9
“What the fuck does that mean?” Desisnarled,squeezing my kneecaps so tightlyI thought he might accidentally bust them. I was shaking with my ridiculous sobbing. I couldn’t answer him. I didn’t know the answer myself. Desi repeated the question to Tully, who was sitting across the table, grinning like a cat who caught the mouse.
“She already told you. We were playing cards,andshe lost. Now she has to pay the house.”
“You really think I’m going to let my girlfriend fuck you?” Desi let go of me and stood. I looked up, trying to steady my breathing. I brushed the salty blood from my cheeks and stared at Tully. If he was scared of Desi,he didn’t show it. Lust versus Wrath.
Who would win?
“No. Of course not. She doesn’t have to give me my orgasm. But she can give me hers.” He turned his gaze on me,and I shivered. My stomach rolled so hard that I almost threw up.
I fucked up bad.
“Toulouse—” Desi startedtowardhim. His steps were slow and calculated. Flashbacks to when he nearly tore off Arsenio’s arm flew throughmy mind. Was he going to kill his fellow Seven Sin? Because of my idiocy?
“D!” Dante’s booming voice came from behind us. We all turned to see him storming over, his eyes wide with confusion and almost panic. He had his hands up and rushed to put himself between Lust and Wrath. “What happened?”
“This stupid fuck thinks he can play games,” Desi snarled, turning back to Tully.
“I don’t think anything. We played. She lost. I amowed.” Tully flicked his tongue over his fangs in such a way I found absolutely repulsive.
Dante sighed. “Fuck. I was only gone a minute.” He glanced at me but only spoke to his brothers. “What did she bet?”
“An orgasm,”Tully said with a bored expression. As if he was talking about who won a local election.
Dante blinked his red eyes rapidly for a moment, trying to comprehend what hehadjust said. He turned his head slowly to Tully. “You bet Desiderio Amato’s girlfriend that if she lost a round of cards, she’d have to give youan orgasm? How did you see that playing out? Are you fucking stupid?” He reached out and slapped him across the face.“Have you been eating the candy again?”
Tully’s head snapped back,but he only laughed. “Maybe. I don’t get the opportunity to fuck with our baby brother enough. Maybe if he came around more often,I’d be more inclined to be sensitive to his situation.” He glanced at me and winked. I gagged.
“Tully, you can’t possibly think—” Dante started,but Tully stood up suddenly and pushed his chest into Dante’s.
“Oh, I do think. Now, why don’t we take this somewhere else to discuss how I’ll be paid?” While the rest of the room was alive and loud, our table had gone icy silent.
Finally, I grew brave and stood. “Fine. Let’s go.”
The three Sins all turned to me with varying emotions. Dante looked shocked, Tully looked excited, and Desi looked…outraged.
Tully moved first. He came around and tried to put his arm around me,but I shrugged away. My hand went to the charm around my neck. Desi’s name. My fingers clung to it as if it were a rosary. I said a silent prayer to the powers that be, begging for a way out of this mess.
“This way,” Tully told us without missing a beat. My feet were frozen to the spot. I looked desperately at Desi, but he didn’t look at me. He strode right past me, following Tully through a black door near the bar. Dante stayed behind and rested his hand on my lower back. I jumped and looked up at him. His smile was kind, but his eyeswerewary.
“Did you eat any of the candy?”
I frowned. Had I? I couldn’t remember.Tully had offered, but I wasn’t sure if I had accepted any.
He shook his head and sighed. “Come on. Let’s see what we can do.”
I nodded and let him push me toward the door. Which led to a long hallway. There were a few dark doors, but we went past them all, andtowardthe end of the hall,we could hear Desi and Tully yelling from inside a room.
“Care to guess which door they went through?” Dante chuckled, attempting to relax me. It didn’t. We reached the room,and he opened the door quickly.
The room was a mid-sized conference room. There was a large oval table in the center of the room with a dozen chairs around it. A TV was on the wall, and a mini fridge was in the corner. Desi and Tully were standing across the table, glaring and screaming at each other.
“You’re lucky I don’t rip your fucking face off right now,” Desi threatened.
Tully laughed. “I dare you to try. You may have anger issues, brother, but don’t forget your place.”
There was silence as Dante and I entered the room. Dante shut the door behind us. “Why don’t we all sit down?” He pulled out a chair for me,and I sat quickly. Desi, still refusing to look at me, sat across from Tully, and Dante sat next to me.
