Page 73 of Penance

“Thank you, Charlie,” she whispers.

Stretching up on tiptoes, she places a soft kiss on my cheek, wrapping me up in her soft coconut scent. I take the vile back, stepping out of the alcove and into the hall. Heading in the direction of my dungeon.

“I love you,brother,”she breathes that last word almost silently.

My steps nearly falter but I don’t let it show in my confident stride.

“I love you, too,” I whisper in return.

That, she doesn’t hear.

Chapter15

Kyla-Rose

Leaning my weight back against Huxley’s firm chest, his arm banded around my waist. I sip my champagne, my eyes scanning over the faces of close to a hundred people. I definitely prefer when we would have smaller Christmas celebrations. Not that I’ll act any differently, I’m not working today. No one in attendance is, though, it can be hard to switch off entirely. Charlie skulked off to his torture chamber, muttering about too many people. He’s not keen on having intruders in his space. He’ll likely be sitting with Dillon, stroking his feathers to calm his stress. I’ll go and get him back in a bit, God forbid Jacob goes down there, I shudder at the thought.

Huxley presses a kiss to the top of my head, drawing my attention back to the room. I glance up at him, pressing myself further against him. He was weirdly happy about Max and I when we told him.

Frank came to get us from The Cadogan, the car journey home was an anxious one. Both of us feeling out of sorts. We held hands, our entwined fingers resting on the centre seat. The pair of us lost in thought, staring out of our respective windows. My mouth dry the entire journey, as thoughts of my boys walking out on me filled my head. I know they said they were okay with it, but were they really?

When we got in, Huxley was waiting in my entryway. A small grin on his face as his dark eyes roved over my new love bites, my heart lodged in my throat. He stepped forward, his lean, muscled arms opening wide for me. I stepped into him. His scent comforting me, he kissed the crown of my head as I buried my face in his t-shirt. I felt the moment my beast joined us, the air shifted, my skin prickled with goosebumps. I peered over Huxley’s shoulder, my body taut with worry as I locked eyes on glittering gold ones.

Kacey’s face was pulled tight, little lines of stress at the outer corners of his beautiful eyes. A sob caught in my throat as he nodded and turned away. Huxley told me to leave him be, that he was okay with it, it was just an adjustment. Conflicting feelings ran through me. Fear, heartache, love. I felt like I might burst, I trembled in Huxley’s embrace, his long fingers smoothing up and down my spine. My face buried protectively against him. His hand cupping the back of my head, keeping me flush to him, I let out a shuddery breath. Max went off to the room he’s been using as his, kissing me softly on the lips as he passed, leaving me alone with Hux. I blinked up at him, my eyes filling with tears, my heart clenching painfully in my chest. He soothed my fears, murmuring reassurances of love, on behalf of him and Big Man.

Kacey didn’t come to bed with us last night. Angel even left his spot open, her whining when she realised he wasn’t coming broke something inside me. The angry bitch hates everyone, but she’s just as attached to these two men now as I am. It makes me worry about what I’ll do if Kacey doesn’t want this anymore. I fear I don’t think very rationally when it comes to Kacey and Huxley.

Charlie asked me early on if I was sure this was love or if it was just obsession. I said I couldn’t be sure, but that sometimes it hurts inside my chest when I think about them. After discussion we decided our past obsessions hadn’t ever caused us any pain, so it must be love. I can be very certain of one thing, obsession or not, I am in love with these men. Painfully and frightfully so.

“What you thinking about, Darlin’?” Huxley rasps, his teeth grazing the top of my ear, the ball from his tongue bar running along my cartilage piercings.

A shudder roles through me, my thighs clenching, I release a stuttered breath.

“Nothing,” I breathe the lie, his grip pinching my waist as he tightens his hold.

“Tell me,” he orders, that stern, take-no-shit tone making me breathy.

“Kacey,” I whisper as my eyes lock on his huge body across the room.

There he stands, dressed in all black, tight black slacks, a long-sleeved, button-up black shirt. The top button flicked open, the thick scar across his throat shining under the bright lights. My fingers twitch, aching to trace it, kiss the underside of his clean-shaven jaw, bite into his neck like a savage.

“He’s not upset with you, Darlin’. He’s talking to Nox,” Huxley shrugs.

I glare up at him, “he punched him in the mouth, Huxley.”

He chuckles, “well yeah, Nox fucked our girl.”

I frown, my eyebrows knitting together, my expression sharp enough to cut. I drag my gaze back onto Kacey, Max beside him, dressed identically, a fresh split in his top lip, a soft smirk on his face. I sigh, leaning farther back into Huxley. Oranges and sandalwood wrapping me up, I breathe easier, even while I pout.

Indecision warring inside me. Half of me wants to storm over there, press my knife into his neck and demand he drop to his knees before me. Ravish my cunt right here and now and beg me to forgive him for abandoning me last night. The other half of me, the smaller half, the saner half, is telling me to wait it out, give him the space he’s obviously needing, leave him be and tackle the conversation later. Apologise and beg for forgiveness, see where he stands on this now, on us, if he’s changed his mind. My chest aches, prickles running through the centre of it. I knock the rest of my champagne back, dumping the glass on a passing waiter’s tray, declining another.

I try to avert my attention. Listen to what Huxley and Eli are currently yammering on about, something about security cameras and some weird fucking x-ray bullshit. All these weird techy things make my teeth grind, I can barely use the TV remote, but Icanrapidly disassemble and reassemble a Remington 870. So, I do have my uses.

My other two men still in my peripheral, the bigger of the two shifts, my gaze slides back over. Kacey slaps Max on the back, handing off his glass of scotch. I wriggle free from Huxley’s hold, his grip tightening as I huff.

“Where you goin’?” Huxley teases, knowing full well what I just witnessed.

He keeps them in his peripheral at all times too.

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