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Keep it casual, I reminded myself as she twisted in my hold.
She peered up at me, sleepy eyes roaming my face like she was searching for something. When she didn’t find it, she relaxed back into my chest with a sigh.
“So good. I don’t think I’ve slept like that in ages.”
Or ever.
“I’m glad.”
Silence flowed between us, but I didn’t fill it. The tension that was gone while she dreamed crept its way between Mari’s shoulders. She was nervous about something. Why wouldn’t she be? We weren’t at war yet, but we could see it on the horizon, and there was so much to do. Something about the way she kept herself at the smallest distance from me told me it was something else.
“What’s bothering you?”
“What are we?”
I reared back in surprise. Of all the things she had going on, I hadn’t expected her first thought to be about us. “You need a label, mi reina?”
She snorted at the downright preening in my voice, but I couldn’t help it. The only woman I’d ever wanted was asking for a label when I’d expected her to run. I was preening. Sue me.
“Maybe,” she teased. “Should I call you my consort? Boyfriend seems too trivial, but husband feels like a reach since we’ve been together for two seconds.”
We laughed lightly until my finger caught her chin, tipping her face so she could see how serious I was. “You can call me whatever you want, Mari. As long as you call me yours.”
Watching her melt for me was worth all the years of waiting. Everything about her softened. Her eyes, her body, her voice. Even her smile was soft and sweet as she twisted to press us chest to chest. “You’ve missed your calling. I bet you would’ve made a fortune as a poet.”
“Pretty words don’t mean anything unless I say them to you.” She rolled her eyes, and I grinned, leaning down to sweep a kiss over her cheek.
“Make no mistake, I would marry you in a heartbeat if you let me.”
“If things were different, I’d let you.” There was no shortage of smugness in my smile, and she smacked me playfully across the chest. “So, partners?”
“Partners,” I agreed, fingers tightening in her hair to move her exactly where I wanted her. Our kiss was electric, with every drag of our lips together sending sparks of pleasure through me. “You’re mine, Marianna Elizabette Marcosa. Now and forever, in this life and the next.”
If I died tomorrow, I’d do so happily, knowing I was the one to put that smile on her face. The one that said she loved me and knew I loved her back.
“What’re we going to do about the Irish’s offer?”
That sent her guard up. I rubbed the length of her back to soothe her. I’d spent the hours she’d slept thinking over it all and coming to the same conclusion—we were fucked no matter what we did. “I’m not mad you didn’t tell me. O’Bannon’s an asshole of the highest order, and saying no to him right now isn’t a good idea. I don’t like it, but I understand.”
Her flinty gaze speared me to the spot. “I’m not marrying you off, Grey.”
“I know you aren’t.” She never would. Despite their similarities, Mari wasn’t her father. Mario would’ve signed the contract the second it was introduced without giving anyone’s free will a second thought. “But we’ll need to discuss navigating everything.”
Dominic would likely be the best person to discuss it with. Not just as underboss, but because he was better with people than I was. Mari was also better, but she was also compromised. Since we both knew that we’d need to bring him into the equation, I didn’t say anything. Knowing we’d likely be sharing her in the future meant I wanted to keep her to myself as much as I could. I wasn’t going to invite Dominic into our bed, even in name.
Mari was silent, deep in her own thoughts. I could almost see her jump from solution to solution, discounting and discrediting them as they came. Her fingers tapped a staccato beat on my chest the whole time. “We need to neutralize O’Bannon’s rage.”
Absently rubbing her hip with my thumb, I gave her the solution I’d come up with while she’d slept. “We won’t give him what he wants, so we give him what he needs. Money.”
It was no secret that O’Bannon held the second-largest territory in Seattle, but it was a secret that he’d been hemorrhaging money for years to maintain it. He was a brute with the face of a businessman, and while Aislynn had always been smart with her money, she’d learned it from watching her father misuse his.
Mari’s tapping paused. “You want to clear his debts.”
“Even forgiving what he owes us would be enough to make him reconsider the marriage.” She bit her lip, and I tried to push down the desire to bite them for her.
“In terms of money, yes, but O’Bannon wants babies. Heirs.” Mari shook her head, wild post-sex hair flying everywhere. “No amount of money can wipe away his desire for a dynasty.”
The thought of having kids with anyone but Mari made my stomach roll. Even knowing she wasn’t keen on having kids because of our lifestyle didn’t change my mind. I’d rather have a vasectomy tomorrow and never have a child than have it with someone else. Fuck that, and fuck O’Bannon for trying to make that choice for me. Although, I still could’ve had the vasectomy without his knowing. “I’m not a horse for him to stud out to fill his home with grandbabies, and neither is Aislynn.”
