His astonishment, while amusing, seemed to hold some sort of deeper meaning that I wasn’t privy to. It felt sort of like being the butt of a joke that everyone else was in on. Bryce just shook his head, his long, dirty blonde hair tickling my back as he did so. I looked between the two men with a clap of my hands not liking the third wheel feeling.
“Well, now that that’s sorted, I have taken it into consideration, and I’ll be declining that offer. Next.”
Vosco glowered at me from under heavy brows, but I didn’t let the sharp daggers of his eyes sway my decision. “I’m not going to spy on my new date mates. I haven’t even gone out with them yet, and you’re planning espionage that I am not qualified for. You’ll just have to hire extra security or something.”
The men exchanged a look, making Bryce groan.
He sat up a little, pulling me more firmly against him, “It really is in our best interest if the twins are distracted, Lex.”
I laughed, a little breathless at the feel of Bryce’s own distraction beneath me, “Well then you distract them! I already have enough on my plate without trying to incognito them around. That doesn’t make for a very good foundation.”
I gave Bryce a pointed look. His biggest rule, even when we were just fucking in the back of his beat up cruiser, had been no lies. Transparency was the utmost tenant and the foundation of any good relationship, no matter the kind.
I had already lied to the Giovenni’s, and while I wasn’t exactly trying to open that particular can of worms, I did have enough morals to try and move forward with as much of the truth as I could compromise.
“Baby,” he started, but I didn’t let him get any further than that.
I whirled around on his lap, glaring at him, “If you really support me doing this then you can’t want me to sabotage it before it’s even begun. Your rules, Bryce.”
“I know,” his voice was calm and low, so only we could hear, “And you know I wouldn’t ask you to go against those rules if you’re truly set on this. I don’t care how you do it, but we need them to be distracted while at the pageant.”
“So you’re telling me I can tell them the truth?” I whispered.
“Tell them whatever you have to,” his eyes searched mine, before he dipped his lips to my ear. I shivered, “But my hands are tied here, baby. My job is to get you to say yes, no matter what it takes so we’ll be at a standstill. We need this. I need this.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, and I knew he either couldn’t tell me or wouldn’t. I guess it really didn’t matter, in the end. If Bryce was asking me, and he didn’t give a shit how I got the job done, just that it did.
“If it motivates you any, I can give you a punishment for not following through,” he smirked.
I sat up straighter, narrowing my eyes at him, “Like what?”
“No good girl spanks if you can’t do what daddy tells you to.”
I gasped a little too loud. Vosco who had been watching us intently, likely trying to suss out our conversation leaned forward.
I scoffed out a disgusted sound, turning my scowl to him instead. “They aren’t going to get hurt, are they?”
If there was one thing I wouldn’t do, it would be putting them in the line of fire. At the very least I owed Don that much.
Vosco’s grin was a mile wide as he looked between the two of us. His dark eyes twinkled, brow raising, “Not a single hair on any of your pretty little heads.”
“Fine, I’ll be drinking all the good champagne though,” I scoffed. “I also don’t have anything to wear to something formal like that, and I’m sure as hell not wearing one of those fucking ball gowns.”
He clapped his hands together, utterly satisfied with himself. “I wouldn’t dream of it, dear. Now, onto the next.”