Page 16 of Six
“That sweet ass needs some spanking,” my brother continues.
“And I’ve also heard enough. Somebody kill me,” Rami whines, looking skyward.
“Too easy,” Gabe mutters.
“Promises of sex and death. This is the right moment,” Raph states cryptically and then slides a small squared black box on the table next to Michael’s hand. His eyes widen and his fingers stop just a breath from the velvety box.
“What’s happening?” Linda asks, her voice trembling. Meg’s hands are clasped over her chest.
Does that box contain what I think it does?
“I think our psycho brother is about to lose his balls,” Uri states drily.
Gabe shakes his head. “That’s too mundane for our foster bro. There’s probably an ear in there.”
“A human one?” Sari asks.
Linda tsks, joining the conversation. “The box is too small to hold an ear. Maybe a phalange.”
“A galago’s ear would fit in there,” Rami sniffs back at her. The only thing he watches these days are documentaries about odd animals.
“A gala-what?” Uri asks, but everybody ignores him.
“A vile of blood would be more Raph’s style.” I lift a brow at Michael, and he blushes but agrees with me with a single nod.
“That’s so romantic,” Sari sighs.
“Is it?” Uri frowns at him.
“All of you fuckfaces shut the hell up,” Raph snarls.
Rami waves his hand toward him, unalarmed by Raph’s murderous glare. “And the psycho award goes to…”
“Isn’t this supposed to be a romantic moment?” Michael cuts him off, turning to Raph. “Unless I grandly misread the whole thing and your brothers are right about…”
“We are not romantic. Never were,”Raph states matter-of-factly.
“True.” The smile Michael aims at him is dripping with love.
And I find myself wondering what it would feel like to let someone see me. The real me, down to the darkest bits. To open up so completely, willingly letting down all my defenses, and stand there naked.
I’ve never let myself contemplate the possibility of finding someone to share my life with, for too many fucking obvious reasons. The discovery of my family’s bloody business being a small one compared to the fact that I’m a fucking ticking time bomb ready to explode and destroy everything in my path.
“Michael, you are mine.” Raph’s steady words suddenly resound in the silent dining room. And I force myself to let go of those time-wasting thoughts and concentrate on what’s happening.
“You have been since the first moment I saw you. These last few months spent with you have consolidated and tightened the strong ties that hold us together.”
“Ties…kinky,” Rami mumbles, getting a slap behind the head from Michael.
“I want to fuck you, only you, and often, every single day.” A small happy laugh leaves Michael’s trembling lips. “I want to be with you, in you, always. Breath to breath. Eye to eye. Skin to skin. You will marry me and belong to me forever, Michael Caldwell.”
I snort. It sounds more like an order than a proposal. “Shouldn’t you ask him, Raph?”
“And give him the choice to say no?” Uri chuckles derisively.
“Are you fucking deaf?” Raph addresses us without taking his eyes off his boyfriend. “Michael is mine already. This is only to tell all the fuckers out there that if they try to touch what’s mine, they’ll end up missing one or both hands…if they’re lucky. Huh, babe?”
Raph’s possessive and brutal statement doesn’t scare Michael in the least. On the contrary, he looks like he’s about to melt on his lap.
