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Daddy’s Dove
By Dahlia Vale
RHETT
I bought Harrison Lockwood's the day he disappeared to ensure that I would get his daughter. Her founders' blood is the only thing that can hand my family a Council seat, and Laine Lockwood is the last Lockwood left standing.
She’s supposed to marry my son to give us an heir I’ll never be able to give her myself. The Council expects it.
Ryker and I have shared women before—and as soon as she opened her brat mouth, I knew she was always going to be one of them.
I just didn’t expect to want to keep her for myself.
LAINE
My father died owing millions, and the Council handed my body over to settle the tab.
Rhett Bradley is twice my age, six-four, and built like every fantasy I've ever had. He's got a hand around my throat before I finish my first sentence. And the first time he spanked me, I knew I'd give him whatever he wanted.
I'm supposed to marry his son. They both use my body, but Rhett's the one I want.
Clearly have daddy issues. And Rhett knows how to bring me to my knees.
Chapter One
Laine
I knew this was going to fucking happen since the first day my father disappeared.
Three weeks. That is how long the Council waited before summoning me to Raven Mansion now that my father, Harrison Lockwood, is presumed dead. These three weeks without him have been pretty fucking peaceful, if you ask me, but I knew they wouldn’t last.
My father had every intention of marrying me off to the highest bidder, so why would the fucking Council be any different?
Today is that day, and I am not even a little bit surprised. When a couple Talons arrived this morning to drag me with them, I knew where I was going and who had sent them. Dane Sinclair is one of the most powerful men in our world, and the Talons don’t piss without his approval.
The Council chamber at Raven Mansion is exactly as I expected. Powerful and cold. The most powerful men in the Ravens sit in those high-backed leather chairs around a long mahogany table while deciding the fate of much of the world. Most don’t even realize how far the Raven reach goes. My father used to sit at that table with them, and he was a fucking prick. So I don’t have high expectations for the rest of these fucks.
I stand at the end of the table because no one has offered me a chair. Of course they haven’t. I’m not here as a guest. I’m just another item on their fucking agenda before they drink their brandy and fuck whoever they have waiting for them in their beds.
Only five of them showed up today. I don’t know if I should be pissed off or grateful that my future didn’t warrant the full Council. Dane Sinclair himself is the only one who bothers to meet my eye. The rest of them are waiting for him to speak first because he’s the most powerful man in the room and everyone knows it. Well if the Sinclairs are taking applications for a virgin bride, I’m right fucking here, Daddy Dane.
But Dane doesn’t speak. He just watches me with those green eyes that give nothing away and motions to the man beside him to get this over with.
Warren Caldwell, the oldest member of the Council, clears his throat. “Miss Lockwood, thank you for coming.”
I was escorted here by two men in masks who barged into my room while I was still in my fucking bed. Acceptance didn’t seem to be optional.
“Your father’s absence has created complications. There are no surviving Lockwood males, which means his estate falls to the Council. His financial situation has left a mess for us to clean up. Everything will be liquidated to satisfy his debts.”
There it is. The houses, the cars, the art collection he used to brag about while I stood next to him in whatever dress he picked out to make me look fuckable for potential buyers. All of it is gone. I keep a blank face because I refuse to give these men the satisfaction of a reaction.
“And what about me?” I keep my voice flat. “Am I part of this liquidation sale?”
One of the men at the table perks up at my question. His eyes drop to my chest before he catches himself. Wonder what his wife would think about that.
The old man shifts in his seat. “As a Dove with no male guardian, you fall under Council control. Normally, you would pass to the nearest male relative, but there are none.” He pauses and glances toward Dane, who gives him nothing. “Given the significance of the Lockwood bloodline, the Council has a responsibility to ensure its continuation. You are the last of a founding family. That bloodline must not end with you.”
They aren’t just selling me off, they’re using me as a body to breed. I wouldn’t put it past them to chain me up and keep me pregnant with their children. My stomach drops and I swallow the rage before it reaches my face.
