Page 147 of Seizing Control: Part Two

“It’s amazin’ how you can turn the snob on and off,” he snaps back at me. “Perfect Lazarus. So much control. So much class. The suits. The haircut. The minions who ask how high when you say jump. Well, I ain’t one’o them, and I never will be... you can have tonight with Cherub, and I’ll sleep ’ere tomorrow.”

“Slash—”

When Lily tries to crawl off the bed, I stop her. “Stay put, Lil... this is between me and him.”

“I’m not going to fight you.” Enunciating every word with perfect diction, I refuse to budge when he tries to push past me. “You’re stayin’... tonight. And every night after that. Because that’s the deal we made. No more running. That’s the truce we’ve made for Lily. For us.”

“For us?”

The scorn in Slash’s voice enrages me. My right leg bounces once. Anger burns through, but I swallow it down. As much as I’d like to show Lily’s husband exactly how hard I worked to attain the control he mocks, I understand that it wouldn’t be fair. I’m further down the path toward acceptance than he is, and it shows.

Still, he needs to get on board or fuck off permanently.

“Yes, us. The six of us. Lily. You. Garrett. Ezra and Asher. Me. This awkward threesome. Our kids.” I slap his chest with both hands. “We’re all that matters... The Shamrocks. The curia. Your precious ego. It’s all just icing.” Curling my hand around the back of his neck, my fingertips bite into his flesh. Our foreheads crash together, and I bare my teeth as I snarl, “You walk away tonight, you walk away forever. Truce over. War declared.”

Although she remains quiet, I am aware that Lily is making a mess of her bottom lip.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you.”

“Probably.” I shrug, gripping his neck tighter and shaking him like a misbehaving kitten. “But your wife wants you in her life, and since I live to please her, I figure I should try to make you stick around.”

“I fuckin’ hate you.” Slash wrenches free of my hold.

“You don’t,” I retort with a chuckle. “I’d even venture as far as to say that you like me.”

“Absolute bullshit.” Grumbling under his breath, he turns around, tosses his clothes on the floor, then stomps toward the bathroom.

“Where’re ya goin’, Carter?”

My use of his legal name puts a hitch in his step. “None of ya business, Ezekiel.”

The door closes with a decisive snick behind him.

I turn to Lily.

The smile she offers me is stunning. “Thank you.”

Scanning her gorgeous face, my chest swells as I realise that she’s mine again, and she’s happy about it. The light in her eyes, the glow in her cheeks, the way she hugs herself. Everything about my sweet thing is flushed, ripe and beautiful. As I settle on mattress behind her, I try to circle my arms around her ribs, but she stops me.

“What’s wrong, metukà shelì?” I nuzzle her hair with my nose, breathing in her perfume as I try again to hold her. A second time, she evades my clutches. “Do you need pain relief?” She shakes her head, and I attempt to embrace her again. When Lily grasps my wrists and pins my arms on either side of her hips, I allow her the illusion of control while I order, “Talk to me, sweet thing.”

“I have stitches.”

“I know.”

“My stomach is...” She trails off, pausing before she whispers, “Kinda gross.”

Easily breaking free of her hold, I wrap my right arm around her ribs before she can stop me. I hate the way she stiffens, rejecting my touch because of some ridiculous standard she’s holding herself to instead of appreciating everything her body has given us.

“Metukà shelì,” I murmur in her ear. Unconsciously, Lily tilts her head to the side and allows me a full view of her skin erupting with goosebumps caused by the heat of my breath. “You are beautiful. Perfect. This body.” I gently cup her left breast. “Sustains our babies.” Lowering my hand, I am careful to keep the pressure light as I flatten my palm over her midsection. “This body carried our twins for thirty-two weeks, during hard times, and good times, and a whole heap’a stress, until they were strong enough to survive on the outside.” Her brewing protest is cut off by Slash stepping out of the bathroom. I peer at him, earnestness in my gaze, when I command, “Tell your wife how beautiful you find her new curves.”

“Beautiful?” he queries as he stalks over to bed. Although his eyes widen as he takes in the way I’m cradling her, Slash doesn’t allow his jealousy to get the better of him. Instead, he crawls onto the mattress, so he is crouched in front of her. Smoothing Lily’s hair from her shoulder, the taller man touches her neck with reverence. “Beautiful doesn’t come close. My wife is gorgeous. Stunning. Bewitching. Exquisite. A goddess.” Slash presses his fingertips to her heart. “My duchess.”

“Do you see, sweet thing?”

Tipping her head back, Lily asks, “See what?”

“You’ve got two men ready to worship you without question... not only because of the way you look,” I tell her in a tone that brooks no arguments. Her reticence to be touched wilts beneath our open adoration, and she leans into me finally. “Because we fuckin’ adore you and your heart.”

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