Page 104 of The Devil We Know

“Good point,” Jessica answers affably. She's quiet for a moment, and then she giggles and says, “Don't knock the choking until you try it, Tony.”

She slides her hand up my chest, bracketing my throat just the way I like it. I lean my head back, a quiet moan falling from my lips before I can stop it. She squeezes just a touch, and my arms tighten around her involuntarily as I press my hips up into her ass, my head coming forward so I'm pressing my face against her neck. I bite down gently, eliciting a laugh from her, and that familiar warmth rushes over me as I nuzzle her ear.

“Oh, Jesus fucking Christ. Cut it out,” Tony grumbles.

“I'm pretty sure he owes us all a few at this point,” Antoinette says.

Everyone falls silent for a moment, and I hug Jessica to me, just breathing her in and enjoying the moment of calm.

Eventually, I'm forced to release her. She turns, sits up, and places her feet on the floor, immediately jumping away as I make a grab to pull her back. She tsks at me, putting some space between us by moving across the sitting area and squishing in between Carolina and Kaian.

She leans into him comfortably, and I glare at him, earning a smirk in return. Then Antoinette says, "So, shall we speak of the elephant in the room, Mr. Ferro?”

I groan, knowing I wouldn't get out of it but still wishing I didn't have to talk about it. “Must we?”

She gives me a serious look. I sigh, straightening in my chair as I prepare myself for the onslaught. “Lilith gave us the short story version already, so we get the gist of it. If there's any pertinent information you feel would be helpful, now is the time.”

I shrug and shake my head as I reply, “There isn't much to tell.”

“Why didn't you say something sooner?”

“I never planned on saying anything at all. It was supposed to be my dumb little secret to take to my grave.”

“Why?” Antoinette asks incredulously.

“Because no good could come of it.”

“But by birthright, you're one of the most powerful men in the world.”

“So fucking what?” I growl. “That entire,” I pause, making air quotes, “’dynasty' should have died with this generation.”

Antoinette rolls her eyes, and I bristle. Then she retorts, “If it's being run by people who can do good in the world, then it shouldn't have to die.”

“Maybe I don't want to be responsible for doing good in the world for the rest of my fucking life.”

She frowns, looking at me and then over at Tony with a dumbfounded expression, and Tony sighs. “What does that even mean?”

“Maybe I just want to kill all the fucking bad guys once and for all and then go about my life as a regular goddamn person.”

Everyone falls silent, and I give myself an internal eye roll at what a drama queen I am probably coming off as. But when I say I didn't sign up for this, I absolutely mean it.

The silence drags out, and I'm just to the point of starting to squirm when Tony says, “You can have that, you know.”

“What?”

“A regular life like a regular person.”

I snort with a shake of my head. “How?”

Tony raises his eyebrows at me, and the expression on his face makes it clear that he thinks I'm the stupidest person he has ever seen. And then he says, a little more slowly than necessary, “You're only the smartest fucking person any of us know. Just go. Cover your tracks. No one will know.”

Antoinette snickers, and I turn my gaze to her, glaring. “What's so fucking funny?”

Humor immediately falls from her features, and she shrugs. “Nothing.”

My lips twist, but I don't bother calling her out on her obvious lie. Instead, I turn back to Tony and respond, “It's not that simple.”

He laughs hollowly. “Itisthat fucking simple. You're the one making it more complicated than it needs to be.”

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