Surprise? I wonder what it is. It’s what gets me moving, and I pad over to my clothes, throwing on Kenzo’s discarded shirt and nothing else before heading to find out. It better be good. Like food or a gun.
I pretty much have to waddle to the living room, which is honestly not attractive, but whatever. When I get there, Kenzo looks really excited, and even Ryder isn’t on his phone. Garrett offers me a small smile, a truce, and Diesel is, well, Diesel is bouncing up and down on the sofa, waiting.
“I need coffee,” I grumble, and point at Diesel. “Coffee, now.”
All three jerk their heads to Diesel and jump forward like they expect him to explode or something, but he simply laughs and rolls over the back of the sofa. “Sure thing, Little Bird.”
I look at the others to see Ryder smirking. “I would say we need to do what you do to get him to behave, but…well, we all saw what he did to you, and I can’t say I’m too interested.”
Rolling my eyes, I throw myself down in his spot. “I bet I could make you,” I taunt, and he laughs.
“Probably, but still, wield your new power over him carefully,” he warns, and leans closer. “Don’t take advantage.” He’s teasing, but there is a hint of caution there.
“I’m not going to make him my own personal assassin, or you guys would be fucked, I just want coffee…and food…maybe orgasms.” I shrug.
Ryder grins at me, flashing white teeth. “I’m sure I can help with that,” he murmurs seductively, his eyes glancing down at my lips and tits, which are pressing against Kenzo’s white shirt and leaving nothing to the imagination. I gulp loudly, clenching my aching thighs together. My pussy literally took a beating, but it still throbs at his words. Hooker.
He grins, swiping his finger over my exposed collarbone, making me shiver, but all he does is push a strand of hair behind my ear before looking away.
Dear fucking God, these guys are not good for my pussy. All they have to do is look at me with those mean eyes, and I melt.
Diesel slips in behind me on the sofa, jostling me forward as his legs go to either side of me. His chest is still bare, and my sewing work is hidden behind white gauze. He wraps an arm around my waist and drags me back until I’m locked between his thighs. With his other hand, he offers me a steaming cup of coffee.
Groaning, I take it and burn my mouth as I take a sip—worth it. My stomach growls then, and he laughs as he kisses my cheek. “Presents first, food after.”
“Presents?” I perk up. “Is it a new bat?”
Garrett laughs.
“Told you,” Kenzo grumbles, and hands some money over to him, which he pockets before winking at me. Dayum, this truce thing is really working.
“No, no bats, I’m afraid, darling,” Kenzo tells me, leaning forward to meet my gaze. “We wanted to show you that we can be more than…well, mobsters. This is all for you. Whatever you don’t like, we can take back, and we can get whatever you need.” He scrubs the back of his head. “I know we started off…awkwardly, but your happiness is important to us.”
I look over at the bags and boxes on the table I didn’t notice before. There are so many, they spill onto the floor. What the— “When did you even get all this?”
“Earlier, Ryder and I went shopping.” Kenzo laughs.
I look at Ryder, who only sighs. “He made me.”
“You don’t have to buy me shit,” I grumble. It chafes me, I like to buy my own way in life…this feels like I’ll owe them something after.
Ryder leans over, uncaring that I’m wrapped in Diesel’s embrace, and grabs my chin hard, making me look at him. “No strings, no expectations. This is just something nice, and I know that’s hard to understand, I still struggle, but we did it because we care. Accept that, love.”
Fuck, how did he know?
Because Ryder knows everything, and he’s made it his business to learn everything about me. That fucking man. He smirks like he knows my thoughts and leans down, licking my lips before humming. “Mmm, coffee.”
He pulls away, leaving me breathless and slightly wet. Asshole. Okay, no strings. Normal people can accept gifts. You can do this. “Seriously, I hope you didn’t spend a lot,” I murmur, and my eyes widen when I spot the Cartier box.
Diesel laughs when I try to run away, wrapping his legs around me until I have a psychotic human koala draped around me, keeping me still. Ryder plucks the coffee from my hand before I spill it and, with his eyes on me as I struggle, places those lips where mine were and downs it.
“Motherfucker,” I hiss. “You owe me more coffee.”
“I’ll make it up to you.” He winks and grabs a box, a small one, and thrusts it at me. He suddenly seems nervous, which isn’t a word I would normally use to describe Ryder. “Here, this is one I picked.”
Unable to escape, I sigh and accept the box, flipping over the lid. Inside, nestled in silk, is a necklace. It’s fucking stunning. It’s a thick golden coil, a choker, with a snake head at one end and the tail at the other. Scales cover the gold surface, and the eyes are bright red rubies. It’s breathtaking, and no doubt expensive.
Two parts of me chafe—one that expects strings to come with this, and the other that wants to be mad. I’m not something they can buy with jewels. I don’t want their fucking money.
Kenzo leans forward. “Darling, accept this. We plan to spoil you a lot.”
“Why?” I demand, clutching the box, angry now.
He shrugs. “Because we can, because we all know where you came from and most of us came from there too. You should have nice things, you should be spoiled with jewels and gifts that hardly compare to your beauty. Get used to it, it’s happening.”
“But—” I start, but Ryder narrows his eyes.
“Just say thank you, we don’t want anything in return…well, maybe don’t kick Garrett in the family jewels again.”
“The money—”
“We have a fucking ton, more than we could ever fucking need, so accept the damn gifts or you’ll hurt their feelings. The stupid assholes never do anything for someone else, so don’t turn this around now,” Garrett snaps.
Well shit.
Sighing, I gather my courage, knowing this is my issue to deal with. I decided to go all in with them, to give up fighting every little thing. This is my issue with money and presents, not theirs. Garrett’s right. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, before looking at Ryder and Kenzo who appear deflated. Ryder is grinding his teeth. “Thank you, I’ve never had a present before, and I guess I didn’t know how to respond.”
“Never?” Garrett rumbles.
I shake my head, reaching out and stroking the snake. “Never, we didn’t celebrate any holidays or my birthday as a kid, so as an adult?” I shrug. “It never happened.”
“Fucking assholes,” Garrett grumbles, as Diesel pulls me closer.
“When is your birthday?” Kenzo demands.
“Erm, May, I think.” I sigh, and Ryder looks at me quizzically. “They never told me exactly.”
His eyes narrow, his fists clenching. “I will find out.”