“You already are,” Vincent replies and gently touches my face. “All you have to do is be yourself, which is what hooked us in the first place. Be yourself, in the bedroom and in the kitchen. It was always your best bet. That’s how you sparkle.”
“Thank you,” I say, trembling to the core. “I can’t wait to tell Kaleb about it.”
The guys exchange glances.
“Kaleb will be thrilled to hear you’ve secured the position,” Alex replies.
Guilt eats its way through the joy of the moment, casting a shadow over my thoughts. “We should find a way to tell him about us, too,” I say, my voice low. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Kaleb has known us for years,” Max says with a deep sigh. “But in that time, he’s never seen us so gone on one woman. His idea of our personal lives falls more in line with the debauchery of Haus of Sin.”
“Which is why I don’t think he’ll react well when he learns about us,” Alex admits.
I allow myself a bitter smile. “I was a good girl until I let you spoil me.”
“You’re still a good girl,” Vincent says. “All we did was shower you with the affection you deserved, and allowed you to be who you want to be. Is that a crime?”
“It is in Kaleb’s eyes. Three men and his sister? He’ll be so mad.”
“Then we’ll have to figure out a way to make him understand that we’re serious about you, that we actually want to make this work,” Alex says.
My eyebrows raise in surprise. “You really mean it.”
“Every word, Raina. You’re the forbidden pleasure we were finally able to allow ourselves. The moment you said yes toour deal,” Alex says, “it grew into something deeper. We all felt it.”
“I felt it, too,” I admit, softening against Vincent’s massive frame. His hand rests on the small of my back, but his fingers become restless. His touch ignites something within me, something I will soon be unable to control.
Alex adds, “We’re all still new at this. We’re trying to figure out how to make it work in the long term, so perhaps we should keep this secret between us for a little while longer.”
“You’ll need time to settle in at The Black Swan,” Max says. “And Kaleb will get used to the dynamic eventually. He will see you around us enough times for it to click better when we do break the news. We just need to ease him in.”
Easier said than done, I tell myself. But they’re right. It’s a problem we can deal with later. Right now, I would like to enjoy the thrill of new employment, the prospect of my career really taking off.
Most importantly, I’d like to enjoy the quiet of this mansion for a little while longer.
Slowly, I turn to face Vincent again, placing my hands on his shoulders. My fingers dig into his hard muscles, and I see the shadow pulling over his eyes, the hunger, the wanting.
“If I’m not mistaken, we have the house to ourselves,” I say in a low voice.
“The staff is gone for the day,” he replies. “The cleaning crew will be in tomorrow.”
“And Matty left about thirty minutes ago,” I say.
“The hosts and the guests are also out,” Alex mutters. “So yes, we have the house to ourselves. Every playroom is ours.”
“I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” I reply with a giggle.
Max is already unbuttoning my shirt, one tiny button at a time, while tracing kisses along the side of my neck. “I’d say we start here and see where it leads,” he whispers in my ear.
“I’ll warn you, though,” I tell him in a raspy voice, “I’m in desperate need of a proper spanking.”
He smacks my ass in a playful manner, and I’m instantly wet and hot and burning.
“Good, because my hand’s been itching all morning for you, baby,” Max says.
Alex pulls me into a kiss. It’s hungry and sinful, sweet and peppery, at the same time. It makes me feel safe and vulnerable, soft and sizzling, as my clothes are left behind, one item at a time, until we reach The Cinnamon Room. It’s our favorite. It’s always been our favorite.
And today, we’re going to unravel between its walls.
