Page 134 of Sin & Sapphire

Ana’s quick inhale was the only sign she heard the exchange. Those big green eyes turned to me, filled with hope, and my heart clenched. I wanted her to look at me like I hung the moon, like she looked at Luca.

I swore softly, then handed my phone over to the cheeky fucker. He fucked around on it for a moment, and then did the same to Valentin’s, before thumbing open an app that showed all four of us in the same room.

“Who else can see this?” I asked.

“The four of us,” Russo answered quickly. “Cormac Wallace threw this together for my sister and his brother-husbands, then gave me a copy. It’s private, unlike the phone’s native tracking app.”

Ana was scrolling on her phone. “Give me Sofia’s number.”

“Absolutely not,” I snapped.

Her phone beeped. Russo had already done it. He looked at me, anger tightening the lines at the corners of his eyes. “You may be her owner, but she and I are partners—equals in our relationship. I take my cues from her, not from you.” He grinned. “But I did go ahead and clone her SIM for you, so you can see who she’s calling and read her messages.”

Bene.Maybe he wasn’t all bad after all.

“Princess, pasta’s ready,” Valentin said.

Ana set her phone on the counter, then joined him in the kitchen, listening to his quiet instructions as she drained the pasta and tossed it with sauce. He flicked her nipples once, drawing a sharp gasp out of her, but otherwise, let her alone so they could put our dinner into serving dishes.

I gestured for Luca to sit while I set the table for four. Ana’s surprised smile was worth any setback in her training this might cause. She’d earned it, making us dinner and with her sweet worry that we might have thought she was trying to escape.

Adorable.

When we’d all taken our places, I found myself between Luca and Valentin, across the table from Ana, unable to put my hands on her like I wanted.

Valentin poured wine for all of us, and we raised our glasses. “To new beginnings,” he said, looking at Ana with the same warmth he usually reserved for me. Fuck yes, I was going to marry this woman and never let her go. I just had to get everyone else on board with this plan.

We raised our glasses and clinked them together. Ana took a small sip and set hers down. Her breath sped up and she fidgeted in her chair as we each took a bite of our dinner.

Luca hummed his appreciation. “Ana, this is delicious.”

The delicate flush that spread over her cheeks made me wish I’d been the one to speak up first. Was this our future? Three powerful, dangerous men, begging for scraps to fall from her lips?

“Thank you,” she whispered. “You know I can’t cook.”

“I know you never had an opportunity to learn, but this certainly proves you can do it.” His jaw clenched. “I should have?—”

Ana snorted. “Yeah, sure, Luca. While we were sneaking around avoiding our parents?”

“What’s next on your list of dishes to learn?” Valentin asked, adroitly cutting off the conversation before it could sour the meal.

Ana blinked and looked at Valentin, surprised, as if she’d never conceived that she could learn how to cook more meals. It was so fuckin’ cute. She spent so much time on her knees with me, so much time fighting my control, I never saw her softer side.

And I wanted more of it.

“What’s your favorite dish?” she asked Valentin, with fucking hearts in her eyes.

“First rule?”

Her eyes cut to Russo, and she flushed. “Perfect obedience,” she muttered under her breath.

“Pet,” I snapped. “What’s the first rule?”

“Perfect obedience,” she said more loudly, squirming in her chair.

God, I loved this perfect blend of praise and humiliation and vowed to keep that adorable blush on her cheeks for the rest of the meal.

“Good girl,” Valentin murmured. “What do you want to learn to make next?”

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