Page 99 of The Price of Mercy
“Mine,” Zane chuffs, rolling his eyes. “You can’t marry two people, Kane, and I call dibs if you’re serious about it.”
Shaking my head, I meet Sam’s eyes as he walks over to us, a confident smile playing on his lips. He doesn’t have to say anything, because it’s written all over his face.
No matter who marries who, we’re stuck with each other in this life and every life after.
Epilogue
With a heavy sigh,I drop onto our new sofa, melting into the cushions as easily as sand settling into the bottom of a water glass. “I’m so glad that’s over,” I groan, unpinning my cap from my hair and tossing it into the air.
Sam catches it and flips it over to read the back. I painted my favorite quote, and Kane embellished it with a snow white raven.
“Momento mori,” he reads. “Meaning?”
Kane calls out across the room. “Remember to die!” He pours a dozen glasses of champagne and carries them over in a clutch, sloshing liquid all over the hardwood. He sets them on the coffee table I thrifted from the secondhand shop down the road. “You know, YOLO.”
I scratch my aching scalp where the pins dug in. “It means that death is inevitable, so don’t waste your life having regrets.” Lifting my foot, I plant my heel on Sam’s thigh, dirtying his fresh-pressed suit. His eye twitches, but he wraps his palm around my ankle and tickles the side of my foot.
“Take it off, pleaaaase,” I whine, wiggling my foot. “They’re killing me.”
Zane tears off his tie one-handed and tosses it onto an empty pew. His jacket is next, sliding off his shoulders and onto thefloor. “Try wearing a suit for a few hours, Kitten, and we’ll see how badly you want to take it off.”
My eyes track his movements as he untucks and unbuttons his shirt, the thin wire frames on his face sliding down his nose. “It doesn’t look so bad from over here.”
With my heel unbuckled, Sam taps my knee until I lift the other for him to remove.
“I agree,” Kane rumbles, his voice dropping as he stares at our lover. “But a closer look would make sure I’m not seeing things.”
“Zane.” I snap my fingers. “Come here, handsome.”
He pauses with his hands on his belt. “Are you giving orders now?”
“As the only person in the room who completed her tenure in higher education, I think I have the right to call the shots.” I tip back my champagne flute and nearly choke as Sam digs his thumb into the arch of my foot. “Oh, God,that’s good.” I roll my neck to relieve more aches and pains. “Someone rub my shoulders, please.”
Kane pulls me into his chest and gets to work on my back, carefully unzipping my dress for better access to my muscles. His hands are warm as he kneads my skin. “Alright, Siren. We’ll take care of you tonight since youdidgraduate today.”
“Unlike the rest of us,” Sam mutters, kneeling on the ottoman and spreading my legs. Massaging my calf, he busies himself with his work and tries to hide the divot between his eyebrows.
“You can always go back, Sam,” I remind him. Since he inherited everything from his father, he’s loaded but hasn’t spent a dime on himself. “Momento mori, remember? We’re living without regrets.”
He meets my eyes. “I don’t have any regrets.” He finds a knot in my muscle and rubs it with his thumbs. “Do you?”
“Nope. I am regret-free.” A heated shiver rolls down my spine as Sam’s gaze wanders up my bare thighs, snagging on the sliver of my panties on display. They’re black lace—my new signature.
After choosing his path to the couch, Zane finally arrives, standing next to Sam as he slowly tugs his belt loose. A blush colors the tips of his ears. “Is this close enough?”
I can’t contain my smirk. “No. Come closer.”
“Muchcloser,” Kane rasps in my ear.
I couldn’t agree more.
Zane glances at Sam for a split second before he obeys, walking up to the edge of the couch. “Like this?”
“Closer.”
With a huff, Zane plants his foot between my thighs and lifts his crotch to my eye-level. “Happy now?”
I bite my lip and drag my gaze up his body. The eagle tattoo on his chest has been joined by a skull on the side of his ribs, its inscription in latin.Amor vincit omnia.
