Page 62 of Midnight Revelations

I lifted her under her ass and carried her into the kitchen to leave her on the counter, and cleared our plates. “Where the fuck is the dishwasher?”

“Seriously?” She watched me with wide eyes and a smile hovering on her lips.

I glared at her in return.

“You need a woman in your life to look after you,” she sassed like a smartass.

“Know any applicants?”

She winked and slid off the counter, taking the plates from my hands and opening a cupboard door to place them onto a rack. “Do I get the job?”

“Do you own a maid’s outfit?”

Lucrezia smiled like she had won the lottery. “No, but I’ll put it on my shopping list.”

Why was I even trying to resist her when she was slowly eroding my sanity? The best place to keep her safe was in my bed. No one would ever think to look for her there and I would tear anyone who tried to harm her apart, limb by limb.

“You sure about this?” I asked, tugging her until her body was flush with mine.

“I always have been, you’re the one trying to control everything and pushing me away. Let me stay, Ash.”

“Fuck it,” I muttered, slamming my lips into hers. She groaned, climbing me like a koala bear in heat. If Lucas Black was going to kill me, I may as well enjoy the last few moments of my life before he did. The ecstasy of being with Lucrezia would be worth the risk.

***

Chapter Twenty-One

Lucrezia

“It’s beautiful.” Cassandra held the tiara up, tentatively putting it on her head.

“Did you know that there are certain protocols with tiaras?” I asked. “Once you are loaned one by the Queen, no one else can wear it until you die. You’re not allowed to wear them before dinner unless you are at a wedding, and you can’t wear one before the age of twenty-one unless you’re at a wedding.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility for one piece of jewellery,” Cassandra joked.

She was nothing like I imagined. When I thought of Xavier getting married, I envisaged someone cold and arrogant. Cassandra was warm and funny and had a way of including people that made me feel like she had been in the family for years.

I helped her to fit the tiara, weaving her hair around the ends to hold it in place the way protocol dictated. It matched her dress, and made her into a princess for the day.

“You look beautiful. Xavier is a lucky man.” He was, because she was too nice for our family. Ash complained about his, but Papa was the head of an international group of misfits who created havoc wherever they went.

“Thank you.” Cassandra’s eyes were bright with excitement.

“Good luck, I’ll see you in the church.” I left her with her friend Megan and made my way through the back corridors of Papa’s estate to the small chapel where I remember sitting praying as a child. Back then I believed that everything could be fixed with prayer, including bringing a dead mother back from the grave.

The rest of the group was assembled waiting for us, but there was only one pair of eyes I was interested in watching me, and they belonged to the man who made my knees weak every time he looked at me.

“They’re nearly ready,” I said. “She loved her tiara.”

Xavier rolled his eyes. “I dread to think how much that is going to cost me.”

Ash laughed. “Since I’m the financial side of the business, I’ll invoice you.”

“Get your wallet ready, Zee. That man is a shark in negotiations.” Jordan slapped him on the shoulder on the way past.

Megan suited him, and was the light to his darkness. Jordan tended to watch her when she was distracted, love and longing in his eyes. He tried to resist her, but there was a magnetic attraction that left static energy in the room when he was close to her.

Ash winked at me before moving his attention back to talking to the minister. The two of them were deep in conversation, with the minister nodding with a frown on his face.

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