His presence was suffocating. “Give me some fucking space,” I snapped, pushing back from the wall. I stumbled backward, and as requested, the guys stepped away, letting me catch my balance on my own. I snatched my dress off the ground and wrapped it around me, the silk fabric a protective layer against the jagged emotions that scraped and slid against my heart.
Cormac tilted his head. “You all right, darling?”
Jesus Christ, all of that, and he wanted to know if I was all right? No, I wasn’t fucking all right. I was a confused and horny mess. “I need a goddamned moment!” I shouted.
Shit.
Get your shit together, Ginevra Russo.
Liam sighed and reached out for me, tangling his fingers in mine. He pulled me into him and wrapped me up in a warm hug, pushing my head against his chest and rubbing my back. “Take as much time as you need,” he said, repeating Cormac’s words as he ran his fingers through my hair and soothed the maelstrom of feeling swirling through my chest.
I didn’t like either option. Choosing a safe word would mean I could put a stop to it at any time, but I knew these men. They’d use that as an excuse to stretch my boundaries as far as they’d go. I’d have to accept that I liked it when Cormac called me a whore, and when Liam looked at me like he wanted to bathe me in the blood of our enemies before fucking me senseless, and when Rian wanted a public show.
God help me, these men brought something out in me I never knew I had—a submissive streak a mile wide, with some real twisted kinks.
Liam cupped my jaw, pushing my gaze to meet his. I stared into his green eyes, mentally backing away from the deeper emotion in his gaze. He stroked his thumb across my cheek, wiping my tears away.
“Ginevra, I am yours.” His voice was raspy and low, meant for me, not the other two men whose fiery gazes burned into my back. “You don’t even realize how tightly you’ve wound me around your adorable little finger. Take back your power.”
I hid my face in his chest again. Did he mean what he said? Of course he did. Liam was charming and utterly psycho, but he’d never fucked around with me like Cormac and Rian had. With a sharp exhale, I turned, never leaving the safe cage of Liam’s arms.
“I want a safeword.” When Cormac inhaled, as if to speak, I held a finger up to stop him. “And I want this bullshit of treating me like a toy outside the bedroom to stop. We’re equal partners, all four of us.”
Rian had the grace to flush when I met his eyes. He should feel ashamed for the bullshit he’d pulled at the port, and twice as ashamed for doubling down when I called him on it in my bedroom the day before.
Cormac nodded, decisive. “Done.”
I held Rian’s gaze. “Well?”
He sighed and looked at Cormac out of the sides of his eyes. “Yeah, okay,” he agreed.Why was he so reluctant?
Liam nuzzled my ear, sending a shiver of pleasure down my spine. “He wanted the pleasure of breaking you.”
My eyes snapped back up to Rian’s. “You’re a real dick, you know that?”
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he murmured, and he stepped toward me, holding out his hands. I took them, and he pulled me into his embrace, careful not to jostle my injured side. Rian’s mouth tilted into a half smile before he tucked me into his chest and kissed the top of my head. “I should have taken your frustration seriously. I’m not used to thinking of other people, outside of these two assholes.”
Cormac wrapped his arms around me from behind, nestling me between the two men. I hated how fucking safe I felt when I was in any of their arms. “What’s your safeword going to be, darling?”
I grinned. “Pineapple.”
He laughed quietly behind me, the vibrations rumbling against my back. “Pineapple it is. Let’s have dinner, okay? And then I’m going to tie you up and make you scream.”
A shiver ran through me. I couldn’t wait.
Dinner was surprisingly pleasant.The table was set for three, with a pillow at Rian’s side, but Liam snatched it up as he walked in. Cormac pulled a plate and silverware from cabinets, and by the time I’d reached the empty seat, it was as if they’d planned on all four of us eating at the table together.
As Liam ran down the schedule of events at the clubs and casinos for the next week, I noted the extent of their activities. They had clubs in all the big territories—their own, the Bratva, the Italians, even little China. How the hell had they managed that?
“You’re coming, right?” Liam asked me, dragging my thoughts back to the present.
“Coming to what?” I asked, not bothering to hide the fact that my attention had wandered.
“The fight on Saturday,” Liam explained.
“Fight?”
He sighed and took my hand. “What are you thinking about, lass?”