27. ~Caleb~

This was more than a little difficult to wrap my head around.

I'd clearly had solid instincts about Dante Mancini.

He absolutely had been hiding something major, something that directly affected Cas.

It just hadn't been anything like what I'd anticipated.

No, this was beyond.

Caspian King was his son? The heir to the Mancini Syndicate?

It had been covered up for a quarter of a century?

Jesus fucking Christ.

It was a hell of a lot to absorb.

But as I looked out at Caspian beside me eating away and chuckling at something Dante had just said, it seemed he was handling it amazingly well.

Then again, Cas could take things in his stride better than most.

They'd even started on the road to bonding now and not just with things only relegated to business and the war. They'd cooked this dinner together. Throughout the couple of hours that they'd been in the kitchen, I'd passed by a couple of times and heard them laughing and chatting away lightheartedly. I'd been dealing with my business, checking in with Sven and the heads of my facilities. Ash had done an admirable job of keeping things running smoothly while I'd been gone, but now it was time for me to get back into it.

I took another bite of my risotto. So fucking good. They'd paired it with ricotta meatballs and arugula. And they'd even made tiramisu for dessert.

It was one hell of a meal.

And not just concerning the food itself.

We were actually all together sitting around the dining room table that we rarely used. We'd needed the space of the eight-seater mahogany table to accommodate our guests.

Skylar was on my other side next to Bastian and beside him was Damien. It had been a really long time since we'd sat down with him, the last time being during the height of The Jackals takedowns long before Sky had come along.

A couple of seats over from Damien was Luke who Cas had wanted here. He was usually run off his feet overseeing King security operations so he rarely sat down with us, but Cas had wanted him here along with Dante. After all, the guy had been like a father figure to him and his rock since he'd had to take the reins of the empire as a teenager. He hadn't said much, just digging into his food and loving it, while smiling happily out at Cas and Dante as he watched them bond. Part of it was likely him relieved that we finally knew what Dante had been hiding now, but the other was him clearly being happy that Cas had another living parental figure who'd come out of the woodwork.

Unlike with my parents, Cas had been so close to Jameson and Laura King. He'd thought with their deaths that he'd lost that forever, but now he had Dante. Sort of like a second chance. In a way. Dante was very different to Caspian's parents. He was actually much more like Caspian, I'd seen their similarities before we'd even known about the whole paternity thing in not just their clothing choices, but the way they saw things, made decisions, strategized, their outlook on the world and business.

It was uncanny.

Cas reached out and clasped my hand on the tabletop, drawing me from my thoughts, and I tuned back into his conversation with Dante, while Bastian, Sky, and Damien talked about visiting Haywire when this war was over and done with. Jeez, that was gonna be a security nightmare for Cas now that Seblyar were out there in the media and press darlings. Once the media got word about them being back here together, it was gonna cause another frenzy. At least it was positive attention now and both of them were on much more solid ground to be able to handle it this time around.

"What's that?" I asked Cas as I found him looking at me expectantly, and I had no idea why.

"Dante was asking about your fondness for cooking."

I smiled. "And you told him about my kitchen mishaps?"

"I was leaving it up to you."

I took a sip from my orange juice, then told Dante, "I like prepping and shit, but Bastian and Caspian won't let me do it."

"And why is that?" Cas teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Apparently, I'm dangerous in the kitchen."

"Apparently?" Bastian called over, picking up on parts of the conversation.

"I recall Bastian telling me about a certain peeling incident?" Sky teased, nudging me playfully and making me chuckle.

Fuck, I'd missed this banter, the levity.

"Can you believe this shit?" I asked Dante.

He waved his hand with a fancy flourish. "Pay it no mind. I can teach you."

"That's a tall order," Caspian warned him.

"I'm an exceedingly patient man."

"Yeah, I'm getting that," I said.

The guy had waited a quarter of a fucking century before starting a relationship with his son to make damn sure he wouldn't harm him or poison him because of who and what he was.

Dante smiled and clasped Caspian's shoulder.

Cas beamed out at him and laid his hand there. "I'm glad you're here."

"As am I."

I smiled between them, then told Dante, "I'd like that actually."

He arched an eyebrow.

"Relax, now I know you're not a threat—actually the furthest thing from it—there'll be no more animosity from me. We're good."

"Very well. I look forward to our lessons."

Cas gave my hand a squeeze, a silent thank you for me welcoming this new development.

As the two of them started talking with Luke, and Damien started talking Bastian's ear off about his new girlfriend as well as some plans he had for Haywire, I slid my hand up Sky's thigh.

She jolted and swung her head to me with a little smirk.

"You look incredible in this," I told her, fondling the hem of the deep-blue strappy dress she had on. We were all just dressed casually for dinner, but this little silk number stood out in the best way with a sexy little scoop neck that did her breasts some amazing justice and also highlighted her silky thighs. The stripey silver and black knee-high boots were another level too.

She curled a strand of her hair around her finger. "Yeah?" she asked in a sexy, teasing tone.

"Edible too." I drew spirals on her thigh, inching higher and higher until my fingers were resting right at the edge of her panties. I could feel the lace teasing my skin. Mmm.

She fumbled with her cutlery, a little gasp escaping her.

I leaned in and whispered at her ear. "It's been so long since I've tasted you."

She turned her cheek, nuzzling against mine, heat radiating through me as she told me in her raspy sex voice, as Bastian called it, "We need to do something about that, don't we?"

"No fucking question, darling."

"Tonight? After dinner?"

"Tonight, huh?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

"I don't think I can wait that long."

Her eyes widened slightly as I slid a finger beneath her panties.

I smirked as she squirmed in her seat.

"I need an appetizer to hold me over until then," I whispered in hot words that had her trembling.

She spread her legs a little for me without even seeming to realize it, inviting me in and I dragged my finger through her folds. "Fuck, this wet just from some mild dirty talk and a wandering finger? Can't wait until we really get down to it and you're drenching my cock." I nibbled at her ear. "My dirty little slut, aren't you, Sky?"

"God," she breathed, turning into me and making it seem to anyone looking that she was just nuzzling my neck in an affectionate way.

I circled her opening, teasing a couple of times until she was panting and moaning in my ear, struggling to keep her voice down and her reactions muted.

And then I breached her, sliding my finger in nice and slow, driving deeper and deeper until her sweet little cunt swallowed me whole. Fuck me.

"I've always loved the way your cunt clenches so hard for us, darling."

I slid out slowly, then eased my finger from her panties and beneath her dress.

Then I gripped her thigh tightly with my free hand to hold her attention, making her watch as I dipped it into my mouth then sucked it clean, savoring her taste with a distinct moan.

Her eyes shot wide and her cheeks heated.

A kick to my shin had me jolting and I swung my head to see Cas flashing his eyes at me.

It had me ceasing what I was doing and just in time as Frank and Riley walked into the dining room.

Sky shoved a hand through her hair and crossed her legs, trying to get herself together as they approached.

Her dad laid his hands on her shoulders as he told her, "Sorry we're late to dinner, pumpkin. That jog through the grounds took longer than we anticipated."

"No problem, Dad," she returned, smiling out at him.

As he eased away, Riley shook her head at him as she told Sky, "It took longer because somebody decided to break into a run before they were ready. Against doctor's orders."

"Sometimes you need to push the envelope."

"And knowing when and when not to do that has never been your strong suit."

As they continued to go at it in a strangely playful way, Sky and I exchanged a look. Something was definitely going on there without a fucking doubt.

"Have a seat," Cas said, cutting through their spat and gesturing at two spaces between Damien and Luke.

"Thanks," Frank said, and then he and Riley rounded the table and took their seats.

Sky leaned into me and whispered, "I hate you."

I caught her grin. "Aww, and I love you."

"Hate? What's he done?" Bastian whispered, looking between us all of a sudden.

I smirked and licked my lips.

Knowing me as well as he did, he got the picture, his eyes hooding as he eyed Sky. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Fuck, tonight. It's on. You down with that?" he asked me.

"No question."

"And where's the ask when it comes to me?" Sky said.

"I would have, but you were talking earlier about wanting to come together as a foursome again. Talking about it intensely."

She smiled and beamed out at the two of us. "I was, yeah." She sidled closer to Bastian. "I was also trying to give you shit to rile you up, because it brings out that wolfish side of you which will be a hell of a thing later tonight."

He slid his hand into her hair. "You know me so well. I love it."

He kissed her cheek and then we settled back into the dinner.

But I could barely focus through the rest of it.

I took in some details, like Frank being excited and happy to hear that Sky was getting her portfolio together and looking to go back to design school, along with Cas and Dante discussing a business proposal, Luke asking me if I needed any assistance expanding my tactical team with Sven, and then Luke setting up another sparring session with Bastian.

But a whole lot just went right on by me.

I couldn't stop thinking about what was going to go down tonight.

The four of us coming together.

I'd wanted it for so long.

But with what had happened, what I'd revealed to Cas, it hadn't come to pass.

It had been put on hold because of me.

They'd been waiting on me to be ready to bring it up, to make the move, and suggest it.

I hadn't done anything physical since that night with Cas several days ago now.

I'd told him about dissociating for a great deal of the time that I'd been in captivity. I'd also told him about the parts that had cut into that, where I hadn't been able to maintain it. Namely, the girls being murdered and then Elijah taking me in the bath, as well as parts of him using me as a demonstration to Jeremy. After putting that out there and actually acknowledging that it had affected me, I'd wanted to smash it all to pieces by just getting right back to the physical stuff.

But I hadn't been able to.

He'd been right; I'd needed some time.

But that urge that was always there for me more so than with any of the others had been growing stronger and trying to run right over that sickening feeling that took me over whenever memories and flashes of my time in Elijah's hold rose up. And now it had gotten to such a point where I was craving Cas, Sky, and Bastian, so fucking on edge with needing to be with them like that again that I could barely check it.

I fucking needed to do this.

I just hoped I could handle it when the time finally came in a few hours and that it wouldn't be marred by those fucked-up flashes that kept happening since I'd let go and admitted to Cas that I hadn't come out of that ordeal completely unscathed.

I'd wanted to believe it, it was why I'd been so adamant and fierce about it with him.

But denial could only get you so far. It could only last for so long.

There came a time eventually when we had to face our demons and that which haunted us.