Page 60 of Devil's Riches

“What are you doing?” I asked, forehead creasing.

“Play along,” he muttered, tightening his arms around my body as his lips traveled up and down my neck. “Pretend we’re kissing just in case someone’s actually watching.”

“Why?”

“I need to talk to you without the sound being picked up by the camera. The music should cover our voices as long as we don’t yell.”

“Okay. What’s going on?” I asked, heart thudding with fear and confusion.

“Did you notice all the bull stuff here?” he replied. “Like the knocker on the door, and the little bronze statues everywhere in the foyer?”

I nodded and brought my hands up to his shoulders. “Yes.”

He switched his mouth to the other side of my neck, fingers trailing up and down my back. “Did you notice Victoria’s pendant as well?”

“I noticed that she was wearing a necklace,” I said, dipping my brows in a frown. “But I was too nervous to pay much attention to it.”

“I only just noticed it a minute ago,” he said, peppering my ear with kisses. “The shape of the pendant, I mean.”

“What is it?”

“A circle with two curved lines coming off the top. Like horns.”

My eyes widened. “Oh my god.”

Nate pretended to kiss my left ear again. “That’s the Taurus symbol, right?” he asked. “The bull star sign?”

“Yes.”

“So that means the Ellesmeres are probably part of the Golden Circle,” he said. “It makes sense. They’re an old family, and they’re obviously loaded.”

“Are you absolutely sure that’s what Victoria’s pendant looked like, though?” I asked, furrowing my brows. “Could it have been some random design a jeweler came up with that happens to look similar?”

“I’m sure,” Nate insisted. “Remember when she was playing with it? Try to remember what it looked like then.”

I closed my eyes and tried my best to conjure up a mental image of Victoria fiddling with her necklace. I remembered that the chain was silver with a small pavé diamond pendant, and now that I was thinking about it, the pendant was definitely circular. It also had two pavé diamond bits that curved off the top in a sort of crescent shape, serving as attachments to the chain.

My eyes flew open. “Holy shit. You’re right,” I said, stomach flipping right over with shock. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice.”

“Not your fault. You were nervous about the interview,” Nate replied. He drew his head back to stare down at me, eyes gleaming with excitement. “How fucking good is this? We haven’t even been accepted as members yet, and we’ve already found our fifth family.”

“I know. I can’t believe it,” I said, lips curving into a smile. “It’s amazing.”

Nate leaned down to plant a kiss on my neck, and his hands roamed over my body at the same time. His touch was like a drug—intoxicating, addictive, and exhilarating. “Bet it makes you feel a whole lot better, right?” he asked in a low voice. “Knowing how much closer we are already?”

“Yes,” I whispered, tipping my head back and closing my eyes as a jittery blast of adrenaline blew down my spine.

The awkwardness I felt earlier was gone. So was any regard I had for the hidden camera in the room. The hot, heart-pumping thrill from Nate’s discovery was making me want him so bad that I’d crawl naked through broken glass just to have his fingertips brush over my skin.

My fingers fumbled with his shirt buttons, revealing his sculpted chest, and his lips skated along my jaw before moving upward until they found their home against mine. He kissed me with the same desperation I felt as his fingers twirled in my hair, tugging me closer before moving down to tear at my clothes.

“Getting started without me, huh?”

An amused masculine voice cut through the air, and I wrenched myself away from Nate’s lips and turned my head to see Brad exiting the bathroom. He’d stripped down to his boxer briefs, and his tanned skin was glistening with droplets of water.

I’d almost forgotten he was here, but now that he was shirtless and stepping toward us, my earlier desire for him was igniting in my core all over again, making me dizzy with lust.

“Still want to do this?” Nate murmured against my ear, voice low and husky.

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