Page 68 of Blood in the Water

The steadily growing attraction between me and Cas, plus his searing kiss, had shaken me to the core and filled my head with all sorts of visions of us together. My eyes had been so blinded by Max that I hadn’t ever considered a future with Cas outside of his friendship. And now?Heat. Kisses. Rumpled sheets and legs twisted together. The visions made my heart race and thighs clench. Maybe I’d been attracted to Cas much longer than I realized.

I wouldnotlet things be over with him before they even started. I had to get him back.

But then there was Wynn. I felt connected to him in a very real yet unexplainable way. Just meeting him diverted my life down an entirely different path. I wantedmorewith him—in the exact same way I wanted more with Cas.

Was it okay to want two men at the same time? And what would Cas think, knowing we’d just kissed?

It worked for Fallon, with her cadre of stunning men, but she was also the most badass woman I had ever met.

I was raised to be the perfect mafia wife: completely loyal and supportive. Never in my life did I consider what that meant outside of one person. But that person irrevocably fucked my life up, and now two men appeared to have taken his place.

Right now, I couldn’t worry about it. Cas needed help first. But once he was returned safe and sound, I would try to explore the growing feelings building between the two of them. The dream of being a perfect mafia wife was behind me.

A quiet knock came from the door.

“Yes?”

The door opened, and Wynn poked his head in. “Hello. May I come in?”

I nodded.

“How was the shower?”

“It was good, thank you,” I said as I folded my dirty clothes into a pile. “Can I use your washer?”

Sitting here wallowing in my worry wasn’t going to accomplish anything. I needed to get my body and my brain moving to push through some of this exhaustion. Then, I would start looking for Cas. Wynn had already said he’d help get him out of Max’s clutches, but maybe Ciel would agree to help find him.

“Of course.” He led the way to their laundry room down the hall. Of course, it would have top-of-the-line appliances inside with a beautifully arranged assortment of detergent, softener pearls, and dryer sheets. Another Pinterest-perfect room.

“Do you have a maid or something?” I asked as I threw in the clothes and got the load started.

He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “No. Only the four of us have access to this apartment. We do have food deliveries for groceries and a few trusted contractors that deliver necessities or whatever we might want or need, but we bring them up from the ground floor and inside ourselves. Why?”

So, for some reason, Wynn had chosen to letmein. Only me. No wonder Ciel looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

“It’s difficult to imagine you, or any of the other Shadows, doing your laundry. Or cooking and cleaning, for that matter. It’snicein here, like the styled kind of nice. Not like a group of four guys live here,” I gestured around to the artfully arranged shelves. “Just a little different than I was expecting.”

Crazy, dangerous assassins were humans, too, I guess.

He smiled lightly. The more I saw that thing, the more my heart fluttered, and I craved even more.

“Oh, yes,” he chuckled. “Obi is a little bit of an interior designer. He enjoys making the space feel like home since we’re rarely all here at the same time. He’s also the main cook out of all of us and always makes sure there’s food stocked in the fridge. He makes this dish from Nigeria—jollof rice—for which I’d literally kill.”

I laughed, picturing the four of them chowing down on a big family dinner spread, just like Dad, Cas, and some of Dad’s higher-up bosses would do. They’d still be all business talk, but seeing those powerful men enjoy delicious food always made everything seemnormal. It was easy to forget my father ran one of the most prominent crime families in New York.

“Don’t worry.” Wynn leaned against the dryer, gaze lingering on my smile. His eyes flicked up to mine. “You’ll get used to the four of us soon.”

I swallowed, imagining myself and Cas sitting attheirdinner table. But it was only a daydream. “How’s Ciel?”

“He’s fine.” He sighed before nodding back toward the hallway. I followed him as he led me back to the kitchen. “He has work to do but wanted me to thank you for your help last night.”

I didn’t do much, but I nodded anyway. The feeling of Ciel’s hand in mine still hadn’t entirely disappeared, even after the night we’d had. And then somehow, that image of him standing in the living room, shirtless with his hair curling over the edges of his glasses and only wearing a pair of gray sweatpants thatmighthave shown an outline of his dick, became once against plastered to my eyes.Stop, Leona.You have bigger things to think about right now.

How the hell was I attracted to three separate men at once? And where was that attraction headed?

I didn’t have time right now to figure it out, but something told me I’d have to get answers to that question soon. “Did he say anything else?”

It was obvious he could tell what I was fishing for. What did Ciel say about me?