Page 10 of Dukes of Peril

When I finally shove him off, breathless and amused, I glance at the counter filled with cans and boxes; the scattered efforts of a man trying to stay sane. “We’re Dukes,” I tell him, catching his gaze. “We’re brothers. And fucking hell, we’re fighters. But we don’t fight each other anymore. Wecan’tkeep fighting each other.”

Inhaling deep, he crosses his arms, giving me a firm nod. “No, we can’t.”

I grip his shoulders, willing him to see how serious I am about this. “From now on, we work together, and we stop this bullshit—all of it. We keep our girl safe.”

In the space between the hug and his nod, something shifts in his expression, jaw firming, eyes clearing. “We keepall of ussafe,” he says. “And if you mean it–if you’ll really work with us on this–then you’ll listen to my plan.”

My brows rise. “You already have one?”

Sy shrugs. “It’s not the best, but it’s worth a try.”

Maybe that’s why this ring–why being a Bruin–fits so uncomfortably on me. The thought of sitting above everyone else, no one at my side, makes me squirm with the wrongness of it. I wasn’t built to walk alone. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now.

This time, I’ll take them with me.

I let her sleep.

I do.

I don’t even bother her once.

Sure, I check on her a couple of times, making sure she doesn’t have a concussion or a fever. I can wait, even knowing she’s half-naked under that blanket, because it’s not about wanting her, or knowing how warm and tight her pussy is, or the fact I want so goddamn badly to fuck her again, just because I can—because she’smine.

It’s not about those things.

It’s knowing I could’ve lost her.

I spend the next two hours inside that house making a pretty good show of having my shit together. When Sy disappears through the side door, phone pressed to his ear, I don’t hover and wonder what he and Dad are talking about. I trust him. My time working alone in South Side was never about that.

When he comes back, he doesn’t say anything. He just walks into the hallway where I’m waiting by the door to the bedroom, and gives me a jerk of his chin.

“Tonight.” He keeps his voice low, pocketing his phone. I don’t miss that his eyes are ringed with just as much exhaustion as I feel. “It’s all set.”

“We should get some rest, then. Just in case…” My words trail off, unable to form around the thought of shit going south. Yeah, my problem was never that I didn’t trust Sy. It’s everyone else I don’t trust.

Sy cuts his eyes to the door and instantly averts them, ducking his head. Reaching up, he palms the back of his neck. “There’s another bedroom down the hall. Guess I’ll take that one.”

I reach for him when he goes to walk away, grabbing his forearm. “Like hell you will. I promised her I’d take you to bed with me.”

He blinks at me. “Why?”

“Because she asked me to.” I nod toward the door, knowing that when I open it, I’ll find the shape of there beneath the blanket, cold and alone. “She said she sleeps better with you. I don’t know, man.”

There’s a tightness to his mouth that wasn’t there three seconds ago. “I can’t.”

“You can’t?” I shift, preparing for a fight. “Why the fuck not?”

He gives me a long look. “Come on, Nicky. You know how it is when we’re close to her. We get…” Sy makes a wild, vague gesture. “... all fucking crazy.”

Tiredly, I wonder, “Sy, is this about your dick?”

“It’s not my dick,” he hisses, jaw tense. “It’s what I want to do with it. It’s what Ican’tdo with it.”

“So because you can’t fuck her, you’re just going to blow her off?” I glare at him, anger welling up as I shove his shoulder. “Fuck that. Your Duchess asked for you. Do you know how many times she’s asked me to come to bed with her? Once. Four hours ago.Barely.But you know what she was crystal fucking clear about? That she wants me to bring you with me. So suck it the fuck up, wrangle your cock into submission, and get into that goddamn bed.”

Christ.

This shit is the blind leading the blind.

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