“Why?”
“Why do you think? To tell me what a terrible job I did in his place. How I’ll never be capable of running a country when I canceled appearances?—”
“What the fuck? Did he miss the memo that someone tried to kill you outside the soccer match?”
“Just another Tuesday for us royals.” I winked and took his hand, leading us down the tunnel that led to the heart of our organization.
“So you have to go? He can’t just FaceTime you?”
The put-out look on Shep’s face was so damn hot I pulled him in close and kissed that frown right off his lips.
“Aww. Gonna miss me? You can come with.”
“I can’t. I’m meeting with Cooper tomorrow about the magazine feature, remember?”
“Lachlan’s letting his man off his leash to work with you? Imagine that.” I slipped my hands under Shep’s suit jacket to run them over his warm body and then kissed him again. “Guess that means we’ll have to make up for lost time when I get back.”
“Now’s as good a time as any.” Shep licked inside my mouth, that teasing tongue instantly grabbing my attention as he backed me up against the cave wall.
“Putainoui.”It’d been a hot minute since we’d had a quickie somewhere illicit, and though this wasn’t the right time or place, I wasn’t about to say no. Hell, I’d never say no to him, and I’d barely tugged Shep’s shirt from his pants when I heard someone clear their throat.
“Think you can do that on your own time,mes chéris?” Benoit said, appearing in front of us, a wicked smile curling his mouth. “We’re all waiting.”
I pulled back from Shep to say, “All?”
Benoit nodded. “Everyone’s here.”
“Shit.” Shep let me go and tucked his shirt back into the front of his pants, though there was no hiding his semi-erect cock. Or mine.
“You really didn’t have to call a meeting to give us shit,” I said as we got ourselves together and followed Benoit farther underground. “We got your texts.”
“A key to Theo’s chastity belt.” Shep smirked. “That was very creative.”
“Yes, well, you did so enjoy giving the rest of us hell about our relationships, we figured it was only fair.” Benoit reached the entrance first and pulled open the massive door that led inside. Shep and I stepped through—then stopped dead in our tracks.
The scene before us wasn’t one we’d ever seen at Libertine, at least not down here among the group of us. Candles flickered as the only light in the room, along the immaculately set table that each of our brothers were seated at.
Shep’s voice was low as he leaned in to me. “This looks like an intervention.”
I scanned each of my brothers’ faces, trying to get a read on them. “If someone starts with ‘we’re only concerned,’ I’m flipping the goddamn table.”
“Please don’t,” Lucien said dryly as he swirled his glass of red wine between his fingers. “It’s an antique.”
Shep gave me ahere we fucking golook and we started toward the two empty seats waiting for us. It didn’t escape my notice that we were all seated across from each other without King taking his spot at the head of the table. I wondered what that meant, but I didn’t have a chance to ask, because King cleared his throat, gathering everyone’s attention.
He looked at where Shep and I still stood, and gestured toward the chairs.“Sit. We should eat before the food gets cold.”
“Wait, so this is a…dinner?” I said. It wasn’t a first for us to get together for meals in the real world, but down here? “Why?”
“I thought we should all have a talk,” King said. “About us.”
He wasn’t staring at me and Shep when he said it, but looking around the table at every one of us. Curiosity had me exchanging glances with Shep, but we both took our seats as Lachlan spoke up.
“We’ve been fractured. Distracted. And some of us”—he shot a meaningful look at King—“let paranoia get the better of us.”
“We owe you an apology, Theo,” Alessio said.
I froze.Thatwas what this was all about? An apology? I’d garnered one from King, and that was all I’d needed. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
