Page 14 of Room Nine: For Their Eyes Only

I slap my hand over my mouth, unaware my accent was thick enough to give me away. “I grew up in Manhattan,” I giggle through my fingers and confess what I can. “But I don’t live there anymore. You’d have to travel a long way to run into me in my city.”

“How far? How could you move away from the greatest city on earth? You must miss it,” he says, his eyes bright with curiosity.

I curl into my down comforter, feeling more comfortable as the minutes tick by. “Pretty far. And yes, I do miss it. But I had to get away from my family. They interfere too much in my life.”

I groan, instantly regretting bringing up my parents, but he caught me off guard. Vadim has a strange effect on me. I’ve abandoned all reason and jumped into the deep end of madness. I know better than this. I don’t know where these men came from, and although my instincts tell me they’re not connected to my father, I can’t be so sure.

My safety depends on discretion.

“Are you angry with them?” Of course, he asks. I put it out there, and he was bound to bite. Maybe I want to talk about it. Perhaps it’s easier to vent to a stranger who has nothing to gain or lose by knowing my business.

“It’s a boring story and not worth repeating,” I deflect and hope he drops it. The way he’s looking at me, he could make me confess nuclear secrets.

“I understand if it’s painful. But nothing you say would bore me. I want to know everything about you—whatever you’re comfortable sharing.” His warm tone and kind eyes tempt me to reveal the horrible truth, but I alter the facts, opting to tell him my father and I had a difference of opinion on how I should live my life. That’s not entirely untrue. Not wanting to marry a man I don’t love is a huge difference of opinion.

“Does he know you do this? Is that why he’s upset?” he asks, and I immediately shake my head, horrified by the thought he should ever find out. I’m not ashamed of what I do, but it’s not something I need to share with my father.

“No, it has nothing to do with this. And it’s none of his business what I do for a living.” I bring my hands to my hot cheeks and duck my head, uncomfortable with the intensity of his gaze. Maybe he still believes I can’t see him.

Struggling to speak, I swallow hard and change trajectories. I take a sip of wine, counting on a surge of liquid courage to calm my nerves, then murmur, “May I ask you a question?” My voice trembles with anxiety, unsure if he’ll answer truthfully.

“Do your brothers know you’re talking to me?” I’m genuinely curious about how deep their connection goes. In my world, men are possessive and territorial with their women. They don’t share. They wouldn’t entertain the idea, let alone the execution.

He shakes his head and brings a glass of amber liquid to his lips, savoring the taste before placing it on his nightstand. His gray eyes find mine, and a faint light twinkles in their depths. “They don’t. I didn’t mention it. But of course, I’ll tell them tomorrow.”

“There are so many women on this platform. Beautiful and more experienced women who would love to be shared by three handsome brothers. Why are you wasting your time with me? You’ve got fantasies I’m not sure I can fulfill.” I clasp my hands, wringing them tightly as I consider meeting the brothers together.

As much as I want to feign innocence, I watched hundreds of adult films before I settled on a few fantasies that piqued my nasty curiosity. And one of those included multiple men. Reality never trumps fantasy, and I’d rather not mention it to him for the sake of privacy. True fantasies, the ones that keep me up at night, are not something I want to share so soon. Even with men as handsome as Vadim and Andrei. I’m beginning to wonder what brother number three looks like.

Could they genuinely handle sharing a woman they love, or would they make me choose?

What if I can’t decide?

“You haven’t wasted a minute of my time. There’s a reason we’re drawn to you. You’ve got something special. Don’t you feel special? You should feel like a fucking princess. And we’re the three knights who climb the tower, slay the dragon, and carry you away to do dirty things.” His husky voice and piercing gaze unravels my resolve.

My heart explodes, and my face grows as hot as my core.

“Where are you, sweetheart? Maybe one day we’ll find ourselves in the same city and run into one another on a busy street,” he rasps, his low honeyed voice stoking a gentle flame in the pit of my stomach.

The clock on the corner of the screen chimes, and I take a hard look at the man on the screen, lost in his gaze and overwhelmed by my newfound attraction to these men—brothers.

What have I become?

“Goodnight, baby. I’ll send you a message on the app to make sure you don’t forget about me,” he whispers and mumbles something I can't understand. With ten seconds on the clock, I can’t ask him to repeat it.

I wave my fingers and blow him a kiss, exhaling sharply as I pull the tank top over my head and reveal my breasts. This isn’t the most skin I’ve ever shown, but it’s the first time I’ve flashed my tits. His gaze sharpens and I place the tips of my fingers over my taut nipples and shield them from view. I want him to see me, but I’m not used to flaunting so much.

Says the woman who let a strange man watch her masturbate.

My loss of inhibitions has nothing to do with making money. I want him to return because I want to see him again. Not because I want another five-hundred dollars.

“I want to see you again. Message me when you have time to talk.” I don’t know what I’m doing, but for once I’m taking a chance and following my heart. I just hope itdoesn’t come back to bite me in the ass.

His eyes grow wide, his lips part to speak, and a moment later, the screen fades to black.

Chapter10

“What time do we arrive?” I groan through clenched teeth, my throat too clogged with emotion to finish my thought. I’m fidgeting, adjusting my chair, fastening and unfastening my cufflinks, and wondering how the hell I’ll get through this flight.

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