“Alexander, you know I’ve shown respect regarding your position as the Underboss and will even more as the Don of this family. I’ve also cleaned up after you when you’ve lost your shit over being pushed by basically anyone. I’ve done so without giving you any advice, but this time, I’m going to cross that line. You deserve to fuck whoever you want, but Catherine Devereaux is likely the worst candidate you could have selected to become your prisoner for a day, a week, or a fucking year.”
“What the fuck are you trying to tell me?”
“That you need to keep your dick in your pants. At least until you know what the fuck you’re dealing with. Russo isn’t going to lay low for long. He thinks you murdered his son.”
“And I know he killed my father!” Well, fuck me. Huffing, I raked my hand through my hair.
“That’s why in my humble opinion you need to clear your head.”
“Mind your own damn business.”
The snarl was instant, my fingers coming dangerously close to crushing the glass. We did nothing but stare at each other like bullies on a playground daring the other to make a move. It was ridiculous.
We were both eying each other when a single crack drowned out the silence.
“You haven’t had time to deal with your father’s murder, Alex. Come on. You were the rock with your mother and sister, your brothers. Hell, you went into work less than two hours after you heard the news. You’re like a fucking machine.”
“That’s because I was trying to discover who the fuck took his life.” The anger in my voice was increasing with the volume or maybe the other way around. Damn it, I was hot.
“At the risk of you unleashing your full anger on me, that’s not what you were doing and you know it.”
“Then please, since I’ve obviously neglected to realize you had a degree in psychology, do me the honor of telling me what the hell I was doing.”
His entire face pinched, he shook his head. “You were avoiding your family because you suck at dealing with emotions or sadness of any kind, especially your own.” He started to turn away from me then hissed. “And you often suck at being a decent human being. Do you know that?”
The tension was real, the need to punch a hole in the wall more palpable than I’d felt in a long time. That’s why when he started laughing, with anyone else I would have flipped. Instead, I laughed half-heartedly. He was right as he always was.
Another moment of quiet and he frowned. “All I’m saying is it’s okay even for men of power to take time and grieve.”
“The limited luxury was stolen from me when I was arrested for a crime I didn’t commit.” On paper it would seem my guest was everything she portrayed herself to be. Decent. Kind. Intelligent.Hard working. So fucking beautiful it made my loins ache. I’d fucked her twice, both times savagely, yet it wasn’t enough. I’d left her sore, spanked her until the skin on her bottom was a perfect shade of rose. And that wasn’t enough.
I’d sucked on her sweet nipples until they’d become extra sensitive. I wanted more.
All I could think about was doing it all again. How the hell had one irritating, stunning, pain in the ass woman crawl so far under my skin? Just thinking about her and fury mixed with desire to the point of becoming combustible.
Jesus. I had to calm down.
While Jarvis was right in that I’d yet to come to terms with my father’s death, in my line of work, doing so could be considered a weakness. He knew that as well as I did. He was merely talking with me as a friend instead of as someone who’d just been promoted to the third most powerful man in the city of New Orleans if not the entire state.
“You can’t just keep her, Alexander. You know that. I heard what your brother said. She’s not some puppy you can bring home and put a collar on.”
A collar. In truth, that wasn’t a bad idea. At least with a long leash where I could keep on eye on her and guide her activities. “I’ll do what I want with her. Right now, she’s staying here locked in that goddamn room if that’s what it takes.”
“You’re going to regret that. I know you too well.”
Only my brother Sinclair surpassed him in decision-making abilities, but not in ruthlessness. Jarvis was a master of brutality. Why he’d suddenly taken the road of sympathy was beyond me,but I didn’t need anyone to feel sorry for me. What I needed were answers.
“I don’t have any regrets!” I slammed my fist on the desk, huffing as I rubbed my eyes. “I need information, Jarvis. I can’t move forward without learning every detail about my father’s death, why he was meeting with Baxter and who the fuck almost killed me today. Or my guest. Everything else needs to remain on the back burner. And you’re going to get me what I fucking need or so help me God.”
Hearing the light knock on the door prevented me from going any further. While what I’d just said to Jarvis wasn’t said with anything but a light warning, the sight of my sister’s face as she walked into the room through the open door was enough to tell me I was slipping past the edge.
Emmeline was completely devoid of the vicious blood running through the veins of the males in the Prince family. Thankfully, she’d taken after our mother, a sweet soul if you didn’t consider her heritage in the world of black magic.
Which my sister had been known to dabble in from time to time.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in the middle of dressing down your best friend and discussing the art of kidnapping.” The one other thing I could say about her was that she had a sharp tongue. I wonder where she’d gotten it from. Her ability to admonish with her eyes was something she’d learned from my mother. Far too damn well if you asked me.
Jarvis chuckled, trying and failing to hide his response. Finally, he coughed. “I can handle my own with our illustrious leader, Em, but thank you. I’ll just check on our… guest to see if her iron shackles are cutting into her skin.”
