“What?”
She chuckles and tilts her head, a vulnerable expression on her face. “It’s always been you. Maybe it’s wrong and fucked up, but I wanted you long before you were mine. I loved you long before I said I do.”
I grab her chin and lean in, my touch desperate as I kiss her. I’ve never needed anyone to feel my love quite so badly. “Ares,” she groans, her legs tightening around my waist.
I pull away and grin as I reach around her and grab the cupcake I bought her. “Eat this,” I tell her as I drop to my knees between her legs. “You have your cake,” I murmur as I part her robe, “and I’ll have mine.”
I kiss the inside of her thigh, pleased to find that she isn’t wearing anything underneath her robe. Raven moans when I kiss her pussy, and I smirk as I look up at her to find her staring at me with fire in her eyes.
“Finish every last bite of that, and I’ll make you come. The longer you take to eat it, the longer I’ll torture you.”
I chuckle as she buries one hand in my hair while she brings her other hand to her face, taking a bite of her cupcake just as my tongue parts her folds, going straight for her clit. I’m fucking obsessed with her, and each and every day, I’m going to ensure that everything we lost along the way was worth it.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Ares
I’m reluctant as I walk over to Zane’s house. If the boys hadn’t warned me that they’d throw me out of our poker club if I didn’t show, I’d have stayed home with my wife.
We usually meet once a month to play poker and catch up, but I’ve been skipping it ever since I got married to Raven. It’s odd how hard I find it to leave her for even just a single night. I want to be around her every second of every day, and even then, it isn’t enough.
I bite down on my lip, wondering if I should just lose tonight so I can go back home to my wife as soon as possible. I suspect they’d see straight through me, and I’d never hear the end of it.
I pause halfway toward Zane’s front door and frown at the figure darting through the trees. “The fuck are you doing, Xavier?”
I watch him as he glances around before jogging my way. “Can’t be too careful,” he says, smiling. “I’m fucking dead if your sister catches me here. She’s been extra strange lately. Best not to provoke her.”
I shake my head as we walk to Zane’s door. He presses his finger to the scanner, and the door opens. “At some point, my sister is going to find out that all of her brothers are friends with you, and there’ll be hell to pay for all of us.”
Xavier looks horrified at the mere thought of it, and I can’t help but chuckle. “Xavier fucking Kingston. Billionaire. Real estate magnate. Pussy.”
He shoots me a glance. “Your sister is fucking psychotic, mate. I don’t doubt that she’d try to fucking gut me if she caught me here. Did I tell you she sent me a fucking fish bomb last week?”
We walk into Zane’s living room, where the rest of the boys are all set up. The only one we’re missing is Luca. “What the fuck is a fish bomb?”
“She sent me smoke bombs that smelled like dead fish. My entire goddamn office reeked for a full week.”
I raise my brow. “The hell did you do to her?”
He runs his hand through his hair and shakes his head. “Fuck if I know. It arrived shortly after that charity gala I threw.”
I smile then. “The one you took a date to? You created a PR nightmare for me with that bullshit. Why the fuck did you bring that girl if you didn’t want it blasted all over the gossip papers? You never bring a date, Xav, so you should’ve known that the first time you do would attract attention.”
He hesitates and looks away, piquing my curiosity. “She’s special to you, huh?” My smile drops at the thought of it. My brothers and I have always been certain that the hatred between Xavier and Sierra was really just thinly veiled love. Looks like we were wrong. I clear my throat and look away.
Lexington walks up to us, a concerned look on his face. “Does Sierra know about this girl?” he asks.
Xavier frowns. “She saw me with Valeria at the gala, but I don’t see how that matters.”
“Valeria,” I murmur. He says her name so reverently. It’s no wonder Sierra sent him a stink bomb.
Zane looks at me, and I shake my head. I don’t know who she is either. She showed up on Xavier’s arm two weeks ago, and none of us had ever heard of her before.
“So who is she?” Zane asks. “I remember seeing her. She’s beautiful, that’s for sure.”
Xavier turns around to face Zane, a chilling smile on his face. “Stay away from her,” he warns. “Don’t fuck with me, Zane. I don’t want any of you anywhere near her.”
“Hmm,” Zane says. “You’re protective of her, huh?”
Lexington and I glance at each other before mutually agreeing to let it go. In the end, Sierra’s match will be decided by Grandma, anyway. Perhaps this is for the best, after all.
I walk toward the table and grab Zane’s deck of cards, shuffling it absentmindedly. I’ll have to tell my wife about this. I wonder what she’ll think of it. I know she also thought there was something between Xavier and Sierra.
Luca walks in, stumbling, a bottle of scotch in his hands. I can’t remember the last time I saw Luca drunk. He doesn’t like to lose control, and excessive drinking is one of those things he hates doing.
“Luca,” Zane calls. “You alright?”
Zane slams his bottle down on the poker table and sits down, a humorless laugh escaping his lips. “Of course I’m fine,” he snaps. “Why wouldn’t I be fine? I can do without her. I don’t fucking need her.”
Lexington glances at me in question, but I’ve got no idea what’s going on either. Usually I’m the one that stays on top of my brothers’ bullshit so I can prevent scandals, but I’ve been preoccupied with my wife. “Is this about your fiancee?” I ask, confused.
He looks up at me. “I can’t even remember that girl’s fucking name,” he snaps.
“Valentina,” Xavier says, a knowing look in his eyes. “This is about Valentina.”
Luca looks up, his gaze filled with torment. “She left me.”
Lex frowns. “What do you mean, she left you? Did you… were you two seeing each other, or something?”
Luca waves his hand in irritation. “No, of course not. It’s Valentina. I wouldn’t… I’d never risk it. Not when I don’t know if I’d be able to marry her. She… she quit her job, man.”
I sit down next to Luca and lean back, shocked. “She’s been with you for what? Eight years?”
He nods. “Yep. Fresh out of college, both of us. I just thought that… I don’t know, man. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Xavier starts to tidy the table, clearing away the poker chips while Zane hands each of us a glass before pouring Luca’s scotch into them. “We’ll need ice,” he says matter-of-factly.
“We’ll need a whole lot more than that,” Lex adds.
“Did she tell you why she quit?” Xavier asks.