Merciless

1
Shep

I HAD A bad feeling about this.
It wasn’t just the fact that the streets of Monaco were overflowing with a cheering crowd waiting for a glimpse of their prince and his bride-to-be that had me on edge, but it sure as hell didn’t help.
“This is an even bigger crowd than the last time we were here,” Kai said, scooting forward in his seat, those innocent eyes wide and excited. He hit the button to lower the window, and while my first instinct was to shove him back from inviting onlookers into the privacy of our limo, I instead cut my eyes at Lucien.
I didn’t have to say a word as my longtime friend—brother at this point, really—smirked at the irritation I knew was written all over my face.
“Relax, Shep,” he said, stretching his long legs out like he didn’t have a care in the world. His hand rested on Kai’s lower back, always touching, always connected, even as his younger boyfriend smiled and waved at everyone we passed.
“Easy for you to say,” I muttered as I continually scanned the crowd, my body hyper alert, as always. Living in the public eye my whole life meant never letting your guard down, but it was more than that today. We had a wild card on our hands, and there was no telling how the day would unfold.
“Here. Take the edge off.” Lucien leaned forward and held his freshly topped glass of champagne out to me.
When I shook my head, he shrugged, his gaze drifting back to Kai.
“Theo’s not going to do anything stupid.”
“If that was a guarantee, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Sure you would.” He shot me a wink. “Someone from American political royalty has to make an appearance. And no offense to your father, but you’re much easier on the eyes.”
The car began to slow behind the procession of vehicles heading toward the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate, and as we idled there waiting our turn, someone in the crowd caught sight of me and began to shout.
“Shepard! Look, it’s Shepard Winchester—”
Fuck.
It didn’t take more than a few seconds before others caught on to who was inside, and as more of the crowd began shouting my name, I didn’t have any other choice but to give them a charming smile and wave.
Kai looked back at me, a sheepish look on his face, and as the car began to move again, he rolled the window back up.
“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking—”
“It’s fine,” I said. It wasn’t, but the last thing I wanted was to rain on his parade. He’d been good for Lucien, and his excitement over coming back to Monaco and being here for the royal wedding was a little infectious.
Even if love was the last thing I was in the mood to celebrate.
That was a whole other issue, though, and one I’d happily left back in New York City. At least here I only had Lucien and Kai to contend with. Whereas back in the city it seemed everywhere I looked, one of my brothers was leaving the single life behind.
It wasn’t that I begrudged them a happily-ever-after, but did it have to happen when mine had up and vanished right before my very eyes?
“Shep?”
“Sorry, what?” I shook myself out of that depressing headspace and turned to see Lucien looking at me expectantly.
“They’re waiting for you.”
Shit. I hadn’t even noticed the door being pulled open. So much for paying attention.
Jesus, get your head in the game, asshole.
I brushed a hand down my suit jacket and gave myself a final once-over, then stepped out of the car. The second I emerged, recognition dawned, and the crowd surrounding the front entrance of the church let out a joyous cheer like I was about to give some sort of performance—and in a way, I was.
I plastered on my most charming smile, and as I waved to the masses, every single hour of publicity training I’d been through in my younger years resurfaced. That was what happened when your father campaigned for years on end and then became the president of the United States. You learned how to smile when you were miserable. Wave when you wanted to flip off a camera. Be cordial even when someone was a total asshole.
I was the epitome of polite social grace in public. An expert at pleasing the press. I’d had to be. And as I waved at the cameras snapping photos and zooming in, all I could think was: Get me out of here.
“Shepard! Over here, Shepard!”
“Looking gorgeous as always, Shep!”
“Shepard, are you here with anyone?”
And that was my cue to leave.
I made my way up the stairs—solo—as Lucien and Kai exited the car, and when I stepped inside the enormous church doors, I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t expected the press to recognize me—my face was one of the most famous in the world—but for the first time in years I wasn’t sure I could mask the emotions roiling under the surface.
I was off my game, had been for a while now, and when you were hiding secrets as deep and volatile as I was, that was dangerous. Emotions made you vulnerable, and the last thing I needed was someone catching me unawares on camera.
King would just love that.
But fuck him.
“Wow,” Kai said, beaming as Lucien pulled him in tight to his side. “I thought the outside of the church was beautiful, but this is breathtaking.”
He stared up the long aisle that was awash in white flowers, silk ribbons, and lace, where people sat in pews dressed to the nines. The sun shone through the stained-glass windows and dappled the guests in sunlight, and while I’d been in churches and castles much bigger than this one, he wasn’t wrong. There was something ethereal about the sight.
“Mr. Winchester?” An usher stopped by the three of us, and I gave a clipped nod. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to your seats.”
“Just a moment, please,” came a soft female voice from behind me, and I turned to see Princess Jacqueline, the mother of the groom, looking at me with eyes laced with worry.
Shit. That wasn’t a good sign.
She forced a smile at the usher and took my arm, casually walking us away for privacy. “You haven’t seen Theo, have you?”
And there it was. I was going to kill him.
I took a slow, measured breath. “Where is he supposed to be?”
“With the other groomsmen, but no one’s seen him all morning, and I—”
I put my hand over hers. “I’ll take care of it.”
Relief filled her face and she nodded. “Thank you. I knew if anyone could, it would be you. You’re such a good friend to Theo.”
She might not think that after I murder him.
After passing her off to Lucien, who waited nearby with a look that told me he’d been wrong about hoping our resident troublemaker would behave today of all days, I slipped through a side door and let instinct guide me.
I should’ve gotten here sooner. Hell, I should’ve watched Theo’s every waking minute leading up to today knowing how unnerved he got around his family—particularly his brother. Today being his brother’s big day was a recipe for disaster. But meetings and prior engagements had prevented me from arriving earlier, which meant “babysitter” really should’ve been a job King gave to someone else.
Because now we had an MIA Theo, but I’d be damned if there was anything in life I failed at—finding that pain in my ass included.

2
Theo

“WOULD YOU PLEASE put that out and fix your tie? Or are you trying to make me late for my own wedding?”
I took a deep drag of my kretek and held it in, in an effort not to say something I’d regret.
But where was the fun in that?
I stalked toward where my brother stood in front of a full-length mirror admiring the fit of his military uniform and blew the smoke in his direction. “What are you so worried about? It’s not like they can start without you.”
His eyes met mine in the mirror, and his scowl was just the reaction I’d been trying to provoke. “For fuck’s sake, Theo, this has all been planned down to the minute, you know that.”
“You’re the boss. You can be fashionably late.”
“I don’t want to be late,” he said, whirling around to face me. “I want to get this day started so I can relax on a yacht in the Seychelles for a few weeks. Maybe you don’t get that, since you can party it up any day of the week, but some of us have responsibilities.”
“Ah, yes, because apparently I have none of those. Dick.” Taking another drag of my clove cigarette, I moved in front of the mirror and inspected the navy suit I’d been instructed to wear. “What’s wrong with my tie?”
“It’s not choking you, for one,” Jean grumbled before looking at the clock and sighing. He turned me to face him and unknotted the tie—which, for the record, looked perfectly fine. As he began to retie it to his ridiculous liking, I couldn’t help but feel the minuscule five-year age difference between us like a gulf. Hell, I was thirty-seven now, not some kid who needed his big brother to help him get ready for a royal event. But Jean had always been the one prepping for his role as the future head of Monaco once our father stepped down, and I was merely the backup.
“I can fucking do it,” I said, shoving him away and lifting the kretek to rest between my lips so I could use both hands to fix the mess he’d made. Being the spare, I didn’t have to be so goddamn perfect, and I didn’t need this tie strangling me for the next twelve hours.
“That’s not tight enough—”
“Take it or leave it, Jean.”
His jaw tensed and he closed his eyes like he was struggling not to fight back, but that was what we did best, right? So it wasn’t a surprise when he couldn’t resist saying, “You’re such an asshole, you know that?”
I smirked at myself in the mirror and tugged the sleeves of my jacket down. “Sure do.”
“Do you think you can manage reining that in for a few hours? For Katerina’s sake, not mine. God knows I wouldn’t want you to behave on my account.”
Behave? Like I was some out-of-control delinquent hellbent on making his wedding day a disaster? My blood practically boiled under the surface. He was lucky I was here. It wasn’t a secret to anyone that we didn’t get along, hadn’t for years, but I was doing my part and being a good royal. I was here. Asking for any more than that was bullshit.
“Hello? Did you hear me?” Jean began to pace the room, and seeing him riled up brought a tiny bit of satisfaction to the shit morning so far.
“Yes, instead of being an asshole,” I said, tapping the kretek’s ashes into the remains of his champagne glass on the table. “You want me to take a pole and shove it up my asshole.”
Jean was across the room before I could blink, reaching for the lapels of my jacket, paying no mind to his speech on looking royally perfect for his wedding.
Seemed I’d really pissed him off.
Good.
A rapid knock on the door had us glancing in that direction, and before Jean could loosen his grip, it swung open to reveal the other reason for my stellar mood today—Shepard fucking Winchester the third.
I wasn’t stupid. I’d known his family would be invited—of course they would be. They were American royalty, after all, so Shep was always going to be on the list. But that wasn’t the only reason he was here, and that was what chafed.
He’d been sent by King.
Even if I hadn’t heard the words myself, the calculating way Shep’s eyes shifted between me and my brother and the way his lips twisted into a disappointed scowl told me everything I needed to know.
Bossman had sent his little lapdog to keep an eye on me, and fuck if that didn’t grate on my last nerve.
“You need something?” I said like my brother wasn’t about to decorate my face with his fist. “If not, we’re in the middle of some royal business. Casse-toi.”
Shep’s eyes narrowed a fraction as Jean cursed and shoved me away.
“I came to check up on you,” Shep said all matter-of-fact. And if I didn’t know better, I’d think that pole Jean was so intent on using on me was shoved right up his ass.
“Well,” I said, holding my arms out to the side, “here I am.”
“Jesus,” Jean muttered, and then added, “Putain mais tu la fermes jamais?”
“Hmm, not sure you want the answer to that right now. It might offend your sensibilities.” I reached for my kretek. “Or make you jealous as you’re about to go on your honeymoon.”
“Theo,” Shep said in a warning tone as Jean shook his head and marched toward the door.
“Can you deal with him?” he said to Shep as though I was a problem he was over.
Shep’s eyes cut back to mine, and he gave a curt nod. Jean brushed by him, slamming the door in his wake, and as the echo of it thundered off the wall, I grimaced.
“I’m not sure, but I think I pissed him off.”
“Seems to be a habit of yours.” Shep slipped his hands into the pockets of his tailored pants, and my eyes shifted to the perfect fit of them across his trim hips.
I took a drag of the cigarette, and the crackle of it popped in the room. “And what would you know about my habits?”
“That you have too many bad ones,” he said as he walked into the small room. “This included.” Shep reached for the cigarette and stubbed it out in the glass before arching his brow. “Want to tell me what that was about?”
Shep was, in a way, second-in-command of the Libertines—my boss, you could say. Not that the seven of us played by many rules, but someone had to keep our group of billionaire visionaries in line. After all, using our deep global connections to wield our influence and power wasn’t an easy, or safe, task. Probably why I had been drawn to King’s proposal to join him in the first place all those years ago. Royal duties were one thing—an incredibly boring, but well-connected thing—but playing masked vigilante in the shadows was far more entertaining.
Even if it was with Shep, who was wound tighter than a drum with that steely exterior that made me want to poke at him.
“I didn’t sleep with the bride, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Would you be fucking serious for once in your life?”
“Why? You’re busy being serious enough for the both of us. Lighten up,” I said with false joviality. “We’re at a wedding. This is meant to be a joyous occasion.”
“One that’s going to be broadcast globally. You need to pull yourself together.”
I gritted my teeth and turned toward the window in an effort to curb my tongue, but why should I? Everyone seemed to think it was okay to tell me what to wear, how to act, and what to feel today. “Is that an order from you or the illustrious King?”
“I didn’t think you had a king in Monaco.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the all-too-serious expression on Shep’s handsome face. No wonder everyone wanted a fucking photo of it. Even scowling he looked like a model with that sculpted jaw and full lips.
“Not the king I was referring to.” Shep’s shoulders stiffened slightly, and I scoffed, “Ah, I see. This is about your King.”
Irritation rolled off Shep as he angled his chin up an inch, then did his best to look down his perfect nose at me. “I don’t have a king either.”
“Uh huh.” I chuckled. Seemed I was two for two in pissing people off today. “You keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day you’ll believe it.”
I went to turn back to the window, but Shep grabbed hold of my arm and spun me back to face him.
“Listen, I don’t know what is going on with you right now, but you need to get your head in the game. Your brother is about to get married. That might not mean a lot to you, but it sure as shit means a lot to the rest of the world.”
“And King,” I added, just to get under his skin.
“What?”
“It also means a lot to King. Not the marriage part, but the part where I behave myself. That’s why he sent you, right?”
“I was invited.”
“An invitation you would’ve declined if King hadn’t asked you to come and watch me.”
I was right, and we both knew it. This wedding was a world-class affair. There were heads of state, prime ministers, presidents, and other royals, and King would expect me to put my best foot forward and mingle with the higher-ups. So would my parents, but they were used to my disappointing them.
King, on the other hand, was used to my reluctant obedience.
Shep’s jaw began to twitch as he glared down at me, the fingers on my arm tightening as he yanked me in a little closer.
“He didn’t ask me to watch you.”
I knew I should shut my mouth, hold back the caustic remarks I wanted to spit out. But my rage and frustration had been building all week, and this was just the icing on the damn cake.
“Oh, okay, so he ordered you to. Got it,” I said, then shook my head. “You know, I’ve always been curious about how that works now that you two are…well, not fucking anymore.”
Those fingers on my arm dug in so hard that I knew they’d leave a bruise. But I was in it now, my mouth writing checks I knew I couldn’t cash, and since my brother wasn’t here for me to lash out at, Shep would have to do.
“He tossed you aside, hooked up with two younger guys, and yet here you are still doing his bidding. How’s that feel?”
Shep yanked me in so hard and fast that I had to put a hand up not to stumble, and when it landed on his hard chest, I could feel the rapid beat of his heart.
“Say that again,” he dared me in a voice so fucking cold it sent a shiver up my spine.
But if he thought that was going to stop me, he was dead wrong.

3
Shep

MY TONE SHOULD’VE had Theo thinking twice about his next words. He knew better than to push me too far, and yet he lifted his chin in defiance anyway.
“I said”—he pushed me back—“how’s it feel to be tossed aside for two younger guys?”
I’d heard him the first time, but now I saw red.
“Motherfucking piece of shit…” I shoved him against the wall so hard it knocked the breath out of him, but it only made him smile.
“Do it. Hit me. I dare you.”
I wanted to. With the haze of rage clouding my vision it would be easy to demolish that smug, attractive face. But then I’d be sending him out into the world unrecognizable, and that would invite too many questions.
Theo ducked out of my grasp, and then his shoulder nailed my stomach as he drove me back like a linebacker.
Jesus, I always forgot how strong and quick the bastard was. Though he’d never full-on attacked me or any of our brothers before, I’d seen him in action plenty of times, and I wasn’t about to let him get the upper hand. Once Theo knocked someone to the ground, it was game over for his opponent.
Before my back hit the wall, I wrestled myself out of his grip and shoved him off me.
“Dammit, Theo, this is not the time—”
He lunged for me again, his hard body colliding with mine. We barely missed ramming into the mirror, knocking into the edge of the couch instead, but all it did was slide the furniture back a few feet.
Jesus, he was fucking insane. But that was the problem with Theo. He didn’t think before he reacted, just lashed out, and while I was usually the levelheaded one, he had pushed me too far.
I grabbed hold of his lapels and lurched to my feet, muscling him back with all the fury racing through me. When his back hit the wall, I kept coming until my leg was between his and my weight was holding him in place, knowing if I gave an inch he’d take full advantage.
“Calm the fuck down,” I ordered him.
But it was too late. Theo’s switch had been flicked, and his eyes glittered with deranged excitement. I could feel his heart thudding against my hand as I pinned him to the wall, and when he lunged at me, I grabbed hold of his jaw.
Fucker had always gotten off on a good fight, but when he turned his head and bit down into the flesh between my thumb and index finger, I cursed and ripped my hand away, hauling him off the wall and spinning him to face the brick.
“You fucking animal,” I growled, my breath heaving as I crowded into the unruly man under me.
Theo planted his hands on the wall and shoved back into me, his ass grazing over the zipper of my pants, and it wasn’t until that exact moment I realized…I was hard.
And so did he.
A dark chuckle rumbled out of Theo as he repeated the move, taunting me with malicious delight, and I reached for his shoulder and shoved him so his cheek was flat against the brick.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember why I was there: to find Theo and deliver him to the altar for his brother’s wedding. Not to—
“I fuck like an animal too.”
My cock punched against the confines of my pants, the savage promise teasing my aching dick in a way I didn’t know was possible.
“You’re thinking about it.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snapped, because I was thinking about it. Now it was all I could think about as I stared at the back of his dark hair, the broad outline of his shoulders in that suit, and the way he was spreading his legs a little wider for me.
It would be so easy to unzip and slide—
“How long’s it been, Shep?” Theo rubbed back on me, and all the annoyance and fury that had been radiating through me morphed into pure frustration. “Weeks? Months? Years?” When I didn’t respond, he let out a mocking whistle. “Wow, King really did a number on you, didn’t he? While he went off and found two—”
With a growl, I muscled him against the wall even harder, cutting him off, but all that did was remind my aching cock of the truth of his words. It had been too long, though I wasn’t giving anyone the satisfaction of thinking my abstinence was because of King. Or the two brats he’d taken into his bed.
Theo reached back for my hand and brought it around to stroke his covered cock, and the second I felt the way it pulsated beneath my grasp, so hard he had to be close to bursting out of his dress pants, I knew I was fucked.
Or, rather, he was, because I wasn’t leaving this room now without the sweet release his ass promised.
I shoved his hand away, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being in control. He’d started this shit, and now he was going to have to deal with my terms.
I unbuttoned his pants and shoved them down past his ass before unzipping my own. The rush of emotions flowing through me overrode any rational thought, but I was past the point of caring now. My mouth watered at the two plump ass cheeks pushing back against my dick, begging for me to get between them.
“Stop thinking,” Theo said, “and fuck me. Or would you rather I ask King—”
I didn’t let him get out the rest before I spread his cheeks apart, lined my cock up against his hot hole, and shoved inside him.
That shut him up. He was too busy gasping for breath at my intrusion to hound me anymore, and I was too lost in how his ass choked my cock to care.
Cursing, I forced myself to move past how good he felt, because now wasn’t the time to linger. He was just a body to use and punish, and he’d asked for every bit of this.
Too bad he was such an instigator that my being balls deep inside him—without lube—didn’t keep his mouth shut for long.
“Come on, Shep,” he said on a ragged breath. “Fuck me like you mean it. Or don’t you wanna teach me a lesson?”
Keeping a bruising grip on his hip, I reached up with my other hand to pin him by the back of the neck against the wall. An impish smile curled his mouth, but he no longer had the ability to talk, to move, to do anything other than take what I gave him.
“I don’t remember asking for your assistance,” I said by his ear. “So how about you do us both a favor and shut your fucking mouth?”
I pulled my hips back a fraction and, before Theo could even try to respond, rammed home. A loud curse splintered the air as I tunneled back inside him with no thought other than how damn good he felt surrounding my dick.
Goddamn it. Of all the things I should be doing to him right now, fucking his brains out wasn’t on the list. But as his body swallowed mine, and the ball-tingling pleasure of being lost in a tight, hot hole flooded my system, I couldn’t bring myself to stop…or care.
Responsibilities be damned. It was too late now. I’d crossed a line, one I knew was going to be difficult to come back from. It wasn’t just that he was a fellow King. He was also the most unhinged. The most unpredictable.
If I was going to break the rules, why couldn’t it have been with someone less volatile?
But as I shoved forward again and bottomed out, I gnashed my teeth together at the toe-curling pleasure. Then I reached around him and took hold of his cock.
“Fuck yes,” he muttered, and pushed through my fist. “Give me something to fuck.”
“I told you to shut up,” I muttered, slicking his pre-cum up his length. But of course he didn’t listen.
“If that’s what you wanted, then your dick is in the wrong place.”
My balls tightened at the idea of stuffing it between his shit-talking lips. How satisfying it would be to choke him for real with my cock. But since this was never going to happen again, I had to be satisfied with destroying his ass.
Giving his length several punishing pulls, I railed at him—in him—like I never had before. His goading invitation was all I needed to take this moment we never should’ve been taking.
But hell if I was about to stop now.
The scent of sex was heady as it swirled in the room, and when Theo reached down and covered my hand where I was milking him, I leaned forward and said by his ear, “I can fuck like an animal too.”