Page 115 of Pervade London
I ignored that. “You needed Xavier to interpret what the AI were saying to each other?” I cringed at the memory of my temper tantrum at The Biltmore when James had turned up. “What happened?”
“Xavier has quite the knack for translating AI language.” James broke into a smile. “He talked them back from the ledge.”
I realized the danger. “Oh, God.”
“He’s certainly close to that, yes.”
“Which countries?” I had to ask.
“As you can see—” James looked over at Xavier. “We need him. With no distractions.”
My mouth went dry.
James’ focus returned to me. “How’s the dessert?”
“Sweet.”
He tipped up my chin. “There’s good in this world. We’re trying to preserve it.”
“Thank you for trusting me with that.” The words slipped out quietly as I glanced at Xavier.
He looked so innocent licking cream off his spoon, so sweet-natured, and the thought he’d potentially saved the world from a disaster was mind-blowing.
James untied my wrists. “That was to stop you from running.”
“What happens now?”
“You go to bed. And you try to sleep.”
“With you, right?” I said softly. “With both of you.”
Iawoke to the pressure of being squeezed between two men—all firm muscles and heat. Wiping the sleepiness from my eyes, I saw that James and Xavier were still passed out. Them being here brought me the comfort I needed, along with a feeling of trust.
I’d climbed into James’ bed last night after drinking too much wine. My world had been rocked by revelations that still made my head spin. I’d believed the more booze I drank the clearer things would get and the more I’d understand.
But it had just made things fuzzier.
James’ right leg lay over mine and Xavier’s arm was wrapped protectively across my chest. Easing them off, I sat up trying not to wake them.
I looked over to see if either of them had a glass of water on their side-tables. There was only a small clock announcing we were an hour away from dawn.
My thirst was too intense to ignore. Scooting to the end of the bed, I climbed off and headed into the bathroom. I caressed the finely woven material of the robe I found hanging there, and pulled it on, breathing in the delicate scent of James’ cologne.
Wrapped in an enormous amount of warm snugness, I walked back into the bedroom and glanced over at my two lovers, who were still asleep.
Those two gorgeous and very secretive men had a history.The sleeping beauty of a man lying beside Xavier was the one who had launched my life into chaos. But after last night’s revelation, everything had fallen into place. The reason for his possessiveness had finally been revealed, and had brought about an understanding that made enduring all this a little easier.
Before now, I had touched the veil but never seen beyond it. Faced true power but not truly comprehended it. And found love but was destined to never reach its pinnacle.
I’d fallen under James’ spell—just like Xavier, who was caught in the web of his mentor’s allure. I was being drawn toward this man like the pull of centrifugal force, no matter how much I tried to resist. There was no going back.
What now?
Weeks of pleasure before they sent me away? Even with the knowledge that pain waited for me on the other side of this decision to stay, I’d refused to deny myself these precious moments…these unbidden pleasures from those two charismatic men. Quite simply, after everything, this was what I’d needed to heal.
All that was left was to savor every erotic interaction, every inspiring conversation, every stolen kiss and kind word that I hungered for.
Time spent with James was enlightening. Most of all it was opening my heart again so I could play my violin with the kind of passion that would see my ambition realized. Those days without Xavier were too terrible to bear.
