“Wow. What is this?” I swipe the red residue off the rim of my lips.
“A Manhattan.” Cartier wriggles into a large pillow on the floor. “Don’t drink it too fast. They’re strong.”
Maya is on Val’s lap on the other side of us, with Perse still burning a hole in my head.
“Okay, so The Brothers are in some big important meeting, so I was thinking—we could plan the places we all want to visit while we’re back in Romania. Personally, I want to work on incorporating some new moves into my sets—” Saskia’s voice dies out into the back of my head when Eli emerges from the kitchen, ignoring all of the girls and coming straight for me. He leans over the edge of the sofa until I’m looking at him upside down, ignoring the way his arms flex when he leans on the sofa.
He bends down and runs his tongue over my lips. “Ky needs me. We’ll see you in bed later, so don’t drink too many of those.” He pushes back and winks at me before throwing a hoodie over his head and leaving through the same way the girls just entered.
“Ah, I see…” Cartier leans back. “So my glorious brother with commitment issues, mommy issues, brooding issues, murder issues, and psychopathic issues, has decided to collect two new toys.”
“Bingo,” Perse murmurs below her breath, rolling her eyes.
“Careful with that heart, Lilith. He will chew you up, spit you out, and then bury you in the backyard where he keeps all the rest of his secrets….”
I have to choke on the laugh that’s bubbling up my throat, but I feel Saskia’s hand come to my thigh reassuringly. Swallowing the rest of my drink, I place the empty glass onto the coffee table, my eyes flying between Cartier and Perse. “First of all, I don’t have a heart. My daddy ripped it out the day I was born and buried it in his garden of secrets, and trust me, it is far bigger than Kyrin’s, and two?” I glare between the two of them before finally settling on Cartier. “What makes you think it isn’t me who does the collecting?”
When there’s a long enough pause, I settle back into the cushions of the sofa just as Maya bursts out laughing.
“I really like you, Lilith.”
I hold Perse’s stare, her cheeks now flushed. “I like you, too—” I noticeably drag my eyes away from Perse and onto Maya. “Maya.” I don’t entertain hate and drama, and I can’t decide if I want to change that or not with Persephone. There’s one reason why I haven’t, though…
I bring my attention back to Cartier. “It’s not that serious. You don’t have to worry.”
“Oh, I’m not,” Cartier says, shaking her head while working on more cocktails.
“I’m surprised.” Saskia nudges me with her shoulder as Maya moves toward the speaker system, turning on music.
Perse still hasn’t said anything, and if I was a normal human with fucks to give, I would pull her aside and ask her what her problem with me is, but thankfully, I’m not, and I don’t care for girl drama. They knocked that part of being a girl out of my brain the second I hit puberty. Perse can entertain her distaste for me on her own, but I’ll never reach forward and swallow it.
Pop Smoke starts playing through the speakers, as Sass turns my face to look at her. She’s had a couple of drinks now, her eyes glassy. “You belong here.”
A smile touches the side of my lips. “No, I don’t, Saski, but it’s okay because I don’t need to.”
Saskia’s bright blue eyes flash with something way too close to sadness. I don’t need her pity or anyone else’s. Before she can say anything further, I shake my head and laugh. “We’re not doing this.”
“Okay, right now…”
Cartier hands me a fresh drink and I take it. I shake my head at Saskia. “No, ever.”
The front door opens and Eli walks through first, followed by King, Killian, and Keaton. They all spread around the sofa, with Keaton staying as far away from Cartier as possible. Obvious. I don’t realize I’ve been holding my breath for Kyrin until I exhale loudly.
“He’s outside, Little Devil. Go fetch.” Killian settles into Saskia’s boobs, licking her neck like a needy cat. Eli is already upstairs. I could cut the tension in the room between the boys as if it was a ribbon tied in a pretty little bow.
“Which one?” Perse snickers.
I shrug, bypassing Perse and her smart-ass mouth. “Both fuck me as hard as they fuck each other, so I guess I could see both.” I shut the front door behind myself as I hear Saskia start on Perse. I don’t need her to rescue me, or to even stand up for me. For me to need her to do that, I would have to care—I don’t. Persephone can think what she wants about me.