“You have only challenged him to find new ways to make it hurt.” He laughs. “It’s a good job he likes you, there is a whole lot of pain in your future.”
I groan, “Fuck, he’s crazy,” but even as I say it, I smile.
“He’s not the only one.” Kenzo laughs, looking at me pointedly before kicking open his door and sweeping through the room. Holding me on his lap, he starts the bath and fills it with something to make it bubble before pulling me closer.
We sit in silence as the bath fills, and I relax into his arms. I should question why I don’t care about sharing my body with him and his brother, or why he doesn’t care…but honestly, I’ve done worse, and I refuse to be ashamed of that. For them, I think it’s because they went into this knowing they had to share ‘the debt.’
I’m so lost in my own thoughts, I don’t even realise the bath is full until Kenzo squeezes me. “In you go.”
He dunks me into the water, making me shout when I surface and glare at him.
“I love it when you scream my name.”
“I didn’t,” I sputter.
“No? Let me rectify that.” He winks, making me grin, what a cheesy bastard. He groans, his hand over his heart. “Fuck, you’re way too fucking cute. If you weren’t relaxing, I would give you an orgasm right now.”
I splash him and float in the huge tub, my whole body aching and my pussy and ass sore, but it was worth it. He steps back and pushes his hair away from his face before shedding his shirt and trousers. Naked, he lets me drink in his body, my tender pussy fluttering at the masterpiece that is Kenzo, but neither of us act on the attraction, even though his cock is hard.
He slips into the bath and pulls me into his arms, holding me from behind as I float with his knees on either side of me. He lathers up his hands and starts to wash me carefully. “Why are you so nice to me? When I first got here, the others hated me, even though they brought me here, but you were still nice.”
He hums. “I saw in your eyes, like I said, the same ghosts we carry. Honestly, we needed someone to come here and shake us up. We were just functioning, barely a family anymore. The business and money were taking its toll, and we were all becoming cold—Ryder too serious, Diesel too wild, Garrett too angry and withdrawn…”
“And you?” I prompt, as he cleans my pussy, making me gasp.
“Too wandering. I kept going further and further, but you bring me home, Roxy. You bring us all back and remind us why we started this. Love and family,” he whispers before kissing my shoulder. “Never stop being you, even when you’re angry. You push them to be more, you question things they had stopped questioning, yet you don’t blink at death. You can play with Diesel but talk shop with Ryder. You don’t understand how rare that is.”
I sigh. “I’m not rare, I’m just as messed up as you guys.”
“Exactly.” He laughs. “You meet our messed up with your own. You are this tiny little thing, yet you can take us down and give us shit. It’s fucking hot. Even when you tell us you hate us.”
“I do hate you,” I mutter.
“Sure.” He chuckles. “Just don’t make Diesel angry, okay?”
“Wait,” I sputter, yelping as I try to turn and almost drown, so I give up. “This hasn’t been Diesel angry?”
He laughs, pulling me closer and holding me up. “Nope. You don’t want to see it—it’s fucking terrifying, and I don’t think even you could bring him back.”
We just sit in the water, and I almost fall asleep, it’s so relaxing. He kisses me and drains the tub, helping me out.
I’m so drowsy and tired from the warm water, I don’t even protest when Kenzo dries me off, carries me into the other room, and sits me on the bed.
Kenzo slathers me in cream to help with the welts before kissing each one better, then he pulls me into his arms, bending his body around me until his knees are bent in with mine and we’re curled together. I fall asleep like that, but it must only be for a short time, because when I wake, I barely feel rested, but I can at least function now.
“I’ll let you get dressed. We have a surprise for you, come out when you’re ready,” he murmurs, kissing my cheek before slipping from bed. Flipping onto my back, I yawn and stretch, wincing at the soreness between my legs and on my back. Even after Kenzo looked after it, they still hurt, but oh well.
Surprise? I wonder what it is. It’s what gets me moving, and I pad over to my clothes, throwing on Kenzo’s discarded shirt and nothing else before heading to find out. It better be good. Like food or a gun.
* * *
I pretty much have to waddle tothe living room, which is honestly not attractive, but whatever. When I get there, Kenzo looks really excited, and even Ryder isn’t on his phone. Garrett offers me a small smile, a truce, and Diesel is, well, Diesel is bouncing up and down on the sofa, waiting.
“I need coffee,” I grumble, and point at Diesel. “Coffee, now.”
All three jerk their heads to Diesel and jump forward like they expect him to explode or something, but he simply laughs and rolls over the back of the sofa. “Sure thing, Little Bird.”
I look at the others to see Ryder smirking. “I would say we need to do what you do to get him to behave, but…well, we all saw what he did to you, and I can’t say I’m too interested.”
Rolling my eyes, I throw myself down in his spot. “I bet I could make you,” I taunt, and he laughs.
“Probably, but still, wield your new power over him carefully,” he warns, and leans closer. “Don’t take advantage.” He’s teasing, but there is a hint of caution there.
“I’m not going to make him my own personal assassin, or you guys would be fucked, I just want coffee…and food…maybe orgasms.” I shrug.
Ryder grins at me, flashing white teeth. “I’m sure I can help with that,” he murmurs seductively, his eyes glancing down at my lips and tits, which are pressing against Kenzo’s white shirt and leaving nothing to the imagination. I gulp loudly, clenching my aching thighs together. My pussy literally took a beating, but it still throbs at his words. Hooker.
He grins, swiping his finger over my exposed collarbone, making me shiver, but all he does is push a strand of hair behind my ear before looking away.
Dear fucking God, these guys are not good for my pussy. All they have to do is look at me with those mean eyes, and I melt.
Diesel slips in behind me on the sofa, jostling me forward as his legs go to either side of me. His chest is still bare, and my sewing work is hidden behind white gauze. He wraps an arm around my waist and drags me back until I’m locked between his thighs. With his other hand, he offers me a steaming cup of coffee.
Groaning, I take it and burn my mouth as I take a sip—worth it. My stomach growls then, and he laughs as he kisses my cheek. “Presents first, food after.”
“Presents?” I perk up. “Is it a new bat?”
Garrett laughs.
“Told you,” Kenzo grumbles, and hands some money over to him, which he pockets before winking at me. Dayum, this truce thing is really working.
“No, no bats, I’m afraid, darling,” Kenzo tells me, leaning forward to meet my gaze. “We wanted to show you that we can be more than…well, mobsters. This is all for you. Whatever you don’t like, we can take back, and we can get whatever you need.” He scrubs the back of his head. “I know we started off…awkwardly, but your happiness is important to us.”
I look over at the bags and boxes on the table I didn’t notice before. There are so many, they spill onto the floor. What the— “When did you even get all this?”
“Earlier, Ryder and I went shopping.” Kenzo laughs.
I look at Ryder, who only sighs. “He made me.”
“You don’t have to buy me shit,” I grumble. It chafes me, I like to buy my own way in life…this feels like I’ll owe them something after.
Ryder leans over, uncaring that I’m wrapped in Diesel’s embrace, and grabs my chin hard, making me look at him. “No strings, no expectations. This is just something nice, and I know that’s hard to understand, I still struggle, but we did it because we care. Accept that, love.”
Fuck, how did he know?
Because Ryder knows everything, and he’s made it his business to learn everything about me. That fucking man. He smirks like he knows my thoughts and leans down, licking my lips before humming. “Mmm, coffee.”
He pulls away, leaving me breathless and slightly wet. Asshole. Okay, no strings. Normal people can accept gifts. You can do this. “Seriously, I hope you didn’t spend a lot,” I murmur, and my eyes widen when I spot the Cartier box.
Diesel laughs when I try to run away, wrapping his legs around me until I have a psychotic human koala draped around me, keeping me still. Ryder plucks the coffee from my hand before I spill it and, with his eyes on me as I struggle, places those lips where mine were and downs it.
“Motherfucker,” I hiss. “You owe me more coffee.”
“I’ll make it up to you.” He winks and grabs a box, a small one, and thrusts it at me. He suddenly seems nervous, which isn’t a word I would normally use to describe Ryder. “Here, this is one I picked.”
Unable to escape, I sigh and accept the box, flipping over the lid. Inside, nestled in silk, is a necklace. It’s fucking stunning. It’s a thick golden coil, a choker, with a snake head at one end and the tail at the other. Scales cover the gold surface, and the eyes are bright red rubies. It’s breathtaking, and no doubt expensive.
Two parts of me chafe—one that expects strings to come with this, and the other that wants to be mad. I’m not something they can buy with jewels. I don’t want their fucking money.
Kenzo leans forward. “Darling, accept this. We plan to spoil you a lot.”
“Why?” I demand, clutching the box, angry now.
He shrugs. “Because we can, because we all know where you came from and most of us came from there too. You should have nice things, you should be spoiled with jewels and gifts that hardly compare to your beauty. Get used to it, it’s happening.”
“But—” I start, but Ryder narrows his eyes.
“Just say thank you, we don’t want anything in return…well, maybe don’t kick Garrett in the family jewels again.”
“The money—”
“We have a fucking ton, more than we could ever fucking need, so accept the damn gifts or you’ll hurt their feelings. The stupid assholes never do anything for someone else, so don’t turn this around now,” Garrett snaps.
Well shit.
Sighing, I gather my courage, knowing this is my issue to deal with. I decided to go all in with them, to give up fighting every little thing. This is my issue with money and presents, not theirs. Garrett’s right. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, before looking at Ryder and Kenzo who appear deflated. Ryder is grinding his teeth. “Thank you, I’ve never had a present before, and I guess I didn’t know how to respond.”
“Never?” Garrett rumbles.
I shake my head, reaching out and stroking the snake. “Never, we didn’t celebrate any holidays or my birthday as a kid, so as an adult?” I shrug. “It never happened.”
“Fucking assholes,” Garrett grumbles, as Diesel pulls me closer.
“When is your birthday?” Kenzo demands.
“Erm, May, I think.” I sigh, and Ryder looks at me quizzically. “They never told me exactly.”
His eyes narrow, his fists clenching. “I will find out.”
Diesel kisses me again. “I never had presents before these guys either, but look at them, look how happy they are, you’ve given them a purpose. They have all this money and no one to spend it on, so let them spoil you, Little Bird. It’s as much for them as it is for you. Their father used his money like a weapon, another thing to hoard. So this? This is good for them, showing them it can do something other than make you powerful.”