“Tell me, which suits you best?” he asks, standing back up straight. “Whore is a bit too much?” My eyes go wide at his words and my eyebrows tighten. “My whore, that is. Anyone else who calls you that will end up six feet under.” That doesn’t make me feel any better. “Okay, seems whore is out of the question. How you do feel about sugar?” He’s been calling me that for a while, but I still say nothing. “Okay. Baby?” I turn away from him and hear him call out, but I don’t turn around. “Mio per sempre.” I have no idea what he said, but I’m not hanging around to find out either.
When I get to the kitchen, Joey is at the counter with a coffee in his hand.
“The staff get here soon,” he comments, then nods to the coffee area. “It’s fresh.”
“Thanks.” I ignore the coffee and grab the fruit from the fridge and start peeling it.
“So, about last night.”
“It’s forgotten,” I tell him not giving him eye contact, I’m over it. But the words are still seared into my mind.
“I didn’t mean for you to hear it. It was for him only. Lucas is…” He pauses. “Lucas doesn’t care for anyone but his momma. Never has he shown any positive emotion for another woman, ever. He’s fucked some women, then let his men have a go too. So you see, you’re different. He gets angry at us over you, and I wanted to test him.”
“Test him?” I ask, confused by this conversation.
“To you, he may be one version of Lucas. To us, he is another. The Lucas we know works and works. Keir will never get rid of him. He may be fucked-up, he may have a dark sense of humor, but he’s never held interest in anyone like he has for you. And he is loyal, and does what is asked of him, no questions asked.”
I stay quiet at his words. Maybe he doesn’t ask questions because Lucas doesn’t have boundries. He’s proven that with me several times, yet here I am.
“He wants you, there is no denying that. I just had to make sure you weren’t going to end up in the bottom of some river,” he states.
“I can handle myself.”
“He tied you to a bed, I heard.”
“He did,” I say, plating the fruit I cut. “But he also let me go.”
“Because I told him to.” He pushes off the seat and stands. “I’m second in charge. Keir is our boss. Lucas, though, thinks he’s in charge…” He pauses. “In his part of his world, he is. But up here, he is not king.”
“Looked like he could take you.” I smirk.
“Lucas’ father wasn’t in with the families as close as what Lucas is. Yes, we’re related, but some are closer than others. He used to try to sneak into our house at night. We would go out, and eventually, we would fight. We always throw fists, so last night was nothing new. But it hasn’t happened for a long time.” Joey walks out and throws over his shoulder, “He won’t understand what you are to him. Hopefully, he doesn’t realize it too late.”
“I’m no whore either,” I call out to him.
Joey stops, turning around to face me. “I couldn’t care less if you were. I apologize again. It was the only word I could think of that would rile him up, and it worked.”
“Piper is arriving today. You’ll like her,” Sailor says, sitting across from me. Keir grunts from his seat and it makes Wren giggle as she sits on my lap, playing with her food.
“She’s your cousin, right?” I ask Keir, and he nods, gets up from eating, then walks to his wife. He cups her face and kisses her ever so tenderly on the lips before leaving the room.
“He and Lucas clash because they’re both assholes,” Sailor states, huffing a laugh. “But Keir respects his business.” She looks down at her stomach and rubs it. “Are you okay? I heard Joey talking to you earlier.”
“I’m fine. I’ve heard worse said about me.” I smile at her.
“I’m sure you have but know he didn’t mean what he said. They just like to rile Lucas up because they love watching him bite.” She smirks. “Sooo…” She eyes me and then moves her gaze to Wren on my lap and blushes. “… Daddy?” She can’t contain the laugh that bubbles up from her lips. “No judging, but Daddy? Didn’t see that one coming at all.”
“That makes the two of us.”
“But you liked it?” she questions.
I bite the inside of my cheek before I answer her, “Yes, and I wish I didn’t.”
“Oh, gosh, do I know that feeling.” She shakes her head. “Let me tell you, Keir’s and my road was bumpy as shit. Hell, I still can’t believe I’m sitting here in this house with this ring on my finger.” She holds up her hand. “And his baby in my belly…again.”