“Later,” I say, fixing my jacket. “You’ve got a date with your demons first.”
She turns to leave, and I watch her go, hips swaying like a fucking weapon.
As she reaches the stairs, Zeke appears and offers his arm. Good. She’ll be safe.
I turn as my brothers flank me, each one masked, silent, charged.
“Devils of Cliffside,” I murmur, eyes locked on the chaos ahead, “you ready to remind the world who the fuck we are?”
“Let’s burn it down,” Karter grins.
I nod. “Put your masks on.”
And just like that, the night begins.
“What about Tiger? Will he be there?”
A slow grin curls at the corner of my mouth. “Absolutely. He might even let you meet the wife and kids, if he doesn’t decide to eat your hand first.”
She blinks like I just told her the Devil had a family. Cute.
I lean back, adjusting my slacks, cock still half-hard from the wreckage she made of me. “What?” I say when she stares at me wide-eyed. “Tiger’s not just some beast we keep caged for fun. He’s blood. Family. And like all family, he’s got secrets.”
Her voice is breathless. “He has a wife?”
I nod. “And children.”
Her gasp is a little too sweet for the world she’s in. “He haskids?”
“Each of us took one,” I say, voice flat now. “We didn’t trust them in the hands of breeders who’d use their blood for coin or clout. So we split them up. Raised them like our own. Made sure no one would ever be able to claim them… or hurt them.”
Her fingers flutter to her chest. “Oh my god. That means I’m... an Auntie?”
I arch a brow. “Sure. Let’s go with that.” If calling her ‘Auntie’ makes her feel included in this blackened brotherhood, then fine. I’ll keep feeding her pieces of the truth, just enough to keep her tethered.
“I have to meet them. All of them. I want to know everything.”
“Easy, Little Fox,” I murmur, rising from the chair and towering over her. “You’ve got your own monsters to dance with tonight. You can play meet-the-freaky-family after you’ve done your fucking homework.”
She pouts again, and I almost drag her back down to ride my thigh just to erase that spoiled look from her face.
Instead, I give her the warning shewantsto ignore.
“Make the call. Wait for them at the main house. Maeve’s already prepping your space.”
“Yes, Father,” she teases, lips twitching with defiance.
My jaw ticks. “That’sYes, My Devil,to you.”
The smirk fades. Replaced with something darker. Something hotter.
“I dare you, Athens,” I whisper, gripping her jaw. “Say something bratty. Give me a reason to throw you over the table and mark you up again.”
Her throat bobs as she swallows. “I wasn’t gonna do anything.”
“Mm-hm.”
She scrambles to grab her phone and FaceTime the girls. “Y’all wanna come over for a girls’ night in or whatever? I promised Wyck I’d read more of these cursed journals, and I don’t wanna do it alone. I might stab myself with a highlighter.”
