Page 32 of Inevitably Yves

“And Viper? Are they lovers?”

“Not officially to my knowledge, but I feel the undeniable pull between them. Do you?”

I nod. “I felt it immediately. Again, mortals can be fragile with their hearts as well.”

“Not only mortals.”

I touch his cheek. “True.”

I should tell him what I’ve been through since we parted, what I’ve seen, how I lived, but even though I know he’ll accept me, a tiny part of me fears disappointing him.

“What is in your heart, Dami?” he asks in that low timbre that still stirs my soul all these years later.

“I will tell you, but not right now.”

“Whenever you are ready.” Yves closes the distance between us, pressing our chests together. I always loved that we had similar heights, neither of us needing to strain to meet the other’s gaze. “Just know that I accept you wholly.”

“I know.”

Finally, the other car filled with Yves’s coven and guest enters the parking lot. Kyson laughs, whispering to Thorn that he drives like a race car driver. Thorn wraps his arm around his lover’s waist, kissing him.

Being in the presence of true, fated love is intoxicating. It’s even better than a blood orgy.

Yves, fully aware of my thoughts, grins, leading me to the club entrance as the remaining brothers join us.

As soon as the doormen see Yves, they straighten up and pull the doors open, bowing their heads to him as we pass. He’s truly royalty in New Onyx, a position he deserves. I always knew he would be a powerful man. Yves was never the type to blend into the background. He has strong opinions on the world and our place in it, and I’m pleased that attitude persists.

Beyond the big double doors, I’m accosted by the mixture of heady scents. Two servers dressed in nothing but boy shorts and high heeled boots appear with trays of drinks, offering them to Yves first, then me and Paolo before the rest of the group.

Yves waves them off politely, continuing his walk to an area with black velvet booth seating. The air of the club changes, clearly reacting to Yves’s presence.

“Is this what it feels like to be a Mafia boss?” I ask.

“It’s what it feels like to be a god,” Syn answers from beside me. “Yves is far above a street criminal.”

“I meant no offense, Syn.”

“None taken,” he replies with a tight smile. “We have a slight Mafia problem in the area. They are roaches to us. Pesky, dirty vermin who only cause trouble.”

“We have the same issue,” Paolo says. “They are everywhere.”

“Too bad for them they refuse to stay out of our way,” Thorn quips. “’Cause like roaches, we’re gonna crush ’em.”

“I’ve seen their impact before. They destroyed a village I stayed at in Sicily once. They made it so unsafe, caused so much death and terror, that survivors chose to abandon their homes. I still regret that I wasn’t there to help. I found out after it was lost.”

“Like roaches, they are difficult to eradicate,” Paolo says.

“Yet, we will prevail,” Yves says. “If they fuck with New Onyx, they fuck with me.”

“And if they fuck with Yves,” Eros says, “They fuck with all of us.”

“And if that happens,” Raphael adds on, “well, they die.”

“Yeah, that Admiral dude needs to be taken out,” Thorn says as we all take our places around the bench.

Yves is center stage, patting the spot beside him for me. It reminds me of all the times we dreamed of running the world together, side by side for eternity. He knowingly smiles at me.

“Who is the Admiral?” I ask.

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