Page 50 of The Devil's Daughter

“Well, you’d need to set some ground rules, for one thing. Each of you will need to maintain boundaries. As for dividing your attention, just try not to let any one man monopolize you, or the others will probably get jealous. Jealousy can destroy a healthy relationship. Also, stay hydrated andalwayspee after sex. And keep lube handy wherever possible.”

My cheeks flame and I choke on my reply. “Ah… okay?”

“You think I’m joking. If you want to keep up with them, you don’t want a UTI, and they’regoingto want to do anal at some point. Chances are they want it already, but just haven’t told you.”

“Well, Drake sort of not-so-subtly hinted at that. He gave me a butt plug.”

She snorts. “Good for him. That’s a sign he takes it seriously and knows how to make sure you enjoy it. So am I allowed to ask what kind of kinky stuff this handsome billionaire you’ve bagged is into? Does he have a secret room decorated in red leather?”

“Oh, god no. He’s not into BDSM. It’s more of a voyeur fetish. Maybe I’ll tell you more next time we’re together. Until then, will you tell Papá we need to talk to him?”

“Absolutely, sweetie. Stay safe. I love you.”

Her last words cause a lump to form in my throat, and I have to force out my response. “—love you too, Celeste. Bye.”

25

Elle

I wait in my room,staring at the phone for several minutes and hoping Arturo will call. When the call doesn’t come right away, I sigh and go to the door, peeking out to see an empty hallway. My father’s obviously a busy man, and we haven’t really established a relationship yet, so I suppose it’s no wonder he’s not immediately calling me, but I trust my brother and Celeste to tell him I need him.

I cautiously make my way to the elevator, and I’ve just pressed the button when I hear the rhythmic rumble of the helicopter’s rotors approaching. Drake doesn’t keep the helicopter on the yacht. Since Duffy has a life, he returned with it to the Typhon tower, and has been on-call in case we need him. I’m not sure what would have brought him back here today so soon after leaving with Ben. The gala isn’t until tomorrow, and I assumed we’d make a pit-stop back at the penthouse in the morning to get ready for it. Having so little time to prepare isn’t ideal, but I have a little black dress stashed in my closet for party emergencies that will have to do.

Curious, I head to the upper deck and exit the elevator, wandering toward the noise. The helicopter lands while Drake stands under the awning, waiting with hands in his pockets. The wind whips his white linen shirt back, revealing his tan chest dusted with dark hair. I move up beside him and have to yell over the noise to ask what’s up.

“You’ll see!” he yells back, giving a devious grin, and reaching out to pull me against his side.

Baz arrives, scowling at me. “There you are! What the fuck were you thinking?”

I just shake my head and cup my ears, then redirect my attention to the helicopter and pretend I can’t hear him. Drake shoots me an inquisitive look, but I shake my head and mouth “later” at him.

A man and a woman climb out, protecting their heads from the wind as the rotors slow and finally stop moving. Duffy helps them extract several large trunks from the cargo hold, that they wheel into the lounge.

The woman is a curvy, middle-aged redhead in a stretchy pantsuit, and the man wears a suit. They murmur to each other in what sounds like Italian as they open trunks and begin to set up. It isn’t clear for what until they tip one trunk up on its end and open it. The latch splits down the middle, the two sides parting to reveal a row of dresses secured on hangers. Then another trunk opens, revealing a set of tuxedos.

“Come, come,” the woman says, motioning to me. “You try on dresses.”

She sizes me up with crossed arms, then nods and reaches into the collection, pulling out a deep burgundy dress in a clingy fabric. She holds it by the hanger, draping the skirt over her other arm.

“Dark colors for your complexion. Reds are good. Go put on.” She pushes the dress at me and gestures vaguely out of the room.

I turn and blink at Drake. “Is this really happening?”

“It wasn’t exactly safe to take you shopping. Severino and Ines are my personal tailors. They’ve dressed my family for three generations. They’ll fix us up for tomorrow.”

Baz is already being assaulted by Severino, who shoves a tuxedo at him. “They didn’t take our measurements. Will these even fit?” he asks, looking skeptically at the penguin suit in his hand.

“I had Duffy pull a suit out of each of your closets, and a dress from Elle’s, for them to get basic measurements. They’ll make any alterations needed right here. Lucky for Ben, the two of you are the same size. Go see if your new duds fit. You can use the dining room for changing. No one will bother you.”

I slip past the partition and down the hall to the dining room. Baz joins me, and just as I pull off my shirt, he grabs my arm and spins me around.

“Elle, quit fucking avoiding me. We don’t need Flores up our asses about messing around with you. Did you know he had a manmurderedfor touching Celeste when she was your age? Didn’t your brother ever tell you what happened tohimwhen they were kids? Flores found out about them and had Gustavo beat him to a bloody pulp.”

Yanking my arm out of his grip, I step back. “Is that why you’re so pissed? He’s not going to know. I haven’t actually talked to him yet, anyway. I just talked to Maddy and Celeste. They’ll feed him the details he needs to know. If anyone will have an idea about who would be after Drake, he will.”

His jaw spasms, and I can’t deny the genuine fear I see in his eyes just as I turn away to take off my bra and drop my shorts, careful to keep my backside aimed away from him in case there’s any evidence of the plug visible through my panties.

The dress I slip on is silky-smooth chiffon and drapes like a dream. There’s a zipper in back, and when I struggle to get it up, Baz moves in and takes over.

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