Page 101 of Dukes of Peril

“You don’t need to say you told us so.” I ball the towel up and toss it on the counter. “Again.”

They don’t have to. It rings in the air. This is what they were always warning us about. Living this life… the danger was never about how it would hurt us. That’s not how people like Saul come at fighters like us. It’s always about how it will hurt the people we love. People like mom.

Like Lavinia.

But that’s the thing about the belfry. Our fathers wouldn’t understand it, because they never had it. We’re not fractured like they were. We’re three Dukes and a Duchess, the way grandpop always knew it had to be. DKS finally has someone to get behind. The Bruin in the belfry finally has a house he can count on.

And if the Kings want a war, we’ll give them one.

17

Lavinia

I’m notsure where Sarah is taking me, but I know better than to push back when my boyfriends’ mother wants me to go with her. Although, the abrupt way we left when talk about the poker game came up gives me a clue.

She leads me to the back of the house. At the jagged turn of the hallway, I get the sense a few walls have been knocked down. That’s confirmed when she enters a large ensuite, which is beautiful, but out of place in an older home. I hesitate outside the door, but she beckons me in, stopping at an antique apothecary chest. While she opens drawers, pulling out a small box and a bundle of dark blue satin, I survey the space.

The room is a nice size, with the bed taking up the majority of the space. It’s massive, and for a second, I get caught up in imagining the three of them in there, all wound around each other like my Dukes were with me this morning.

I’ve heard of some Royal women whose relationships with two or more of her guys extended past their tenure in house leadership. Story and her Lords weren’t the first, and they won’t be the last. But that’s usually just horny college stuff. Guys getting off on the thrill of sharing a girl. Girls getting off on the thrill of being shared. I’ve never seen a relationship like theirs last this far into adulthood. Marriage, houses, kids, careers.

I think about how Sarah sleeps with two men—and I sleep with three.

How did they make it work?

She passes the bed for a set of French doors, opening them to reveal a deck that overlooks the sloped backyard. “Let’s get some air,” she suggests, beckoning me through the doors. Once we’re out there, the space illuminated by a string of lights, she gestures to a couch, eyes wistful as she stares out over the yard. “Manny built this about ten years ago. I’m sure you’ll come to see that Perilinis are very handy.”

The cushions are soft and I sink into them, feeling awkward. “Oh, I know. Sy’s been helping me with a project.”

She takes the bench seat across from mine. There’s a table between us, or what I think is a table until she flips a switch and fire ignites from the top. “It’s a little chilly. Do you need a blanket?”

“No.” I warm my hands over the firepit. “I’m good.”

She sets the two items she’s retrieved from the apothecary chest on the seat beside her and flips open the box, removing a rolled joint. Sarah’s eyes assess me carefully. “I hope this is okay.”

I straighten. “Sure.”

“Usually I just take an edible, but when the weather is nice, I like to sit back here and relax.” She flicks the lighter and burns the tip. The red ember glows when she takes a drag. “Want a hit?”

“God, yes.” I lean over and take it, securing the thinly rolled joint between my fingers. I take a drag, feeling the burn in my chest, and my slight cough makes Sarah grin.

“First time?” she asks.

“Sarah.” I stare at her. “I’m North Side.”

She laughs, watching me take another hit. “I guess you’d know a thing or two about it then.”

Inspecting the joint, I say, “Ironically, growing up, my father didn’t allow drugs in the house. I guess after my mother OD’d, he figured he’d keep me and Leticia away from the garbage that killed her.” I arch an eyebrow. “Until we’d eventually need to organize the mass sale of it, that is.”

Sarah nods, bending to take the joint from me. “But you kids always find a way, don’t you?”

Shrugging, I exhale, watching the plume rise into the evening sky. “I know the guys used to keep weed and stuff in the tower, but ever since Remy got clean, so have we.”

“Ah.” She gazes at the joint thoughtfully before taking another drag. “That’s good to hear.”

As she passes it back, I take the chance to say what’s been on my mind for a while. “Can I ask you a question?”

She doesn’t even pause. “Of course, but let me warn you. If you want to know how to balance the sex drive of three young men, I may need a glass of wine to go with this.”

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