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“You’re awfully quiet there, beautiful,” Phoenix says. He’s got fish and rice on his plate, and it makes me wonder how much time the kitchen spends on our meals since everyone gets something different.
But I suppose they’re paid well for it. Kane is nothing if not generous.
“She’s just enjoying her meal,” Kane says. “Aren’t you?”
I narrow my eyes at him and viciously stab my fork through the first wrapped tortilla, and I hate how good it is. Everythingfeels heightened now. Every frustration, every joy, every moment of fatigue, every rush of energy.
It’s like I really am pregnant with some sort of demigod, and this is a reminder that we’ve all sold our souls to become something other than human.
Conversation goes on around me as I eat, and it’s easy for me to tune out. Over the weeks, my brain has learned how to pick out the important stuff and store it away, filtering the rest into the unnecessary box inside my head. I suppose any sane person would be listening to every word in case I ever need to hold power over them, but nothing they say can shock me anymore.
They’re a crime syndicate, after all, and I know for a fact that Kane has nearly every person working for the local government either in his pocket or on his payroll. It’s something Guido has always wanted to do and never managed to accomplish. It was his own fault for moving into a territory that was already occupied and deciding to take over because of petty revenge.
Or…maybe not so petty.
I know there’s stuff Kane isn’t telling me that is probably fueling his every move—including marrying me.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow—knowing he’d never choose me if I wasn’t part of the Romano family. If I hadn’t been presented as Guido’s only living child, I would have been worthless to all these men.
“Darling?” James’ voice comes from very close to my ear. “You look upset.”
Kane puts his fork down gently, and I can feel his eyes on me, though I don’t look up further than the line where I can see Phoenix’s hands lying on either side of his empty plate.
“Alice,” he tries.
I still say nothing.
James chuckles, then drags his hand a touch over my stomach before hiking my sweater up. I have rolls there that aremore pronounced now that I’m slouching. I’ve only ever been thin because eating was always a chore, but I’m filling out now due to the baby, and the guys are loving it.
And a small part of me hopes I get to keep some of it because I feel good now. The baby might not be ideal, but I’m looking at myself in ways I never have before. Loved. Cherished. Appreciated.
Beautiful.
Before, I’d been nothing more than a hollow, wasted figure floating from one moment to the next.
Here, I feel powerful.
James’ fingers drag down my thighs toward my knee, then back up, and the skirt comes with it. I feel cool air against my pussy, and when his fingers brush against my clit, I suck in air. Kane makes a strangled noise, and from where my eyes are half-open, I can see Phoenix’s fingers clenched into fists like he’s restraining himself from coming over to touch me.
“No panties,” James says, loud enough for the whole table to hear. “Dirty girl. You came down here to put your bare, wet cunt against our dining chairs?”
“You left me no choice,” I grind out.
Kane makes another noise, and I look up to see that somehow—in the midst of losing myself to James’ fingers—he’s moved us back from the table. Kane has a perfect view where my legs are slightly parted, and my skirt hem is somewhere near my hips.
“What does she look like?” Phoenix asks.
I know the question isn’t for James.
Kane clears his throat. “Wet,” he says. “Her pussy lips are dark. James’ gorgeous finger is waiting at her entrance.”
I don’t know if Kanewantsto play this game, but I do know that he’ll never say no when Phoenix asks him to describe something.
“Her face?” Phoenix demands.
I look up in time to meet Kane’s eyes, and shit—it’s a mistake. His eyes are liquid fire. His lips are parted on a breath, nostrils flaring. To someone who didn’t know him, he’d appear to be relaxed. But I do know him. I can see he’s barely hanging on.
“Desperate,” Kane says. “She wants James to finger her.”
