Page 132 of Pretty Vengeful Queen

Logan makes a dramatically pained sound, and Dante laughs. “Madd’s right. Fucking gravity. Who invited it to this party?”

“You’re just messy sleepers.” Logan shakes his head. “None of this would happen if you two learned to sleep more neatly.”

“Just the two of us, huh?” Dante teases, throwing me a heated smile that has all the emotion inside me bubbling up at once, making my throat close up as the love I have for these men almost chokes me.

I want this.

I want them.

I want it forever.

“What’s up, butterfly?” Maddoc says, his eyes going gentle as he looks at my face. “Everything okay?”

“I want to marry you,” I blurt. “All three of you.”

Surprise flashes in his eyes, and behind me, Logan goes utterly still. Dante’s green gaze drills into me with a heart-stopping intensity, but none of them say anything for a moment.

Then Maddoc clears his throat, his voice gruff. “No. That’s not gonna happen.”

My heart falls a little. It hurts to hear that, and I don’t understand why he’s so against it if we love each other.

Maddoc’s hand shoots out, capturing mine, and he pulls me off Logan’s lap onto his. “Marriage isn’t just about what we feel for each other,” he says, almost like he’s reading my mind. “It’s a contract, a legally binding one. It’s how McKenna got his hands on your money, and you know that was my plan in the beginning too. I don’t ever want that to stand between us, butterfly. I never want you to wonder, or think we’re trying to use you for your money. Marriage puts that in doubt.”

“I… what? No, it doesn’t.” I shake my head, even more confused, even though his tender words soothe the hurt. “I don’t have any money. Not anymore.”

Something fierce flashes across his face. “You’re Austin McKenna’s widow. His fortune, the one he fucking stole from you, will all pass back to you. You’re his legal next of kin.”

I shake my head again, my stomach roiling at the thought of being Austin’s, in any way, shape, or form. “I don’t wantanythingof his.”

“It ain’t his,” Dante says harshly. “It’s yours. Your grandfather wanted you to have it, and that bastard had no right to it, no matter what that farce of a marriage made ‘legal.’”

My grandfather. He means William Sutherland, a man I didn’t even know I was related to until recently. But… he’s right.

I take a deep breath, then let it out slowly, a determination settling in my chest. “Do you think I can get it back?”

This time, Maddoc’s grin is fucking predatory. “I know you can. I made sure of it yesterday, with the help of some legal counsel Logan hooked us up with.”

Logan nods, and my eyes fill with tears of gratitude. “Thank you.”

“I love you, Riley Sutton,” Maddoc says, cupping my face. “I’m so fucking in love with you I’d burn the world down. It’s why Iwon’tmarry you.”

He takes my mouth before I can argue for it, and I sink into the kiss, letting that be enough for now.

I believe him. I can feel the depth of his love, and while I don’t agree—what’s mine is his, all of theirs, forever—I do understand his feelings, and I love him even harder for caring so much.

When Maddoc finally lets me come up for air, he rests his forehead against mine for a moment, breathing in sync with me. “You’re still mine, though. That won’t change.”

“Never.”

He smiles, kisses me hard again, then lifts me onto Logan’s lap so he can leave the bed. I can’t even imagine all he has to do in the wake of taking down Austin, so I let him go, happily falling into another deep kiss with Logan, and also not surprised when he gets up afterward too.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask.

Logan gives me that small, private smile. “Take care of our brother.”

Dante snorts as Logan leaves the room, leaving the two of us alone. “I still don’t need a fucking babysitter,” he mutters, pulling me against his side.

I roll into him—carefully—and lightly trace my fingers over the bruises on his face. “Good, because I said I wanted to marry you guys, not babysit.”

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