Page 19 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

Now, sitting cross-legged on my sofa with my robe wrapped tightly around me, I stare, wide-eyed, at an image on the screen.

The picture of Lucian unmistakable.

Even in a still shot, he manages to look at ease in a world where everyone else seems to be working much harder to prove they belong.

Caleb is standing next to him, his attention focused away from the camera.

But I’m staring at the man across from them.

Dante Moretti.

No. That can’t possibly be right.

Hoping I’m wrong, I zoom in.

Oh. God. It is him.

The reputed underboss of the Moretti family.

Meaning the man who insists I marry him casually hangs out with the mob?

They’re all seated at a wedding reception, and the caption identifies the bride and groom as Isla and Dorian Vale. And that’s another name I recognize. He’s a billionaire businessman running for the US Senate. Until recently, no one had actually given him a chance of winning.

Then I return to the photograph and study it more carefully.

Lucian is talking to Moretti.

Caleb is watching him.

Something else catches my attention.

Dorian Vale has one hand resting on the back of his bride’s chair. There’s a ring on his finger, understated enough that I almost miss it.

And there’s an owl on it.

I lean closer to the screen.

No freaking way.

I enlarge the image until the pixels begin to blur. But there’s no mistaking the shape or the tiny green eyes.

It’s the same owl I’d seen on Lucian cuff links.

Because there’s no possible way that can be a coincidence, I open another tab and type both their names along with owl insignia.

Most of the results are useless, but several pages in, I find an old article speculating about something called the Zeta Society.

Or, more dramatically, the Titans.

Titans? Seriously?

Apparently some men aren’t satisfied with being rich. They also need secret societies and bird jewelry.

There’s no membership list. Nothing official. Just rumors linking powerful businessmen, politicians, financiers, and other men whose names tend to appear in headlines. The owl, according to the article, is supposedly one of their symbols.

Supposedly.

I look at the photograph again.