Maniacs (Depraved Sinners 4)

Marcus snatches the glass tumbler from Roman and looks back at me through narrowed eyes. “You even think about holding out on me and I’ll withhold every fucking orgasm until you tell me what the fuck is going on.”

I glance nervously at Roman who just shrugs as though this is my mess and now it’s my problem to dig myself out of it. “Ummm … so Roman thinks he might have found a loophole to get me out of the marriage to your father.”

Marcus’ hand pauses halfway to his face, the glass hovering in the air above the bar. “Really?” he questions, his eyes brightening with hope.

“Yeah,” I say slowly, hating to be the one to crush that hope within him. “Ummmm … it’s not so much of a loophole, rather an amendment.” His brows furrow and he looks at me in confusion as Levi stiffens beneath me, already figuring out where this is going. “So, I’m sure you’re aware that Roman shares a name with your father and what we were thinking is that—”

“FUCK NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT,” Marcus spits, throwing himself to his feet and immediately starting to pace. “You wanna be married to this asshole? FUCK.” He turns toward Roman and I see the anger building in his eyes, but before I can do a damn thing about it, Marcus has already propelled himself over the bar with his fist currently sailing right toward his eldest brother’s jaw.

There’s a sickening crunch before Roman shoves Marcus hard, pushing him a step away and allowing him that moment of clarity to find control. He glares at his brother, shaking his head as he clenches his jaw. “I should have fucking known you’d put that fucking idea in her head.”

Roman rubs his jaw and spits a mouthful of blood into the bar sink. “It’s not about me trying to steal her away. Fuck, Marc. You should know her better than that. If that were the case, she’d never even consider it. It’s about releasing her from the marriage to our father.”

Marcus shakes his head, grabbing himself another drink and throwing it back. The glass slams down on the bar and quickly shatters with the force. “I don’t fucking like it.”

“No shit,” Roman says. “You made that clear.”

Levi’s fingers gently squeeze my thigh, bringing my attention back to him. “Are you sure about this? My father could be dead in as little as a few days. We’re going to have both families working together. The moment he’s gone, your marriage won’t matter.”

“Not technically,” I tell him, knowing that Marcus is listening intently, “but I will still be considered Giovanni’s widow. Even in death, I won’t be able to escape that connection to him. Now if I weren’t married to him at all, if he weren’t legally my husband …”

I leave the words hanging and Levi slowly nods. “Look, I’m not going to lie,” he starts. “If any of us were lucky enough to have your hand in marriage, I always thought it’d probably be Marc, but if this is what you want, if you can walk away from this decision and be happy with it, then you’ll have my blessing.”

“You’re not upset or anything like that?”

“Tell me this,” he starts. “Will being married to Roman have any effect on our relationship? Will you be any less mine?”

I shake my head, horrified by the idea. “Absolutely not. It’s just a piece of paper,” I say, turning back to Marcus. “Same goes for you. Yes, I’ll be technically married to him, but it’s not like I asked for this. It’s not like he got down on one knee and demanded exclusivity. All we’re doing is making an already shitty situation better. And if I’m completely honest, if I had my own way, I wouldn’t be married to any of you. I love you all equally, and I don’t believe that having our names written on a piece of paper is any kind of endgame, especially in our situation. It would never work.”

Seeing the indecision still on his face, I get up and move across the bar until I’m leaning against it and reaching over to grip his warm hands. “What’s going to make this okay for you?” I ask him, meeting his dark eyes.

He watches me closely and a flicker of nervousness flashes through his eyes. “After all is said and done, when everything has calmed down, I want a vow ceremony. All three of us, and you. We lay it all out on the table and you officially become all of ours.”

My brows furrow. “Like a wedding, but without the marriage certificate at the end?” I question.

“Exactly. We make our vows in front of the priest, in front of our families, and we combine as one.”

My heart flutters wildly in my chest. “You really want that?” I question, pushing up against the bar to get closer to him. He nods. “I do,” he says. “You’ll technically be married to Roman, but you’ll also have equal ties to me and Levi. I mean, if you’re down for that.”

Warmth spreads through my veins, lighting every nerve with adrenaline until I find myself climbing up over the bar and planting myself in front of him. “Of course, I'm down for that. I’m so fucking down it’s insane.”

Marcus grins and fuses his mouth to mine, kissing me deeply as his arms curl around my body. His tongue sweeps into my mouth and I moan into him, feeling more at home in his arms than I ever felt in any of the places we’ve stayed since meeting them.

He pulls away from me, his forehead tipping to mine. “For what it’s worth, if that asshole gets to refer to you as ‘wife’ and I don't, I’m going to castrate him while he sleeps.”

I shake my head and laugh before turning back and meeting Levi’s dark eyes. “Are you down for a vow ceremony?”

His lips twist as he lets out a heavy sigh. “Would I have to wear a suit?”

“No,” I laugh. “Come in your bare-ass naked glory for all I care.”

Levi groans. “Fine, I suppose,” he says, “but there better be a fucking epic party afterward.”

Rolling my eyes, I turn to my almost husband. “And you?” I question, unsure why I feel so nervous about the guys’ responses to this.

“You fucking know it, babe. Now—”

A loud buzzing sounds through the mansion and Roman cuts off his sentence, his gaze snapping to Levi’s. “That’s the front door. Someone’s trying to get in.”