I scratched a finger up her thigh, teasing at the edge of her dress, sliding my hand to the inside of her leg. With a soft moan, she parted her legs under the tablecloth, allowing me to continue my exploration. Gently, I traced my fingers in circles on the sensitive inside of her thigh, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off her needy pussy, but not so close that she would feel anything but frustration from my touch.

“Behave, kitten,” I muttered. “Or you’ll spend the night aching in your cage instead of getting fucked by the three of us.”

“I’ll eat my vegetables.”

“That’s my good girl,” Nico said with a smile.

Sofia’s thigh muscles clenched under my fingers.

“Look at you, slut, willing to do anything for a few words of praise,” I whispered. “So needy, so desperate for validation.”

She took a shuddering breath, struggling to maintain her composure, and when her tongue peeked out to wet herlips, it was all I could not to drag her into my seat and fuck her stupid right there.

When the waitress returned to take our drink orders, Nico and I eased away from Sofia. We needn’t have bothered. Sofia’s face gave nothing away—she was a master at self-control when she needed to be. I’d do something about that shortly, but in the meantime, I admired her restraint.

“How many exams left?” Lorenzo asked.

“Just one,” Sofia answered. “Friday morning, and then we have the gala.”

“Are you ready?”

She scoffed. “Yes, I’m ready. If I weren’t, I’d be at home studying instead of letting you all play tonight.”

I grinned. “Is that what you’re telling yourself? That you were avoiding us for the last two days so you could ace your exams?”

Sofia laughed, the sound genuine and beautiful, falling over the three of us like a goddamned ray of sunshine. I was so fucked for this woman, and it killed me that I couldn’t tell if she felt the same way. With the same ruthlessness I reserved for my enemies, I ignored the tightness in my chest. The future could be faced once Sofia graduated and we’d dealt with Sergio once and for all.

Sofia’s uncle, Luciano, brought the wine, uncorking it and offering a sip to Nick to taste. As if Sofia didn’t exist, he pierced the three of us with his gaze. “Sofia’s not like Ginevra. Ginevra waltzed out of here for a decade, and nobody gave a fuck when those Irish fuckers abused her until they fell in love. Sofia’s ours.”

Luciano stared down at Nico. “Your family likes to pretend you’re not familiar with our ways, but it wouldn’t take much to drag every single one of you back in.” His gazeturned to me. “And don’t think that because you’re filthy rich and used to getting your way in Europe that we don’t have ways of solving our problems here.” When his gaze finally turned to Lorenzo, it softened, the lines around his eyes gentling. “Lorenzo, I’ve known you since Tony Russo took you under his wing. You know better than to mess with Sofia.”

Sofia’s smile turned misty. She scraped back her chair and squeezed around Nick to give her uncle a hug. “Zio, I’m with these men because I want to be,” she said quietly.

He looked at her critically, eying the pendant and the inscription engraved on it. “Don’t swim out so deep you can’t come back to shore,principessa.”

She kissed his cheek. “I won’t, I promise.”

Luciano nodded, and she returned to her seat, a soft glow of pleasure radiating from her. How many people truly cared for Sofia, but hadn’t bothered to speak up for her, to let her know that she was valued and loved, because the Russos treated her like an object, a tool?

I wrapped my fingers around her left hand, and brought it up for a kiss, surprised by the softness in Sofia’s eyes as she met mine. This woman deserved the goddamned world, and the Russos had kept her from it for too long.

When our dinner arrived, we fell silent, quietly eating ourprimountil Sofia gasped. Nico’s hand was deep under the tablecloth, the fabric of her skirt moving rhythmically as she struggled to stay still, to not give a hint that he was feeling her up under the table. Unlike when I did this at her parents’ house, he wasn’t even trying to be subtle. Lorenzo ate up the sight, pupils dark with lust, as she struggled to keep her breathing even.

Nico’s fingers sped up, and I slid mine to the inside of her thigh until my hand hit his as he fucked her roughly. Sofia brought her hands under her to squeeze the woodenchair, and I smiled. “Don’t want the whole world to see what a slut you are, love?”

She shook her head, biting hard on her lip. We’d faced her toward the room, and she shook with the effort to stay still, to not react to Nico’s fingers, to not draw attention to herself in this state. When I flicked her clit, she whimpered, a short, strangled cry. “Do you like that, kitten?” I asked.

When Sofia didn’t answer me, I pinched her clit hard enough to elicit a yelp of pain.

“Dante, she fucking loved that,” Nico murmured. “She fucking clenched so hard.”

“Did you like it, slut?” I asked again, firmer this time.

Sofia nodded, frantic, still trying to keep herself under control.

“Do you want us to stop?” I asked, smiling cruelly.

To my surprise, she shook her head. “Please,” she whispered. Nico met my eyes and withdrew his fingers at the same time I did. “No,” she pleaded in a long, low moan. “Assholes.”