CaraI stand in front of the big mirror at the vanity in my bathroom.Beautiful granite countertops. Gold framing around everything. Luxurious towels, fresh flowers, oil scent infusers. Everything gleaming, everything clean.Everything impersonal, distant, too perfect.I touch my face, drag a finger down my cheek. How did I end up here, in this place?My life was a nightmare with Christopher. This is infinitely better. I don't go to sleep wondering if my husband is going to hurt me each night. I still take birth control, but mostly because I'm afraid that if I stop, I'll get trapped.I don't want to feel like I'm in a cage.Not ever again.But this feels wrong too. I should want this place, want the comfort, the ease. I should be happy that I get to lie around the pool all day drinking champagne, chatting with Helen, walking along the lake, watching the sun rise and the sun set.I can go to work if I want to, but I don't have to.But I want more than to exist. I want to be something.
CaraI chew on my lip for a second, digesting. I've never heard him talk like this before, and the look on his face suggests it isn't easy. "That was hard for you, wasn't it?""Yes," he admits. "But I've been thinking that I don't want to keep going in this war, keep risking my life without ever telling someone that. Without ever admitting I'm imperfect.""Nobody thinks you're perfect, Eros. Nobody expects you to be, either.""In a family like this, even if everyone knows the lord is flawed, they pretend otherwise. Admitting to flaws is admitting to weakness, and weakness gets you killed when you're standing at the top of a mountain built on blood.""But you trust me enough to say it?"He closes his eyes. "You might be the only person I trust, asteraki mu. I know you're angry with me—""I'm not angry."He opens them and looks over. "Then why have you acted like you don't want to be around me?""I'm trying to be realistic," I say softly, forcing myself to stay calm. I swear, he must be
CaraI open my eyes as sunlight streams in through the window and roll onto my side, expecting an empty bed. It's always empty when Eros comes to sleep with me.Instead, there he is. Awake, staring at the ceiling like an absolute creep, but still here."Hey," I say and clear my throat. "Been awake long?"He shakes his head. "Just got up.""Really?" I check the clock. "It's eight in the morning.""I know, I slept in."I sigh, trying not to smile. "Eight isn't sleeping in.""It is for me." He rolls his head toward me, staring into my eyes. "You snore. Did you know that?""Oh my god," I say and close my eyes. "I was happy you hadn't snuck away for once but now I'm wondering—"He reaches out and rolls toward me. I yelp in surprise as he pulls my wrist and drags me over to his side of the bed like a caveman claiming his rights. I shimmy against him, surprised and shocked by the warmth of his chest, by the sudden quickening of his heart. I'm in a tank top and a pair of old boy short underwe
CaraI stand outside in the gardens. Bees flit from flower to flower and the sun feels good on my skin. I'm in shorts and a t-shirt, nothing special, my hair up in a messy bun, no makeup, just me and myself. I came out here to get some privacy, and I actually feel like I have some space alone even though Alonzo's lurking nearby. The house is usually filled with staff and soldiers and captains—although I have no clue what half of them are doing at any given time. The smell of the grass, the taste of crisp fall on the breeze, it reminds me of home, and I can forget about where I am for a while.I miss Philadelphia. I don't miss my parents or the house I shared with Christopher, but I miss the streets, the old buildings, the sense of belonging. I knew Philly, knew the alleys, the restaurant, the bars.I knew the people. They were my people.Here though, I'm a stranger. Chicago's foreign, Chicago's like another world, and I feel so disconnected from the city out here on the grounds of the
ErosThe meeting happens on neutral ground. It took days of back and forth to get everyone on the same page, and I made sure only the most important people in my family heard anything about it. Lycus, trusted soldiers, and nobody else. Not even Cara.I keep thinking about my wife. My real wife.Gareth worked a miracle. Really, he took a lot of my money and gave it to the perfect person to make sure her divorce paperwork made it through the system without anyone noticing, which allowed for our marriage to follow in its wake.Now that she's finally mine for real, I keep thinking about her, keep thinking about what my life could be like if this wasn't some short-term deal.I'm tempted to skip this meeting. If all goes well—and there's no guarantee it will—I might walk away with a solution to our problems.Which means Cara won't have a reason to stay with me anymore.I won't force her to remain my wife. I'll sign the paperwork, as promised. I won't keep her, even if I want to.But there's
Eros"What bothers me more is law enforcement," I say, staring at him. "I'm still young and I'd like to spend my years a free man.""Fucking cops," he says with real disgust. "What do you think of the cops, Renzo?""Pigs," Renzo says. "I enjoy listening to them squeal as they die.""Lovely," Lycus mumbles.I wave a hand at them dismissively. "Regardless of how you feel, Chicago's murder rate skyrocketed lately, and the CPD is out for blood. They're not happy about all the bad press."Which is what I'm hearing directly from my police informants, the cops that take my envelopes of cash. So far, my bribes are keeping my soldiers out of prison, but that won't last much longer."Getting fucking expensive to stay out from behind bars, ain't it?" Bosco clucks his tongue. "All this killing, and for what? Over some hurt feelings and a girl?""All this killing because you've been encroaching on my territory for months and this is a convenient excuse for you."He spreads his hands. "You're paran
ErosI sit in the back of the car with Eros, the divider between us and the driver firmly in place. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I ask him as we glide through downtown."A very good idea," he says, his hand on my thigh. I'm in a dark blue dress with a slit up my thigh and a low-cut front, and he keeps peeking at my tits and my leg. It sends a thrill into my guts, the way he looks at me in this revealing dress, so totally not my style, but he seems to love it. Which is good enough for me."It's just, you keep talking about how dangerous it's been in the city and how I shouldn't go to the diner—""Trust me." His fingers dig into my thigh and there's a smile on his lips. "The Italians are too busy to bother with us tonight."He takes me to an upscale Asian fusion restaurant. We're seated right away by a pretty girl in all black at a good table right in the middle of the vast, open space. The music is loud, and every table is packed, but Eros looks at me like there's nobody else in
CaraHe spreads my legs roughly, on his knees in front of me in the back of the car. "Are you sure Alonzo can't hear us?" I hiss at him. My bodyguard's behind the wheel tonight."Soundproof," he confirms."And he won't stop? The windows are totally tinted?""Yes and yes." His lips work up my inner thigh as my fingers twist into his hair. "Stop talking.""It's hard to shut my mouth with you touching me like that, and we're in the freaking car, with like a hundred—oh, fuck." He pushes my panties aside and licks my clit in slow circles. "Ah, okay, I think, yeah, I can try to ignore all that other stuff.""Good girl." He slides his fingers slowly inside of me. "I want you to do nothing but feel me enjoying you, your taste, your moans, everything about your lovely little pussy.""Okay, I can do that." He spreads me wider, fingers moving in and out, curling devilishly, driving me insane. "That definitely helps." He licks my clit, sucking me, driving me insane. "You're really hell-bent on sp