“Are you going to watch?” I challenge if only to provoke Brecken. If my paranoias are right, then I’m not sure I want to do this. What if Brecken rejects me? I’m still hurting that he seemed so unimpressed with our kiss, standing there afterward and scowling.
His arms lift to the back of the sofa, either side of him. It’s the epitome of masculine indolence. With a shrug, Brecken answers, “Yes.”
My pulse thrums through my veins, simultaneously turned on and apprehensive. Reuben’s dimples are nowhere to be seen, the atmosphere tightening. I thought he was the beta, the more congenial one out of the three, but I’m mistaken. And when he reaches over a shoulder and pulls his shirt off, I know he means business.
But I say, “No.”
Reuben’s smile is chilling. “Are you playing coy?”
“No, I mean it.”
Like always, my gaze falls to Luca. I might have willingly had sex with him, but this situation might be more than I can handle. I’ve always been sexually confident, but I’m wondering if I’ve overstated my boldness. I don’t feel quite as daring as I did before, and here I was thinking alcohol made me brave and reckless.
Luca and Reuben lock eyes, communicating in that weirdly familiar way.
“Why not?” Luca asks. “I thought this was what you wanted.”
Not knowing how to explain my feelings, worried I’ll look naïve, I glance at Brecken. He returns my gaze with an indecipherable expression, so I’m none the wiser how this will play out.
“Youraised it this afternoon. It’s definitely whatyouwanted.”
“You agreed.”
“A woman can change her mind.”
“That’s true,” Luca responds softly. “Do I need to remind you that we’re VIPs?”
My eyes flash. Replacing any weakness in my voice with steel, I reply, “I haven’t forgotten. Is this what it’s going to be? Blackmail?”
“You want that new job, don’t you? I recall you saying you were very grateful.”
He. Did not. Say that.“You bastard.”
He smirks. “Insulting the boss already, Winter?”
Reuben snorts, his eyes full of amusement as they skip between Luca and me. “I heard that keepingthisjob was important to you. That Elias is making you jump through hoops to get promoted.”
My breathing stalls as I wait out his threat. His conditions.
“Do you want us to make a complaint?” Reuben continues. “To let the hotel know you failed at your duties? That you didn’t service us properly?”
“Fuck you,” I hiss.
He chuckles, telling me, “That’s the plan, sweetheart.”
Oh my god. I hadn’t realized he was so mercurial. Fun one minute, cruel the next.
“It won’t matter what you tell Elias because Luca has promised me a job in management.”
“Have I?” Luca asks, frowning as if he can’t remember having the conversation with me mere hours ago. Or referring to it just now.
“Yes,” I hiss. “You have.”
“I don’t recall,” he replies calmly.
Heat crawls up my back as I take stock of the situation, one that seems to be unraveling at breakneck speed.
“Brecken,” Reuben leads. “Have you seen any paperwork regarding a new job for Winter?”