I eye the distance between us. Will we maintain it through the night? It seems improbable as hell. My chest gives a sickening lurch. Oh gods, maybe I’m not ready for this after all. Sex is one thing. Sleeping together is something else altogether.
“One last thing.”
I turn toward Beast pathetically fast, desperate for a distraction from the direction my thoughts have taken. He holds up the tiny purse I brought with me into the Underworld. I forgot about it, which says something about where my head’s been at for the last few hours. He tosses it onto the mattress next to me. “Update your sisters.”
My circling thoughts freeze. “Excuse me?”
“You’re here at their behest. Update them.”
I stare. Surely he can’t be serious. “You want me to tell them that I entered into a sex pact with both of you in order to get you back.”
The edges of his lips quirk up. “I want what I’ve always wanted from you, Isabelle. The truth.”
That stings. It stings far more than it has the right to. I don’t bother to argue. I won’t win this one any more than I’ve won the others. I just dig out my phone and type a quick update to the group text I share with my two older sisters.
Me: I have things handled. They’ll both be back in two weeks. I’ll see you then.
I’ve barely hit send when the replies nearly buzz my phone right out of my hand.
Sienna: That is not an explanation.
Cordelia: I’m going to need more details than that, Izzy.
Sienna: What she said.
Sienna: Texting isn’t cutting it.
Sienna: Video call incoming.
“Fuck!” I yank up the sheet to cover my breasts and pat at my hair. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or not that it’s wet from a recent shower. My phone trills at me to accept the incoming video call. “Fuck,” I repeat.
“Answer it.” Beast still hasn’t moved from where he stands at the side of the bed. A quick glance confirms that Gaeton has no intention of moving from his spot, either. Currently both of them are out of frame, but I can’t guarantee they’ll stay that way.
I’ve run out of time, though. I take a deep breath and answer the call. Immediately the screen splits into two squares, each showing one of my sisters. Sienna has her blond hair twisted up and what appear to be two pencils stuck through to hold it in place, and she’s wearing the flannel bunny pajamas that her husband got her for Christmas as a joke. One wouldn’t know by looking at her that she’s got one of the most brilliant minds in Carver City—and possesses a complete lack of the moral ambiguities that plague most people.
On the other hand, Cordelia looks like she’s just come from some kind of event. I rack my brain to remember what was tonight, but I come up blank. Her dark brown hair hangs in waves around her perfectly made up face, and she’s got on a dark blue gown. For all that, exhaustion is written on her face.
Exhaustion that disappears as she focuses on me and narrows her eyes. “I thought you were having a meeting with them. Where are you? That isn’t your bedroom.”
My life would be significantly easier if my sisters weren’t so formidable. I draw my knees to my chest to ensure I don’t flash them. “I spoke with Beast and Gaeton as planned.”
Sienna snorts. “That’s not all you did tonight.”
Cordelia doesn’t blink. “And?”
I can feel the gaze of both men drilling into me from either side. It’s a fight not to shiver. “And, like I said in my text, they will both be back in their positions as generals in two weeks.”
Cordelia’s dark eyes flash. “That’s not fast enough. You have to—”
“Cordelia.” I cut in before she can pick up momentum. “I am doing what it takes to benefit the family. Trust me when I say that I negotiated the best deal possible, and there is no way to expedite things.”
That slows her down a little, but she doesn’t look convinced. She’s silent for a moment, obviously connecting dots that I’d really rather her not connect. “You made a deal with…both men.”
No use trying to lie. “Yes.”
“And now you’re naked in a bed that’s not your own.” She frowns. “No, I don’t like this. We’ll find another way.”
“There is no other way.”
All amusement flees Sienna’s face, and she goes ice cold. “There is always another way, baby sister. Where are you? If those two fuckheads think they can force you to be their sex doll for the next two weeks, I’ll castrate them myself.” She will, too. Sienna wouldn’t win in a fair fight with either of the men in this room, but my middle sister has never fought fair. I highly doubt she intends to start now.