Page 60 of Love & Power

“The bitch tried to attack me, so I broke her fucking neck,” I bit out. “I would have done the same to Simon if I hadn’t been swept out of there by Ralph.” Reaching up, I curled my fingers around Liu’s wrist as he still held my chin. “Tell me he’s dead, Liu, or so help me God, I will get out of this tub and finish off that fucking traitor this second.”

He held my gaze, letting his hand brush along my jaw and down my neck, resting just over my heart. “He is dead, omae. They’re both dead and didn’t manage to take anyone else with them.”

I scowled at his choice of words. “Explain.”

“The man, I assume is Simon, not only had an acid bomb that Boykov was hit with but also had a bomb strapped to himself. Luca and Jace were trying to question him, but they didn’t get anything but mad ravings before he blew himself up,” Liu answered.

Gasping, my hands flew up to cover my mouth as I pictured the devastation the bomb could have caused.

“Atticus dislocated his shoulder saving Jace… it’s also how he cracked his glasses,” he added. “But remember what I said, no one else was killed from the blast but Simon. The bomb wasn’t big enough to kill anyone who wasn’t standing right next to Simon. People are rattled, bruised, and scraped, but that’s the extent. Boykov is the one who suffered the worst fate when he blocked the acid from hitting you.”

Flashes of the raw, blistered skin on Ralph’s back and arm played over and over in my mind. I hadn’t known the acid was intended for me, but I’d been saved that fate by a man who’d sworn to protect me. Even in his pain, he’d thought of nothing but getting me somewhere safe.

“I almost lost him, Liu,” I croaked out.

“But you didn’t,” he countered, pulling me to his chest and tucking my head under his chin. “He’s going to be fine… the doctor is with him now. Knowing Luca, I’m sure he made it quite clear that all measures should be taken to get Boykov on the mend.”

My desperation not to lose anyone else warred against the training I’d been put through since an early age. Sentimentality was a weakness. My reaction to the situation was a prime example of why letting your emotions free and attaching yourself to people was dangerous. If anyone had come after us, I would have been useless and probably wound up dead, hunched over my bodyguard trying to protect him. This is why the Raffa presses their children to the point of breaking. If we are already broken, then what is left to break? Yet my father intentionally worked against that logic when he selected these men to be by my side. They each took my broken pieces and began the process of making me whole again. However, there I sat, feeling more broken than ever, surrounded by people I would give my life for without hesitation.

Was it worth it?

Was the pain and heartache I now endure at the mere thought of losing one of them enough to make me give them up?

Pushing myself up, I looked into Liu’s deep brown eyes, reflecting pure trust and love. This was all I needed to determine my answer.

Fuck yes.

Having these men in my life would always be worth every second of pain I had to face.

I let my hands slide up to grasp his face, memorizing every inch of it, burning it into my memory because I never wanted to forget. “Liu,” I whispered.

Unsure how to explain what I felt, it took me a moment to find the words. I knew he would wait for me to get my footing—the master of patience, always waiting for me to catch up to where he was.

Pressing my lips to his for just a moment, I pulled back, needing a taste of his reassurance. “I know you’ve questioned how I feel about you. Wondering if our connection was a fluke, or if this is just a fever dream that you’ll wake up from.”

“Ast—” Liu tried to cut in, but I slipped my hand over his mouth, halting his words.

“No, this time you just get to listen,” I stated. “Liu, you were someone I never knew I needed… the man I know I can go to for sound, logical advice who wouldn’t soften the truth for my feelings. Everything you do is with selfless intention, yet you know when to put your foot down and tell me no. Loss and grief over a man we both loved created the bridge we needed to see each other in another light, or maybe that was just me,” I corrected, looking back at the first few interactions we had while my father was still alive.

“Regardless of how that played out, you were the first one to clarify your intentions. My respect and admiration for you grew every time you called me out for treating you like a lover without offering the commitment you absolutely deserved. I love you, Liu. When that happened, I couldn’t tell you, but that truth is written on my heart over the piece you hold.”

Taking a moment to catch my breath, my heart is beating a million miles an hour caught up in the rush of these emotions. “All seven of you are irreplaceable to me, and no one could fill your place, be who I need, or love me the way you do, Liu. So if I ever hear you utter one doubt about your place in my life, I’ll fucking slap you for calling me a liar. Got it?”

The transformation I saw take place as Liu finally believed he was mine shook me to the core. It wasn’t something you could see with your eyes, but holy hell, you could feel the shift. Where there was once a hint of timidity or hesitation, it had been replaced by joy and confidence. He pulled away my hand from his mouth as he snaked the other around to grip the back of my neck. There was a split-second pause before he slammed his lips to mine and devoured my mouth.

Moaning, I raked my nails down his chest as I ground my pussy on his hardening cock. Irritation at his boxers blocking me from feeling the silkiness of him against my skin pulled a growl from me. I slid my hands lower, hooked the elastic band of the offensive material, yanked down the front, and freed his dick. My hands wrapped around his shaft eliciting a groan that I swallowed, deepening our kiss further.

As I stroked him, Liu’s hand trailed down my back until he nudged the plug still deep in my ass. Teasing me, he kept playing with it, pushing it farther in, then pulling it out to the point where it juuust started to stretch the opening. None of his efforts would get me off but fuck if it didn’t make me horny as hell.

“Wait,” Liu ordered, and grabbed my hands which had been lining him up to fill my pussy. “Don’t give me that look, omae. I absolutely plan on fucking you tonight, but what you really need right now you won’t get in this tub.”

“Is that so?” I questioned, sitting back. “Tell me, oh wise one, what is it that I need?”

Liu reached out, letting the tip of his finger circle my nipple which hardened at the cool air as well as the attention. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” I answered instantly. There was no question in my mind when it came to these men.

“In that case, I’m going to show you instead of tell you,” Liu decided. “Braxton, you can come in now?”