Liam’s eyes danced as he watched us tame Ginevra. I wasn’t stupid enough to think this was the end of her defiance—I’d be disappointed if it were. She was biding her time, and if she was smart, she’d realize everything in life could be negotiated.
“Russo is losing his hold on his men because his businesses are going under,” Liam said. “They’re not getting their take, and their loyalty is for sale.”
Cormac’s lips twisted in disgust. “Like his daughters.”
“Keep calling me a whore, Cormac. Think of what that makes the men who are paying for me,” Ginevra spat.
Cormac hummed and held a spoonful of mashed potatoes in front of her mouth. She leaned forward and wrapped those lush lips around the spoon. Her eyes flicked to mine, a ghost of amusement reflecting in them as she licked her lips. Our girl knew what she was doing. She wasn’t broken yet.
“Alexi’s corrupt as shit,” Liam continued. “Not sure if he’s on the take or just an asshole, but we can’t take anything he says at face value. Cormac, you’re up tomorrow to look at their information security.”
I looked down at our pretty little pet, quiescent on her pillow. “Is that true, princess? You said Alexi’s a liar earlier.”
She grimaced, fury flashing in her eyes. “That’s because he is. His second, Lorenzo, is more reliable. Or was, ten years ago.”
The silky feeling of her hair tangling in my fingers was distracting. She leaned into me when I stroked her cheek with my finger, then jerked away.
“Why do you say that?” Liam asked. He could only see the top of her head from his seat, but his smile softened his tone.
“He’s a liar,” Ginevra repeated, without context. “And a jealous bastard. He won’t sacrifice my father, but any of the women? He won’t hesitate to put us in danger to set you up.”
I frowned. Ginevra wouldn’t know that from the day she’d been back. This was an older wound. “What did he do to you, princess?”
“Don’t trust him,” she repeated firmly.
“Like we can trust anything coming out of your mouth either,” Cormac muttered.
Ginevra’s face melted into blankness, revealing nothing except that Cormac hit a nerve. She blinked twice, then relaxed her body, letting go of the tension in her shoulders, adjusting her position on the pillow so she could rest her haunches on her feet. She didn’t answer him, just stared straight ahead, waiting.
When I slipped her another morsel of food, she accepted it and chewed it mechanically.
7
CORMAC
Ginevra tuned us out as we shot the shit over dinner. While she didn’t protest as we alternated feeding her, she hadn’t fooled me into thinking that she’d acquiesced. Her lips were soft on my fingers as I gave her morsels of food, making it hard to concentrate on the light conversation Liam seemed determined to keep going.
Finally, our plates were clean, and there was a lull in the conversation. Liam’s eyes were bright and hungry.
“Stay,” I ordered Ginevra, as the three of us cleared the table. Her eyes danced with amusement when she looked up at me. She was counting on our need to marry her to balance out our desire to break her. Time to disabuse her of that notion.
“Up,” I said, yanking roughly on her collar.
She squeaked as she scrambled to her feet before I could choke her. I pushed her forward until her thighs hit the front of the table. “Are you ready for us to treat you like the slut you are?” I whispered in her ear, wrapping one hand around her throat and dragging her up onto her toes.
Ginevra whimpered. Her back arched, thrusting her glorious tits forward as I squeezed her throat and pressed her perfect ass into me. She was stuck between my thighs and the table, with nowhere to go as I slowly cut off her air supply and pushed her head back into my chest.
“Please,” she gasped, struggling against me. I slapped her tit with my free hand and she froze.
“Please what?” I snapped, pinching her nipple roughly.
“Please let me breathe,” she wheezed.
I jammed my hips into her pelvis, pushing my hard length into the bare crack of her ass. Fuck, she felt good.
“You can still breathe, you spoiled bitch. You just have to work for it.”
Liam approached on my left, a questioning look in his eyes. I nodded my agreement. I tweaked her nipple again, hard, and she cried out in pain, a tear streaming down her face.