Empire of Hate (Empire #3) by Rina Kent

Daniel: In as many colorful words as your palettes. I’m kind of desensitized to it after fourteen years of hearing it, little bugger.

Astrid: Wow. I can’t believe we’ve known each other that long. Maybe we should start celebrating milestones.

Daniel: You sure you want to add more dates to the number of birthdays you have to keep up with, considering all the spawns you keep giving birth to?

Astrid: There’s a thing called a calendar. And did you just call my children spawns?

Daniel: All children are.

All except for Jayden because he acts like a thirty-year-old. I contemplate telling Astrid that Nicole has a brother, but that will bring on a whole other line of questions that I’m not ready to answer.

Naturally, I’ll tell Astrid about Nicole.

Eventually.

After she’s no longer working with me and belongs in the past tense.

Or maybe I can get away with not mentioning her to Astrid at all. There’s no love lost between the two women and…fuck, I don’t want to see the disappointment on my best friend’s face if she finds out I’m lusting after her evil stepsister.

It was that way in the past, too. I hated wanting Nicole despite knowing my best friend’s feelings toward her.

Astrid: I’m going to throw this back in your face when you have your own kids, Bug.

Daniel: Not foreseeable for the next five to six decades.

Astrid: You’d probably be dead around that time.

Daniel: Exactly.

Astrid: You really don’t plan to get married and have kids? Ever?

Daniel: Marriages are overrated. They’re just a glorified contract for a socially acceptable whoring agreement. They’re messy, full of betrayals, and usually end with sloppy divorces and a hefty check for the solicitor.

Astrid: Just because your parents’ marriage was messy doesn’t mean all marriages are. Look at mine.

Daniel: Three kids and thinking about a fourth? How is changing nappies going for you, Bugger?

Astrid: I can’t believe you’ve become so cynical, Bug.

Always was. Just tried to hide it with a charming façade in the past.

Daniel: I’m a realist.

Astrid: How about kids then?

Daniel: Wrong number. Not interested.

Astrid: Damn you lol. I mean, who will inherit your fortune? Who are you making all that money for?

Daniel: A million and one cat organizations. I would’ve given them to your children, but they have the King surname and have been richer than me since they were fucking toddlers, so I’m going for the next best thing.

Astrid: I can’t believe you’re choosing cats over actually fathering children.

Daniel: Everyone has different priorities. Mine include not changing nappies.

But even as I text that, my mind reels to when Aspen first told me about Nicole’s custody case.

For some illogical reason, I hoped—no, I wished—that Nicole had been raising our child. After all, I didn’t use a condom that time.

It didn’t matter that the maths didn’t align and that if she actually had been pregnant, she would’ve shown during our senior year.

It didn’t matter that in my head, she cheated on me with that fucker.

At that moment, I wanted Jayden to be mine and hers. A link that would connect us for years.

That was crushed to pieces once I saw the official documentation, but I asked her the question anyway.

It was worth it, if not for anything else but to see the surprised expression on her face.

Astrid and I text back and forth for half an hour, then she ignores me when Levi comes home.

Or he probably distracted her.

I lose count of the number of times he kisses her, open-mouthed, while we’re on a video call, just to force me to end it. I try to give him the middle finger by continuing to watch, but apparently, hearing Astrid moan is my limit.

That’s similar to imagining my mother having sex.

And now, I need bleach for my brain.

I stand up and go to grab a coffee, completely intent on ignoring Nicole’s presence.

But the moment I step into the living area, I pause.

Because they’re asleep. All three of them.

Jayden is holding on to the remote as a film plays on the TV. Despicable Me. No surprise there.

Lolli is curled up to his side and Nicole’s head is lying on the sofa beside them while she’s in a sitting position, the papers and the tablet snug on her lap.

I should wake them up and send them home, but the peacefulness of the whole picture keeps me rooted in place.

It’s the first time in…ever that I’ve seen Nicole off guard. Looking almost soft.

And my dick hardens against my sweatpants.

Fuck.

I endure the discomfort for long enough to get some blankets and go back to them. I cover Jayden first, then take away the remote and switch off the TV.

Carefully, I remove the papers from between Nicole’s fingers and move her so she’s more comfortable on the carpet. It’s thicker than the floor in her flat. The better option would be to carry her to a room, but she’d probably wake up.

Lolli peeks at me like a sneak as I place a pillow under Nicole’s head, then cover her.

What? I glare at the cat. If she gets sick, I’ll be the one without an assistant.

Lolli gives me a haughty glance as if thinking, Whatever makes you sleep at night, mate.

A moan mixed with a sigh rips from Nicole’s bitable lips and I remain there, perched over her like a fucking devil.