Page 92 of Her Devils

As plans are made, I rise from my seat and step out of the boardroom, pushing the safety door that leads to the back of the office building.

I close my eyes and release the breath I’ve been holding since the meeting started.

Everything around me is changing at breakneck speed, and sometimes I feel like I need to stop to make sure my feet are still on solid ground. The irony of this thought isn’t lost on me since my family’s business has to do with flying without wings—or in wingsuits if we want to be pedantic.

I detached myself from this dangerous world afterPapa’suntimely death, and I had forgotten how consuming the “flight fever” can be. It gets in your bloodstream, and it becomes your life.

I saw the same lightPapàhad in his eyes in all my guys, including JeanLuc.

As if summoned by my thoughts, he joins me outside. “Chérie, is everything all right?” he says, his hazel eyes boring into mine.

“Yeah,” I assure him, not entirely sure that I’m lying. “You dropped quite a bombshell on us.”

He tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “I know. Are you mad at me for offering this opportunity to your boyfriends?”

I gasp. “They are not my boyfriends!”

He chuckles. “Ah,chérie. Whatever they are, those men want you. Your stepbrother and his teammates haven’t taken their eyes off you the entire time we were in that meeting. Darrius too. So what’s cooking, like you Americans say? I’m guessing it’s safe to assume that your first kiss finally happened?”

His eyes are intense and full of longing for just one second.

“It did,” I admit, remembering a night in the garden of JeanLuc’s mansion last spring and our almost kiss. “Are you mad at me?”

He pulls me into a hug. “Are you kidding me? I could never be mad at you, Lenley. I hope Darrius did your first kiss justice, or I’ll finally have to kick his ass.”

I giggle. “I’ve never understood why you two aren’t friends.”

JeanLuc’s expression turns serious. “Because he doesn’t deserve you, and he takes your love for granted,chérie. That’s why I didn’t kiss you that night. I’m not sure I’m much better than he is.”

I sigh, placing my head on his chest, finding his steady heartbeat comforting to my inner turmoil. “You’ve never lied to me about who you are, JeanLuc, and you’ve never used me. But to answer your question, my first kiss was perfect.”

His next chuckle rumbles in his chest. “I’m glad. I can wait to kick Darrius’s ass then.”

I lift my face to meet his gaze. “My first kiss was with Peyton.”

“No shit?” He pulls me back to look at me as if it was the first time he’s ever seen me. “Maybe I misjudged you when I thought I’d be exploiting your innocence if I took things further between us. So are you with Peyton then?”

“Not exactly.”

He whistles, his eyes full of awe, and what I think looks an awful lot like pride, when I tell him about my deal with the Devils. “Jamais de la vie!Lenley, you do have a French half after all. I’m in awe of you,mademoiselle.”

I giggle, preening under his praise. “You make all the French sound like giant sleaze balls.”

He winks at me, squeezing me tighter to his side. “Non, Lenley. We aren’t sleazy, but we love love, and we’re experts at it. Sometimes stereotypes have some truth in them. I’m happy to see that your French half is alive and well. I’d also be very curious to see what you learned from the Devils when your deal is over.”

The idea of our deal coming to an end and all the uncertainty that means for my relationship with the guys causes my heart to squeeze painfully in my chest, but I push through it and smile at JeanLuc. What will happen with the Devils is a problem for future Lenley.

“Are you propositioning me,MonsieurMarceau?” I smirk.

His grin widens. “Peute-être. No, Lenley, seriously. I mean, would I like to have you in my bed and get to know you on a whole different level? I’d be crazy not to. But you know me, I’m a total flirt, and I never stop to pursue love just for the sake of it. If you and I were ever a thing, I’d have to be sure that it’s what I want. You aren’t a fling kind of girl.”

His words have a strange effect on me. He’s basically saying the same thing Peyton said the other day about not being boyfriend material, but while JeanLuc’s shameless declaration of lust is flattering and makes me giggle, I want more from Peyton despite knowing that I shouldn’t.

“Maybe you’re wrong, JeanLuc,” I finally say. “The deal I made with the Cove Devils is proof.”

He chuckles, and maybe his words should offend me, but they really don’t. I know JeanLuc loves me like the little sister he never had, and in his case, the adoration is totally mutual. “I’ve never seen a more failed, no strings attached deal,chérie. You have feelings for those three men, and they aren’t as indifferent to you as you think they are. Trust me on this.”

I snort at his serious expression. “Really? Who made you the expert on fuck buddy deals gone wrong?”

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