Page 172 of Conquered

He gets up, all leisurely insouciance, and stalks towards me. He’s wearing some grey linen trousers without a shirt, and all of his inked up muscles are on display, distracting me to no end.

“Thank you, Princess,” he says once he reaches me, stepping close and pressing a light kiss against my lips.

“How long until you’re healed again?” I ask against his lips, his kiss setting a fire in my core. Having to wait for him is like the most delicious torture I’ve ever been through.

He chuckles, the sound seeming to vibrate right down to my clit, and a moan escapes my lips, passing into his.

“Another five weeks, maybe four. I’m a fast healer.”

I let out a shaky breath as he pulls away, stepping behind me to the palm-Christmas tree. The others have all gotten up, andthey too thank me, pressing kisses on my lips and making me feel so loved up it’s almost sickening.

“We each got you some other presents too, Princess,” Ash tells me as Loki takes my hand and leads me to take a seat on the sofa once more. From there, I spend the next forty-five minutes being absolutely spoiled rotten.

Kai gives me a book of American poetry, plus a huge bag of Bordelle lingerie; basques, harnesses, bras, bodies and thongs. I squeal, throwing myself in his arms, scraps of lace and straps flying everywhere.

Loki presents me with five—yes, fucking five!—Irregular Choice shoe boxes, all new arrivals including yellow Shirley Bass rainbows, rainbow dinosaur Nick of Time’s, and red Full House boots with gold stitching that reads ‘Queen of my own destiny.’ He also gets a shriek and a full tackle hug.

Jax gives me a gold pair of boxing gloves with matching wraps. The gloves have ‘Baby Girl’ written across the wrists, and Jax tells me that training starts when we get back. I’m a little more careful with his praise, sitting in his lap and kissing him when he growls that he’s not, and I quote, ‘a fucking pussy invalid.’ He also gives me several sets of silk cami and shorts PJs with a knowing smirk and a comment that they should see me through the next term.Ballbag.

Then, finally, Ash kneels in front of me, a medium-sized black velvet square box in his hands.

“If I didn’t know you better,Ice Knight, I’d say you have a flair for the dramatic,” I tease him, earning a small tilt of his lips as he opens the box so that I can see the gold collar and matching cuffs nestled in red silk inside. There’s a chain that links the cuffs, although they look like they can be separate too.

“Something to look forward to,” he tells me with a devilish grin that sends shivers cascading down my spine and causes my nipples to harden.

By the time we’re done, it’s lunchtime, and although it’s not a full Christmas dinner—it’s way too hot and all of us, bar Jax, are suffering from jet lag—there is a wonderful buffet laid out on the table for us by Mama Dewi as they call her. She’s an older Balinese lady, with a face as wrinkled as a walnut, and a wicked dirty laugh.

She lives with her family on the next island over, and the guys give her several gifts and kiss her weathered cheeks before she leaves. Ash tells me that she has been taking care of the Vanderbilts since he was in nappies, so when Julian let her go some years back, Ash employed her. Apparently, Julian owns a different island—fucking rich peple—but Cempadek belongs to all the guys outright.

Loki helps her down to the pier where a grandson is waiting with a boat to take her home for the day. When he returns, we all sit round the table and begin to tuck into the feast that she left for us.

Obviously, I show my appreciation for her cooking by way of moans and groans about how fucking awesome the food is, earning heated looks from the guys. Deciding to tone it down, otherwise I’ll never get to finish my meal, I turn to Jax who’s sitting next to me.

“How’s it all going, Jax?” I ask, looking him over and seeing that he’s not digging in like the rest of us, but is pushing his food around his plate which is unlike him. I worry my lower lip, a move which has Jax reaching out and tugging it from under my teeth.

“I’m okay, Baby Girl. Just not as hungry as I usually am at the moment, I guess,” he tells us, his thumb still brushing over my bottom lip. “Loss of appetite is normal. And I’ve been sleeping a lot. Again, all normal, so nothing to worry about.”

I still can’t help looking him over, in his loose sweatshorts and tank top. Is he looking slimmer? Maybe he’s not eating enough, and he does look really tired…

“Lilly,” he growls out, and the sound of my name in his deep voice is enough to shock me out of my spiralling thoughts. “Come here,” he tells me, scooting his chair out a little and patting his thigh, which still looks huge, to my relief.

I get up, grab my plate, and sit down on his lap, wiggling until I’m comfortable. His big palm comes to rest on my waist, and the tension flows out of my body at his touch. I’m completely lost to all these guys, dependent on them like I’ve never been before. A part of me knows it’s dangerous, especially given their families and the violent nature of their lives. But it’s too late now, we complete each other in a way that few ever get to experience, and if the sudden horrific death of my mum has shown me anything, it’s that life is too short not to take every blessing, every piece of love and hold on to it fast.

Taking a piece of satay chicken in my fingers, I twist in Jax’s lap until I’m facing him, holding up the morsel to his lips.

“Eat,” I command in a firm tone. He raises a brow, one side of his lips tilting in that almost smile of his, but does as I ask and opens his mouth, letting me slip the chicken in. “Good boy,” I tell him with a smirk of my own.

His fingers tighten on my waist, his other hand coming to rest on the apex of my thigh, over my dress. He applies a little pressure, enough to make my eyes widen and my breath catch. I can see by the gleam in his blue eyes that he’s letting me know who’s the boss here.

“Kai, any luck on finding out more about that picture?” Ash asks, interrupting our stare-off.

“What picture?” Jax enquires, turning his head to look at Ash, his forehead wrinkled.

“There’s a picture of Lilly’s mom in Chad’s study, with all of our moms at a Black Knight Corp gala,” Ash tells him, that look of unease back in his eyes.

“What? Why?” Jax asks, looking up at me.

“I don’t know, she never mentioned even coming to America,” I say, placing another bite into his mouth. “Let alone having any connection to your company.” And yes, I’m still a little pissed at being so out of the loop where she’s concerned.