Empire of Hate (Empire #3) by Rina Kent

“You’re one to know.” Nate takes a sip of water. “Considering all the whores you fuck on a regular basis.”

“They’re called escorts, and I swear to fuck, if you bring that up to Gwen…”

“A little misleading that she still sees you as a saint when you’re a demon, but I won’t be the one who breaks her heart. You know she still holds out hope that you’ll settle down, right?”

“Make her abandon it then. I won’t give up sex for the white fence nightmare.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Danny?”

A few months ago, I would’ve hollered “Fuck yeah” and taken my car to the nearest club. Sometimes, the riding happened during the drive.

Now the words can’t even leave my lips. They’re stuck between my teeth like annoying fish bones.

A week.

It’s been a week since I fucked Nicole again.

A week of constant sex every time I could get her alone.

A week of bribing Jayden with Despicable Me merch—holy fuck, who knew there was tons of that shit?—so he could beat it to his room and let me fuck his sister.

In my flat, naturally.

I didn’t let them go back to their place from hell, so we’re all stuck in that “Are we living together?” phase.

Though, I’m going to make her break the lease for that hellhole sooner or later. Even after I’m out of the picture, I’ll find her a better place to stay at.

That’s too many depressing thoughts about the future—or not, depending on how I should look at it.

Back to more cheerful news, on top of which is fucking Nicole.

The downside is, I can’t fuck her when Jayden is out and about in the flat like her third-class bodyguard. So I have to do it at night, thankful as fuck for soundproof walls.

There are the occasional Peeping Tom sessions from Lolli, but she soon remembers she doesn’t give a fuck and stalks to her next cat adventure.

Touching her in the flat isn’t enough, though, so I lock us in my office and take her against the table, wall, floor. Any surface that’s available to shove my cock in her warm pussy, basically.

For the sake of my sanity and my dick-shaped ego, I have the decency to pretend that I’m getting her out of my system.

The plan is still ongoing and working like a charm.

It has nothing to do with how much my dick only comes alive around her or that I’ve been obsessed like a second-rate creep with her peach-smelling blonde locks while she sleeps.

Or the fact that I’ve been diligently undergoing one sex marathon after the other as if she’s an assignment and I’m studying for the bar all over again.

And it definitely has nothing to do with the way her body fits around mine like a vise.

But maybe it does have to do with the way she stiffens whenever I start to touch her. Only at the beginning, though. She attempted to close her eyes at some point, too, but I fucked that habit out of her.

Now, I need to make her less freaked out about oral sex when she’s receiving it and figure out why she withdraws into herself every now and then.

“Daniel?” King’s voice brings me out of my mini dark fairy-tale musings.

“What?”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“That’s because rumor has it, he’s screwing his assistant. And by rumor, I mean Knox and Sebastian.”

“Sebastian?” I echo. Knox is privy to my life like a power-hungry FBI agent, but Sebastian, Nate’s nephew and another junior partner, has the attention span of a bird about everyone who’s not his girlfriend.

He’s the personification of devil-may-care, complete with tiny red horns and a tail peeking from between his legs. Knox says that’s his dick, but that’s not the point. Nor is the fact that we discuss each other’s dicks during breakfast.

“You’re lucky there are no rules against in-house romance or your ass would be with the board as we speak,” King tells me with disdain.

“Jealous that monogamy’s train is leaving you behind?” Nate grins.

“More like I’m ecstatic there’s natural selection for idiots. The world needs less of them.”

“I’m not in a monogamous relationship,” I announce more to myself than anyone else, ignoring the fact that my dick refuses to touch another woman with a ten-foot pole.

“Tell that to the blinds that are rarely open in your office nowadays.” Nate stares down at me. “I’m going to need to check if you’re actually working.”

“Don’t give me that. Judging by the number of times Grace said you were unavailable while you were locked in your office, I’d say you fuck Gwen like you’re a teenager on his first sex marathon. I doubt any work is involved.”

“Thanks a lot for the unnecessary imagery about my fucking daughter, Sterling.” King pushes me away but directs his disgust at Nate. “While I was in a coma. Really, Nate?”

He digs his club into the ground. “You’re still alive.”

“You, however, won’t be once I change my mind and decide to kill you.”

I hold up a hand. “For any future criminal case references, I didn’t just hear that threat.”

“I did.”

The three of us turn to the source of the feminine voice. Aspen stands there in a short white skirt and a blue polo shirt with a hand on her hip, looking ten times younger out of her usual suit.