Page 82 of Lovely Deceit

What he said earlier is probably true. He’s going to piss me off. I’ll want to slap his big, brooding face. But there’s one thing neither of us can deny: we’ve marked one another. He’s under my skin and I’m under his.

He could’ve just as easily destroyed me, but he chose a different path. And I won’t take that for granted.

“As much as I’d love to stay here like this, we should get cleaned up. And we need to take care of all these,” I tell him, gripping his bicep by a cut that’s still weeping.

He stands with a groan before pulling me into him again. There’s a lightness in his face, like the shadows have receded a little. We walk from the room, and Oliver’s servants don’t give us a second glance as we move through the place naked. I have no idea where anything is in this house. I’ve only been in a couple of rooms. We climb the curving staircase and find an exquisite set of double doors to the right.

“How much you want to bet that’s Oliver’s?” Leo asks playfully.

I head that way, pushing the doors open. Oliver is lying on a four-poster bed, a laptop open in front of him. He shifts his gaze to just above the screen.

“So it is your room?” Leo asks.

“This is mine and Eden’s room, yes.”

I hide a smile. “Leo needs to get cleaned so we can fix him up.”

Oliver points at a door that’s just as fancy with bronze filigree trim. In all his pride and glory, Leo strides toward it. I glimpse a sliver of the elegant bathroom before he closes the door again.

Oliver slides to the edge of the bed and beckons me forward. “You sure about this one? The professor I can understand, but…”

I give him a sly smile. “I’m sure.”

He clasps my hands in his, entwining our fingers. “Then I’m sure, too. We all know I’ll always be your number one, though.”

My smile turns into a grin, and I lean forward to give him an Eskimo kiss. “Jealousy looks good on you, Number Five.”

“You know what else does? You.”

I peer down my red-stained body. “Really?”

His lips curl. “Maybe another time.”

I chuckle, giving him a playful squeeze. “I think you need a new couch.”

“Don’t worry. I plan on burning anything he touches.”

I give him a warning look. “Play nice.”

He gives me a stern look in return. “I’m all in, Edie. He could’ve done a little more groveling for my taste, but I’ll take it.”

“I love you,” I tell him, knowing he could have just as easily told me he wouldn’t…share me, I guess? I don’t know what this is. These relationships are certainly unconventional, even by the standards I grew up around.

The heart wants what it wants, though. Mine’s been so hurt and lost that I’m determined to go with my gut, and this just feels right.

“I love you, too. Always.” He spins me around and spanks me on the ass. “Now go get clean before I have to call a disaster clean-up crew in here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I prefer prince.”

I pull the bathroom door open, and steam billows out. “Yes, my prince,” I tell him, blowing him a kiss before I move toward the sound of running water.

It’s in moments like these when I can almost forget what I came here to do. My heart is so happy, it’s difficult to imagine a time when it was bogged down by grief.

But the growing red water in the bottom of Oliver’s shower hardens my veins. It’s time to tell Leo why I’m here. And before I do, it’s nice to know that he’ll be on my side no matter what.

38

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