Page 173 of Nash

I’m eternally his.

He guides me across the room and settles on his throne, pulling me to sit on his lap. Axel’s throne is empty beside us. The other five are empty, too.

It’s just Nash and me learning to talk through this instead of him going into beast mode and me storming off like an angry belle.

This is love. This is acceptance.

This is the not-mafia-mafia life.

“Jace is in love with a married woman.” Nash reaches for my braid. He starts unraveling it. “That’s all I know. I swear.”

“Who? And are they having an affair or something?”

He chuckles at my interrogation. “No. I haven’t asked him, but Jace wouldn’t do that. That man is all about honor and vows. He loves her from afar, and I know how he feels.” His face softens. “How much it hurts and for so many years.”

I nuzzle my nose to his. “Like us.”

“Yes, like us, but not anymore.” Nash brushes his bearded lips over mine. “Youwillbe my wife soon. I won’t wait long, Vale. I’ll elope with you if I have to.”

“I know. I want to marry you tomorrow, but then I feel guilty because Alena’s going through so much, and Jace is hurting.”

“Alena will be okay,” he assures. “I underestimated her, and I should’ve known better. She’s strong like her mother was.” He winces. “But yes, Jace is hurting. He vowed to protect you, and he will. But I feel like we should protect him, too.”

My heart warms. I love this about Nash—he can sense someone else’s pain. “I feel the same way. I want to help him.”

“He’s too proud to let us help him.”

“Then what do we do? Because I can hunt this woman down and bitch-slap some sense into her. She’d be lucky to have Jace.”

His lips near mine. “Let me think about it while I kissmywoman.”

I let him kiss me. I let the heat rise between us before I realize his ruse.This sexy dickhead thinks he can make me forget my second question?

“What about Axel?” I nip his lip. “What’s going on with him?”

“I can’t tell you.”

I lift from our kiss. “You’re supposed to tell me everything.”

“No,” he answers, unraveling my other braid. “I’m supposed to love and protect you, and over dead bodies, I will. But I can’t tell you everything. Not on your timeline. That’s for your protection.”

“But Axel was asking about my sister.”

His eyes narrow. “You think I’d let someone harm your sister? Or her partners? And do you honestly think Axel would, too?”

I twist my lips. “You? No. Axel?” I pause before huffing, “Okay, fine. I trust that arrogant asshole with my life.”

“So trust us. Trust me. That’s how we work.” He lifts my gorgeous black diamond to his lips. “Because I’ll trust you. You’ll be Doctor Vale Monroe Allen, licensed sex therapist, and I’ll be your possessively protective husband who’ll trust his wife to help others have the best sex like we do.”

“God, you’re so sexy when you’re right.”

“I’ll bedamnsexy when I kill any of your clients who cross a line.”

“Nash,” I roll my eyes, “you can’t kill my clients. That will ruin my Google reviews.”

“Speaking of crossing lines.” His hand slides up my bare thigh, snaking under my skirt. The man is damn lucky I have a fashion fetish for schoolgirl uniforms. “I heard dirty girls love crossing lines.”

“Slow your kinky roll, my king.” I grab his hand on my hip. “Finish answering my question.”

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