4. Simon

CHAPTER 4

SIMON

Thing One: I need you to send me the guest list for the wedding, Simon.

The Mafia Queen: Putain! Has a Stellarian taken over your body, Dre? How else shall I explain what appears to be a nice young man not only communicating with his family but ASKING for a favor? [Head exploding emoji]

Thing One: I'm not asking. I am being nice by not just stealing what I need from your brain.

Thing One: Mostly because I don't want to see what sort of kinky shit you get up to with my brother.

The Mafia Queen: Touché.

It was no secret that compromising was my least favorite thing on the planet.

Those who practice it should be tarred and feathered.

The only person I adjusted my life for was Wolfy, because no one else had ever considered doing that for him .

Fine.

It's also because I love him so much, it makes me sick.

The issue with this exception to my rule was that everything Wolfy did was for his family. That meant their needs—as frivolous as they always were—became his needs, which I was then helpless to ignore.

And when it came to his precious twins, well… whatever they needed became his top priority.

After me, of course.

An invasive tap on my brain reminded me that a certain mind melter was impatiently waiting for the guest list. Exactly why the man who showed little-to-no interest in this family suddenly needed to know the names of everyone who had a place card and swag bag waiting for them…

Oh.

This is about my family, isn't it?

Not much rattled me, but Butch boldly announcing he'd invited Ziggy Andromeda to the wedding—without permission, I might add — had shaken me to my core.

It wasn't that I disliked my newfound Stellarian brother, even if he'd dared to throw hands with The Hand of Death. One of the only reasons I hadn't exacted revenge on Ziggy for the injuries he'd inflicted on my inventus was because the result had Wolfy looking like a sexy little murderous muffin.

Although I'd prefer to be the only one marking him up from now on, thank you very much.

Another reason the mercenary hadn't found himself at the top of my shit list was because—much to my horror—I empathized with the poor sod. It was a particular sort of pain to feel like even your own parents didn't want you, and it was a pain I knew quite well.

At least from my— our —father's side.

Other than our shared bloodline, our formative years couldn't have been more different. For one, I'd still had Bunny around, and despite my mother having more vodka running through her veins than maternal instincts, she'd ensured I wanted for nothing.

She was also the reason I knew the true value of my worth, and that innate quality—not the fact that we'd grown up on different ends of the galaxies—was where Ziggy and I differed the most.

I was sure of it, because no one could channel fury like he had if there was even one person in their life who cared. The last I'd seen of my brother, he was so malnourished by lack of love, he'd been prepared to take down not only the source of his pain, but himself and anyone else who got in his way.

I do hope he's had a chance to work on those anger issues.

Currently, things were a bit… unresolved between our two overdramatic aliens, and the last thing I needed to worry about was an actual Red Wedding occurring on my watch.

An added challenge was that one half of this potentially explosive duo was the inventus of the only two supes in this family who could challenge Wolfy's rule.

"I'm waiting, Simon."

Impatient little wanker.

With a sigh, I sat down in front of my laptop and opened the guest list file—newly updated with Ziggy and Micah's names.

I could just remove them…

Claim I hadn't added their names yet.

Ignorance is bliss, after all!

Ruling what was essentially a superpowered mafia may have fulfilled a top five fantasy of mine, but the daily wrangling that came with the position was exhausting. Under normal circumstances, I could adapt to most anything—and excelled under duress—but I simply wasn't accustomed to dealing with dozens of dizzying family dynamics.

Probably because I'd been an only child until recently.

And that was where the true issue lay. I'd grown so accustomed to my casual family of two, only to abruptly inherit a gaggle of unruly brats—and their equally bratty significant others—when I'd forced my way into this clan.

This is what I get for strong-arming Wolfy into marrying me…

"What's troubling you, Boss?"

I gasped and spun in my chair to find my sweet murder cabbage standing only a few inches away, gazing down at me in concern. Wolfy naturally moved like a black cat in the shadows, but he always made sure I could hear him coming.

Unless we're playing a little game of chase.

The fact he'd startled me meant I'd been so lost in my own thoughts, I'd let down my guard. While I had little need to be concerned for my safety—not with Wolfy as my shadow—I knew my senses needed to stay sharp.

"Oh, just your mini-me demanding the guest list as if he needs to know such trivial details." I waved a dismissive hand to distract from the fact that I was simultaneously deleting two spreadsheet rows with the other.

Of course, Wolfy missed nothing. His gorgeous amber eyes snapped to the screen before narrowing. "Did you just… take someone off the list?"

For a moment, my mind drifted to fantasies of taking someone off the list— permanently.

If only it was that easy.

Unfortunately, nothing about this situation was. Finding out I wasn't completely human had been a shock to my system—even if it explained some of my more psychotic qualities—but discovering my father was a tendril-wielding body snatcher from a distant planet was another thing entirely.

And he didn't even have the decency to pass down any of his powers!

It wasn't that I disliked Theo, either. I'd actually grown rather close with him since I'd taken over his ex-agent's position. This put me in charge of selling his grossly overpriced art, which meant I had to discuss each piece with him—to understand what they were about.

Fucking.

Every single one is about fucking.

Even more horrifying was that somewhere along the way, I'd grown slightly fond of the man. This was less about us being related and more about his eccentric fashion sense, devil may care attitude, and sheer flair for the dramatic.

The man does remain staunchly on brand.

I already had various safeguards in place to ensure Theo didn't bring the unholy to the impending matrimony, but his estranged son appearing was a factor I'd neither considered, nor could control.

And there's nothing I love more than control .

"Simon." Wolfy roughly grasped my chin, and I involuntarily moaned at the feel and scent of leather. "Who did you just remove from the guest list?"

As much as I wanted to make an executive decision, I respected Wolfy as the true head of this family.

Regardless of what I encourage others to believe.

"I suspect Dre is asking for the guest list on Theo's behalf," I sighed in defeat. "Which would imply Theo is concerned about whether Ziggy will be there… as unprecedented as that evidence of emotions may be."

Wolfy observed me silently, his breathtaking face an impressively impassive mask. While this frightening demeanor was useful for intimidating others, I was usually immune to its powers.

Usually.

At the moment, I felt like a suspect being questioned under the hot lights—so oddly off-kilter, I actually squirmed under the weight of Wolfy's stare.

This is unacceptable!

"May I sit?" he finally asked, although it wasn't a question.

I immediately stood, mostly because a little lap cuddle sounded like just the thing. Before I could park my arse over his cock, however, Wolfy spread his legs wide and pointed between them.

At the floor.

Oh, thank fuck.

With a bone-deep sigh of relief, I kneeled on the plush Persian rug and nestled myself between Wolfy's enormous thighs.

In other words, heaven .

He didn't question me further. Instead, he leaned forward and started typing away on the laptop, skillfully taking charge.

I'll allow it.

I'm perfectly content being down here.

In close proximity to his cock.

As much as using Wolfy as a pacifier sounded like the perfect way to unwind, I knew what was expected of me, which meant I needed my mouth free to talk for at least the next several minutes.

Let the confession commence.

"I removed Ziggy and his plus one because I assumed— rightfully, I'm sure —that Theo would overreact," I huffed, still slightly agitated over this centuries-old drama affecting my careful plans. "If Ziggy decides to come—although why he would is beyond me—he'll know to expect Theo's presence, but our Alien Rambo isn't really the one to worry about in this situation, is he?"

Wolfy hummed thoughtfully but, otherwise, he didn't reply.

He doesn't need to.

I was more relaxed and more keyed up than I'd been a few minutes prior—which often happened when I was on my knees like this—and my mouth was off to the races, no prompting required .

"The issue is what Theo might do with the knowledge he's about to see his long-lost offspring again. We have days until we depart, mon chou. There's no telling what diabolical plan he'll concoct in that timeframe. Knowing Theo, that could be anything from blowing up the resort and calling it ‘art' to fighting Ziggy to the death to simply torturing us all with endless attitude whilst trapped on an island together with nothing to eat but fried chicken."

I may need to reassess the size of our liquor order…

Wolfy tapped the touchpad decisively, as if he'd just sent an email, and I tensed. Yet again, he noticed my reaction and immediately dropped his gaze to fix attentively on me.

"Were you also wanting to remind Dre of his place in this family, Simon? Perhaps while anticipating how satisfying it would be for Theo to be caught unprepared by Ziggy's return?"

I huffed again, although there was nothing behind it but resignation and disgustingly sweet gratitude.

He gets me.

Because yes—Dre was on my last nerve and needed the reminder that I outranked him, and the idea of blindsiding the biggest brat of all brought me immense joy.

So much for my petty plan.

Le sigh.

Wolfy palmed my head, absently stroking my hair as one might pet an unpredictable cat.

"What if…" he mused. "What if we sent Dre and Theo the complete guest list and gave them the opportunity to behave like mature adults?"

IN THIS FAMILY?!

The only reason I didn't raise my head to loudly express my dissent was because my cheek had somehow found its way to the bulge in Wolfy's trousers, and I could no longer fathom the possibility of leaving my post .

My unspoken words must have been loud enough, as my all-knowing husband chuckled warmly. "Don't worry, Boss. I just emailed Randal, asking him to send a contract for the Stellari faction to sign before they get the guest list. All it requires is their acknowledgment that the contents are confidential and shall in no way be used to inflict damage of any kind to the guests listed therein. Ziggy is already bound by his original contract with me, which stated he isn't allowed to kill anyone belonging to our clan—which does include Theo, whether or not he agrees."

You devil.

"Putain… I love your mild threats disguised as contractual agreements." I tilted my head to mouth over the straining wool, already half-hard myself with admiration for my murder husband's clever play.

Leave it to Wolfy to concoct a compromise I agree with.

It was such a simple—and deliciously dominating—solution, and I could already feel the tension leaving my shoulders at the mental image of Dre's inevitable outrage.

Touché indeed.

My inventus hummed again as he began to gently but forcefully rub my face over his decidedly hardening cock.

"And you love me," he stated, his gaze drilling into my soul. "Until death."

I smirked at him. "Oui. Jusqu'à la mort plus sanglante. Pour toujours."

Until the bloodiest death.

Forever and ever.

Amen.