My fingers thread through her hair, gripping her roughly as I slide my tongue into her mouth. She lets out a breathless whimper, her hands fisting my shirt as she pulls me closer.
Instinct takes over, and I grind my cock against her, a solitary thought looping through my mind.
I need to fuck her and claim her while she knows exactly who’s inside her.
Before I can make good on that plan, Rafe’s voice douses us in cold water.
“Hey, people are starting to show up for the meeting,” he calls from outside the door. “You want me to tell them you can’t make it?”
That works for me, but the announcement startles Gabi, snapping her back to reality.
She stares at me, confusion and regret swirling in her eyes as she touches her lips.
“Hello?” Rafe calls out again.
“I’m coming,” Gabi squeaks, scrambling out from beneath me like she can’t get away fast enough.
Something heavy settles in my chest as I sit up and watch her go. I should have known this would happen.
She either feels guilty for doing this behind Eros’s back, or she regrets it because it was with me. If it’s the latter, it would only confirm what I’ve suspected all along.
This relationship was always doomed…and I fucked it up beyond repair.
“Areyou sure you’re up for this?” Mariella asks. “You don’t need to sit through this one if you don’t feel like it. I can update you later.”
I stare past her, tracking Gabi across the room as she checks her phone and frowns. It’s a safe bet she’s upset that Eros still hasn’t texted her back, and it annoys me.
It’s twisted as fuck being jealous of your own alter ego.
It wasn’t him she fell asleep on last night, but it also isn’t me she thinks has been fucking her and touching her every chance I get. She deserves to hear from him, and I know I need to text her, but some deranged part of me wanted this time with her as myself.
Now I know that was a mistake.
“Romeo?” Mariella’s voice drags my attention back to her, and by the odd expression on her face, I can tell she caught me staring at Gabi.
“I’m fine,” I grunt.
“There was something you wanted to bring up tonight?” she asks.
“It can wait.”
She frowns, but I don’t feel like delving into it. I’d planned to bring up Imperium, since Gabi had Abella ask me to look into it. I have to give her something, and this would have been the way to do it. I also need to loop Angelo in at some point, but I’m moody as fuck right now, and I can’t be as careful with my words as I need to. So instead, I park at the dining room table, far enough from Gabi that I can brood in peace while I can still stare at her if I feel like it.
Mariella opens the meeting, discussing some ideas for new dead drops that Angelo and I have been mulling over. Angelo thinks some of the methods they’ve been using are too risky, and I agree. There’s no guarantee that other members of The Society won’t see the missives that have been left in books or restrooms.
Angelo explains the alternatives we’ve come up with, including NFC stickers and QR codes for the more emergent situations.
“What about women who don’t have access to phones?” Serafina asks.
“We’ll still use the reliable dead drops like our trusted business contacts,” Mariella explains. “But the other options will provide quicker help to those who need it.”
“Where are we on rolling those out?” Angelo asks me.
“I’ll have them ready in a week.”
He nods and slides his phone my direction. “First priority.”
I scan the image of a familiar face—a silver spoon-fed aristocrat from The Society.
