Page 9 of Perfidious Passion

"Hey," he greets, and turns to the mirror.

I frown. "Hey. Do you know what's up with Lilly?"

His eyes shoot to mine in the mirror and he leans away from his perfect reflection. "What do you mean? Was she being weird with you?"

"No, it's just..." I trail off, feeling dumb. "Did you see what she's wearing?"

He shakes his head, looking confused, so I have him follow me downstairs. Half way down the stairs, my eyes immediately land on my wife leaning against the island with a glass of wine in her hand while she smiles at whatever Aaron is saying. The open concept main level gives us a perfect view of her outfit and posture.

Caleb grabs the back of my shirt to keep me from continuing down. I turn and catch his furrowed brows. "I see what you mean," he mutters, looking at her, then glaring down at me from his spot on a higher step. "Did something happen?"

I glare right back. "If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you, dumbass."

"Well, why didn't you ask her?"

At this point we're whisper arguing and I'm starting to get annoyed. "Because if I asked her, and she found out we don’t think her outfit is normal, she would have felt even more self-conscious than she already does."

Lilly is a confident woman. She loves her small waist and plump ass just like we do, but she has days when all thatconfidence disappears. The vine tattoo under her left breast that curls into her cleavage is one of her favorite things to show off with a V neckline, but there isnoskin showing tonight. If she's wearing a baggy shirt, she's in tight pants, and vice versa. So for her not to embrace her style and confidence on a fancy night out means something's wrong.

Grumbling to himself, Caleb shoves me slightly to get me moving. When Lilly catches sight of us together, she blushes and shifts in her low heels. My brother groans loudly behind me before he descends on her.

"Fuck baby, I'm going to rip this dress off of you later," he growls into her mouth.

My dick hardens, but the hidden meaning makes me feel better. We're going to give her her confidence back while simultaneously destroying the dress that hides our woman from us.

I glance at Aaron and catch his eye. He mirrors my concern.Good, we're all on the same page.

Lilly

FEB. 12TH - WEDNESDAY

My God, this dress is fucking itchy.It was annoying the hell out of me before I even started sweating. Now with the hot lights pulsing down on me in the low hum of the restaurant, I'm about to burst into flames.

I feel so completely out of place here too. The fanciness isn't just elegant, it's obviously a place where rich people come and are known by name. I may be dressing the part, but I couldn't feel any more off kilter.

My water has since gone empty, but every time I attempt to have it filled, Brett, being thegraciousman he is, asks the waitress to top off my wine. I want to scream at him it's not what I want, but I stay silent when Aaron shoots me little smiles of encouragement.

He wants me to enjoy the night out on his boss’s dime. That's great and all, but there's no fucking way my inhibitions are getting any lower than the slight tipsiness I have going already. If I wasn't here with my three men, there's no way any alcohol would be touching my lips.

"Where do you guys like to travel?" Brett asks, leaning back in his chair with a scotch swirling in his hands.

It's frustrating as hell that nobody except me seems uncomfortable around him, but he's good. Or maybe I'm dumb. I don't know anymore.

I lower my gaze and take the tiniest sip of my wine. The horrific fish in front of me goes untouched, but the bread and potatoes are long gone. Aaron felt bad when we got here and realized this was a seafood place, but I waved him off and ushered him to sit next to his boss. I needed a barrier between that man and myself.

"We're going out to Cali this summer to visit Lilly's brother."

I stiffen at Aaron's words. Brett doesn't need to know anything about me, especially not the fact that one of my protectors lives thousands of miles away. He just made me look even more vulnerable.

Heat tickles my neck and my two-toned red hair shifts with Dean's presence. "You okay, baby?"

I nod and sip my wine again before pushing it further away from me. "Can I have your water?"

When I peek up at my husband, the worry I see in his eyes gives me hope, until he speaks again. "Are you not feeling well? You look a little pale."

So he really doesn't see what I see then? "I'm?—"

Brett laughs softly and interrupts our hushed conversation. "Did the little lady have too much wine?"

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