Page 8 of Room One Hundred and Six

“I could be your entertainment. If that is something you would like, that is.”

Please say yes.

I need to stall so I can figure out how I’m going to get three rings of the fingers of men who could crush me with little effort.

My eyes drift to their tattooed fingers.

Sure enough, they are wearing the rings my father gave them. White diamonds encircle a cushion cut ruby embedded on top of a thick gold band. They were gifts for closing their first deal, I heard my father explain to my mother a long time ago.

The rings are just like I remember. All three are identical and stunning. I can only imagine the sentimental value these men have bestowed upon my father’s gift to them.

“How did we ever get so lucky, brothers?”

I’m not sure which one it is who speaks. I’m too focused on the startling black eyes caressing over the slope of my shoulders and then down the dip in my waist.

Jasper Ambrose.

He steps close and sweeps the pesky curl that won’t stay in place from my shoulder, his fingers briefly brushing over my skin. Tingle of electricity follows in the wake of his touch. He’s the older brother of the three. Reserved. Swift with his decisions. He’s the leader of the three for a reason. He’s a deal-maker. I remember little else.

I mentally run through the other two names of the men my father considered brothers. Shayne and Voss Ambrose. They are older now and I’ll admit my body hums with appreciation of what time has done to their handsome features. The way all that expensive cloth stretches over impressive muscles is telling.

My father never let them close to me or my sister, but he always talked about the three men who became like brothers to him.

I lost track of them over the years and now I wish I’d stayed up to date on all things Ambrose brothers.

“Lucky, yes. But we don’t have long to play.”

Jasper must be in his late forties, but he makes age look sophisticated with a light brushing of silver in his hair and creases at the corners of his eyes. The gray in his beard is a new turn on I didn’t know I enjoyed. My eyes drift over the silver in appreciation.

His expression gives very little away as he watches me take in his appearance. It’s like reading at a cement wall.

His touch on my lower back is a different matter, however. A callused palm comes to rest just above the swells of my ass, his ring cool compared to his heated touch.

He has a sharp jawline, aristocratic features with a rough-around-the-edges feel to him that gives off a dangerous vibe.

Then again, that is all three of them.

And sadly it makes him more alluring to a girl like me. My mother was always saying I like the wrong kind of boys. She never understood I took after her. My dad wasn’t a violent criminal, but he was a criminal, nonetheless.

There’s just something irresistible about a bad boy.

Jasper’s phone goes off and he steps back, quietly answering. But no matter how far away he moves, his eyes don’t leave mine.

“Don’t let him kill the mood for us. We have as long as it takes to discover what makes you scream.”

Shayne Ambrose. A little too direct and the biggest playboy of the trio. For a while he was always in the news as the hottest bachelor in Seattle. His best feature is the smoldering panty-melting grin he’s wearing. Like he has a dirty secret he wants to tell only me. The upward tilt to the right edge of his lip clings to his kissable lips. He is the middle brother and probably the most straightforward. I would bet he talks more than the other two, too. Clues of my assumption lie in how he considers every painted inch of my body and the way his eyes light up with a million questions he can’t wait to ask.

Wavy black hair plays along the collar of his button down and the perfectly trimmed beard brushing over his angular jawline makes the woman in me shamelessly purr.

He stands close enough behind me I can feel the fabric of his expensive suit against my bare, painted flesh.

“A tigress.” The tip of his rough finger traces the orange lines of the graceful jungle animal draped across my shoulders. Electricity feeds through that small connection and it’s like a switch inside me flips on. One second I’m playing the part of a club treat, and the next it’s no longer a game.

My heart keeps with that tiny revelation. I doubt these men are interested in an inexperienced virgin. But I can play a little before I make up an excuse and leave.

I pull my gaze from Jasper to look at his brother. “The tiger is my spirit animal,” I offer truthfully. The older man’s eyes hold mine in a way that feels he can easily see down to the depths of my soul. Hopefully, he can’t see all the lies I have buried in there.

“Is that true?” I watch Shayne through the mirror’s reflection as he continues to trace the tail of the animal over the side of my shoulder to where it curls around my breast. “Powerful, courageous and strong-willed.”

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