LOGINDate = 15 AugustA little later in the day.Place = San Francisco (Inferno)POV - EnriqueI touch my crotch with a groan.Abstinence from Aria is a crime against nature. Against art. Against manhood.She said we should not have sex before the wedding. She said it was symbolic. Romantic. Something ab
Alejandro shakes his head. “No.”“They’re probably squeezing in a quickie,” Jackson mutters, leaning back like this is all mildly entertaining.I shoot him a look sharp enough to draw blood. And it reminds me that I am absolutely having a conversation with him later.Alejandro lets out a strained la
“You still thinking about her?” I ask quietly.He doesn’t turn. “I don’t know what you mean,” he says.I let that sit between us. Brothers don’t need lies polished.“You went there to forget,” I say.He finishes, hands steady, movements practiced, and absentminded. He exhales slowly, tucking himself
“And look where that got us.” She points to her tummy, and he gets this stupid, proud smile on his stupid face.“Face it, angel, your man is a stud.”“As if it’s so difficult to make a bloody baby,” I grunt, trying to get past my slight nausea.“So you’re saying it’s as easy as riding a bike …” Dami
Date = 15 AugustPlace = San Francisco (Inferno)POV - EnriqueJust then, Mel wobbles up the last step, winded with a red face, with Damion holding her arm.“Sorry, we’re late,” Damion charms, “Your sister takes a while to walk up the stairs.”“She takes a while to walk, period,” Luke sneers. It ear
“You’re right,” River agrees, “but you don’t need to get married to do it. Damion and Mel are not married.”“The baby was an accident.” Luke walks forward with his usual smug, condescending smirk on his face.River rolls her eyes with theatrical flair, nudging at nothing with the toe of her pink boo
“And she wasn’t wrong. Rosa tried to Sage the crib, but he bit her. At two months old. Drew blood.”“And he knocked out three people before he could walk.” It’s probably true.“That explains so much,” she chuckles loudly. She really has a beautiful laugh.“Right? And somehow that made it into the bi
“They are fitted.” Not the type he usually wears. “They are for looking good, not for being shot at.”“Your lifestyle confuses me.”“Mine confuses you?” I sneer. He doesn’t answer, just puts on the rest of the outfit.The hoodie gives him an eerie softness, like he’s just rolled out of a curated apo
Aria studies me, tracing small circles around the scar on my shoulder. “Was it bad?”I laugh. “In some ways … yeah. But also … not really. I mean, it was chaos. But the kind of chaos that made sense. And it was a lot better than the dungeons and pits we were used to.”I look up at the ceiling as I s
“Who shot him?”“Don’t know … the shooter was never caught.”The room feels smaller suddenly, walls bending inward with the weight of what he’s said. The air smells like decayed sex and shadowy unknowns. I pull the sheet even tighter around me, but it doesn’t help — the chill’s under my skin now.He







