Page 113 of Shameless Royalty

Giovanni chuckles deeply, shaking his head. “You do, though. Look at how you walk, how you talk. All sharp edges and authority, like you expect people to obey you without question.”

Konstantin leans slightly forward, his eyes glinting with rare amusement. “And they do.”

I shake my head stubbornly, dragging a hand down my face, trying desperately to ignore Mihai’s obvious delight at my suffering. “This is complete bullshite.”

Mihai finally lets out a low, amused chuckle, lips twitching as he takes a lazy drag from his cigarette, looking entirely too satisfied. “Is it, though?”

I glare at him fiercely, jaw clenched. “I fuckin’ hate you.”

He snickers openly, unbothered as he blows smoke toward the ceiling. “No, you don’t.”

I huff out a frustrated breath, tipping my head back roughly against the couch cushion, closing my eyes with a groan. “This is exactly why I didn’t wanna tell you arseholes.”

The soft laughter that fills the room settles something inside my chest, even as embarrassment continues to prickle under my skin. It might’ve gone entirely differently than I’d planned, but fuck—I wouldn’t trade these bastards for anything.

Nikolai claps me on the back. “Come on, man. It’s not like we’re surprised. I mean, you’re what—twenty-five? And the only time we’ve ever seen you with women was when you were faking it at parties.”

Giovanni nods. “Yeah, even then, you always looked bored as hell.”

Mihai exhales smoke, shaking his head. “Not bored, exactly. More like... waiting for it to be over.”

Konstantin, who I swear is just here for the entertainment at this point, nods once. “I did always think you weren’t particularly interested in any of the women throwing themselves at you.”

I rub a hand down my face. “You lot are fuckin’ unbearable.”

Giovanni shrugs. “You’re just mad because we figured it out before you said anything.”

I scoff. “If you knew, why didn’t anyone say anythin’?”

Nikolai raises an eyebrow. “What, like we were supposed to go up to you one day and be like,‘Hey, Connor, you seem like you might be into dick’?”

I grimace. “Jaysus fuckin’ Christ.”

Mihai chuckles. “That would’ve been a hell of a conversation.”

I shake my head, still reeling from this entire goddamn conversation. “I hate all of you.”

“Yeah, yeah. We love you too, Cunningham.” Nikolai smirks. “Honestly, the fact that you’re a kinky bastard is way more shocking than you being gay.”

Giovanni chuckles. “Yeah, we’ve known you were a freak in the sheets for years.”

Konstantin, still looking slightly confused, shakes his head. “I don’t see why it would change anything.”

It doesn’t. It shouldn’t. But still, hearing them say it—hearing the casual way they accept it—it makes something ease inside me.

I huff a laugh, shaking my head. “Fuckers.”

Mihai grins. “Took you long enough.”

My shoulders finally lose some of their tension as I slump back into the sofa, reaching again for my whiskey glass. The ice clinks softly against the sides, a tiny, familiar sound that steadies my nerves. My heartbeat still thuds sharply beneath my ribs,because there’s more I need to get out—more I’ve been keeping bottled inside me far too fucking long.

Exhaling slowly, I glance back up and force the words out. “Yeah, well. There’s more.”

Giovanni’s brow lifts with genuine curiosity, his dark eyes alight with amusement as he settles deeper into his chair, swirling the whiskey in his glass lazily. “More than you being a gay sadist? This I gotta hear.”

I pause again, the hesitation briefer this time, but heavy, nonetheless. My jaw tightens slightly, and my chest feels too tight as I finally force out the one thing that’s been clawing mercilessly at my insides for months. “It’s about Malachi Dawson.”

Instantly, the atmosphere shifts, a palpable weight settling over the room. Mihai, already fully aware of my secret, remains unaffected, merely watching the others with quiet interest. But the rest? Their reactions are sharp and visceral; I watch closely as the casual amusement drains from their faces, replaced swiftly by hard, guarded attention.

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