Page 45 of Where the Wicked Reign

He cocked an eyebrow. “Really? So you’re fine with Julian’s obvious interest in her?”

“He’s one of us.”

“So, if he did more than justsupervisewhenever you get around to fucking her, you’d be able to handle that and accept it?”

My cock jumped at the suggestion.

Mmm.Message received.

“We’ve shared people before.”

“Not someone you’ve been insanely fixated on for so long.”

“Just talking about it is turning me on after all that time spent calming down in the shower, so, yes, I’d clearly be interested in exploring that dynamic.” I shifted my towel. “It’s her decision, though.”

He blew out a breath of major relief.

“What?”

“Just that Julian’s been blowing up my phone about this for days on end, realizing he’s interested in her and freaking because of you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I wanted to make sure you were calm.”

“I am.”

He ran his hand over his spiky hair. “This entire situation is dangerous.She’sdangerous. To you, especially. And that makes it so for all of us.”

I scrubbed my hand over my face, trying to contain my agitation. I was known for being a great deal better at it, but everything he was saying was getting under my skin more than it normally ever would because of the fucked-up circumstances.

I felt like I was losing power—and I was, thanks to Leo. That meant a loss of control too and in our world, that could be fatal. I’d spent years getting to a place where everything was aligned and organized down to every little detail. But with everything happening, that was starting to crumble and it would take almost superhuman effort to hold things together.

“These are the facts, Milo. First, this marriage is happening whether any of us like it or not. There’s no escaping it. That means I have to bring her into our lives.”

“I get that, but you don’t need to be so accommodating about it and let her run right over you. You need to set rules and boundaries.”

“You want me to cage her?”

“If that’s what it takes to contain her, yes.”

“You don’t know Caterina. She won’t accept that. Not only will she not take well to it, she’ll make our lives a living hell. It will cause more trouble and damage than doing this in the peaceful andaccommodatingway as I intend to.”

“Nico—”

“Secondly,she’s also an asset. You heard her, saw proof of her skills. She’s had her ear to the ground this entire time, impacting operations, deals, and protecting this and that.”

“She’s a puppet master. That’s what she fucking is.”

“Something that’s an extreme benefit with what we’re up againstandwhat we’re looking to do. She’s a major player that no one knows about. No one but us. That gives us a huge advantage.”

“This is all based on the assumption that you can control her, that she’ll work with us, instead of doing the opposite and fucking us all over.”

“You’re looking for trust when you need to be looking at endgames aligning. Which ours do with her.That’swhat’s needed to form an effective alliance, especially in our world, where trust can be a fleeting thing.”

“It’s notfleetingbetween you, me, and Julian. That’s unquestionably solid. And pulling her into it, especially at this stage, it’s a dangerous move. The wrong one.”

“We’re not pulling her into it. At this stage, I agree, it’s a risk. We take it one step at a time. One careful step at a time.”

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