Page 14 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family

“What are you doing here?” I asked, keeping my voice low because the last thing I needed was to have these rich ass people all in my business.

“You don’t think I belong here.”

Honestly, I didn’t have a damn clue. I barely knew anything about him.

I folded my arms. “Do you?”

“You’re here, which means I belong.”

Before I could respond, a familiar voice cut in.

“Emir!”

I turned just in time to see Cress heading our way with smile on her face. She barely acknowledged me as she hugged Emir like they knew each other well.

“It’s good to see you. I wasn’t sure if you could make it but I wanted to personally thank you for your family’s generosity,” she said. “The donation means the world to us.”

I blinked.

Wait… what?

Emir nodded and smiled sexily. “Happy to support. The company does good work.”

“It really does and to have such strong backing from people like you and your family makes a difference. We appreciate it more than I can say.”

She delivered another smile before excusing herself, heading toward a small group near the back of the room.

Meanwhile, I was stuck on what the hell had just happened. I turned back to Emir with a brow lifted. “Since when are you a benefactor of the arts?”

“For awhile.”

Okay I need more because what the fuck…

Who is this man?

“Emir.”

“The ballet’s Black-owned. We support.”

I stared at him, trying to make sense of the man I knew, the one who had pushed his way into my space with confidence and chaos, with the one standing in front of me now.

“You just casually drop donations to dance companies?”

“When they’re worth it.”

I studied him, still completely thrown and not sure what to do with this new layer of him. “When did you donate?”

I narrowed my eyes when they locked on his.

“My family has for years. I personally donated when I found out you were in charge of the event.”

What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

Emir watched me carefully.

“I don’t like that you know so much about me and I don’t know a damn thing about you,” I admitted.

“Do you want to know about me?”

I did but I wasn’t sure what knowing him would mean.

“Yes.”

“What time will you be done with work today?” he asked.

“By six. I have to go back to the office after this to take care of a few more things.”

“I’ll come get you at eight.”

“For what?”

“If you want to get to know me then you have to be introduced to my world.”

His world.

I arched my brow in a silent challenge.

Emir chuckled. “Not that world.” His eyes dropped and scanned my face. “Not yet. For now, just the normal shit,” he said smoothly.

I gave him a skeptical look. “You do normal shit?”

“Even twisted people do normal shit, Baylyn.”

I grinned and shrugged because how the hell was I supposed to know what his life looked like?

“Eight,” he repeated. “Be ready.”

Before I could respond, his hand lifted and the back of his knuckles grazed over my cheek. He walked away and I stood there, pulse racing, knowing damn well my world had just shifted again, because of him…

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I got in Emir’s car that night, but it damn sure wasn’t this.

We pulled through the gates of a private estate.

This also wasn’t just anyone’s house because who the fuck lived with all this technology.

The security system was so discreet that I barely noticed the surveillance cameras tucked along the perimeter of the property lined with neatly-trimmed hedges and landscape lighting that led up the house.

I was seriously questioning where he had taken me.

It was nice but not excessive and I was praying this wasn’t his parents’ home because what the fuck? That would have been a little much.

Emir rested one arm on the steering wheel and glanced at me. “You good?”

I turned toward him with my brows pinched. “This is your house?”

“No.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Then whose?—”

Before I could finish, the front door opened and a figure stepped outside, pulling on a hoodie as he stepped onto the porch.

He was tall, similar build to Emir and more relaxed.

The similarities that existed between them registered.

Same beard, same chocolate skin, and damn near the same cut.

They had the same damn face. There were subtle differences but they looked pretty much identical.

Shit, there are two of them? This had to be his brother and why they hell was God blessing his family with all these fine ass men.

At least I could relax some because I wasn’t meeting his parents, but this was still his family, and somehow, a brother seemed just as intimate.

I glanced back at Emir, who was already stepping out of the car.

The realization hit me a second later. I opened the door and got out before he made it to my side.

Emir moved back letting his eyes scan my face before he glanced over his shoulder. “Go ahead, we’re coming.”

His brother grinned and his eyes bounced between us but he moved away from the door and Emir’s focus landed back on me.

“You good?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect this .”

“You said you wanted to know me, right?”

I nodded and he reached for my hand leading the way to the door. I had no idea what I was walking into but I followed him anyway. The second we were inside, I smiled. There was the smell of food in the air that made my stomach growl.

The space was nice. Dark hardwood floors, an open-concept kitchen with matte black fixtures. There was a massive sectional taking up most of the living room but it wasn’t just aesthetics that felt good. The vibe was welcoming.

I followed Emir through the living room, feeling the shift in the atmosphere the second his brothers acknowledged my presence. Okay not just two of them, there were three, fine ass brothers. This was entirely unfair.

One was at the kitchen counter, sleeves pushed up exposing muscles and skin littered with ink while his fingers moved over his phone like he was handling something urgent. He glanced up and his brown eyes assessed me in an intimidating way.

The one who opened the door had already dropped onto the sectional, stretching out with a drink in his hand, his expression was vaguely amused.

“Yair.” Emir motioned to the brother in the kitchen.

“Kades.” He eyed the one on the sofa. “She’s with me,” he stated and neither of them questioned me being there.

His brothers exchanged a look before Yair slid his phone onto the counter and stood, stretching lazily before he spoke.

“Damn. Guess you’re special, huh?”

I raised a brow. “Why do you say that?”

Kades’ smirk deepened. “Because this doesn’t happen.”

Emir delivered a warning look to both of them but was smiling.

“The fuck you looking at us like that for. You don’t do this.” Kades pointed at me.

“Shut the fuck up,” Emir muttered to his brother before turning to me. “You hungry?”

“Um, yes but shouldn’t you give them more than she’s with me?”

Kades chuckled. “Yeah, you’re definitely special.”

I glared at Emir walking toward the kitchen because not only did he bring me to meet his brothers, this wasn’t normal for him.

“So what’s the deal?” Yair asked, pouring a drink from the open bottle on the counter.

Emir lifted a shoulder. “No deal.”

Yair took down some of his drink and his eyes darted between me and Emir.

After a minute, he nodded with a smirk. “Yeah, aight.”

That was it. No interrogation. Emir leaned against the counter, watching with that cocky grin.

“What?”

“You expected something else?” he asked, like he was in my head.

I shrugged. “Yeah. I did.”

He chuckled and I had a feeling this was only the beginning.

Dinner with Emir’s brothers was normal. I was entertained watching the three of them laughing and joking in ways that exposed that they knew each other so well they barely had to speak to communicate.

Kades spent the first half hour at the stove, flipping steaks in a cast-iron pan while Yair moved between the kitchen island and fridge, grabbing things without having to ask where they were.

Emir had settled onto the sofa and I was tucked comfortably at his side, and when I said tucked, I meant fully wrapped in his space.

His arm was draped over my shoulder and he tugged my leg over his thigh. A constant reminder that I was here with him. He kept me close which felt natural and easy .

“Damn, Mir, she’s not gonna disappear. Let her breathe for a minute.” Kades turned from the stove, smirking. “How the hell did you manage to pull this one anyway? She’s pretty as fuck.”

Emir grinned lifting a glass to his mouth. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kades shook his head, setting plates on the counter. “I got eyes, muthafucker.” He smirked and looked at me. “No disrespect, bruh but she’s out of your league.”

Emir laughed and his grip on my thigh tightened for a second. “Jealous?”

Yair, who had been quiet for most of the meal prep, spoke up. “More like confused.” He leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “What exactly did he say to convince you to give him a shot?”

I raised a brow, glancing up at Emir, who looked amused as hell.

“I’m persistent,” he said. “But you know that. When have I ever not gotten what I wanted.”

Kades snorted. “Yeah, we know that. But what did you actually say?”

“Don’t worry about all that. Just know I got her.”

I glanced at him and then moved my eyes to his brothers. “He just kept showing up until I felt sorry for him.”

Kades laughed hard. “Damn, pity grab. That shit makes sense.”

“Especially after you saw something you shouldn’t have,” Yair added.

I tensed and Emir chuckled, leaning in, his lips brushed my ear when he spoke, “They know how we met. I don’t keep secrets from my brothers. They’re just fucking with you.”

“Do they…” I made a gun motion with my hands and his eyes locked on me.

“Yeah, family business.” He winked and my eyes immediately darted to both of them. They looked so… normal . This was normal for them. When my eyes lifted back to Emir, he winked and moved on like I wasn’t supposed to care that I was surrounded by killers, and truthfully, I didn’t.

Dinner was easy and watching the three of them was amusing. As much as they shared the same face, their personalities were very different. Kades was the playboy. That much was clear based on the way his phone was blowing up all night and the few conversations I overheard when he accepted calls.

Emir was laid back and very easy going while Yair was like a ghost. He had a quiet presence. You could easily forget that he was there until he spoke up but not because he was easy to overlook. It was more like he intentionally liked to fly under the radar.

After our plates were empty, it was a group effort to get everything cleaned up. They told me I could chill but I insisted on helping. While I cleared the counters the three of them emptied trash, rinsed dishes and stacked them in the dishwasher.

This was unreal because who the hell had three fine ass sons like this?

“What’s up, Baylyn?” Kades startled me, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Huh?”

He grinned. “You’re staring at us all weird and shit.”

“I’m just trying to make sense of this.”

“Of what?” Emir asked, looking up as he tied the trash bag.

“How you look like this.” I flicked my wrist in their direction. “All of you. Do your parents run a genetics lab or something?” I frowned and Yair laughed, hard.

“Damn, Mir. Your girl is crushing on us.”

I frowned at Yair. “No I’m not.”

Kades chuckled. “He’s just fucking with you.”

“That shit ain’t funny, chill, Ya,” Emir warned and when I looked at him he was smiling.

“Strong genes,” Kades said. “It’s crazy as hell though because we look so much alike.”

“You really do. I swear y’all could be triplets.” I admitted and Emir stepped in front of me, caging me between his body and the counter.

“But you know the difference, right?”

I smiled slowly. “Yep.”

Yair shook his head. “This muthafucker is all sensitive and shit.”

Emir smiled but didn’t bother looking at his brother. “Nah, I’m not. When it counts, she only sees me.”

Kades moved past Emir and picked up the trash bag he’d just finished tying. “Yair’s fighting later,” he said casually. “You coming?”

Emir glanced at me before answering. “Yeah. We’re going.”

I frowned. “What do you mean, fighting?”

Emir’s eyes shifted to mine. “You’ll see.”

I raised a brow. “That’s not an answer.”

“You’ll just have to trust me.”

He had a way of dropping things in my lap, giving me just enough information to keep me intrigued but never enough to prepare me. And each time I acted like my brain didn’t work properly because I was always down.