Page 69 of Shades of Ruin

“And walk around looking like I’ve got a thick, Ashford-sized dildo up my ass all the damn time like you do? No thanks.”

“I’ve warned you not to fuck with?—”

“Ever wonder why you’re so damn touchy, Satan? Hell, Ashford and I have brushed tips and neither of us gets squeamish about it. You’re telling me the owner of the most notorious sex club in Chicago is too straight and narrow to take a fucking dick joke?”

I know what his problem is—he was raised by a piece of shit father who taught him that big boys don’t cry or take it in the ass. After a decade of reigning over a kink kingdom, you’d think he’d have outgrown his father’s bigotry by now. But sometimes it’s a fight to the death to escape the warped lessons our parents beat into us.

“Leave him alone, Greyson,” Ashford says in Finn’s defense. “Not everyone enjoys your glowing sense of humor.”

“What the hell is going on?” Angélica asks finally, her dark eyes pinning each person in our little circle of chaos. “Is this some kind of twisted orgy where you all hate-fuck each other?”

“Excellent question, angel,” I answer with a laugh. “Karaand Ashford—definitely. Kara and myself—not a chance.” I shoot a knowing glance at Ashford, who’s still holding a grudge because he thinks I want his fiancée. “Ashford and I—almost, if you don’t count the girl who was in between us.” Kara releases a small gasp of shock atthatdisclosure. Oops.

“Finn and I—Hell would freeze over before that happened. Finn and Ashford—” My eyes dart between the two masked men who obviously share more than brotherly love, even if they won’t admit it. “Well, we’re all just holding our breath waiting for that to turn cataclysmic, aren’t we?”

No one really seems bothered by my bold statement, apart from Finn, who I imagine is turning a furious shade of red beneath his mask.

“So when did you two get together?” Kara directs the question at Angélica, diffusing the situation with a grace I will never possess. “I could tell there was a spark between you and Grey at the restaurant. That’s why he was so cruel to you. It’s the only way sadistic bastards like him know how to show their true feelings.”

“Hey, thanks a lot,” I cut in.

Kara levels me with a glare as stern as any Dom at the club. “I think we’ve heard quite enough from the men in this room. I was askingher.”

I watch Angélica track the time in her head, and I wonder where she marks the start of our relationship. The day I met her at Pandemonium and shoved a knife up her cunt? The day I bent her over my desk and spanked her? The day after when I fucked her on the kitchen counter? The day our blood intertwined with broken glass? The day I took her to Paris and showed her the places I love? The day I whipped her at Sucre and told her I loved her?

“Halloween last year,” Angélica answers at last, and my heart swells in my chest.

She knows she’s been mine since the day I laid eyes on her.

Kara looks startled. “Last year—but Grey took me to the restaurant a few months ago.” Kara’s wide eyes are brimming with fury and devastation as they flash to mine. “Gavin Greyson, if you and I screwed around while you two were together, so help me God, I will rip you a fucking new one right now. ”

“You know, I think I actually like her,” Angélica says, looking up at me with a smug grin.

Great, now both of them will gang up on me.

“She has her moments,” I admit. “Nowisn’t one of them.”

Angélica turns back to Kara, the smile on her lips warm and genuine. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said Halloween. We didn’t stay together after that one night. It took months before we could even have a civil conversation or be in the same room without hating each other. But somehow, he possessed me from that very first moment, and I’ve belonged to him ever since.”

“That’s very romantic,” Kara gushes, and she looks like she’s about to throw her arms around both of us. Ashford senses it too and wraps a hand around her waist to hold her back.

“He has his moments,” Angélica quips, echoing my own words. We share a stolen glance, and I try my best to wordlessly convey how much I’d like to take her to my room and fuck her raw right now.

“Well, I never thought I’d see the day Greyson lost his heart and his balls to a woman,” Ashford says with a hearty laugh that is entirely at my expense. “Welcome to the family, Angélica. I’m Caden.” He slaps his hand on Finn’s golden shoulder. “This is Finn, the owner of Pandemonium.” He bends down and plants a possessive kiss on Kara’s cheek. “And this is my fiancée Kara, although you seem to have already met.”

“Briefly,” Angélica agrees with a touch of resentment, and I can’t hold back a wince. I imagine she has more than one reasonto avoid the memory of the night I brought Kara to Grey’s. “But how did you know my name?”

Ashford looks too damn smug, and I’m pretty certain whatever he’s about to say will piss me off.

“I remember Finn mentioning that Greyson was going mad trying to discover the name of a girl he met at the club last Halloween. Finn and I had a laugh about someone digging herself under the skin of our most pain in the arse sadist. The girl’s name was Angélica Flores, and I’m going to assumeyou’rethe one who had the honor of fucking up Greyson’s perfect record of not giving a shit.”

That slimy cunt. I knew he was keeping Angélica’s name from me on purpose. And one day, I’ll think of a way to repay Finn the fucking favor.

“Great,” I interrupt, knowing this conversation is headed in an uncomfortable direction, “now that everyone has been introduced, I’m going to take my girl upstairs and remind her of what my cock feels like in her ass. If you’ll excuse us.”

I don’t give Angélica a second to protest before I’m dragging her toward the stairs.

Chapter Thirty-Three

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