And with that, Silas vanished. Just left me there.
A knock came at the dressing room door, making me yip.
“Oh, sorry!” the sales lady said. “I have a few more things for you to try on. How are you doing in there?”
I opened the door and took the clothes from her. “Great,” I said. “Thank you so much.”
Then I shut the door and sank onto the little stool in the corner to stare at my reflection again. The afternoon’s fun had vanished, leaving me confused and scared. I looked down at the clothes in my hands. Should I tell the guys about Silas? I decided not to. It made me feel like a traitor, but the things Silas had said rang true. It was the first time he had made sense to me. I mean, why else would three handsome, powerful, immortal men agree to share a woman?
All of this pampering they were doing was to get me to mate them. It made sense. Once they had me, things would change. Wasn't that the way of all relationships? Except with three demons, things would literally go to Hell.
“Their true forms,” I whispered. “Oh, God. They said they can become one giant hound.”
That made sense too. They were just too handsome to exist. And they had admitted to being shapeshifters. I tried to recall what else they'd told me. It had been a lot. There was something about taking their other forms. Did they say they went incorporeal?
I decided to question everything, just as Silas said. And I'd start with the hounds' true forms and what they could do in them.
Chapter Nineteen
After shopping, the men took me out to dinner. In line with all their pampering, they took me to an expensive Italian place. Bella-something-or-other. There were linen tablecloths and crystal chandeliers. Everything was perfect and beautiful. And I really wanted to enjoy myself.
I got envious looks from most of the women in the restaurant. Even our server grinned and winked at me. I wanted to preen. But I kept wondering what their pretty faces were covering. Could they be animals? But even if they took the shape of dogs—which they admitted—they didn't have the minds of animals. I suppose things were different for hellhounds.
“How about some dessert?” Gideon asked as he leaned closer to me.
We were seated at a booth—one of those round tables with a curved bench—pressed up against a wall. The bench's back created partitions between us and the tables on either side. Gage had requested it. With a bench instead of individual chairs, two of them could get up close and personal with me. Garret was the lone man out, seated on Gideon's left, but he didn't seem to mind. He just leaned across Gideon whenever he wanted to touch me. And he wanted to do that a lot. All three of them did.
“Okay, enough!” I held my hands up to either side of me and pushed Gideon and Gage on their shoulders.
I couldn't budge them, but they moved for me.
“Fine, don't get dessert,” Gage said. “But I'm going to get the tiramisu. It's like a law when you eat at an Italian restaurant. You have to get the tiramisu.”
“First of all, there are better Italian desserts,” I said. “Second, this is too much, too fast. We don't trust each other yet, remember? I shouldn't have to keep reminding you of that. And yet, you guys are, well, you're acting too familiar with me.”
They exchanged a look. I assumed that was something they had developed over centuries of working together. Wait. A bond existed between them. A magical one. Maybe that was a way in. I could ask about their bond and then segue into what a mating bond would be like. They already knew that I wanted to prepare myself for it, and they'd told me some things, but not enough. If I kept them talking, maybe they'd let something slip that they didn't intend to.
“We're sorry, Indigo,” Garret said. “You're right. This has gone too fast. And we don't know each other. But that's what we're trying to do with you—get to know you. We'll back off on the physical stuff, but can we keep talking? Learning more about each other?”
I pretended to consider this, then said, “All right. I mean, yes, of course. Tell me more about yourselves. It doesn't have to be a secret, nothing that could get you hurt if it got out. Just tell me who you are. As men, not hounds.”
That made them smile. And it made me feel like shit. When had I become Mata Hari?
“I don't know if that's something that can be told,” Gideon said. “It's more learned. Experienced. I mean, if I asked you to tell me who you are as a woman, what would you say?”
“I'd say I'd like to be a lawyer one day. That I enjoy studying the law. I like the intricacies of it. The . . . it's very cut and dry. Rules are rules. I like that.”
“A rule follower.” Gage rolled his eyes.
“I can break the rules if necessary,” I said. “But I want to know them first. And I think it's more about order than anything else. I want people to be held accountable for their actions.”
Garret nodded. “We work for the god who makes sure that everyone is accountable in the end.”
“By bringing back those who, uh, escape?” I glanced around the restaurant.
“Yes.”
“How do you do that?”
