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“Tonight is a celebration of this betrothal, and soon after, there will be a wedding.”
“And the Romanos know your intent with her?” I look to my left and see Aldis staring at me. He’s the only one bold enough to ask the question, and I can see worry in his eyes. It’s likely he knows now he probably won’t see his son again for a good, long while.
“Let me make this very clear: I don’t give a fuck what the Romanos know or don’t know. This isn’t starting a war because the Walshes don’t engage in combat with those so far below us we can’t even reach them with our boot heels.”
There’s a collective, quiet agreement that runs through everyone in a wave. No matter how they might feel about this—or me—their pride will always get the better of them.
“This is me choosing to end a nuisance once and for all. For my father and my mother,” I say, and I pause for the ache in my chest. “And my sister.”
Aldis’ eyes are on my fiancée now. He’s one of the few who felt the pain of her death as profoundly as I did. His jaw twitches. “Make him pay.”
I wonder if he’d be singing the same tune if he knew what his son has done.
“His purgatory is prepared and waiting,” I say after a beat, then wrap my arm around Alice and let my hand fall over hers. I meet James’ and Ari’s gazes once more, and I feel Phoenix’s attention on us. This is the start to our last stand. “Anyone who wants to stand against me will feel my wrath, and anyone old enough and smart enough to know what I’m capable of doing will remember that before going against this family. But for those of you who are loyal, I invite you to stay. And for those of you who are not…there’s a way out. But you might not like what’s waiting for you on the other side.”
Chapter18
ALICE
I don’t really knowwhat to expect once Kane parades me in front of at least a hundred people and declares me the spoils of war. He puts his hand on my belly, and his palm is warm over mine, but my veins are filled with ice. I knew what was coming, but they’re staring at me like they’re hungry.
They’re staring at me like they have expectations about what he plans to do to me. And the darkness in their eyes tells me they expect humiliation, degradation, and pain.
I know the look all too well. I swear I’ve seen half of these men before at parties when my father would show me off like some gilded bird in her cage. I don’t know how far Kane is willing to go to pander to them so they don’t all turn on him now that one of his closest family members has already done it.
But instead of treating me the way my father might have, he dotes on me. He shows me around, brings me food, introduces me to his extended family, and stares them down until they find their manners and offer me the deference afforded to the fiancée of a man like Kane Walsh.
Their emperor.
Their god of death.
I know it’s grudging, and I know they’re all probably wondering what the hell is going to happen now that he’s stolen me and decided that I will be the one to birth the next generation of rulers. A small part of me revels in the way they look at me, like I’m a hidden bomb just waiting to go off.
No one knows if they’re underestimating me or not.
It’s an addicting feeling, and it stays humming just under my skin as each of the boys escorts me around the room as the night wears on.
The pregnancy takes a toll on me early, though. Kane is the first to notice, and he leans in, whispering something to Ari before he hands me off between James and Phoenix to retire for the night. I feel calm with both of them on either side of me, and I only make eye contact with the man called Aldis as we leave.
Something about him leaves me slightly unsettled, but I can’t say whether it’s good or bad. I want to believe that there are men in this family who would fight and die to protect Kane and the order of the Walsh empire, but I can’t trust them.
I was raised better than that.
And empires fall. History is nothing but the records of the long dead who thought they’d live forever.
Inside the suite, James and Phoenix strip down as I wash my face and unpin my hair, and I come out to find them waiting for me in the massive bed. I can’t stop a smile, though I’m far too exhausted to give them what they probably deserve, but they don’t seem to mind.
Phoenix curls me against his chest, my ass pressed against his thick cock, and James slots a knee between my thighs while his fingers find their way inside my panties before hooking them around the waist and pulling them down. I make a slight noise of protest before he silences me with a kiss, then murmurs against my lips, “Let us do this for you so you can sleep, little darling.”
It’s impossible to argue with that. Phoenix plays with my tits and mouths at my neck as James takes the pierced head of his cock and begins to rub it between my folds. The metal catches against my clit in a way that sends shocks of intense pleasure rocking through me, and I let my head fall back against Phoenix’s shoulder while his hand drifts downward so he can watch with the tips of his fingers as James brings me over the edge.
“Just like that,” Phoenix encourages. “God, she’s so wet. Tell me how that pretty cunt looks.”
“Delicious,” James groans, and though my eyes are shut, I know he’s staring at it. “Put your fingers in her, Phoenix. Let her come with you inside her.”
He obeys, rocking into me with two fat digits. James slaps my clit with the head of his dick once—then twice—and before he can pull back for a third, I let go. The cry slips from my chest, soul-deep and unrestrained, and James quickly kisses the sound away as I let the trembling aftershocks race through me.
I feel the fatigue on the heels of the pleasure, and though I feel like I should give them something in return, the soft pets and careful kisses over my too-warm skin send me drifting. The last thing I’m really aware of is three warm arms holding me in a cocoon, like a promise that nothing will ever get close to me again.
