Chapter Fourteen
Freshly showered, Rhia slid into a clean pair of jeans but pushed aside her long-sleeved pullover shirt left folded on the bed in favor of a black button-down shirt from Sevastyan’s closet. The softness against her skin reminded her of last night, and she smiled to herself. The scent of him around her calmed frayed nerves and something told her she would need all the calming elements she could find today. Or what was left of it. She pushed aside a curtain. From the looks of the position of the sun, she’d slept most of the morning and afternoon away.
By the end of the bed, she found her favorite ankle boots and pulled those on. To complete the look she wound her curls into a messy bun forgoing any makeup from the toiletry bag that accompanied her clothes.
The jeans and clean undergarments came from her closet, which meant the men must have gone by her place and were now downstairs. Her heart quickened. She’d woken to an empty bed half an hour ago with every muscle in her body aching and his overwhelmingly calming sense taking over her senses.
A small handwritten note was left on the side table with three simple lines scrawled across pristine white paper.
Take your time in the shower. Breakfast awaits when you’re ready. The men are eager to see you - S
She had and now it was time to face everyone she’d lied to from day one. Fun times.
Rhia stared in the mirror, barely recognizing the wide-eyed woman looking back. She’d walked into Haven a woman with a singular goal and admittedly narrow mind.
Now her eyes were wide-open and the lines were muddied so much that nothing was as simple as it once seemed. At least some of the lies could be untangled because she’d created them to begin with. A good place to start.
She’d lied to the men who had put their lives on the line for her so they deserved the truth from her mouth. She hoped what she had to say would help her next task go a little smoother. Sevastyan thought he would be going to the auction alone tonight. Convincing him otherwise would take brass balls she wasn’t sure she had, but she needed to find them and quickly.
She stood at the bedroom door, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Feeling calmer, she walked downstairs to face everyone.
Standing at the entryway of the kitchen she took in the scene in front of her. On one end of the kitchen Matteo poured a cup of what smelled like freshly roasted coffee straight from heaven.
Rhia turned her head to find Roman who, by the looks of it, preferred something a little stronger. He leaned his tall, muscular body covered in black from head to toe against a large marble counter serving as a divider between the expansive kitchen and connected dining area.
She’d missed a lot of details about Sevastyan’s home last night. Like the smooth marble flooring, glass everything from the table with the large chandelier over top, to the crystal windows lining the back half of the home. The cool flooring was bare of any tapestries and the only color she could find in the place wasn’t even inside. Behind Sevastyan she spotted lush gardens with freshly watered grass and beautiful flowers in an array of colors that mirrored the rainbow. Sevastyan a gardener? He had to be the one because she highly doubted he let anyone within the walls of his home.
Everyone stopped talking in unison and three men turned their eyes her way. She met Sevastyan’s gaze first and grinned a little when he took in her choice of clothing with an appreciative slide of his eyes along the curve of her breasts.
For a moment she forgot all about what lay ahead of her in the coming hours. Her lips parted on the memories of where he’d had his lips only a few hours ago. Teasing her into orgasm after orgasm until she had nothing left to give. Spent and sated, she’d fallen into a dreamless sleep wrapped in his warm, protective arms.
No nightmares. Only blissful blackness when she closed her eyes.
Night quickly fell again, and in the fading light the intensity of reality stood out.
“Hola, hermosa,” Matteo approached first, his long strides eating up the distance quickly. A dress shirt clung to his form and she let her gaze travel to where it disappeared beneath his pants, remembering vividly the tatted muscles he hid under all that cloth.
She laughed at herself. A few love sessions with them and she was a raving sex-a-holic.
She held her arms out to him and he wrapped her in a hug. His scent brushed over her senses and she drew in a lungful, having missed him.
“Matteo.” His fingers followed the edges of her arms until he had her hands in his. He brought them to his chest.
“Yes?”
She shook her head from where he cradled it against his chest. “I missed you is all,” she whispered in his ear shyly.
He dipped his voice to match hers. “And I you. Did Vastyan take care of you last night?”
She turned a furious red.
“Stop making her blush without me.” Roman eased her out of Matteo’s arms and took her for himself.
Roman regarded her, a smirk on his face. “But tell us, was he okay without all of us? Or do we need to teach him a thing or two?”
Sevastyan grunted but shrugged off his friend’s ribbing to turn back to his coffee.
He held his arm out for her, and she looked back at her men. “Go to him or he’ll be a sulking ass all night.”