“Come meet Leah and Sari.”
She introduces me to the two women, both of them in gorgeous lingerie.
Leah stands and comes to me with wide eyes and a wider smile.
“My goodness, you love color, don’t you.” She spins me around and giggles a little. “The guys upstairs would take one look at you and they’d all want to taste the rainbow.”
“Isn’t it a bit much?” Sari asks, squinting like I’m a light source shined directly in her eyes.
It’s not a malicious question, but I answer it the same way I always do. “It’s funny, whenever someone told me I was ‘a lot’ like it was a bad thing, I just thought: I can be more.”
“I love that.” A redhead in a long black robe walks directly to me. “I’m Hannah, it’s so nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
She looks me up and down, and her smile is sly. “No wonder they are keeping you hidden away. Your sisters are going to flip out.”
“How did you know?”
“I’ve seen pictures.” She winks at me and walks to the bar. “Drink?”
But Margot holds up one of the two she’s just made. “On it.”
“Of course you are.” She blows Margot a kiss and hums a strange song as she makes herself something purple and sparkly.
She pauses, suddenly, and looks up at me, eyes narrowed. “They know I’m going to tell Hazard, right?”
“They do.” They wouldn’t have let me come here without warning if they didn’t. “Iwould appreciate it if you asked him not to bring it up to the others.”
“Oh, he won’t. He loves keeping secrets.” She smiles and it makes my stomach twist, because… I know she’snotHazard’s mate, but she loves him.
I’m not cruel enough to ask how that works.
Taking my hand, she leads me over to a large circle of chairs near the lit mirrors, but notwiththem.
I’m introduced to the three women who arrived while I wasn’t paying attention, now sitting on both chairs and the floor. Nina, Hazel, and Ochi, and then Sari again. Margot is already there, lounging in her chair with one leg over the arm and smiling at the screen in her hand.
“Ooooh,” Hannah says, letting go of my hand to plop down in a chair of her own. “When she smiles like that, I know it’s her mystery man.”
“My bondmate is not a mystery man,” Margot says, putting the device away. “He’s just the only part of my life I don’t share with you.”
Hannah waves her hand, “Potato tomato.”
“Oh my gosh. I just realized who you are,” Leah says, rejoining us with her own drink. “You’re Jessica’s sister!”
I glance at Margot before I answer. “Yeah… But we aren’t going to tell her I’m here.”
Leah waves that away. “Oh, I don’t even think I have her number. I just love her for adding a fun little twist to the day.”
“What twist?”
“She’s studying the bond or whatever, which means we get to collect samples.” She snorts and wiggles down in her seat. “First load in the cup, second for me.”
I shake my head, “Jess collecting sperm samples wasn’t on my bingo card, but maybe it should have been.”
They laugh, like that’s an inside joke, and then Nina says, “So, you’re bonded to one of the brotherhood?”
“No,” I say, and even though I want to add “Not yet,” I don’t.
