Page 61 of A Night of Indulgence and Sloth
Your first fucking mistake was thinking you’d get away with kidnapping the woman we love.
Had he been caught up in the moment of my rescue? Love seems like such a strong word for him to throw around after the short time we’ve been together, even more so when they’d both been lying to me. But I couldn’t deny my own feelings before everything went down. I’d been falling for them too. It was all such a fucking disaster now, and I couldn’t figure out how the chips might fall.
When we’re settled around the table in their penthouse, I decide to start this little chat with gratitude. “I can’t express how glad I am that you showed up at that cabin. Just in the nick of time too.” I reach down, feeling the spot Hank cut me beneath my oversized black t-shirt.
“We’ll always show up for you, Lily, regardless of where things stand between us,” Kaleb says, and something about the way he holds himself makes me think he’s trying really hard not to reach across the table and take my hand.
“Though, in the future, we’d much rather you just talk to us instead of taking risks like that. If you truly want to leave Exalta Solutions, we’ll happily find you a suitable place to work.” Aiden clasps his hands in front of him, tilting his mouth down almost in a frown, but his eyes give everything away. Normally a storm cloud gray, in the kitchen’s light they almost look silver.
As we sit here, I take in their words. Is that what I want, to leave the company? No, not really. But I don’t know how I’ll be able to trust them again.
“Did you mean what you said to Hank?” I blurt out, and I want to slap myself.This isn’t what you practiced, Lily! “His first mistake… I heard it when I was trying to find something to whack him with.”
“That we love you?” Aiden asks, and I can’t help but hold my breath as I nod.
“Admittedly, it’s not quite how we pictured you would find out, but it’s the truth,” Kaleb chimes in, shifting in his chair like a little kid.
“I don’t know what to say.”
Finally, Kaleb reaches a hand across the table and lays it palm up, giving me a choice. “You don’t have to say anything, not yet. We didn’t keep my involvement at Club Rapture a secret to harm you, but we saw how hard it was for you to handle Aiden at the office, and we couldn’t risk losing you.”
“We’d love it if you stayed on as our assistant and hope that someday you’ll forgive us enough to give us a second chance, but in the end, we’ll respect your decision.” Aiden stretches a hand across the table in a similar position to Kaleb.
I swallow past the lump in my throat, my mind whirling a mile a minute as I try to process everything. The pros and cons, possible scenarios, and everything that could go wrong, when I recall something Calantha had said to me before Club Rapture.Don’t give up because you’re scared.
That’s exactly what I’d been doing. Giving up on the chance for love and acceptance, to be cherished at work and at home by two men who had more than proved themselves. Yes, they lied, and yes, I’d have to deal with it, but that didn’t mean they were shitty people. In fact, I knew deep down in my very soul that they were two of the best people I’d ever met. Just like I did with Club Rapture, it’s time I jumped in with both feet.
“Okay,” I whisper, not trusting my voice to be steady if I speak any louder.
Silence rings loud and clear from across the table until finally, Aiden speaks. “You’ll have to be a bit more specific, Petal.”
“I don’t want to leave the company. And…”
“And?” Kaleb asks, standing up like he’s ready to pounce on me. I’d chuckle if my heart wasn’t beating like war drums.
“And although I still have to work through the pain of being lied to, I’d like to figure out this thing between us.” Their faces darken until I can almost feel the sexual tension in the air. “Slowly,” I tack on. As much as I want to be sucked into the pleasure I know they can provide, I want this to work. Jumping into sex won’t give us the time to work through our emotions.
Both men approach me, taking languid steps around the table until they stand on either side of me. Aiden tilts my head toward him and places a gentle kiss on my lips.
“Oh, we can take it slow, Blossom,” Kaleb says, pressing a finger to my chin until I face him before kissing me softly.
My body burns as if on fire, making me regret the decision to take it slow.
Fuck. Me and my big mouth.
Liliana
Three weeks later.
Ifinish taping up the last box of stuff from the apartment Calantha and I have lived in these last few years. It feels strange to say goodbye to the place that was our home after the farm but not in a bad way.
As much as I tried to pretend I wanted things to move slowly with my new boyfriends, I ended up agreeing to move in with them and have finally convinced Calantha to come live in their building.
Apparently, Aiden and Kaleb got the landlord to reduce her rent to match the old building, but I have a sneaky suspicion they’re covering the difference. They might be big shot business men, but even they couldn’t have that much sway.
“The end of an era,” Calantha says wistfully as she sets a box down.
“And the start of a new one,” I reply.
