“Fuck you.”
I lower myself until my chest rests against his. “Is that a no?”
He glares, his eyes blazing, but not with anger like they usually are. No, this is lust, heat, and want. “Did I say no?”
Grinning, I push his hair back from his face, looking at his handsome features before I take his lips in a soft kiss.
A kiss that doesn’t stay soft for long. Declan lets out a groan and tightens his legs around me as he palms the back of my neck, holding me in place while he ravages my mouth. I give as good as I get, my tongue dueling with his.
My hand goes under his shirt, gliding over his sweaty skin to thumb at his nipple. I tweak it just so I can hear that sharp intake of breath. Declan doesn’t disappoint, whimpering in my mouth as I play with the hard bud of?—
A throat clearing has us breaking apart, Declan pushing me off hard until I land a few feet from him. I look up to see Kai, his expression a mix of incredulity and humor. His lips twitch as he stuffs his hands in his pants pockets. “You don’t kiss me like that when we spar, Nico.”
Declan makes a choking noise in the back of his throat, his face red and eyes shuttered. He doesn’t meet my eyes as he gathers his things and breezes past Kai.
Kai watches him go, then looks back at me, his eyebrows raised. “How long has that been going on?
“Don’t.” I rise to my feet and go over to the bench where my belongings are.
I slide my legs into my sweatpants as Kai says, “Come on now. I just wanna know how you broke through that hard shell of his. Seemed impossible, even for his brother.”
Sighing, I toss my shirt over my shoulder and look over at him. “It’s our business. Anything that goes on between me and Declan is between me and Declan.”
Kai holds his hands up in surrender, though a smirk still sticks to his face. “You’re right. But be careful. Declan is?—”
“No.” I slash my hand through the air, cutting Kai off. “You don’t know who or what Declan is, other than the shit you heard. And he’s not just the rumors or the man you see. He’s more, but no one gives him a fucking break, you and Carter included.” Kai opens his mouth, but I hold my hand up. “Don’t tell your fucking husband what you saw, because that’s not going to be something else he bitches to Declan about. He doesn’t deserve that.”
“I’m just saying?—”
“Don’t justsay.” I throw my hands up in the air, alreadyfed up with this conversation, but I need Kai to hear what I’m saying. “You don’t like Declan. That’s apparent. But I don’t really like Carter and I never let that get in the way of keeping the peace for your sake. I love you like a brother, and I have no say in your marriage or how you feel about your husband. Just like you have no say in what I do or who I do it with. You need to respect that I have a life outside of guarding you and that includes Declan. It’ll include Declan until he tells me he doesn’t want it to anymore. That’s not for you to decide or try to give me advice on. I don’tneedadvice on Declan. I need you to mind your fucking business when it comes to him and me and not tell Carter what you saw. When he’s ready to say something about—if he ever is—that’s on him. Got it?”
Kai looks at me in shock, his eyes peeled wide and his mouth dropped open as if he didn’t expect my tirade. Hell, I didn’t expect it either, but Kai gearing up to trash talk Declan had me seeing red.
Declan is a gruff bastard with an attitude problem, but he has reason to be. He’s gone through a lot of shit in his life, as much as everyone that was born into a mafia family. Kai was the same way, only somewhat calming down now that Charlie was dead.
Before his father was killed at a gala, Kai always went off the rails, especially when Carter was involved. He rarely listened when people told him to chill the fuck out, so him judging Declan is fucking laughable.
When he’s silent for a few beats, I say, “I’ll get showered and we can go handle whatever business you have for the day. But Declan will not be the topic of any conversation.” Kai shuts his mouth and crosses his arms over his chest. He gives me a long look, then dips his head.
I brush past him and hurry upstairs to my room.
Shutting the door behind me, I immediately pull out myphone and open my text thread for Declan. But instead of texting, I call him, needing to hear his voice and know that he’s okay. Thatwe’reokay.
He answers quickly, panic laced in his tone. “Dammit, Nico. He’s going to tell Carter.”
I push off the door and stride over to my bed, sitting on the edge. “He won’t. I’ve known Kai a long time. He said he won’t and I trust him. You gotta trust me now.”
“Why? So you can fuck me over?”
That stings, but I don’t let it get to me. Despite how sure he sounded when all this started, I can tell Declan doesn’t like to disappoint his brother. He may not actively seek his approval, but he doesn’t like drawing his ire either.
“Have I fucked you over yet, D?” I ask, pausing to wait for his response. When I’m met with silence, I say, “I could have, more times than I can count. But I haven’t. I told you I’ll keep your secrets. One of your secrets is me. Kai knows, but he won’t say anything because I told him not to. Okay?”
Declan is quiet, and I wait him out. He has no real reason to trust me, even though I’ve tried to show him for the past few weeks that he can. The one person he trusted with his life that wasn’t a part of his family is dead. That was a trust that was built up over years. I’ve known Declan for a year and before we started fucking, we rarely had a kind word to say to each other. Him putting his trust in me first to let me fuck him in the club, then with helping him figure out who is blackmailing him is a lot, more than I expected.
Now, I’m asking him to trust that Carter won’t know his secret until he wants to tell him. If I were in his shoes, I’d be hesitant too. But I wouldn’t fuck Declan over. He’s had enough of that in his life.
A rough sigh drifts through the line and my shoulders relax. “Okay. I trust you. But Nico?—”
