Page 49 of Midnight Wedding

“You’re serious?”

“Deadly.”

“What if I just said that in the heat of things?”

“I’ll be disappointed.” His hand moves until he shoves his thumb into my mouth. His face lingers inches from mine. “Do you want to disappoint me, baby?”

I shake my head slightly, heart racing. This guy is a fucking psycho. I suck his thumb, and that insane smirk drives me absolutely freaking wild.

The messed-up thing is I don’t care how crazy he is.

I’d let him fuck my ass if he asked right about now.

If he keeps getting me off like that, I’ll do just about anything for him, and I don’t even care if that’s pathetic.

“That’s my girl.” He pulls his thumb from my mouth with a pop. “Now, I have work to do. Don’t get in trouble.”

He leaves me alone in the library, my clothes a mess, my face sticky with my own pussy wet, and my pulse hammering between my legs.

I guess I’m getting an eyebrow piercing.

Chapter 17

Arsen

Smoke curls from half a dozen cigars. It hangs around the ceiling and pools near the recessed lighting. The conference room’s a low buzz of conversation between men I’ve known for most of my life. Uncles, cousins, important men in the Brotherhood. Tigran’s at my side, watching everyone with a deep frown. Since when did my normally lighthearted brother get so fucking dour?

I’m thinking about putting little holes all over my beautiful wife’s body.

She’ll look sexy with a lip ring. But we’ll get there eventually.

Waitstaff passes around more drinks. I let the men eat and have their fill before we get down to business. This is one of my favorite restaurants, a very nice place in the center of Federal Hill, the best neighborhood in the city. This group of thieves, killers, and thugs is going to eat and drink me into the poorhouse, but tonight’s important. I need them happy if it’s going to go well.

I call for order once the meal is cleared away. Cousin Razmik’s pleasantly drunk and telling a disgusting story about having a threesome with two German tourists. Sevan’s sitting next to him, a deep frown on his face, probably still brooding over the loss of his club. The men settle and all eyes turn toward me.

I stand and survey them. The most powerful men in the Brotherhood give me their undivided attention, but I don’t like the looks on their faces.

“You all know why I called this meeting.” I look at them all. I can’t even be annoyed at their displeasure. If I were in their positions, I’d feel the same way. “The war with Garen and Sona is going to heat up.”

There are some murmurs. Sevan sinks lower in his chair, glaring hard at his glass of wine.

“Patron, you know how much I respected your father,” Uncle Narek says. He’s from my mother’s side of the family. “When you took over, it was a shock, but I backed you without question. Your leadership has been steady, even in these difficult times. But I think I speak for everyone when I say, right now it feels like you’ve betrayed your brothers for a woman.”

His words hurt. I let them linger for a moment. More than one head nods in agreement. Coming from a lesser man, I might meet that kind of proclamation with violence, except Narek’s very well respected in the Brotherhood, and he’s been nothing but loyal since the beginning.

If I’m going to lead this family, I need to accept dissenting opinions.

“I understand that feeling, Uncle,” I say to him. “Here are the facts. My wife is pregnant. It wasn’t planned, but it happened,and I was raised to take responsibility for my actions. I offered Garen very good terms, generous really, in order to avoid this escalation. I made it clear that Lena was a surprise, and marrying her was not something I planned. Garen wasn’t interested in negotiating.”

“You already negotiated,” Michael calls out. He’s one of the up-and-coming cousins. “That’s why you were going to marry that other girl.”

“Garen could have come to the table. He understands that life isn’t always simple.”

“I just don’t understand why you would throw everything away for a girl,” Uncle Narek says. He sounds exasperated more than angry now.

“She’s giving me an heir. Would you rather I had a bastard child running around the city?”

“There are ways to handle unwanted brats,” Michael says loudly.

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