Page 39 of Sire
It was either love or a heart attack that seized my chest so fucking hard at the sight of Wren in that white dress. I couldn’t breathe standing so close to her. I wanted tounzipher dress.
And then our duet in the car? Belting Dolly and Kenny andthoselyrics? I don’t do shit like that. I don’t smile like that. But it was like hanging out with my best friend.
Who’s hot.
Who makes my dick raging hard.
Fuck, this is happening too fast, and I can’t stop it, especially when my mom says…
“I’m saying follow your heart.”
“My heart isn’t the problem. I’ll never hurt her. My dick on the other hand…”
She cuts me a look. “While you’re grown and require no lectures from me about ethics versus erections … get over it.”
“What?”
“Get over whatever it is that’s been bothering you for years. You think I didn’t notice? How you were hell-bent on finding your queen in your twenties. Woman or man. You know I’d love either. But then, like a switch when you turned thirty, the light in you died. You stopped believing in love.”
Thirty?
That’s when my father found me. He found us. And that’s when he said either I provide him with a legitimate heir for his criminal empire, a grandson with a woman of my choosing, or he’ll kill my mom.
While my brothers and I are powerful, trained, and ruthless when needed—we escaped one of the world’s most powerful criminal organizations—if my father doesn’t kill my mother himself, the hundreds who work for him will.
So, it was a deal—a deal I made with the Devil. I’d give him an heir, and he’d let us live.
But he didn’t keep the deal.
“I still believe in love, Mom, I just don’t have the time for it.”
She sniffs. “What’s that smell?”
I roll my eyes; she always does this. “Bullshit.”
“That’s right.” She points to Wren, who’s—fuck me—inspecting a new ponytail anal plug Lucy is showing her. “Because youwillmake time for her. And you will tell her everything about us and earn her trust.”
“Everything?”
“Yes,everything. I spent a week with her and instantly trusted her. There’s something about her. I want her to besafe, and so do you. And the only way she’s going to tell us who sold her into that ring is if she trusts you.”
“She thinks I’ll kill him.”
She deadpans. “Then don’t.” I make my face stone. “Sergei.” But fuck, she’s my mom. She sees straight through me. “Young man, when I tell you not to do something, you’d best listen.”
I snort. “I’m not young, Mom.”
“The hell you aren’t. You’re young enough to let yourself fall in love with her, marry her, make her your queen, and give me some beautiful grandbabies. And you and your brothers will make your vows to protect her, and keep her safe, or I will whoop your ass into next week. Understand?”
Has my mother ever laid a violent hand on me? If yanking my earlobe counts, yes. But she owns too many guns, and I respect her too much to disobey her.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll tell her everything and try to earn her trust. We’ll find out who sold her. But marry her?” I shake my head. “Mom, you know I can’t.”
She flits her jeweled hand. “Just get to know her and you’ll realize I’m right.”
“Wren has no filter. Give us four more days, and I’ll know everything about her. But they won’t accept us. My flock. They’ll say I’m a cradle-snatcher or a manther.”
“A what?” she scoffs.
