Page 119 of Plaything

“You seem surprised,” he pointed.

“Astonished,” I corrected honestly.

Taking note of the quietness, I looked around the room. All my professors smiled at me in a way that made goosebumps cover my skin and a blush creep up my cheeks. I was taken with Wyatt, and it was obvious to everyone. “We’d better get going,” I announced, glancing at a smirking Vincent.

“Call us if you need anything, Babydoll,” Aiden instructed.

“I will,” I assured, turning to follow Vincent out the door.

I got three steps onto the porch before my name was called. Whirling around, I was caught in Wyatt’s arms, melting into an unexpected and passionate kiss. I was tilted back, supported by his arms, hovering over the ground.

When he pulled away, he was centimeters away from my lips, and a charmingly boyish smile grew on his lips. “You’re a stone fox,” he whispered.

My inner child, my inner teenager, and my adult self all swooned. A huge, gleeful smile overtook me, and I couldn’t help but giggle at the charm. Be still my beating heart...

These men were dangerous in the best kind of way possible.

A loud song playing jolted me awake. Just as I opened my eyes, I saw Vincent’s hand moving away from the volume dial. “Oh, hey, sleepyhead,” he greeted. “You fell asleep about five minutes into the drive, leaving me to amuse myself,” he informed me.

Sitting up in the passenger seat, I noticed the fog and darkness that surrounded his car. “Sorry, I’m a crappy road-trip partner,” I admitted, still trying to recover from his rude heavy metal awakening. “How much longer?”

“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” he answered. “Shots are in the glove box,” he gave me a knowing glance.

“You’re kinda jumping the gun on that one, aren’t you?” I laughed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

Niko wasn’t kidding; that orgasm put me straight to sleep.

“I like to be prepared.”

“Have you heard anything else about what this is about?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. I like to think that he’ll have all his ex-wives dual over him and make the winner-wife number... uh, twelve?”

“Fourteen?” I corrected.

“Jesus fuck, is he trying to collect them all?” He joked.

“He wants a son,” I halfheartedly joked. If I was being honest, there was a lot of truth to that statement.

Vincent let out a huff of a chuckle before he glanced at me a few times, his face more serious now. “Hey, if you want to leave, just let me know, okay?”

It was like Aiden was using him as a puppet. Those words reeked of Aiden. He must have had a conversation with Vincent before we left. “Thank you.”

Charles’ house was massive and overbearing as it came into sight. It was a stunning mansion; there was no denying that. To me, it was a prison. There wasn’t an inch of that house or the yards around it where I felt remotely comfortable. It housed too many horrid memories—too many nightmares.

Outside, there were staff dressed in red, ready to take Vincent’s keys and park his car. Vincent was quick to grab the bottles of alcohol and place them in his pockets.

I laughed and rolled my eyes at the man as we accented up the steps that led to the double-door entryway. Taking a breath, I looked dead ahead as the butler opened the doors for us. “Miss Whitlock, it’s nice to see you again,” he greeted with a smile.

“Hi, Lawrence,” I returned the smile. He was a kind man—too kind to be working for my father. That was a sad fact that was true for many of my father’s live-in staff.

About three dozen people were scattered around the house—ex-wives, some of my step-siblings, business partners, servers, and a few others I didn’t recognize. The Tweedle brothers were present as well. They stood on either side of Charles as he conversed with a group of men. Leeches.

“Dotty,” Anthony smiled as he approached with a tray of champagne glasses. Like the other servers who lingered around the first floor, he was dressed in a suit.

“Anthony, hi,” I touched the side of his arm. “You’re working?” I asked. I assumed he’d be helping his parents with dinner in the kitchen, not out here.

“Mom kicked me out of the kitchen after I told her to take it easy,” he admitted. “You look great. I haven’t seen you in forever,” he complimented nervously.

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