Page 49 of Awakened by Sin

“No, I’m going back tomorrow. If she’s up to seeing people, I’ll let you know.”

“Alice asked if I wanted to help with the animal adoption next Saturday. I said I’m down. We’re having dinner at the casino tonight. She said she couldn’t get in touch with you?”

“Gavin.” Lyla rolled her eyes. “Now that he’s out of the underworld, he doesn’t want any distractions. He wants his four months back. It’s like he’s trying to fuse us together, but I need time to feel like a person again. My head won’t accept that it’s over yet.”

“Guys communicate through sex. It’s his way of reassuring himself that you’re both alive.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I think like a man,” Carmen said with a shrug. “And it’s what I’d do if Vinny was alive.” On second thought, it was what she’d done with Marcus. It took every ounce of control she possessed not to turn her head and look at the spot where they’d done the deed. Her fingertips tingled just remembering his hand collaring her throat.

“I don’t think I can help with Alice’s event. I’m too …” Lyla wrung her hands.

“It’s fine. You can’t do everything, and there will be other events. Other than your mom, how are you doing?”

Lyla stared at her with eyes that revealed her conflicted, rocky emotional state. “I don’t know.”

Carmen wrapped her arms around her. “You did what you had to, Lyla. You did good.”

“Carmen, I killed my dad,” Lyla whispered.

“If I killed him, would you hate me?”

Lyla considered her for a long moment. “No.”

“It was either Nora or him.”

Although Lyla’s expression hardened, she still said, “It’s not that easy.”

No, it wasn’t. No amount of logic could erase the bonds of blood. “You’ll get past it. Are you breastfeeding again?”

When they returned home after their near-death experience, Lyla had some harebrained idea that her breast milk was contaminated. Carmen was sure that a psychologist would have an explanation as to why Lyla was convinced that breastfeeding would turn Nora into a sociopath. The fact that Lyla was afraid of infecting Nora was proof that she wasn’t psychotic. Carmen witnessed Lyla shut down completely, like a soldier who did what had to be done—no emotion or second-guessing, just action.

“Gavin made me breastfeed.” Lyla crossed her arms over her chest. “Then he got turned on, which is why we were …” She waved to the spot in front of the crib where Carmen caught them making out. “Did you know men are turned on by breastfeeding?”

Carmen considered. “I’ve never thought about it, but it makes sense. I mean, they like to suck on boobs anyway. I guess if they do it when you’re lactating, they get something extra. I can see how they’d—”

Lyla held up a hand. “I don’t want to know.”

They left the nursery and started downstairs.

“It’s weird without you here,” Lyla said.

“Well, your husband needs to fucked regularly, and I need to get a life.”

“What do you mean, get a life?”

“I’ve been taking care of Mom, and then I moved in with you. I’m thinking about traveling, helping Alice, partying my ass off, going back to my stripper workouts … and I want to get a kickass hobby. What do you think it should be?”

Lyla gave her a wan smile. “I have no idea, but I know it’s gonna be nuts.”

As they passed Gavin’s office, she saw Angel sitting across from his cousin in a slick black-on-black suit that made her stop in her tracks. Fuck. She’d hoped he didn’t own a suit. She was a sucker for a well-dressed man. He looked as comfortable in his current ensemble as he’d been in jeans.

The cousins looked nothing alike. They were both tall, but while Gavin bulged with muscles, Angel was lean. If Gavin didn’t tailor his suits, they would look ridiculous on him. Instead, he looked like a buff, dangerous god. No amount of prettying up could disguise Gavin’s intensity. Angel lacked Gavin’s aggressive energy. That could be a problem for him. The dogs in the underworld wouldn’t be able to resist testing him even though he was a Roman. She should know. Vinny’s relationship with Gavin didn’t keep him alive.

As if they sensed her regard, Gavin and Angel turned their heads. She shook her head. They didn’t look alike, but their hot factor was definitely off the charts. They oozed testosterone, had arrogance to spare, and were definitely all male. They rose from their seats and started toward them. Her thumb began to throb, the same one he’d sucked on last night. She tucked her thumb safely away and tried to shrug off the sexual vibes emanating from him.

“Carmen,” Angel said with a smile.

---