Buttons and Shame (Buttons 4)

She continued to breathe hard with a volcano erupting behind her eyes. She usually had a quick reaction to anything Crow or I said, but now she was at a loss for words.

“I’m sorry, Pearl. If I could save her, I would. But I can’t.” I’d accepted it once Crow and I talked about it. Now I’d made my peace with it. I would enjoy her while I could then return her once the fun was over. End of story.

“What if I had given up on you?” she whispered. “What if I’d just let Bones kill you?”

I’d never forget the time she stuck out her neck for me. I was grateful—from the bottom of my soul. “You should have let him kill me, Pearl. You shouldn’t have risked your life for mine.”

“But you would have done the same for me.”

Yes, I would have. But that was different. “But you are family, Pearl. You’re a Barsetti.”

“As are you.”

It didn’t matter how much she irritated me. I loved this woman like a sister. I loved her like Vanessa. In a lot of ways, she reminded me of her. Vanessa’s spirit was still with me—through the woman my brother had made family. “After what I did to you, I didn’t deserve your loyalty.”

“Family loves each other no matter what. That’s why Crow didn’t kill you.”

True. If I were anyone else, Crow would have murdered me.

“And since family is always there for each other, that’s why you should be there for me.”

I didn’t know what she meant. “I am here for you.”

“But yet, that poor woman is going back to Tristan in just a few weeks.”

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. “I already told you, there’s nothing I can do about it. She won’t leave her friend behind, so I can’t help her escape. And I can’t buy her from Tristan either. So what am I supposed to do?

She finally shut her mouth.

“Pearl, what am I supposed to do?” I repeated, pressing my point harder.

She finally dropped her gaze.

Good. This conversation was finally over. “You should get going. She’ll be awake soon.”

“I want to meet her.”

“Why?”

“I know exactly what she’s been through. I can talk to her.”

I couldn’t imagine why a woman would want to discuss her trauma with another woman who’d experienced it. That would be like two guys talking about their terrible childhoods together. “I’ll think about it.”

“You’ll think about it?” Her tone rose again. “This woman shouldn’t feel alone.”

“She doesn’t. She has me.” If she ever wanted to talk to me about anything, I would listen. I may not give great advice, but I knew how to listen.

“You told me you would give her back without thinking twice about it.”

“But that doesn’t mean I won’t be there for her while I can. I don’t think you talking to her is going to do any good.”

“I thought you didn’t boss her around? Now you’re making decisions for her?”

Pearl was such a pain in the ass sometimes. “I’ll feel her out, alright?”

“Why don’t you just ask her now while I’m here?” Her phone rang in her pocket, and the fact that she ignored it told me it was Crow.

“One, she’s not awake yet. And two, I’m not gonna bombard her. Go home, and I’ll let you know what she says.”

Her phone rang again, telling her time was up.

I glanced at her pocket before I met her look again. “You better get home before you really piss him off.”

Pearl opened the front door and walked out, ignoring the phone ringing in her pocket. “Let me know what she says.”

I rolled my eyes then shut the door behind her, grateful that pain in the ass was finally gone. She accused me of bossing Adelina around, but Pearl bossed around everyone under the sun. She got in Crow’s face anytime she felt like it, and she certainly wasn’t scared of me.

I headed back into the kitchen and halted when I spotted Adelina standing there. She was in my t-shirt, the fabric reaching her knees and swallowing her small frame in the loose cotton. Her brown hair was pulled over one shoulder, and a rested look sat deep in her eyes. A steaming mug sat on the counter, and she cupped it with her palms before she took a drink.

She’d been standing there for a while.

Now that I looked at her, I remembered our passion the night before. I’d never been buried in a wetter or tighter pussy. It was a little slit of heaven, beautiful slickness. Just breathing the same air as her made me aroused. I remembered exactly the way her pussy felt when it tightened around my throbbing cock when she came.

I’d never forget it as long as I lived.

I stood on the other side of the kitchen counter and watched her, seeing the way her lips pursed together when she took a drink.