Page 82 of From the Ashes

“No, Crew. We’re going to talk about this. I’ve let you have your time to do what you needed to do. Five days I’ve given you, and now we’re going to talk.”

He sighs and runs a hand down his face. “There’s nothing to talk about, because I’m not avoiding you.”

I raise a brow at him. “I hope you’re better at lying when you deal with the other four families.”

His mismatched eyes flick to mine, and a hint of amusement stares back at me. I’ll never not get lost in his one blue and one green-eyed gaze, but I have to say, this is one of my favorite looks on him, even if it slips away almost immediately.

Before he can argue any further, his phone vibrates beside my ass, and he reaches for it immediately, checking who’s calling while I keep my eyes locked on him. “I have to take this,” he says.

“Go ahead.” I smile. “I’ll be right here.”

He considers me for a moment, probably trying to think of a way to make me change my mind, but he seems to decide it’s not worth the effort and answers.

“This is Crew,” he barks into the phone.

As he talks, I look around the room, the walls lined with books I remember being envious of when I first stepped foot in this office, before returning to the man who has me all tied up in knots, and that’s when an idea crosses my mind.

A broad smile stretches across my face as I carefully uncross my legs and lift each of my feet to rest on his knees, garnering his attention.

When his eyes dart to me, they fall straight to my bare pussy, and a ragged cough escapes this throat at the surprise, and that’s when I slip my hand down my body.

His gaze darkens as he tracks my movements, and I drag my bottom lip between my teeth to hold back the moan as my fingers brush over my clit.

If Crew’s going to be hard to get along with, I’m going to make it as hard for him to keep his distance as I can.

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

CREW

The last person I feel like dealing with before today’s meeting is Charles Davenport, and yet that’s who’s on the other end of the phone, pretending like he hasn’t teamed up with my brother to take down the Syndicate.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to keep my attention off the woman sitting on the edge of my desk while I listen to Charles prattle on about how the Knights didn’t honor a trade deal and shortchanged him.

This is the kind of shit we technically should be resolving, but it’s been years, they should really be able to sort it out on their own without our help.

Camilla shifts on the desk, and I force myself not to look at her. She’s too fucking tempting when she’s wearing nothing more than one of our shirts, usually Kovu’s. He seems to find comfort in her wearing his clothes, and after so many years of him finding that comfort in very little, we’re all more than happy to make that concession for him.

One of her feet presses against my knee, and I release a breath as I try to listen to what Charles is telling me, but then the other foot rests on my other knee, and my stomach flips with anticipation. My eyes flick to her and land straight on her bare pussy, causing me to cough to cover the moan that tries to escape.

“Are you okay? Are you even listening to me?” Charles asks, his tone even more irritated than normal.

I open my mouth to respond when Camilla’s hand glides down her body, immediately homing in on her clit, which produces another rough cough.

“Yeah. Just coffee going down wrong,” I lie, my voice higher than it usually is. “Go on.”

“So as I was saying, I realize I could bring this up at our meeting today, but I wanted to make sure you were around the situation. I’m sure those snakes at Knight are going to try to twist it in their favor…”

I stop listening as I watch Camilla circle her clit, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she tries to hold her moans back. She’d better do just that because I don’t want to have to explain to the five families that I killed Davenport for hearing my woman’s moans.

The moment the thought crosses my mind, I reprimand myself. She’s not mine. She can’t be. And that’s why I’ve been keeping my distance. Maybe with some time and space, she’ll come to the same realization that I have, but if this little show she’s putting on is anything to go by, I may be out of luck on that front.

“And as per the bylaws, if a member is to back out of a deal made with another member, there have to be consequences passed down by the Syndicate.”

I almost scoff at his selective following of the bylaws, especially seeing as the very first one is that if a member attempts to overthrow the Syndicate, they will face immediate death.

Camilla’s hand dips lower and circles her entrance, and when I flick my eyes up to meet hers, she’s smirking at me like the cat that ate the fucking cream.

Oh, she’s going to be in so much trouble for this little stunt.

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