Page 14

He lifts my hand and spreads my fingers apart, threading his with mine. “So you’ve always had a green thumb. Guess it’s in the Sinclaire genes.”

“I guess.” I look over the rooftop. “It was just nice to get some fresh air every once in a while, get away from the sweat and testosterone downstairs.” His thumb rubs soothingly over the side of my palm. “I didn’t really make the comparison but, yeah, I guess maybe it’s in my genes.” Lifting our hands, I place them on my belly. “It’s weird what we inherit from our parents without even knowing.”

His dark eyes follow our hands, tightening at the corners. “Yeah, I wouldn’t know much about that.”

“We’ll get Ashby to talk.” I press my fingertips under his chin and lift his gaze to mine. “We’re going to find out the truth about Odette and your real father. I promise.”

The sun sinks another notch and the sky turns from blue to pink. Pace’s large hand palms and rubs my swollen belly, and he muses, “Whatever we get out of him, it’s going to have to be soon. You heard Perilini.”

Sy had come over after Pace and Pauly finished sparring and told him that the Princes had been summoned to a meeting with the Kings the next morning.

“When you came back to East End and we made that call, the Kings were willing to give us time to sort this out, but the clock is ticking.” He cuts his eyes toward the tower. “They’re going to want this settled, quick and clean.” The dip in his voice makes it apparent that such a thing isn’t possible.

“We need more time,” I argue. “This isn’t a regular mark down in the dungeon. Ashby’s a master.”

Sighing, he swings his gaze to mine. “This isn’t something you need to worry about. Your job is to stay healthy and prepare for our son.” His hand moves up, cresting boldly over my breast, and he drops his forehead to mine. “Fuck, Rosi, I want to be inside you more than I want to breathe.”

They’ve all been hesitant to touch me since I got hospitalized—scared. The attack in the garden, the fact they almost lost me and the baby, turned them into these new, reluctant men. I sense their hunger—their need to be with me—but it’s been set aside to give us time to heal.

It’skillingme.

“I miss you, too.” I brush my lips across his. “Waking up without you inside of me… I don’t like it.”

It’s hard to explain how what had once been an intrusion became so achingly familiar. I think it’s probably a lot like carrying this baby. I can’t imagine anything else. It’s notjustthe sex. It’s that, for a brief moment, when things had begun feeling more settled between us, their touch became soothing instead of bruising.

I want that, more than anything.

Pace dips forward to kiss me, parting my lips to thrust his tongue inside. The kiss is hot and slick at first, but then harder, a touch of desperation in the way his fingers run down my throat, grazing over my collarbone. My nipples tighten into painful peaks, and I arch my back to brush them against his chest. A groan of frustration builds in his throat, roughing his muttered words. “Fucking Lex and all his fucking cockblocking rules.”

“Hey,” I run my hand over the hard bulge in his pants, “we can do other things.”

Pace’s eyes dart over his shoulder to the door that leads back downstairs. “And risk those animals coming up here and catching me violating the girl they think of as a sister?” He shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”

“After Remy decided to shoot off fireworks during the Fourth of July last summer and almost burned down the whole building, Mama put a strict no DKS on the roof rule,” I suck on his bottom lip, getting his focus back on me. “Including Dukes. Although I’m pretty sure she really just wants some peace and quiet from the nonstop rowdiness in the gym.”

That’s the green light he’s been waiting for, and his fingers move to the buttons making the V down the front of my dress, pushing them loose. My tits hang heavy between us and his eyes glaze. “You know, I’ve always been about the pussy,” he tells me, shoving aside the cups of my bra to fondle me with a surprisingly gentle touch, “but one day, when the baby is here, and you’re full up with milk, I’m going to fuck these sweet tits. Cover you with my cum.” He licks his lips, then bends, taking one peak into his mouth.

“Oh, god...” Stars blind my vision. Holding Pace’s head against my chest, I moan, the sensation spreading.

He pauses, looking up, “Am I hurting you?”

“No.” I breathe, “they’re so sensitive. I’m going to come from this if you don’t stop.”

“You for real?” A dark flicker crosses his eyes, and he plucks the right side between two fingers. “Just from me sucking them?”

“Mmhmm.” I bite down on my bottom lip and dig my nails into his shoulders. “Or that. Anything. It’s insane.”

There’s a dark, frantic energy in his eyes that sends a shiver down my spine. “Then let's get you off.”

Dropping his head, he latches on to one side, sucking and licking the nipple. On the other, his hand cups the tight swell, toying with the peak. My hips rock up, the orgasm building despite the lack of stimulation between my legs. It’s a heady drunkenness, the rush cresting over me in an unrelenting wave. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before, both extreme and muted. Sharp, yet dull. Bright, yet dimming.

It’s too fast, like a memory of an orgasm instead of the real thing.

But it’s still enough to send tremors through my body.

“Jesusfuck,you weren’t lying,” he growls, placing his hand over mine on his erection. He sounds dazed, even though his eyes are too alert, scanning the rooftops before ducking to suck a kiss into my neck. “I want to get my cum into you so bad, Rosi. You can take it, can’t you? In your pretty mouth?”

Still catching my breath, I’m stunned by how much the thought captures me. “Yeah, just?—”