Page 42 of De Luca: The Sinister Game

“You’re leaving us?” My brother asks, since I’ve apparently lost the ability to speak.

She nods as she fingers the straps on her duffle bag. “Yeah. You know, while the memories are good. Before everything gets messy.”

I motion for her to come over to me and, much to my surprise, she does. She stands in front of me, her beautiful lashes fluttering lightly as she lifts her gaze to mine.

“You aren’t leaving, Pretty Girl. As much as I don’t delight in holding you hostage, I will. Neither of us is prepared to watch you walk away.”

“Drake,” she says in a whisper, “I can’t stay. I’m afraid.”

She’s running scared.

“The only way to get through fear is to walk through it.”

Her eyes dart between Dante and me. “How long can things last like this? Will I be made to choose? I couldn’t. It’d be an impossible choice.”

I take her face in my hands and stare at her as I take in her beautiful features, “Why choose, Pretty Girl? We aren’t asking you to. We don’t want you to. You have two men that want to keep you permanently and give you everything you’ve ever wanted. The only choice you have to make is whether or not you’re here consensually. I promise you, no matter what, you aren’t leaving. You’re ours. Time won’t change that. Nothing will.”

Unshed tears fill her eyes as she tries to blink them away. “I don’t want to go, but I don’t want to stay and wait for you to kick me out.”

“Pretty Girl, I don’t know how to make it any more clear to you. Nobody is going anywhere. You want one of us to marry you? Give you a fucking house full of babies? Guaranteed, my brother will do it in a heartbeat.”

She jerks away from me and I let her go, “I know Dante loves me, he told me. I’m not worried about losing him. It’s you. Losing either of you would be a cut so deep I’d never recover.”

I could just tell her she’s not leaving, end of the conversation, but I don’t want it to be that way if it doesn’t have to be. My brother is watching me like I’m the person standing between him and the puppy he’s always wanted. I ignore him and focus on her. “What do you need, Natalia? What do you want from me?”

She storms toward me, slams her fists into my chest and screams, “I want to fucking matter. I want to be enough for both of you.”

Dante says, “She wants you to say you love her.”

I glance at my brother, “Call Nico,” and grab her wrists, pulling her close to me.

“Baby, I’m not a word guy. I’ll never write you fucking poetry comparing your hair to the sun. You do matter. You are enough for us. Pretty Girl, you’re fucking everything. When Nico gets here and tattoos your name on my fucking dick, maybe then you’ll see there’s only one woman I want. This is not temporary. It’s permanent.”

She looks up at me and giggles, “Nobody would ever write poetry and compare my hair to the sun. My hair is dark, and the sun is yellow. And tattooing your dick? You really are a psycho, Drake.”

Leaning down, I bite her lip, drawing blood, and lick the coppery taste from her. “I’m the same psycho that’s going to spank your ass for the attitude you're giving me, Pretty Girl.”

Dante’s phone chimes and he says, “Shit. Giada is in labor. We have to go.”

Natalia grins at me like she won a contest. “Saved by the bell.”

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll get that ass later in a way you won’t see coming.”

Of course, she does not know what I’m talking about and once she does, it’ll be too late.

Natalia

I’m not the woman that’s dying to have babies. In fact, I’ve never wanted children. I’m excited for my best friend to become a mom because she wants it desperately. I’ve just never seen the draw to it. Maybe it has something to do with my upbringing. Bebe certainly didn’t seem to enjoy having children. Even Pax and Nicole seemed to annoy her endlessly. While she didn’t hate them like me, I wouldn’t say she was warm with them either. Some people should not be allowed to procreate. I think I’d be a shit mom, so when Drake offered to fill the house with babies, that’s not what I wanted. It’s why I have an implant for birth control. I'm curious about how Giada's baby will affect me. I’ve never even held a baby before and I wonder if some maternal need will kick in after their baby is born.

It warms my heart that she was asking for me, even though she has Domenic there with her. Maybe things won’t change as much as I’ve feared they will. Drake is driving the truck while I sit in the middle between my two men. I gasp when Dante reaches his hand under my shirt and rubs his thumb over the thin fabric covering my nipple. Leaning down, he sucks on my neck while his hand causes wetness to pool in my panties.

“Dante.”

He groans in my ear, “Are you going to be a good girl and come like this for me?”

I whimper, “I don’t know if I can.”

Drake complains, “Why am I always stuck with driving duty?”

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