Page 22 of Gilded Desires

Sapphire’s warning echoes in my head. Is she right? Am I doing this to be a rebel or am I really looking for my happiness?

“Hello, Belle.”

I freeze, startled.

The voice comes from behind me. I feel the heat of his eyes on my back as his voice caresses over my senses.

I turn. “Hello.” That’s all I’ve got. My brain disconnects from my mouth momentarily. An irritating recurrence around these men. I stare shamelessly as the man sinks the sharp edge of an ax into a tree stump like it is butter. That’s when I notice the pile of chopped wood at the edge of the porch. He’s shirtless, grinning, and walking toward me before I get my mouth rewired.

“Aziel,” he offers with an easy grin. One hand holds a couple of logs while the other works to rid his chiseled abs of a few clinging wood chips. Hard pecs flex and clench with the jerky movements. I watch all wide-eyed and eager to help with the wood.

“I know your name,” I quip, showing sass. “You just startled me, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry for that.” He steps closer. Evening has set and the yellows and pinks of the sky throw his face into a steep shadow.

Standing next to me I can smell the hint of his cologne mixed with pine needles and freshly chopped wood. That tattoo I caught a peek of earlier is a draped flag that covers his right shoulder and a portion of his arm.

The rest of him is riddled with a few scars, a couple of bullet holes healed over and hard planes of muscle I crave to touch.

I’ve never felt so frantic to reach out and touch a man, but Aziel drives an urgency in me that if I don’t act right now, I might lose the chance. I’ve lusted after a few men before. A couple of days and I couldn’t remember their names. But this man and hisfriends make me want them. Worse yet, they put a burning need in me that only settles when I am close to them.

“You look good in your element.” I pat myself on the back for sounding normal.

He climbs the stairs, leans in and I sigh softly when his warm lips press against my cheek. “Glad you could make it. We didn’t know if you would bail or see this through.”

He pops the door open, and the smell of fresh garlic bread hooks my senses.

He turns a wolfish grin on me. “Ready to see what the night holds?”

Now I don’t know what I want to eat more—him or the bread. I could try both.

I slam my eyes shut and wonder if my raging heart is going to let my mouth and brain work tonight. They have all the experience in the world and here I am a virgin. There were so many better-suited women for this.

Aziel reaches for me, and I am pulled inside to find Gage and Rush in a large kitchen in the far-left corner of the house. Between us are yards of polished hardwood and not much else. Apparently, they like wide-open spaces as much as I do.

I catch their gazes when they look up and the power of their attention is almost strong enough to knock me back a couple of steps. Luckily, Aziel is behind me closing the door or I might have bolted from the intensity. Back at The Society, it had been strong, but here, in their private home, there’s no buffer between me, my desires, and their aura of power. It is palpable, thick, and covers me the second Aziel closes the door behind us.

My heart races. The way their hair is tousled, and damp says they are freshly showered. Navy-blue cotton drapes over all those bulging muscles the good Lord gave them and Uncle Sam polished. I would wager, the lower half of their bodies are clad in jeans behind that high kitchen counter.

“Fuck,”I mumble and suddenly gasp when Aziel ditches the firewood for me. He sweeps me into his arms, and I go willingly.

“I think I’ll keep you for myself,” he murmurs close to my ear, sending a wash of anticipation through me.

“I’d tie your gorgeous body to my bed and make these two over there suffer watching me have you all to myself.”

I brush back the mussed blond hair from his forehead. “I might let you, too. You’ve got the wild, mountain man vibe going on. I like it. What would you tie me up with?”

My bravado is born from facing off with my brother and all the rough types from Club Genesis. But the predatory hunger I see glinting deep in Aziel’s dark blues tells me I am way out of my depth with these three. Nothing I’ve done to date and none of the men I’ve run into have prepared me for Aziel, Rush, or Gage.

Aziel’s hands tighten on me, making me gasp. His head lowers to mine, making me do the same. “Rope. What else?” he murmurs and pulls my smaller frame into his larger one. His hair is a few shades darker than my own. Not pure blond, but not brown either. I run my hands through the thickness and love how his eyelids dip because of my touch.

Twilight chases the fading day until nothing but moonlight can pour in through the skylights and large bay windows facing the lake. Glittery white light teases over Aziel’s rippling muscles giving him an otherworldly hue.

I can’t resist anymore. I don’t need to, I remind myself. I let my hands roam over the expanse of perfect male pressed against my front. Hot, hard, and perfect. Dips, ridges, and planes—I glide the flat of my palms over them all.

“You look good enough to eat,” Aziel purrs in my ear. Behind me, the other two shuffle around the countertop and it’s not long before heavy footfalls come our way.

“You don’t get a monopoly on her time, asshole. Where the fuck are your manners?”

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