock hardened palpably, and his movements became more urgent
.
Damian began again, manipulating her bud until her whole body was tensing as her climax approached
.

“I’m going to bring her now,” Damian said, making a little swirl with his fingers that
caused her whole body to seize
and left her trying to scream as Donal pumped into her mouth
.

“Ah, Gods, Genevieve,” Donal yelled just afterwards
.
He thrust four or five more times, and then came the
spray
of warm fluid
into her mouth
,
which never failed to surprise her
.
He immediately put his hand on the back of her head
.
“
Y
ou know what I want
.
Swallow
it, every drop,” he ordered
.

When Donal finally released her, Genevieve collapsed back into Derek’s arms, utterly mindless
.
Derek put his arms around her, kissing her neck, whispering in her ear, “
That
was beautiful, angel
.
I’m proud of you.” 

“I think it’s bedtime for our girl,” Damian said.

Derek stood with Genevieve in his arms, kissing her on the mouth before handing her to Damian
.
Damian held her so that Donal
could
kiss
her
goodni
ght as well
.
“Thank you, sweet
heart,” he said, ruffling her hair
.

“Say goodnight, darling,” Damian said
.

“Goodnight,” she murmured
.

“
And now it’s m
y turn,” Damian said in a tone that made her toes curl
.
I
t told her that no matter how aroused he was, he planned on being absolutely ruthless with her
.
“We might not see you tomorrow, but don’t fear
.
Genevieve will come down before bed to say goodnight to Donal
—
tomorrow and
all of your off-nights
.
Derek, you will make sure she doesn’t forget.”

Six months later

Damian and Donal were seated at the table waiting for the other two so they could begin lunch
.
After five minutes, Damian decided to check where Genevieve had gotten to when his home’s usual peace was shattered by ear-piercing screams.

“Oh brother,” Donal groaned
.
“Here it comes.”

Damian downed the full glass of wine before him and then decided to pour another
.
“Would you like one?” he asked.

“Yes, please!” Donal said in a mournful tone
.

They both fortified themselves as the screams got closer
.
Finally Derek appeared in the doorway, his face dark with fury—with an equally enraged Genevieve heaved over his shoulder, frantically pounding his back
.

“Genevieve and I have some business to discuss
.
She will not be able to ride for several days,” he announced
.

“Don’t you dare, you bastard,” Genevieve screamed and then let out a string of expletives that would make a demon mercenary blush
.

“I warned you what would happen if you used that language!” Derek roared at her.

There were several more expletives followed by, “I’ll kill you Derek!  I swear it!”

“Very well,” Damian replied
in a studiously reasonable tone
.
“I needed to attend to some matters with the
garrison
anyway
.
Perhaps Donal will come with me.”

“That might be best,” Derek said and exited
.
Next they heard the door to the study slam shut, which muffled most of the shrieks
.

“Do I have you to thank for my wife’s new vocabulary?” Damian said, pouring himself
one final half-glass of wine.

Donal had the grace to look abashed
.
“Peter finds it amusing to annoy his wife by teaching our girl to swear like a quartermaster
.
I’d never have guessed a painter would know so many obscenities
.
He’s really quite impressive.”

Damian prayed for patience
.
He was convinced he deserved to be canonized for tolerating Genevieve’s continued friendship with the diminutive blond virago, whose lovely face, in his opinion, did not atone
for her shrewish disposition.

However, he did concede that Peter’s pastel portrait of Genevieve standing in a flower-filled meadow, which currently graced the wall of the dining room, perfectly captured his wife’s fresh, unforced sensuality
.
He’d since commissioned a full-length oil portrait that would look perfect in their bedroom.

“Should I speak to Thomas and George?” Donal asked, getting to his feet
.

Damian rose as well
.
“Fine
.
How long do you need to pack?”

“Actually, I’m packed already
.
I had a feeling an explosion was imminent.”

“You might have mentioned it to me
.
I just got back!”  He’d been looking forward to three nights—and days—between his wife’s thighs.

Donal just shrugged
.
“I’ll try to remember next time I sense the demon about to awake.” 

Damian could only laugh ruefully
.
There had been surprisingly few adjustments to the initial plan, which had worked almost miraculously well, thanks most of all to his highly tolerant and adaptable wife
.
Certain habits had emerged: for example on his nights, Donal preferred to sleep in the conservatory with Genevieve
.
Derek, on the other hand, always stayed with Genevieve in their bedroom, of course rigorously enforcing the rule about chaining her to the bed
.

On his brothers’ nights, Damian visited his troops, falling into a pattern of working four grueling days and then having three heavenly days with Genevieve, the largest part of which were spent in their bedroom
.

Derek and Donal, in contrast, preferred to alternate their nights rather than have two in a row
.
The days Damian was away, Genevieve usually spent with Donal practicing her music, visiting her parents or friends in town, or learning to cook with Roderick
.

The only surprise was that Genevieve never once did anything to get herself sent to the study
.
In the early weeks Damian had worried about it, entertaining and discarding several theories as to why: she was afraid of how severe Derek would be; she was afraid of injuring Damian’s feelings; Donal was lying to cover for her
.

The reason was predictably more complicated
.
Genevieve spent far too much time worrying about the three of them, relentlessly scrutinizing herself for any sign of preference or hint of unfairness
.
Her anxiety made her unconsciously avoid doing things that might upset one of them
.

He also realized that temperamentally, it was difficult for her to disobey when one of them issued a serious command
.
Still he wasn’t happy with the situation and resolved to intervene
.
Though he truly didn’t want her to do anything that put herself at risk, he couldn’t stand the idea that his wife was monitoring
her behavior to that degree.

It turned out that his worry was unnecessary, though he would never have predicted the reason
.
Two months after they set up their household, Damian had been stunned to see Derek drag a shrieking Genevieve int
o the study and lock the door.

An hour later, Derek found Damian and Donal in the dining room and announced he needed four more days
.
Damian had to acknowledge that Derek had actually been civil when he requested that his brothers stay at the fortress and order the servants away
.
Derek also promised he would make up their lost days after “it was over.”

Damian was proud of how he’d reacted
.
He’d not punched his brother or tried to knife him
.
Instead he’d calmly asked, “What is happening with my wife?” 

“She needs this,” Derek answered curtly and then added, “I don’t think she’ll be able to ride for the next week.”  With that he’d left the room.

There had been a long moment of silence while Damian debated various ways to murder Derek, when Donal said, “Leave it
.
If he says she needs it, then she probably does
.
You’ve not been here, but something has been brewing with her over the last week.” 

Damian was about to say something, when Donal added, “You don’t want to know
.
Let me take the two days afterwards
.
The worst will be over by then
.
And then you and she can spend a whole week together
.
Derek and I will cover you at the gate
.
You’ll have the house to yourselves.”

“Are you sure?” he asked Donal
.
Donal was still the one who always seemed to make the compromises to accommodate his less flexible brothers
.

“Of course,” Donal said without hesitation
.
“Stop worrying, Damian
.
I dealt with it the last time
.
I know how to help her.” 

So they had left
.

Damian had, however, sought out Declan, who advised him that he must allow matters to play out
.

“Derek said she wouldn’t be able to ride for a week,” he protested.

“Your rule is a sound one,” Declan responded
.
“However, you must accept that there are times when that limit is too stringent
.
Did you allow Derek access to her heartwood box?”

“Yes, I did what you recommended,” Damian said
.
“I left the box unlocked; he knows where it is.”

“I know it is not easy, Damian, but you made the right choice.” 

“I don’t think she’ll stop him.”

“I realize that
.
Do you think if she wished him to, she would keep silent?”

“I just wish I understood this,” he confessed.

“You know, Genevieve once asked me why Derek craved punishing her
.
She was concerned it might injure him to fulfill her need.”  Damian shook his head
.
Who other than his wife would even think such a thing
?
“Do you ever wish you were different, Damian?”