“I have a suggestion,” Mac injected.
Dane took in Mac’s tense expression. He knew that look. Mac was feeling Lydia just as intensely, he was just better at hiding it behind a bunch of smartass remarks. “I’ll listen to anything at this point,” Dane said, hoping for a miracle.
“We give her the weekend to recoup,” Mac offered. “Monday we’ll sit her down and explain things to her as gently as possible. We’ll tell her it wasn’t planned, but that we care about her. It’s that or we don’t tell her at all and risk never having her again.”
None of them had to say it aloud. Losing her for good simply wasn’t an option. “Agreed,” Dane and Trent said in unison.
“I’m ready.”
Dane glanced over his shoulder. His heart nearly stopped beating at the sight of her. The pink blouse and skirt were designed to drive men to their knees. Coupled with the glasses and the demure bun, it was a lethal combination.
Dane strode across the room. “Just let us get our shirts on and we’ll walk you down. I don’t want you alone in the club.”
“Thank you.”
Christ, she was being so polite one would think they’d had a nice chat over tea, rather than wild and crazy sex. She was back to being Lydia Burke the paralegal, he realized. Already Dane missed the wanton who’d come apart in their arms.
Dressed now, Trent, Mac and Dane walked her out. Together they escorted her through the thinning crowd and put her in the cab. No more was said as she looked up at them, a shy smile on her face as she closed the car door. When it pulled away from the curb, they all three let out a disgusted sigh.
“It’s going to be a long fucking weekend,” Trent ground out.
Dane couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat. As he watched the cab disappear around a corner, he had a horrible feeling he’d just let something precious slip through his fingers. Monday couldn’t come soon enough.
8
Lydia looked at her reflection in the mirror. “No one can tell,” she assured herself. No one could possibly know how she’d spent her Friday night. It was now Monday morning and she was supposed to go to work and be professional. Life goes on. Hell, she’d already spent the weekend punishing herself over the stupidity of her actions. She’d prayed for forgiveness. She’d even gone to confession. Nothing helped and she had a sneaking suspicion it was because she’d liked it and wasn’t truly sorry. She’d enjoyed Apollo, Poseidon and Zeus. They’d given her something special, a chance to let loose and pretend she wasn’t the good Catholic girl for once in her life.
After she’d gotten home Friday night, or rather Saturday morning, Lydia had called Roni to let her know she was home safe. Roni had pumped her for information but she’d kept the details vague. She didn’t want to share the pleasure with anyone else. She wanted to keep the memories close. Roni had called her again Saturday afternoon wanting to take her shopping. Jeanette had even tried to coax her out of the house by mentioning the grand opening of Manic Stacks, a new used book-store in town. Lydia had denied them both. She knew they’d worry, but Lydia had wanted to wallow in her own misery. She’d even tossed around the idea of getting a permanent membership to Kinks in the hopes of seeing the men again. She’d quickly nixed that plan when she realized she just wasn’t adventurous enough for more than one night of passion. It had happened and now it was over. She should be thinking about work, not three gorgeous men in leather hoods who had the power to make a woman melt.
She covered her face in her hands and groaned. “Oh, God, three men at once.” What had she been thinking? It was a foolish thing to do. She could have been raped and murdered. But that argument wasn’t getting her anywhere because deep down she’d trusted them or she never would have given them the time of day. Lydia still felt there was something familiar about the men. It had nagged at her all weekend. That little curl in Apollo’s hair. That slight accent of Zeus’s. Poseidon’s intense eyes. Who were they really? Why the secrecy? She glanced at her watch and sighed. “I’m late. On top of everything else, I’m freaking late!”
Ensuring that her glasses were on straight and the bun was in place, Lydia left the bathroom and grabbed her car keys. As she opened the door to her apartment another thought struck. “Well, at least I didn’t lose the bet,” she mumbled. Her shoulders slumped as she locked the door behind her. Somehow the bet didn’t seem so important anymore. All she could think about was how any one man would ever be able to measure up to Apollo, Poseidon and Zeus. Her future was looking bleaker by the second.
Her cell phone rang just as Lydia reached her car. She grabbed it out of her purse and answered as she slid in behind the wheel. “Hello?”
“You’re late.”
At the sound of Dane’s gruff voice, Lydia slammed her car door shut and threw her purse on the passenger seat. “I’m aware of that. I’m on my way.”
“You’re always here well before eight, it’s now eight thirty. Is something wrong?”
Nothing that couldn’t be fixed by three deliciously powerful men in hoods. Her face heated at the errant thought. “No, I’m just getting a late start. Sorry, it won’t happen again.”
“It’s fine, take your time,” he said, his voice softening. “I was worried.”
Her lips quirked. “Afraid I wasn’t coming back, huh?”
“You’d have every right to quit, Lydia. No one would blame you.” He paused. “When you get in, come to my office so we can discuss a raise and more vacation time.”
Great, now she felt guilty for acting so surly. After all, it wasn’t his fault she’d made a mess of her personal life. “Thank you, Mr. Gentry. That sounds great.”
“I don’t want to lose you, Lydia. And it’s Dane, remember?”
He sounded far too serious and even apologetic. She didn’t know what to make of either. “You won’t lose me…
Dane. I’m happy with my job. It’s just been stressful trying to fill too many shoes.”
“Understood. I’ll see you soon then.”