Page 95 of The Lost Kings
Ipushed the manor door shut and then ensured our security system was up and running. The evening had ended early, mostly because I’d feigned cramps, but Adrian had also gotten two phone calls during dinner that had taken him away from the table.
It bugged me, but I knew I had to earn his trust, and him being in Rake Forge was a step in the right direction. I didn’t need to keep pushing. Still, it irked, but so did the fact that he’d lied to me. Unless Kingston was lying, but he had no reason to do that.
It made more sense that Adrian just wasn’t ready to reveal certain vulnerabilities to me yet. I veered toward my side of the manor but paused before I reached the hall and glanced back over my shoulder.
I wasn’t ready to face Scotty. He would ask me a billion questions about the night to try and dissect every word, and I was too tired for that. Not to mention, I needed to talk to the twins. The interaction from last night was on repeat in my mind, and I was exhausted running it through all the many scenarios I had played out. I just needed to talk to them to know exactly what they were both feeling.
So instead of going to my side of the house, I walked over to Carter’s part of the manor. She was more than likely asleep, but there were several empty rooms, including one that led out to the walking path I used to cross over to the twins’ side of the house. Her door was unlocked, and I knew we were the only family that was weird and locked it at night, still I felt strange invading her space.
Sure enough, she was completely passed out on the couch while a reality show played in the background.
I slipped off my heels and left them by the stairs while I climbed up to the second floor and exited through one of the guest rooms. The pathway was lightly lit from the bright moon as I placed one foot in front of the other, holding tight to the guard rails. Being closer to their side of the manor, I was there significantly faster than anytime I’d walked from my room.
Once in front of their window, I didn’t waste any time with knocking. I just slid the window up and crawled inside, only to land on top of someone.
“Ohmygoshimsosorry,”I said in a rushed breath.
“Elvis?”
I rolled onto my back and found a pair of blue-gray eyes staring back at me.
“Gio…what are you doing?”
He held his hand out and helped me up. The loft came into focus, but I was lost on what exactly I was seeing.
“What is this?” There were blankets and two large mattresses laid out. Pillows and even a string of twinkle lights hung across the ceiling. Glancing over the ledge of the loft railing I saw they’d taken their mattresses from below and laid them down in the loft.
Gio tugged my hand until I was lying down on the bed next to him. It immediately made my heart race.
“You saw the video, did you not?”
Focusing on the bulb dangling above me, I tried to gather the strength to discuss what I’d seen in that video.
“I did.”
Gio held out his hand, gesturing toward the blankets. “You’ll never be asked to choose who you want to sleep with again. You’ll be with both of us. Always.”
The words hit like a live wire igniting my entire body. Why did that make my eyes water? Why did it feel like he tenderly handed my bruised heart back and it was stitched with careful and considerate bandages?
“Gio…that’s…”
His hand found mine, and we lay there staring at the ceiling while my throat burned and a knot formed around my chest. “I need to know why you left without saying goodbye, and why you’ve been gone this long. I want to know why you stayed gone, and how come if you were able to come back, you didn’t, until Scotty sent you that text.”
I tilted my head and caught Gio smiling up at the ceiling and it was so familiar that a warm flutter erupted behind my breast.
“Anything else?”
I pursed my lips and tugged my hand free. “Yes. Where is Kingston?”
Gio sat up, perching one hand behind him for support. Running his hand through his hair, it made me focus on his arm, and the ink that now covered it. “King is handling some business, but he’ll be here soon.”
“What business? He said that you guys had been in contact with Adrian somehow…what did that mean?”
I saw the flicker in Gio’s eyes. He wanted to lie to me; I could sense it. So I sat up and twisted his nipple the smallest amount before he could. “Do not lie to me, Giovanni. You’ve done enough of that.”
He gripped my wrist with a bit of a shriek. “Elvis, oh shit. Let go.”
I twisted harder, and suddenly Gio moved us until he was hovering over me, his hand was on my hip and his leg parted mine. “Fuck, Presley, fine. You want me to talk about all this shit, we’ll start with the basics.” His lips lowered until they nearly brushed mine anda whispered confession left him. “You have no idea how much I’ve thought of you all this time. You were an ache that never eased and now you’re touching me, and while I know you’re joking, I fear I have nothing left inside of me that can resist you.”
