Page 63 of Fixation of the Mind

Between bites, I asked, “Anyway, who’s taking me?”

“Me,” Roux said.

Rion followed with, “Ravi and I have plans for tonight that we need to get ready for.”

My mouth full, I nodded to show I understood. Tonight was going to be my first occasion with all the Foedus families, as well as debuting as a formal member of the organization. Only one of them could go with me in person, and they still hadn’t decided which one yet. Rion usually took the lead in matters where the council was present, but the others were contesting that since he’d taken me to the test.

Finishing the toast, I checked the time on my phone before I got up, cleaned my plate, and put it in the dishwasher.

“Ready, Roux?”

He slowly rose in his sexy, grumpy way, and I couldn't resist it. Standing on my tippy toes, I kissed his neck. “Thank you,” I breathed along his skin, and he couldn't conceal his shudder.

Turning to the others, I gave each of them a kiss, telling them not to worry because I would be back soon. They mumbled their half-assed “Have fun” and “See you later,” but I wasn't going to let it affect me. I just needed to rip off the band-aid.

Heading for the door, I was excited for my girl time with Cin.

“Right here.” I pointed to the sidewalk in front of the spa. Roux followed my direction, parking right where I wanted.

“Where’s the girl?” His gruff voice could be taken as him being irritated and frustrated with me, but I knew better. While he was the least vocal about me going out with Cin, I knew he didn't like it either.

When I squeezed his hand, his eyes connected with mine, and I smiled. “Thank you, and I promise to stay safe.” Giving him a wink, I let go of his hand and opened the door. His hand quickly grabbed mine back, pulling me to him as he lifted my hand to his face. He stared into my eyes, then his soft lips brushed over my knuckles. It would be too easy to fall into his gaze and forget that I had plans for the day. His sensuous breath caused a ripple effect through my body, and we simultaneously leaned closer to each other like our bodies weren’t under our control.

“Lay! You naughty girl! I didn’t know you were into super-controlling-psycho-asshole dick. Learn something new every day.”

Cin’s voice had me jerking away from him. She was leaning against the open car door, smiling like she’d just caught me in the middle of having an orgy.

“Butt out, Ricci,” Roux growled, his gaze darkening into something wild and murderous.

Nope. I couldn’t have him kill my only girlfriend.

Yanking myself from his grip, I climbed out, pushing her out of his line of sight. Bending over to keep that glare on me instead, I smiled. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m ready for you to pick me up. Bye!” Waving quickly, I slammed the door and pushed her into the building as fast as I could.

Feeling his eyes on me, I looked over my shoulder and caught him smiling right before he motioned to his eyes with two fingers then back at me. The warning was clear. They were going to be watching me. Why did that both infuriate me and make my insides curl with excitement? Something must be wrong with me.

“Alright, alright, girl! I'm through the door and away from your psycho,” she barked at me, then she turned to the lady at the desk. “We have a reservation for a couple’s massage under Ricci.” The lady raised an eyebrow at us, but Cin smiled wide until she turned back to her computer.

I eyed her up and down, whispering out the side of my mouth, “A couple’s massage or a couple of massages?”

She threw her hand out like it was no big deal. “Like it matters. Don’t worry about it.”

My mind went wild. If for some reason Rion hacked into their system and saw that Cin and I were booked for a couple’s massage, I was going to get an earful at home.

Cin lifted her hand, pulling my lip from between my teeth. “Don't worry. I added a few different traps to their system. It should keep that Ambros asshole busy for a bit. Plus, they wouldn't let us have a room together unless it was a couple’s massage.”

Her reasoning made sense, but what I was really impressed with was the way she’d prepared to deter their snooping. It was kinda ingenious.

The lady told us to come back and walked us into a dimly lit room, where calming zen music played in the background. We were directed to undress and situate ourselves on the tables, with the white sheet on top of our bodies. Since this was my first ever massage experience, I waited for the lady to leave before I asked Cin, “Does she mean everything, everything?”

Cin laughed for a full five seconds before wiping at her eyes. “Girl, it's whatever you're comfortable with, but me?” She began to remove her clothing while maintaining eye contact. “I go completely nude.” She stripped her shirt off, and I turned around, getting embarrassed by all the nudity. I really didn’t understand my oddly prude brain. I’d fucked Ravi in a bathroom while his brother watched. Hell, I’d let them do all sorts of things, yet I blushed when my friend almost showed me her boobs.

Shaking my head at myself, I put my purse down and started with my boots. With my peripherals, I noticed Cin going to the table and putting the sheet on. I took a small breath of relief. God, I'm such a weirdo.

“So, Lay, are you going to tell me what's going on with you and Ambros?”

I smirked, knowing if I told her he was a triplet and I was with all of them, she would give me legendary dick status. Was it wrong that I wanted that?

“Oh, um… We kinda got closer during training.” I tried to keep it light yet still honest. I really didn't want to lie to her about the parts that weren’t life or death.

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