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Watching the ultra-controlled, utterly refined man snap turned me on like nothing else.
Fuck, just the thought of it had my pussy contracting.
Why he wouldn’t let that side of him out frustrated the hell out of me.
“No, of course, I wouldn’t say that to either of you.”Mama’s words snapped me back to the conversation.“In fact, that is the last thing I plan to tell you. My aim is to have one of you marry Nerine.”
Was I losing my mind and misheard her? Or maybe she’d lost hers.
I hadn’t even been a widow for an entire week. The fuck? Andraius’s body was still fresh in the ground.
“She won’t marry again,”Theo interjected.“I doubt she ever will, considering her experience with marriage.”
“Are you so sure?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe with anyone else. However, she’d change her mind if it were one of you two.”
“I’m not following.”This time Xander spoke.“Why do you want her to marry?”
“I won’t have anyone jump in and force her into a situation like the one with the impostor. With one of you, her place is secure. With the two of you, love surrounds her. As the men standing by her side, the two of you will give her the support she never had. No one will think to overthrow her.”
“She is more than a figurehead or an ornament while we make the decisions. She knows how to run the organization. She’s made more decisions in the last few days than that asshole did in the last three months.”
“So quick to protect her, Theo. You’ll need to keep doing that when you marry her.”
I held in the cough that bubbled up.
“Me?”The shock in Theo’s voice was comical, and then my heart broke when he added,“Why on earth would you pick me over Xander? He’s the stable one.”
“Because you need a family more than anyone I know. Xander’s family is here. He is rooted here. Marrying Nerine means you can’t run away. You can’t just one day say ‘Nerine and Xander are happy. I’ll leave them to live their lives and go my separate way.’”
The room grew quiet, thick with tension, as the truth of Mama’s words settled in the air.
A tear slipped down my cheek. Knowing Theo, he would leave if he thought it would make my life easier than to live an unconventional relationship.
“Okay, we need to take a step back,”Xander said after a few minutes.“Before we decide Nerine’s future for her as if we are in some prehistoric era, you need to discuss this with her.”
“No, I need to make clear my wishes with the two of you.”
“Xander is the better choice. As you said, he has a family. That means Nerine has a line to look back on for her children.”
I heard movement and then an angry Xander order,“Sit your ass back down, dickhead. I’m accepting what we had is over, but you’re committed to Nerine. Wouldn’t some of those children be yours if your scenario plays out?”
My mind reeled hearing what Xander revealed in front of Mama. Xander and Theo kept everything about them to a very small circle. The syndicate world wasn’t open and accepting of relationships other than those they viewed as traditional.
“I have no family stateside. They are all dead. I have nothing to offer her.”
“Do you think that makes a difference to her?”Xander asked with the same irritation prickling at the back of my neck.
Theo being the man he was despite all he endured with his father and brothers was something I admired.
“You know what kind of crap I come from. Someone like me isn’t worthy of Nerine.”
“Theia Viola was my mama’s best friend and gave her life by taking a shot meant for you. Just because Theios Mik and your brothers became pieces of shit because they couldn’t get over her death doesn’t mean you forget her. Don’t ever say you come from crap.”
“She died because she went to hug me. What bullshit is that?”
