Page 33 of Gilded Secrets

Con peels himself off the wall he’s leaning on and settles next to Bastian. The older of the three takes the pen from Bastian. He touches the blue tip to the cream paper and raises his gaze to mine. When the gold of his eyes mixes with the turmoil ofhis soul the results are stunningly haunting. Someone hurt him deeply. And now I understand the hesitancy.

I will never force someone into doing something they don’t want. I refuse to be that person.

“I can understand if you would rather not. There’s no right or wrong here. You can go and I will only remember you fondly and cherish the time you looked over me and loved me.”

He lets me finish before speaking. “Foolish woman.” Tinged gold turns to deep bronze. The heat I find there plays with my senses and causes warm juices to spill over my thighs. I must have moved in a way that clues him in on my body’s reaction. The line of his mouth turns up with raw, predatory hunger.

“There’s no corner in this universe you could slip away to and keep us from you.” In English the words would sound poetic, but when spoken in his native tongue as he did, they reach into me and create a bond.

Seeing his name in blue next to Dante’s is a relief. Two down, one to go. Admittedly, this won’t work without all three. I know it just as much as they do. These three are the “one for all, all for one” kind of brothers. Together they are stronger than blood and in it until death.

Bastian exchanges a look with both Con and Dante making the acid in my stomach gurgle up with the fear of him walking out of the door instead of taking the bait.

Con and Dante, both silently tell him something that I’ve yet to decipher as part of their bro code.

“We’ve been here before,” he states matter-of-factly. There’s a hint of hesitancy in his tone, too, but I don’t see him heading for the door. There’s hope.

I know he’s not referring to the Society. “She used us and left us wondering if we would ever find someone who could fill this need we have inside of us to be together.”

I’m not stupid enough to give him a chance to tell me no, but I crave to know if I could be that special someone they want. I watch my next words. “Maybe you can let tonight be a new beginning?” I didn’t mean for it to be a question, but now that it is out there, I hold my breath expectantly.

“I can do that.” His expression fills with lust…anger? I’m not entirely certain.

Despite each step being an agony of sensations, I leave the bed and cross to stand between his spread thighs. He visually strokes my curves but it’s my eyes that hold him captivated when I kneel in front of him. He’s leaning against the back of the sofa, his suit jacket open and his shirt neatly tucked in. I work the edges free and run my palms up the perfectly contoured flesh. Full contact seems to soothe both of us, so I leave my hands over his heart and let the rhythms of our heartbeats sync.

“Let’s start trusting one another. You’ve not taken any step beyond having me as your bed partner for three months. Either we do this, or we don’t.”

“Why the rush?” He moves a heavy swath of my hair from my shoulder. His palms circle my face, and he sits up to kiss me lightly on either cheek.

I swallow thickly. I can’t tell them yet, but I’m dying to let them know we are all going to be parents. But not yet. I need themto see and know the true me. And then they can decide if I am worthy.

He considers me for a moment and understands I won’t answer the first, so he tries another. “Trust, huh?”

I nod. “Please,” I whisper, moving my hands from his chest to grip his wrists.

“Give me the pen, little birdie. You want your men to play. We play. But if you need four nights, I have to ask. How many secrets do you have to share?”

“Play to find out.”

Twelve

Bastian

Melody ruined me. She ripped my heart out and left me a shell of a man. It took months for me to even want the touch of another woman.

Not until Laila walked across our bar in New Orleans did I consider letting someone in my life outside of my brothers.

Laila Romano.

She had no idea who we were but that didn’t hold her back from sliding between us and opening herself up enough to enjoy a one-night stand.

Brave and stupid.

She trusted us from that first night. I guess it’s only fair the three of us do the same.

I rise to my feet and bring Laila to hers. She’s so damn innocent and trusting it kills me to think someone else could have walked out with her that first night.

“Undress your man and do what you will with me. But remember this, trust is hard to earn and even harder to keep.”

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