Alastor had left his jacket here. I hadn’t paid much attention to what either Alastor or Octavian had been wearing, but Alastor, at least, had taken the time to change before taking up his watch over me. Instead of the dark velvet jacket he’d been wearing for the masquerade, this one was a smoky gray. It was still way more formal than what a normal person would wear to a middle-of-the-night vigil, but that’s a billionaire for you.
And it smelled heavenly.
I found myself leaning closer without even thinking, breathing in that scent. It was fresh and masculine and slightly unusual, like a glade deep in the woods but with a hint of something from far away. Or like earthy cedar trees with a touch of spicy citrus.
What the heck are you doing?I thought, sitting abruptly upright.First you have a sex dream about Octavian, then you start sniffing Alastor’s clothes… Who’s the creepy one now?
Despite my harsh inner judgments of my behavior, the scent was too delicious to be anything but distracting, so I finally got up and plopped down on my bed instead. I pulled up the chat I shared with Isaac and Esmer.
There were at least a dozen messages from last night—from each of them—asking for updates and check-ins. Isaac had obviously been getting more and more worried as the evening went on, and even though Esmer had spent the earlier part of the night assuring him I was just enjoying myself, it was clear that even she was getting a little anxious by the time midnight crept around.
Feeling guilty, I began typing quickly.
GoldieGirl19:Are either of you awake?
GoldieGirl19:this is important
GoldieGirl19:I’m so so sorry about last night
GoldieGirl19:I lost my phone. or someone stole it. still not sure which.
GoldieGirl19:And I met the Crestwoods. all three. that’s where things got weird.
I paused there, wondering if I should just go ahead and type out the whole crazy thing or wait for a response. Now that I was faced with the prospect of explaining everything that had happened since last night, it all seemed…well, evenmoreridiculous.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long before a response popped up on the screen.
the_mEsmerizer:the FUCK Goldie
the_mEsmerizer:tell me everything
the_mEsmerizer:which one did you bang?
the_mEsmerizer:please tell me you banged one
I smiled.Leave it to Esmer to lighten the mood. And to bring everything back to sex.
GoldieGirl19:I didn’t sleep with any of them
GoldieGirl19:but I kissed one
the_mEsmerizer:WHAT!!?!!!!!!!
the_mEsmerizer:I need details
the_mEsmerizer:NOW
GoldieGirl19:don’t worry, you’ll get them eventually
GoldieGirl19:but right now I need some advice
GoldieGirl19:they told me all this crazy stuff about being from another world
47Blob:I KNEW IT!
47Blob:I told you!
Apparently Isaac had shown up just in time for the good stuff. And he was just getting started.
