13. Ciel
CIEL
Iwatched on the newly installed cameras as they argued. My eyes were locked to my phone screen when he kissed her, and she kissed him right back. She slid down his body, told him something that made his face look like his heart was breaking, and then she walked away.
Quickly, I clipped the video and sent it to the group chat with my brothers. I got a text back immediately that Obi would monitor Max tonight.
When the door to the room I’d claimed with Wynn opened, I wasn’t surprised to see the wetness on her cheeks.
This was why I didn’t trust Maximiliano Volpe.
My brain was good at finding patterns, and the pattern of his behavior was crystal clear. He wouldn’t betray us. He wouldn’t do anything to physically harm her.
But he would break her heart all over again.
She gave me a small, sad smile when she saw me getting changed by the bed.
I opened my arms, and she rushed into them, pushing her face against my bare chest. I pressed her against me and held her.
She didn’t cry, but she leaned into me like I was the only thing holding her up.
All the energy of tonight bled out of her.
I cradled the back of her head. “What happened, baby girl?”
Her face burrowed deeper into my chest. “I know you watched on the cameras.”
I smirked. “I only saw, but I didn’t hear what you said.”
She sighed, and her breath tickled the skin of my collarbone. Her arms wrapped around my waist. “Exactly what you’d expect. He took his metaphorical knife and shoved it into my heart, and whenever I asked him why he’s doing this, he twisted the blade.”
“That feels a little dramatic.”
“I know.” Moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes. “I’m not crazy, right? I feel like he has feelings for me, but then he refuses to acknowledge them. It’s like he’s actively trying to push me away.”
From the moment we rescued them both from the Albanian boat, things had changed.
Every time we ran into Max, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
When we heard about how he’d protected her, tried to shield her from what happened on that boat, and then comforted her afterwards, I’d believed he had feelings for her.
His mouth said one thing, but his actions told another story entirely.
“You’re not crazy.” I cupped her cheeks. “He cares for you, but I don’t know if that’s enough for him to fight his own demons.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something is fucked inside his head, something making him hold back. Unless he figures out how to confront that, he won’t be able to move past it.” I kissed her lips softly. “We all had hangups when we first met, and you’ve made all of us face the root of our issues. Me, especially.”
She showed me that I could love and be loved in return. That I didn’t need my skills to prove my worth. She and Wynn loved me—all of our family loved me—because of who I was. She’d done that for all of us. She’d made us all change for the better.
“You’re saying it’s not me, it’s him.”
My thumb brushed over her scar, down her neck, to her collarbone. “Yes.”
“But I wish I could just help him.”
“You can’t. He has to figure it out on his own, or he won’t.”
She tucked her head against my chest again. Her breath tickled my bare skin. “You’re the most level-headed one of us all, Ciel. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Wynn came out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel on his head.
He paused when he saw her wrapped in my arms, and then his eyes narrowed and flicked toward the door.
I shook my head, signaling no, do not go kill Max.
He exhaled a breath before he came behind her and pressed his chest to her back. His arms circled her waist from behind.
“Darling,” he whispered. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I love you guys. So much.”
“We love you too, darling girl,” Wynn said.
He kissed the back of her neck. While one of his arms tightened around her waist, the other reached for me.
My heart swelled again at the change in our relationship.
Ever since we’d been together, we hadn’t slept without each other.
Waking up with his body next to mine made me actually like mornings.
“What do you need?” My fingers teased through the soft strands of her hair and rubbed the back of her neck. “Can we take your mind off it? Wynn and I are very good at that.”
Her little laugh was like bells ringing in my ears. “Yes, you are. But I don’t want you to feel like I just ran in here because he rejected me. That I’m using you.”
“We don’t feel like that,” I said softly. “But when our girl’s heart hurts, it’s our job to help fix it.”
A knock at the door primed all our defenses, but when Cas’s head poked in, we exhaled a relieved breath.
“I thought I might find you here.” His eyes were full of concern, especially when he saw how Wynn and I crowded her. “Can I come in?”
She nodded, and he slipped inside before closing the door.
“You okay, princess?”
“Yeah, I just…” She sighed, twisting in my arms so her back pressed against my chest. “An idiot just pissed me off, but I honestly shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big—” Cas started.
She shook her head hard and fast. “No. I’m not wasting any more tears on him.”
Cas crowded close and kissed her shoulder. “I’ll beat him up for you.”
“Now you sound like Ryu. He’s rubbing off on you.”
“Yeah, Cas,” Wynn said slyly. “Rubbing off on you.”
“Shut up, Wynn.”
I grinned and tightened my grip on her waist.
She wound a hand up my neck to the back of my head. “Wynn and Ciel were just about to make me feel better. Want to help?”
His eyes flared with heat, but he hesitated—like he wanted to push more—before he looked at me and I gave a slight nod. She needed this. To process. To relax. Otherwise, she’d be up all night. Her nightmares were always worse after she and Max had a fight.
Finally, a lopsided grin pulled the corner of his mouth up. “Do you really have to ask?”
“Cuddles,” I said as I tugged her to the bed with a grin. It wasn’t just sex. She needed to know how much we loved her. “Come on, it’ll make you feel better.”
Her smile was bright and infectious, a miracle on her beautiful face. “I love cuddles.”
“I know.” When I laid down on the bed, I opened up my arm.
Quickly, she pulled off her jacket and her shirt, leaving her in only her bra, before she tucked underneath it and pressed her head against my chest. My heart squeezed when she let out a deep sigh of relief.
I pressed a kiss to her hair while Wynn climbed in behind me, his bare chest pressing into my back.
Cas pulled off his shirt and went to Leona’s other side.
We were a four person, bare-chested sandwich.
I drew my fingers up and down the skin of her arm while she snuggled closer. “You know what was pretty cool about tonight?”
“Hmm?”
I pressed a kiss to her head. “You held your fucking own with Piero Greco.”
She was incredible, sitting there with her head held high and her back straight. She didn’t flinch at all, despite the overwhelming presence of the man. I’d never met Piero Greco, and I’d killed more than my share of powerful men before, but Greco was in a league of his own.
She was in that same league, and she didn’t even realize it.
“Hell yeah, princess,” Cas said. “I didn’t know you could flick knives like that.”
“Ryu’s been training me.”
“It was awesome.”
Wynn rested his chin on my arm so he could see her on my other side. “It doesn’t matter what else happened. You’re our queen, and tonight you showed that to every single person at that table.”
“He expected to get the best of you, and you didn’t let that happen,” I said. “You are so fucking strong. Don’t forget it.”
Her lips pressed together and wobbled. “Thanks, guys.”
I hooked my finger under her chin to lift it so I could kiss her. “Te veo.”
“And I love you.” She kissed me back, even letting a little tongue brush against my lips. It sent electricity coursing through my body.
For a few moments, I just let myself kiss her slowly. Enjoying the softness, letting her feel it from me. Letting her know that we’d always have her back, no matter what it was. Letting her know she could let go of all the stress, and we would be there to catch her.
Wynn’s teeth nipped the back of my neck, and I gasped into Leona’s mouth. She giggled.
“Feeling left out, Wynn?” she teased.
He mumbled something while his hand trailed up my stomach. I could already feel the outline of him pressing against my ass, and I swallowed heavily as desire surged through my nerves.
I gripped her chin again and brought her mouth back to mine, harder this time. Devouring her. Pulling her tighter against me. She moaned when Cas’s fingers slipped beneath the waist of her jeans.
“Let us take care of you,” I said, nipping her bottom lip.
She nodded fiercely, and that was all Cas needed to unbutton her jeans and start pulling them down her legs. Cas helped her pull off her sports bra, and as soon as it was off, I tugged her lips to mine again. I was already hard in my sweatpants, and so ready for consuming every inch of her.
“Let me get you warmed up, princess,” Cas murmured as his head ducked low and he repositioned himself between her legs. She let out a whimper when he kissed her clit, then dragged his tongue through her entrance.
“I’m more than warmed up,” she gasped into my mouth.
“I want you wetter than that.” His thumbs teased her apart so he could dive in even deeper. “I want you so wet you ruin the bedsheets. I want it dripping down your thighs.”
She arched her back off the bed, fisting her hand in my hair, when he descended on her again.
“Let me see, Cas,” Wynn said breathlessly.
Cas pushed two fingers inside her, drawing a strangled groan from her lungs, before holding them up.
His fingers glistened with her wetness, and Wynn groaned before he buried his face against my back.
I could feel his cock even harder now, and fuck, I needed this to happen as much as she did. We all needed it.