Page 52 of Midnight Whispers

“Nero, there’s security there. I’ll be fine.”

He shakes his head. “Security might help if it’s one-on-one. What if he shows up with a gun?”

I hadn’t thought of that. Lisa says Freddie hasn’t tried to contact her since everything went down that night, and she moved to the other hotel, but that doesn’t mean he won’t.

“It has nothing to do with controlling you, I swear. It’s just about keeping you safe. Plus, you’re with me now. You can do whatever you want with your life now that you’re out from under your stepmother’s thumb.”

“Am I?” When Nero frowns and his forehead wrinkles, I add, “With you?”

“Haven’t I made that obvious?” He places his hands on my hips, squeezing. “I thought it was clear that I’m completely obsessed with you.”

I can’t help but smile. “You have, but we haven’t really discussed what that means. Are you my… boyfriend?”

He chuckles and gives me a chaste kiss. “Sure, I’m your boyfriend.”

“Why are you laughing?” I lightly smack his shoulder.

“It just sounds trite compared to what I feel, but you can call me whatever you want, Cinder. I’m just going to call you mine.”

My heart inflates so fast I fear it might explode. “I don’t think you’re trying to control me. You’re justified in your thinking.”

“But…”

“But I need to think about it.”

He shakes his head and laughs. “You don’t have to think about wanting to join a sex club so I can share you, but you do have to think about whether or not you’ll quit T&T’s?”

I shrug. “I have to figure out what I want to do. So much has changed so fast for me.”

He nods slowly. “Okay, I can understand that. Do you have any ideas?”

I think back to that motel room when I was teaching Dahlia to dance, and something lights up in my chest. “I do, but I want to make sure I’m heading down the right path. Just give me a bit.”

He smiles. “I can do that.”

Nero kisses me, which leads to him undressing me, which leads to so much more before a very sound sleep.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

NERO

The next morning, I text my brothers in our group chat and ask them to meet me in Asher’s office that afternoon. I need to tell them that I’ll be initiating Cinder into the Ritual Room.

When I walk in, they’re already gathered, probably talking shit about me or talking about how they can “protect” me from myself. I steel myself against irritation, just wanting this to go well.

“What’s with the summons, kid?” Kol asks as soon as I enter the room.

I glance around. Anabelle isn’t here, which means Asher must’ve told her to leave us alone since those two are attached at the hip these days.

“It’s not a summons. I just need to fill you in on something.” I sit in the chair across from Sid.

His dark eyes narrow on me, a predator assessing. “He’s bringing Cinder into the Ritual Room.”

Fucking Sid.

Asher arches an eyebrow. “Is that true?”

---