Page 16 of Gilded Caresses

I give a low laugh. “That’s what I thought.”

“Good deflection. But, come on. I see thatfuck melook on your face. You wanna do the nasty with those three.” She gestures behind her and I grab her hand again, this time holding on to it.

“Belle!” I hiss. “Can you try to be a little louder?”

I let my knees turn to water. They’ve been threatening to give under my weight for a while now so I give in, utterly exhausted. And I don’t think I can hold a straight face for much longer.

My weight sinks into a plush cushion and I sigh. Thank God the high dividers between the booths block me from view when we sit down.

“What? Tell me I’m lying.”

This is why we are best of friends. I know the true her. The one with the kinky desires and filthy dreams and she knows my darkest secrets.

Despite all the smiles and cute selfies, the three Navy SEALs she’s performing with tonight have no idea she’s in love with them. I can’t imagine performing a sex show with men you have feelings for and not being able to express them beyond the time on the stage.

I throw my thoughts into reverse. That’s not entirely true. My inner voice of reality calls my attention to a fact I try to ignore inside these walls. Every night this week I’ve been in the same room with a trio of mafia men that have no idea I would strip for them the second they commanded it. No love needed.

“You’re such a hussy. I can feel thosetake me I’m yoursvibes rippling off you like waves in an ocean, girl.” She wraps her hand around her throat in a dramatic way as if she’s drowning.

I put my phone on the table and run my hands over the smooth buttery soft leather of the sofa I sit on. “You are too much sometimes, you know that?”

“But ya love me.”

Pretty glossed lips pull up into a mischievous grin and then it dawns on me. She plays coy behind her margarita glass while pushing another toward me.

I take it. “You knew they were going to be here. Not just tonight but this whole week.” I lean forward. “That’s the real reason you wanted me here, isn’t it?”

I can’t believe I am so stupid. I drown my harsh words with tequila instead of letting them hurt my friend. I know she only means well.

The mood shifts from casual to tense. “You are always talking about wanting a family. I happen to know something and I’ve been waiting to see if the chemistry between you guys would work. And now I think I have my answer.”

I lick the salt from my lips. “Like some cupid?” I don’t believe what I am hearing.

She’s leaning across the table like she’s telling me a big secret. Maybe it is.

“Hear me out, okay? A couple of the women who handle club contracts between members were talking in the bathroom last week and I overheard that all three men of the Southern Alliance are looking for a breeder.”

My brows shoot up. “Come again?” I did not hear that right. Booties, onesies, and strollers are not items I associate with those three. Try more like bullets, caskets, and midnight lust fests in a dark ritzy sex club.

Belle gestures with her hands over her belly like my expression says I’m lost.

“You know.” She makes a baby bump gesture. “A breeder. Someone to have their baby under contract.”

Yep. That’s what I thought. “You are not serious. You didn’t talk to them about me, did you?” My heart races and not for the same reason as earlier.Oh Godrepeats on a loop at a high volume through my head.

“No, silly.”

I take a deep breath and center myself inside, the pad of my thumb finding the pulse point on my wrist.

One.

Two.

Three.

I release the air in my lungs.

“Let’s start over. Hi, I’m Sapphire. Have you seen my cousin? She’s about this tall, cute, plump ass in a skin-tight white strapless dress. Love in her eyes and always happy. It’s annoying really. I’ve seemed to have lost her and found a nosy blonde trying to get me killed instead.”

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