“I see,” Cassius said. “What did you call me up here for, anyway? Do we have an issue with the Morrils?”
“We always have an issue with the Morrils,” I said, wishing I suddenly had a glass of vodka. “No. Cassius, allow me to…”
I paused for a moment. Fuck. I was really about to tell my older brother all of this, wasn’t I? The man that pissed me off and helped me more than anyone in this world.
Well, if anyone was going to get what I was going through, it was him.
“Allow me to discuss the story of your fiancée’s friend, Delilah Reyes.”
I then proceeded to recap everything that had happened—carefully, of course. I was honest, but I wasn’t weak. I hinted at the feelings of losing control, but I sure as shit wouldn’t let Cassius know I was out of control. He just stood there the whole time, silently listening, the icy eyes never changing expression.
Finally, I reached the end.
“We left Aces Up stone-faced to each other. It’s a weird dynamic, and she’s forced me to think about things. I thought I knew how to play this game, and for anyone else, I’d handle it myself. But this time? This time, I’ve got an opponent of equal caliber. And I need to know how to get a leg back up?”
“A leg back up,” Cassius repeated. “So what you’re saying is, the King of Diamonds has lost a little of his sheen, huh?”
“Not a fucking chance,” I snapped. “Just… just that you’ve danced this before. I don’t know why you’re getting married so fast, but you seem to have figured out your game. So any input on how to play the game would be great.”
Cassius nodded, looked out over the Strip, then nodded toward a table. Silently, annoyed he wasn’t saying anything yet, I led him to the table. He snapped his fingers as we sat down, and true to form, two servants came out, one with a glass of bourbon for him, one with a glass of vodka for me. Once they were distributed, the two of them hurried to clean the mess I had made.
“Your first mistake is thinking that it’s a game to be played,” Cassius said. “Would it be fair to say that Delilah wants you, Adrian? And think about what I mean by what I say before you speak.”
I knew damn well what he was saying. He didn’t need to add that bit at the end.
“Yes, it is fair.”
“Then it is anything but a game to her,” Cassius said. “Think about it. If she gets caught—and we know the Morrils have eyes on all of us, to say nothing of other people or just those wanting fifteen minutes of fame on social media—she can lose so much. Yet she’s still going with you. You call that a game? If you knew that our ten-figure wealth was on the line, would you be treating shit like a fucking game? Or would you be taking things a little more seriously?”
Fair enough, I thought. I only shrugged in response, though I trusted that Cassius knew well enough to see I understood the message.
“You’re trying to control everything, and yet in doing so, you’re letting the best woman you’ve ever met slip through your grasp.”
“The best?” I said, arching an eyebrow.
“I haveneverheard you speak of a woman like you have of Delilah Reyes.”
Fuck me. For a man who prided himself on seeing what wasn’t spoken and seeing how pressure made people snap, I sure was doing a poor job of recognizing it in myself.
“Take out the game. Take out the desire to break her. What?—”
“I don’t want to fucking break her, Cassius! I just want her!”
Both of us got wide-eyed. Once more, both of us heard what was not spoken.I just want her… around. With me. By my side. Not just in my bed. Not just on my cock. Not just fucking me.
… fuck.
“Alright,” Cassius finally said, though even after that, he took several more moments to gather himself. I needed even longer. How the fuck had Cassius gotten me to say everything out loud? “You just want her, the person. Guess what? She doesn’t want the King of Diamonds. She doesn’t want the winner of the game between the two of you. She wants Adrian Vale. And if you are going to give that to her, you have to start by being honest with yourself.”
“I am.”
“No, you are not.”
Cassius, Dante, and Lucas might have been the only men who could have gotten away with bluntly disagreeing with me like that. Anyone else would have been lucky to escape without a brutal yelling.
“You are telling yourself you want to fuck her, that you want her, the prize to be bragged about. Keep lying to yourself if you can live with knowing she will hate your guts and forever begone if you fuck her and that’s where it stops. But if you want to not win her, but tobewith her? Then start by admitting that to yourself. You can’t be a king of others if you can’t have control over yourself.”
Fuck, I needed another drink. At least when Cassius got going on this type of thing, I didn’t need to interject one damn bit. He’d carry the whole fucking conversation, and I would just listen.
