Page 142 of Diary of a Mafia Princess

I’d made peace with the fact I would have to betray Dax and sleep with one of the Guerras.

But I had never meant to enjoy it. I had never meant to come while I screamed Luca’s name and secretly wished for a third man to put his hands on me as well.

If I looked at Dax, all I could see was the man I loved with every inch of my heart, the man I’d do anything to protect and the man who had fathered the baby growing inside me. I’d done what I had to do. But that didn’t mean he would understand.

And it didn’t mean I hadn’t betrayed him. Cheated on what we’d had.

God, I wanted to go back to long nights in his bed, in his arms, when my life had felt so simple because all there was had been him.

But there was no going back. Not for any of us.

“Miss Matish.” MacGregor pointed to the seat at the head of the table. “We saved the place of honor just for ye.”

I shook my head, not wanting to sit anywhere near him or Carlos. And definitely not so far away from Lynx, who I knew without a doubt would have my back, even if we had just ruined our friendship. “Oh no. I couldn’t possibly…”

“Of course, ye can.” His tone became more demanding. “Sit, lass.”

His Scottish accent rolled through the room. If I hadn’t been completely suspicious of the man and his intentions, I probably could have admitted that he was attractive. Older than me but not as old as Carlos or my father. Tall, broad-shouldered, his hair a reddish blond, his beard matching. If he was graying as men his age would normally, I couldn’t tell because it blended with the lighter color of his hair.

I glanced at Carlos. He was the complete opposite of the man sitting across from him. All dark eyes and tanned skin. And a deep scowl of barely concealed anger, directed at me. I’d learned the hard way of Carlos’s jealousy when it came to MacGregor, and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. So even though I’d been told to sit by the owner of the house, I waited for the man who owned me to give me permission.

Carlos smiled smugly at MacGregor and nodded at me. “Sit, Nyah.”

I left Luca and Lynx to take up the seats beside Dax, and I sat at the head of the table, between the two older men clearly fighting some unspoken battle while making out like they were acquaintances on vacation.

Immediately, MacGregor wrapped his fingers around the armrest of my chair and dragged it closer to him. Close enough for him to lean in and whisper, “The rose between two thorns.” He breathed out heavily, his warm breath all over my neck. “Is that the bra I bought you peeping out from beneath your shirt, Nyah Matish? I bet your tits look great in it.”

I yanked my chair away from him and back to the center of the table.

But the damage had already been done. It was like Carlos didn’t know who to glower at first, me or MacGregor.

MacGregor saw Carlos’s wrath, there was no missing it, but he clearly did not care. He eyed the older man. “Would you like to eat?”

Carlos sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but at the same time, the door at the end of the dining hall opened, and men filed in, taking up the remaining seats at the table without introduction.

Carlos watched them.

MacGregor didn’t acknowledge their presence. He didn’t need to. It was a show of silent force that had more power because it wasn’t mentioned. But it was a silent warning to Carlos that his side of the table sat six. While MacGregor’s side was full.

Carlos nodded stiffly. “Yes. We’ll eat.”

MacGregor nodded, picking up a wine bottle and pouring a healthy slug of it into both Carlos’s glass and then mine. I didn’t dare protest. Didn’t dare draw any attention to myself.

“Excellent.” MacGregor put the bottle down, his glass full of deep-red liquid. “Because there is something I’d like to discuss with you.”

A maid came over to Carlos’s side and lifted a rounded silver lid off his plate of juicy steak and perfectly sautéed vegetables. Carlos’s knife hovered over them.

“And what’s that? Arrangements for the fight night?”

MacGregor shrugged a shoulder. “More like the prize for winning the fight.”

Carlos cut into his steak, slowly and deliberately, without lifting his gaze. “We’ve already discussed the terms. Two million was the agreed upon amount.”

Dax made a choking sound. “Two million?”

MacGregor snorted at him. “Don’t get excited, son. If I know Carlos, you’ll be lucky to see ten K of that money.”

Dax got himself under control. “I’m very happy with the arrangement I have with Mr. Guerra.”