“I agree with Gage, no,” says Hayes.
I fold my arms and glare at both of them. “It’s the plan we agreed to. If this is to work, then we have to follow the plan. It’s time.”
“No,” they both say in unison.
I shake my head. “Then when? We all die? Next time, Hayes could really die, or you could, Gage. Next time they won’t let you live!” My voice is serious and harsh, but I need them to see things my way. I’m not their boss, not really, but it’s moments like this that I wish I was. Most of the time, it isn’t an issue. Most of the time, they follow my orders without a second thought. But decisions like this I can’t make alone. They won’t let me.
“How’s it going with Rialta?” Hayes asks suddenly, smirking at me and changing the subject completely.
“She’s fine,” I answer, not giving anything away.
He laughs. “You reek of sex, Lennox. Seems like it’s going better than fine.”
“I need to go check on her. Glad you’re still alive, asshole.”
Hayes continues to laugh as I walk back to my apartment, feeling more unsettled than ever. I know what needs to be done about the Retribution Kings. We can’t keep having them attack like this. We won’t survive if we don’t have the full support of Corsi and his men to keep the Retribution Kings at bay, which we won’t have until I prove to Vincent I love his daughter and get her pregnant or destroy their enemy. Either of which will be a long time from now, and Hayes or Gage could end up dead in the meantime.
I run my hand through my hair, feeling my anxiety creeping up again. I’ll have to find a way to protect them, just like I have to protect Rialta. And I need to find some men in the Corsi organization that I trust. I can’t rely on Beckett or Ri anymore now that they’re pregnant. I feel like I’m on my own protecting everyone else, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.
I find Rialta asleep in my bed. She hasn’t bothered to get dressed, and the covers have inched down her body, bunched at her waist.
She’s beautiful—there’s no denying that. If I had a heart left to give, I’d give it to her.
But I don’t.
I can’t fall in love.
All I can offer her is as much protection as I can muster.
I watch her sleep. I don’t know how much time passes, but I just sit on the end of the bed and watch her. I could watch her all day and night. Call me a creepy stalker.
Her eyes eventually flutter open, staring right at me with a warm smile like she knew I was watching her sleep this entire time. She doesn’t move to cover her naked body. She’s not the least bit ashamed, but I have to ask…
“Any regrets?”
“No,” she responds immediately. She sits up in bed, and I can’t help but stare at her voluptuous breasts. I want to feel them in my hands again.
“What about you? You couldn’t run out of here fast enough.”
I snicker. “No, I don’t regret fucking you, even if you didn’t deserve to be fucked like that. You especially didn’t earn those three orgasms.”
Her eyes sneer. “I thought my begging earned me exactly what I got. Don’t count on me begging again.” She gets out of the bed and walks to the closet, my eyes following her every move.
When she comes back out, she’s wearing one of my white T-shirts and nothing else. She’s going to drive me mad all day, teasing and trying to get me to fuck her again without her having to beg. Which means she wants to fuck again even if her mouth is saying something different.
She tries to move past me, but I stand from the bed and block her. “It seems you still want to play games, even though I won our first one.”
“You won the bet, but it seems you aren’t ready to collect.” Her eyes flick to the condom wrapper.
My eyes darken. “Oh, I plan on collecting, wife. But I want to make sure you’re clean before I impregnate you. Who knows what that boy of yours gave you.”
She frowns. “And who knows what your latest conquest gave you.”
She’s fishing, wanting to know when the last time I had sex before her was. But that would reveal too much about me, so it’s not something she gets to know.
There’s a knock on the door, and my heart jumps. I pull out my phone, looking to see if Gage sent an alarm text, but there’s nothing.
I look at Rialta, and I notice she looks weary but not scared at all. She knows who is knocking because she called him here.