Page 19 of Bound by Them (Rose and Dagger #1)

Danica

I was surprised when Granddad asked me to accompany him to the Layton house this evening. Even more surprised that I’m eager to go. I’ll see where Edmund grew up, see the home and headquarters of one of San Esteban’s crime families.

I mean, I know what Granddad’s house looks like, obviously. But how will the Laytons’ house compare?

As we pull up in front of it, I gawk like a tourist. This looks more like a palace than a house. A long, paved drive curves up to the front of the house and circles around an ostentatious fountain.

I know my family has money. I’ve never wanted for anything growing up. Hell, I don’t even have to work at the ice cream shop if I don’t want to—I do it because I like numbers and I like Isabelle.

But the Layton wealth is so out there, so visceral, it makes me feel cheap. I tug on the hem of my peach, A-line dress. Granddad wanted me to look nice, but I feel like I’m about to visit with royalty or some fancy-ass president. I’m massively underdressed.

“This wealth is a show, Danica.” Granddad eyes me from across the back seat. “Don’t let it intimidate you.”

I nod. I want to be tough and say I don’t let shit intimidate me, but one, it isn’t true, and two, I can’t say it in Russian and Granddad doesn’t let me swear in English.

A man in a suit lets us in and leads us past an overdecorated living room and up some stairs. At the end of the hall is an open door. Edmund and Troy are standing in the hallway. Both step forward when they see us.

“Sergey, sir, it’s nice to see you again.” Edmund steps forward, hand outstretched.

Granddad greets him warmly and turns to Troy to shake his hand as well. “It’s good to see both of you boys again. Would you be so kind as to wait out here and keep my Danica company?”

“Of course, Sergey.” Edmund smiles, but his eyes flicker toward the open door.

Granddad claps him on the shoulder before going inside. The door shuts after him.

I fold my arms across my chest, annoyed. Why did Granddad want me to come with him, if he’s just going to leave me in the hall?

Edmund scowls at the closed door. “I should be in there.”

“Yeah, well.” I shrug. “I don’t know why I’m here at all.”

“Unlike us,” Edmund says as he steps closer, “at least you’re very pretty to look at.”

“Nobody’s looking at me out here.” I scowl at the closed door like Edmund was doing a second ago.

“We’re looking at you.” Troy steps closer, next to Edmund.

I look up at the two of them. Troy’s deep brown eyes seem to drink me in. Edmund’s green eyes stare at me like I’m a fascinating new toy he wants to play with…or break.

A shiver of danger ripples through me. I feel safe, but also a little like prey. And I must be truly mental, because I enjoy this feeling of uncertainty.

“What did you say, anyway?” Troy leans in. “Yesterday at the restaurant. You said something to your grandfather in Russian.”

I smirk. “I said he was being stupider than a horse’s dick.”

Edmund and Troy laugh, and I warm thoroughly, as if they’ve just praised my good work. Why do I want to impress them so much? We agreed any form of relationship is stupid and we aren’t going to do it. Looks like the force of my crush surpasses good, common sense.

“I like this dress.” Edmund plays with the little bow at my sleeve.

“Hey…I thought we agreed to keep our distance.” I take a step back, but I’m already up against the wall. There’s nowhere to go…and nowhere I’d rather be.

Edmund grins the tiniest of grins, his lips hooking up at one corner. “The problem with the so-called agreement is each time I see you, my resolve melts away.”

“You agreed.” I put out my palm and press it against his chest. To shove him away, or keep him closer? I don’t know. “You agreed we’d stay apart.”

“Did I, though?”

I no longer remember. He’s so close, I can breathe in his soft, spicy cologne. What’s in that cologne, anyway? Pheromones? The scent goes straight from my nose to my clit, and that shouldn’t be possible.

He slides his hand down my arm to take my hand. “Danica. After their meeting, you’ll come home with us, right? Now that our families aren’t fighting. We can go swimming again. You liked swimming with us.”

The memory of what we did in that pool and outside it takes over my brain. Their hands, their mouths. It’s like I’m experiencing it all over again.

I shake my head. “I don’t know—I need to think.”

Edmund’s green eyes glitter. “Sure. Go ahead and think about what we did that night.”

As if I could stop. Flashes of them standing nude in front of the pool, about to jump in, fill my head. I see Edmund’s cock, firm in front of my mouth just before my lips make contact and I can taste him.

“I’m thinking about it, too.” Edmund nudges my chin with his fingertip, tilting my face toward his.

He didn’t shave today. I want to touch his cheeks and chin, see how soft or scratchy his whiskers are.

No. Hands at your sides, Danica. Get it together.

But then Troy takes a step closer. Fucking ferrets on ferris wheels, I’m lost. Done. Cooked. They both smell so good. I tilt my head back like I’m waiting for them to ravish me.

The door opens and both men take a step back, smug looks on their faces.

I flip them off just as my granddad steps out of the room, followed by Edmund’s grandfather, Francis, and a man who I guess is his dad, since he’s a replica of the grandfather, two or three decades younger.

Granddad tilts his head at me, puzzled. “Is everything all right, Danica?”

“Yes, yes.” I clear my throat and smooth my hands down my dress, hoping he can’t see the way I’m shaking. “Did you have a nice, um, talk?”

“We did.” He nods. “We came to a decision, and it’s very important that we have your cooperation.”

I blink. “Of course, Granddad. What do you need?”

“It concerns both you and Edmund, Danica,” Francis says. “Our families need to join together. It will make us stronger, both in business and in force, to keep the Vorsong Circle out of our city.”

Great. This is good news. Why does Granddad stare so hard at me, then? What do they need Edmund and me for? Community outreach? Publicity photos? What do crime families do to strengthen their alliances? I catch Edmund’s eye. He looks just as confused as I feel.

Francis gives me a benign smile. “To that end, our Edmund and the Aseyevs’ Danica will marry.”

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