Page 55 of Sinful Like Us

I shake my head in apology, my muscles tensed up, and Eliot starts telling us that we need to eat with our hands and divide the meat in half.

Ben swerves towards the bar with urgency. “Moffy!” He speaks in fluent Spanish to Maximoff, and I can’t translate that much.

I wouldn’t be able to list off which other Cobalts know Spanish. Not all of them advertise the depth of their knowledge.

I’m just positive that Jane only knows French.

Charlie rolls his eyes in aggravation. “Maximoff can’t change this, Ben.”

We’re heading towards a clusterfuck.

Behind me, I sense Maximoff standing up from the barstool. He talks to Ben in Spanish, and Beckett is rubbing his younger brother’s back in soothing circles.

“Can’t you just skip this card, Charlie?” Maximoff gestures to the table. “Ben is uncomfortable—”

“Life is uncomfortable,” Charlie sneers. “Stop trying to save him.”

Maximoff glowers. “Jesus, man.” He tries to cool off before igniting a war with Charlie that they’ve put to rest this past year.

Jane leans in and whispers to me, “We should eat before this worsens.”

“Copy.” I pinch the bloodied heart and pop it in my mouth like candy.Gristly.I grind hard.It’s not filet mignon, but I’m not slow to chew and swallow. I grab another heart before Jane can even touch one.

Ben slumps back, sullen, and he angles into Beckett. Me eating also diffuses a Charlie and Maximoff feud.

Jane plugs her nose while dropping meat on her tongue. She squirms. “Eh, that is…not… pleasant.” She coughs in a fist. “The odor isfoul.”

“Hold on.” I pop three more nugget-sized hearts in my mouth and stand up. I chew on my hike to the bar. I have blinders.

I’m not looking at Tony. But I hear him snickering.Fuck him.

I mimewaterto my brother.

Banks extends his body halfway over the bar. Reaching the fridge beneath. On stools, Farrow and Oscar start clapping for me. Like I’m in some fucked-up, backwoods hot dog eating contest.

The corner of my mouth almost lifts.

“Fucking SFO,” an Epsilon bodyguard snarls under his breath.

I swallow down the meat, a lump left in my throat, and after Banks throws me a water bottle, I return to Jane. Unscrewing the cap, I pass her the water.

“Merci.” She drinks, and I notice that she’s only eaten one heart.

I finish off mine in under two minutes. Wiping my fingers off with a napkin, I’m forcing myself not to touch her portion.Don’t do it.

But I want to put my girlfriend out of her fucking misery.

Her eyes water. “God. I despise this,” she mutters under her breath.

I reach for the carton. “I can eat it—”

“No, no,” she says quickly, then pauses, palm to her mouth. “I can… I can do my share.”

Jane is an alpha. I love that she’s in this with me. But she has limits like everyone, and the fact that she’s ignoring themconcernsthe holy hell out of me.

My brows knit. “What about delegating?” She likes to delegate tasks on strengths and weaknesses. She can’t stomach bloodied rabbit. I can.

“This is different.” She chews slowly, then swallows. “I have to do my equal part.”