Oh.
A ring might have been a better idea than a brand, but that wasn’t how Severin’s mind worked.
“Do you think I should marry her?”
Rodrigo hiked a shoulder. “You’d be an idiot not to.”
“But she barely knows me. I have nothing to offer her.”
The expression on Rodrigo’s face said Severin had lost his mind.
“Money isn’t everything, Ro. It’s a solitary life out here. With Church gone and Sutton dead I have no family. She’d be better off marrying you. You have just as much money and you’re way less fucked up.”
“She doesn’t seem to mind h
ow fucked up you are – and you’re far richer than I am, my friend, not that I’d have trouble providing for a family.” He pushed his hair back. “Church moving doesn’t mean he’s not your brother anymore. That’s not how it works. He hasn’t abandoned you. He calls every damned day – you just won’t talk to him.”
The girl walked back into the room then hesitated after taking stock of their expressions.
“Ah, Miss Korsgaard. Just the girl we wanted to see,” Severin said mildly.
Her face went ashen.
“Krampus has decided what you’re getting for Christmas.”
Her gaze fastened on him, as if she was afraid to look at Rodrigo. “Yes, Master?”
“A brand.”
“A brand?”
“My brand.”
She put her hand to the doorframe, as though she needed help staying upright. Her breath came in short gasps, drawing his attention to the hard buds of her pierced nipples.
“Isn’t that going to hurt a lot?”
“Yes.”
She shuddered hard, staring at Severin, her expression distressed. “O-okay.”
Rodrigo groaned, and leaned his head back against his chair, as he palmed his crotch. “You two are going to be the death of me.”
“Rodrigo is going to hold you down for me.”
She nodded, probably expecting that from them by now.
“Am I branding your ass, or the front of your thigh?”
A slim shoulder went up in a shrug. “The real Krampus wouldn’t give me a choice.”
“She wants a beating before the branding?” Rodrigo asked.
“She gets brattier the longer she wears my collar. I must be doing something wrong.”
“Too many orgasms. Put her on orgasm restriction and she’ll get respectful fast.”
“No! I’m sorry, Master. It’s just the nerves talking.” She swallowed hard and went to Severin, hovering as if she wanted comfort but didn’t want to impose by touching him.