Page 37 of Gilded Desires

I throw myself into the seat in front of the dressing mirror and look myself dead in the eye. “What the fuck are you doing, Belle?”

“Helping my brother not be stupid and mess something up for himself,” I answer my own question feeling a little stupid for talking to myself. But at least I make sense. Men have a track record for fucking things up before they have a chance to really get started.

The chick in the mirror staring back at me thinks women do too.

I play what I heard last night over in my mind. Harlon wouldn’t make her leave, right? Polaris sounded hurt and turned on at the same time.

Ugh. My stomach is in knots and I am not sure if it’s for Sapphire, Polaris or for me.

There’s a knock at my door and I ease it open.

The second I see the blue of Sapphire’s eyes I yank her inside. I’m tempted to divulge the news about the Southern Alliance, but I can’t handle that conversation right now. But soon.

“I can’t do this,” I blurt out, speaking of the show.

Sapphire steps inside and I close the door. “Where did you go last night? After my meeting I came back and you were not in your room. You didn’t sneak out again, did you?” Her eyes narrow.

To keep myself from running back to Gage, Aziel, and Rush, I locked myself in my art studio and painted. I used the alone time to wash Polaris’ moaning sounds out of my head and wrap my brain around the possibility of her leaving despite what Cassius said.

I show my hands. Yellow, oranges, and purples from my acrylic paint still cling to my fingers.

“I went to the roof apartment and painted the sky over the water behind the guy’s house.” My little studio isn’t large, but it’s perfect for me and out of the way from anyone wanting to interrupt my painting. I don’t get to relax into my art and let the emotions flow often but last night I couldn’t stop the brush strokes if I tried.

I grab my purse, my long coat, and Sapphire’s hand. “Speaking of, now that they popped my cherry, I don’t need to do this show thing. Let’s go.”

“Going somewhere?”

Their aura is breathtaking. The power they emit into the room sucks the air out of the space and my lungs and all they had to do was walk through my door.

“Gage, Aziel. Rush,” I squeak.

Wearing an arrogant smile, Gage speaks first. “I didn’t peg you for a runner, beautiful.”

I cross my arms over the tiny silk robe I was told to slip into upon arriving. “Runner, sprinter, flat-out ass hauler when I have to be.”

To Gage’s right, I catch Rush’s lips twitching with what I think might be the start of the first smile I’ve seen him crack but nope. False alarm. I get a growl with a downward pull of his brows.

“Can you excuse us for a minute, miss?”

Gage turns to Sapphire, and he cranks up that irresistible southern charm to the max. Even never-before-seen dimples come out to play at the tips of his smile. Oh shit. Wow…okay then. Those are sexy.

Sapphire must think so too. She’s grinning and when her attention shifts from Gage to me and back to Gage, I know she’s as smitten with their looks as I am. It’s impossible not to be.

“Ms. Constantine,” she offers, and I cringe inwardly.Shit. I didn’t tell her they don’t know who I am. I hold my breath and look at her wide-eyed hoping she can see I’m freaking out.

From behind me, I can feel all three Navy SEALs consider my cousin for a minute. I don’t need to see their faces to know they instantly know the name and it leaves a bad taste in their mouths.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

They cannotfigure out who I am. Not until I am ready. Or ever.

Sapphire winks in my direction and heads for the door. “I’ll leave you all to it.”

She ducks out and I’m left alone in a small dressing room with three huge alphas. I release a sigh the second the door snicks closed.

“Gentlemen,” I start, turning on my heel with a smile in place. My voice starts to tremble as hard as my hands.

They surround me. As soon as their heat cocoons me, our first time together comes rushing back. The caresses, the feeling of being safe in their arms and I forget about secret identities and mafia blood ties.

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