AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Phoenix grins and shrugs, leaning back in the chair. His eyelids flutter open a fraction, and I can see the pink-white implants in the slits. I miss his eyes, but not enough to feel anykind of regret because he survived, and that’s all I care about right now.
Well, that and getting this situation fucking managed. I drum my fingers on the table, then reach for his hand and play with his fingers because that calms me down. “You know that Leo visited Alice while the four of us were fucking on the balcony, right?”
Phoenix stiffens, and then he sighs. “I had a suspicion. I could tell you were watching her a bit more closely.”
“I don’t know what he said,” I confess because he’d managed to fuck with the cameras, which was terrifying. I know it wasn’t him personally—he’s not that smart—so our next task will be to find out who the fuck is on his team that’s capable of getting through Phoenix’s security. “I don’t know if she’ll tell me the truth.”
“You should probably ask her before you jump to conclusions. She’s been dicked around by pretty much everyone in her life, and if you’re going to marry her, you need to be different.”
My throat gets a little hot and a little tight at the thought of her becoming my wife. There’s a mixture of guilt and anticipation going on in me because while the others have sworn up and down they don’t care—that they have me the way they want me and Alice the way they want her—I can’t help but feel like I’m choosing her. It might be for my own gain, to make Romano pay and to solidify my hold on my own empire, but every single one of my loves deserves to have a ring on their finger.
I reach out and take Phoenix’s hand, lifting it to my lips to kiss the band he wears. He stiffens at the contact, then sighs quietly. “You’re an idiot.”
I snort. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
His lips thin. “I know you’re still worried about my feelings, and I wish you wouldn’t. That’s not going to help our situation.”
“No,” I tell him, “but marrying her is going to last a lot longer than this sorry little war.”
Phoenix pulls his hand from mine and drags his fingers over the arms of the chair, feeling out the little patterns in the stitching. His touch is so much more sensitive than mine is. More than once, he’s been able to notice a pattern in my silk shirts when I couldn’t see a damn thing.
“Call Aldis,” he says after a long beat, and then he stands and uses a chair as a guide as he walks around it. “Tell him he’s got ten minutes to get here.”
“He might not be in town,” I remind him.
Phoenix’s brows lift because he knows that’s not the answer I should be giving. He knows I shouldn’t give a fuck where Aldis is. “I’m going to step outside and have a chat with James,” he says after a beat. “He’ll get some information from Rhys, and then we’ll decide how to go forward.”
I watch him leave, carefully feeling his way toward the door without his cane. It’s a mark of trust that he leaves without it. He’s showing me that he’ll be comfortable here if I need him to be, and it sits warmly in my chest.
I bask in it for exactly thirty seconds after the door closes before I tap Aldis’ name on the screen and press the phone to my ear. “I need you in,” I say when he picks up.
“Where are you?” he asks. He sounds tired, and I don’t need to ask why.
“In my office. Ten minutes.” I don’t give him time to argue. I hang up, set the phone down on my desk, and I wait for Phoenix to come back in. He does, almost five minutes later, and he’s got his head turned to the side again, listening.
“He’s seven minutes away.”
“You want me to punish him for being late, boss?” I ask, not hiding the sarcasm from my tone. I don’t like being told what to do, and while I’ll let Phoenix get away with a lot, he’s pushing it a bit.
Phoenix just scoffs, bypasses the chair, and puts one knee between my thighs as he leans in. His fingers trace my lips, then my chin, before pressing to the front of my throat. I push into his grip as I lean up to kiss him, and my dick stiffens a little bit. I’ve been more stressed than horny, so this is a nice change.
“I’m not trying to be an ass or undermine you, Kane, but you’ve been distracted,” Phoenix murmurs against my mouth. He drags his fingers through the shorn sides of my hair, then curls them around the back of my neck. “And when that happens, this is what I do.”
“Work me up?”
“Bring you back to earth. All this bullshit marriage worry will still be here after we finish the Romanos.”
I sigh and let him back up, but he doesn’t sit again. Instead, he feels for a clear spot against the wall, then moves the chair against it before coming to stand beside me. It’s the position he always took before he was hurt, and it’s the only position I ever want him in when we’re in the same room ready to face down a problem.
He lays a hand on my shoulder and squeezes as I ask, “Are you listening to James now?”
Phoenix gives a short nod. He says nothing, and I don’t interrupt him. I know he’ll fill me in, and I can see from my phone’s security alert that someone’s accessed my office floor. The elevator’s rising now, and I feel trepidation in my stomach because I never thought I’d have to sit across from Aldis and have this conversation with him.
Phoenix seems to sense my tension because he squeezes my shoulder again and makes the smallest noise of comfort.
Off in the distance, the elevator pings, and a moment after that, I see a shadow through the blinds.
I force Aldis to wait longer than I normally would after he knocks, calling him inside after I count to thirty. He looks the same as he did weeks ago at the party. He’s well put together, though perhaps a little more tired. His suit is perfectly pressed, and his shoes are polished, and if I didn’t have his son in my basement, I might just think he’s getting along in years.
