I closed my eyes and sighed. “I warned him to stop at least five times.”
“What if he told you to stop selling drugs?”
“If it were that important to him, I would have.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit. And I had to save those women. One of them was my friend.”
“A whore you used to fuck.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I snapped. “She was a fucking human being.”
“She’s doing the same thing now she was doing before—”
“Don’t tell me you really believe that. I know you aren’t that heartless. I know you aren’t that stupid.”
He shut his mouth.
I’d hit rock bottom with my brother and didn’t know how to fix it. The cards in my pile were gone, and there were no tricks up my sleeve. This wasn’t a problem cash could fix. It wasn’t a problem threats could fix. I was fucking desperate. “Have dinner with Sofia and me tomorrow night.”
Ash craned his neck awkwardly, like he couldn’t believe the words that flew out of my mouth. “I thought you didn’t want Sofia anywhere near me.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near here.”
“And why would I want to spend the evening with you?”
“She’s your sister-in-law. You don’t want to meet her?”
“Just because she has my last name doesn’t mean she’s family. You certainly aren’t.”
Now I regretted killing my father even more. If I hadn’t, none of this would be happening. “I get that you’re angry, but I don’t think you’re as heartless as you pretend to be. You’ve been sitting with me for thirty minutes now, when you have a million things to do. You give me your time when you claim I don’t deserve it. You threaten to kill me when we both know you can’t pull the trigger. You have the right to be mad at me, but at least try to be my brother. That’s all I ask.”
15
Sofia
“You want me to have dinner with your brother?” When Hades came home, he was in worse shape than his last visit. Making amends with his brother was pressing stress all over his body, making him more exhausted than he’d ever been. I’d do anything to help him, but I was surprised he’d asked.
“Yes.” He sat next to me on the couch, his arm behind my shoulders. His body was pivoted toward me, his hand resting on my thigh. His fingers lightly grazed my skin, gently touched me as he inched farther up on my shirt to my panties underneath.
“I thought you didn’t want that.”
“I’m desperate.”
“I can see that.”
“I’m not taking you to his place of business. I would never put you in harm’s way.” His shadowed jawline was sharp as a straight line. His lips were full and kissable. And his brown eyes were very persuasive.
“I know.”
“And he would never try anything either.”
“What makes you so sure?”
After a long pause, he answered. “I just know.”
“You know I’ll help you in any way I can. I just don’t know what you want me to do.”
“Just be you. Damien is emotionally stunted, and he’s an idiot. But he opened up like an uncorked bottle of champagne.”
“That’s different.”
“You have that effect on a lot of people—including me. Just be yourself…maybe you could soften him up.”
“I’m not sure how to do that, but I’ll try.”
“Thank you.” He leaned into me and kissed the corner of my mouth, his large hand cupping the back of my head to keep me in place. His fingers moved up my hip until he grabbed the lace of my thong and tugged it down. “Is there something I can do to show my appreciation?”
I remembered the night he’d ordered me to sit on his face. He ate my pussy in a way no other man ever had. There was so much heat in his aggressive kisses, so much stimulation from that strong tongue. Just the thought made my ears feel warm, made me shiver like his mouth was pressed against me at that moment.
He got my panties to my knees and let them slide down to my ankles. “I know that look.” He grabbed my hips and tugged me down, my head moving to the corner of the armrest. He pushed my thighs open, one knee pressed against the back of the couch, while the other hung over the edge. He slid to his knees and pushed up my shirt with his hands. Then his face moved between my legs, and his lips made contact with the places that ached the most.
My back arched on its own, and I released a deep sigh. “God…”
We sat side by side at the table, a small vase of flowers in front of us along with a basket of bread. I was in a one-strap black dress, my hair in loose curls with a diamond necklace around my throat.
Hades looked sexy in a black collared shirt with one button popped open at the top. His dark jeans were snug on his tight ass and muscular thighs. Even though he must be anxious about our company, he seemed calm like always.