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
CaraI wake up feeling refreshed and happy. There's a pleasant glow that hangs around for a while after a night of really good sex—and last night was really good. I'm guessing my post-orgasm floaty-feeling is going to last all day, and if I'm lucky, Eros might keep that going into tomorrow.Except he's not in bed with me. I touch his pillow—it's cold. Which means he must've left a while ago. That man works too damn much.I close my eyes, smiling slightly, unwilling to let this little wrinkle ruin my solid vibes.Last night was absolutely fantastic. He wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to treat me like this wife. That beast was absolutely insatiable in a way he hadn't been before. It was like one taste and he needed to devour me, toes to teeth. Orgasm after orgasm for both of us, and when I thought he was through, his cock somehow got hard again and he was fucking me into sweet oblivion.I yawn and stretch. Some men are freaks of nature. Eros might be a sex freak of nature. It shou
ErosI hear the scream as I come up the steps, a bag of breakfast sandwiches in one hand and a carrier with two coffees in the other. I'm humming to myself, floating on a cloud. I figured I'd treat Cara to breakfast from my favorite local spot not too far away and wanted to take the drive myself to clear my head.Last night's debauchery still lingers like a comforting blanket.But that scream has my body pounding with adrenaline.I know that sound. I know that tone. It's a scream of pure, utter horror, of an animal trapped in a life-or-death struggle.And it's coming from my room.I drop the coffee and sandwiches as I sprint down the hall. My heart's racing, my brain working. I released Alonzo early this morning, told the kid to get some rest—which means Cara is alone.Nobody else would go near my wing of the house, not this early in the morning.She's alone, all alone, with no weapons, no protection, nothing.Fuck, I shouldn't have left her, but I thought my enemies were busy fightin