Page 51 of Sins and Secrets

Uri says, “Are you seeing that new boy of yours?”

Dimitri smirks. “Yes, I like him way more than the other guy.” He pauses for a second and adds, “I saved twenty dollars on a baseball bat.”

“Huh?”

I’m not in the fold nearly as much as I thought I was. And I’m one hundred percent sure I don’t want to be.

Donny finishes his beer and slams it on the counter. “Wave, walk me to the car.” He grabs his jacket from the back of the chair and motions to the garage. As the guys go, Donny’s the most carefree, albeit indifferent to me.

I walk beside him until we get to his sports car. It’s terrible in the snow, and I told him that when he bought it years ago. He says nothing until he opens the driver’s door. “Listen, Wave, do you want to know the real reason we didn’t let you join the family business?”

“I figured it was for my safety.”

Donny shakes his head. “No, it’s for ours.” He slides into the driver’s seat. “You’ve always been smarter than the rest of us. You see things differently and problem solve in ways the guys can’t. Truth is, Izzy getting pregnant was the best thing for the family. With her out of the picture, it made it easier to ice you out.”

“Well, fuck you too.” I slam the car door on him.

He starts the engine and rolls down the window, grabbing my arm. “You don’t get it. The men in these families live in terror.”

I guess it makes sense, between all the enemies and dangers, paranoia seems like a logical outcome.

Donny sighs. “We are terrified of the women in this family because they’re smarter and stronger than us. And you, you’re the smartest of them all.” He pauses, then adds, “Except for the pig farm thing. Geeze, Wave, why didn’t you see that coming?”

ChapterTwenty-Two

Lukas

There’sa knock at the door. Waverly. My stomach tightens and heat spreads across my cheeks. She’s all smiles in her puffy jacket and leggings. Her eyes are bright and her cheeks pink, but I can’t tell if it's from the cold or me.

“Come in.” I step aside and help her with her jacket.

She pulls her list from her purse. “I printed out two copies.”

“How very thorough of you.” I smile and kiss her forehead.

She holds the papers to her chest but bouncing on her toes like she can’t contain any more energy. “I’m super excited we’re doing this, next steps and all that, but I’m also nervous.”

She shifts on her feet, glancing away. “Did the list seem a little too…” she pauses to find the right word, “boring to you?”

I pull her into my chest and hold her like my arms can somehow fight off her insecurity. I’m struck by how perfect she fits. “Our reds are exactly the same. You have more yellows than I do, but that’s cool.” We sit down on the couch, our legs pressing together.

She exhales and instantly relaxes. “Good. I wanted to be honest because that’s the whole point of this.” She pushes her hair out of her face. “And a lot of my yellows are things I’m interested in, but probably more down the road, not tomorrow.”

“Sounds right.” It was only a few days ago she was crying and frustrated, and now she’s open and honest. I lean over and kiss her forehead. “I’m really proud of you, these aren’t easy conversations.”

She looks at me like I gave her a pink pony, and my cock twitches.

“Thank you.” Waverly hesitates, playing with her fingers, like she has more to say but struggles with the words. Finally, she takes a deep breath. “I have questions.”

I smirk. “I’d be worried if you didn’t.”

“Is it okay if I’m not too interested in the pain stuff?” She shrugs. “I mean, I guess I could try it once, but I don’t know how much I would like it.”

“First of all, it’s always ok to set boundaries. You should never worry about that. And if someone doesn’t respect those boundaries, get the hell out.”

It kinda irritates me that I even need to say it. But her relief is instant, her shoulders relax and her eye stops twitching. I lay it all out there. She might get up and run away, but at least I’m being upfront about it and we can work it out later.

“I prefer the bondage elements and some Dom/sub aspects are interesting, but I don’tneedit.”

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