Ace simply grins, as if Ghost hasn’t just threatened to cut his dick off.
I have no clue what the exchange was about, but I’m slowly learning how the land lies between these men and the fragile hierarchy that keeps everything running smoothly.
The other two men get to their feet. Jack grabs his leather cut from where he’s flung it over the back of the chair and puts it on.
He frowns at me. “You sure you’re gonna be all right?”
His concern warms me. “I’m a big girl, Jack. I’ll be fine.”
Ghost gives me a final nod, and they leave us here alone, the front door slamming in their wake.
Ace rubs his hands together. “Do you want to come help me feed Marmalade?”
I stare at him. “Who?”
“Mama Kitty,” he prompts. “With the kittens, you remember?”
I let out a sigh. “Ace, I don’t want to feed the cat.”
“I think you do. And the kittens have just started opening their eyes—they’re stronger already. Come on.”
“I can’t. I’m too tired.”
“You’re not tired. You’ve been sleeping for half the day. You’re sad, which is why you need to come with me. Everything feels better after you’ve buried your face in a mountain of fur.”
I close my eyes briefly, as though to demonstrate how utterly exhausted I am. “Really, Ace, I don’t want to go.”
“Come on, Princess. You can’t stay in the house all day.”
I give a sad, snorting laugh at that. “I’m no one’s princess, Ace. I’m nothing, just the daughter of a brought-down mafia family.”
He gives me a kind smile. “You’ll always be a princess to me.”
Something in my heart melts at that. “Okay. Let’s go and see the kittens.”
He fist-pumps the air. “Whoop.”
Ace takes my hand, linking his fingers with mine. The action is kind of intimate, but it feels nice. He has good hands, strong and warm. He pulls me up and slings his arm around my shoulders in a stance that feels bothprotective and possessive. Strangely, I like how it feels, and I find myself leaning into him, closing the space between us.
He was wrong about me not feeling tired—I’m exhausted right down to the bone—but perhaps it’s from all the emotion.
“Let’s go see what Jack has in his refrigerator that Marmalade might like.”
“We’re going to raid Jack’s fridge?”
“Definitely.”
We slip apart as we enter the kitchen, and Ace goes to open the large double refrigerator. It is well stocked, so I’m sure Jack won’t miss whatever we take.
“Aah, I think she’ll love this,” Ace declares, producing a pound of ground steak. “I bet she could do with the iron.”
I’m already thinking of excuses we can give Jack about the missing meat, perhaps telling him I was super hungry and needed a pound of raw beef, but if I was to cook, I’d cook for Jack as well. I’m not so selfish that I’d only make food for myself when I’m living under his roof.
I hope Jack’s not going to get mad when he notices the missing beef, but then I thinkfuck it.Jack is always mad, no matter what’s going on, so we might as well take it for the cat.
I decide to let Ace be the one to deal with it. I’ll deny all knowledge if asked.
Ace snatches up my hand again and pulls me from the house. We move at a fast trot toward the barn, both of us perhaps being aware that we don’t want Jack to see us. We arrive, and the familiar sweet, mellow scent of the hayloft fills my nose. I find myself relaxing a fraction. Irealize there are parts of this place which no longer seem so strange and alien to me. The barn is almost comforting, somehow.
