Page 23 of Gilded Kisses

“I couldn’t have you with me physically, so I made other arrangements. We all did, in our own way.”

He tips my chin toward Luther, who turns to show me a beautiful flourish of my name stretching across the expanse of his well-defined back. Swirls of black intertwine with the white flowers of jasmine.

Luther takes Mirsha’s left arm in hand and shows me a set of Roman numerals in black ink spanning the space between his elbow and wrist.

I reach out and trace each of the bold numerals.

“My birthday date.” My gaze climbs to find his.

“Show her the other.”

Mirsha holds up his other arm to reveal another date, but I don’t recognize the meaning. “What date is that?”

“The day we walked away, baby girl. The day we had to put our hearts on the ground and bury the love we have for you.”

Mirsha puts his hands around the back of my neck and pulls me in until our foreheads connect. He caresses the pulse point on either side, the languid motions slow and settling. Like he is grounding me to the here and now while his words throw me back to that night.

“Why did you leave me? I offered you everything I had to give, and it wasn’t enough to make you want me. I would have run away with you.”

His chest expands and collapses several times before he answers and when he does, his words are rough. Like he has sandpaper for vocal cords.

“Your father. We are powerful. Our army of men is deep. But so is his, and the bloodshed would be catastrophic. You’re the youngest princess of the Constantine empire. And we are the outsiders. You don’t think he would go to the ends of the world to protect your honor?”

War. He’s talking about the innocent people my father would murder until he got his way.

“You were his friends, not outsiders.”

“We were not blood and to your father, that meant a certain boundary line was set from the day we met. And there are some friendships that come with silent stipulations. One accepted worldwide is ‘don’t touch the daughters’.”

Fair point. “I couldn’t live with myself if others died just so I could be with the men I love.”

Luther pushes my hair to the side on my left and Viper mimics the move on my right.

“We couldn’t risk you becoming a pawn in your father’s game to always come out on top,” Viper adds.

“We bid our time and now you are ours. As unplanned as it is, we are not giving you back. You left, he can’t blame us for that.” Luther takes my hand and places my open palm over his heart. “I hope your husband tries to take you from us.”

I clear my throat. “Umm…forced fiancé, and the courtship lasted about ten minutes. It took me that long to get past all his thugs and be shuffled off to here. Now I’m scared I’ve messed up again.”

“We have amassed a larger army. Powerful allies. He can come. But the war he will start will be short-lived.”

Viper’s lips pull into a predatory grin. Holding my gaze, he catches a falling tear on the tip of his tongue.

“No tears, baby girl. Not unless they are from the pleasure we are about to give you.”

Even though I know I need to give us a chance, I am still scared.

Six

Aster, three more shit-tastic years later

Time does not heal all wounds. The only thing time did was make me sour toward the male species and land me as a glorified greeter.

Let’s start over. Hi. My name is Aster Constantine. The smartass chick in my family who no one has a clue what to do with. And since this fucking invisible crown on my head won’t fall off, I am stuck under my father’s fat, controlling thumb. And my cousin’s. Only he’s nicer about it.

So what’s my job description besides unloved, unwanted mafia princess? You’ll love this.

I serve as a gatekeeper for my family’s murderers-are-us club in the bowels of Chicago,

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