* * * *
Rose picked up the towel and wrapped it around herself. She had feared that Slade may have wanted to shower with her, and she knew it was silly, but she felt like she did a lot with him and his brothers last night and needed some recovery time. Showering with someone was personal. Not that having sex, anal sex, hell, ménage sex, wasn’t personal, it totally was and she felt different. She felt so alive, happy, and then the negative thoughts began.
Why weren’t Mercury, Slade, and Falco in the bed or even the room when she woke up? She knew why Rome wasn’t. The man was recovering from gunshot wounds. Jesus, what the hell happened? What was he involved in? Were the police involved or was this something illegal? She ran her hand over her belly that rumbled loudly. Last night she hardly ate anything at all, she was so nervous around the men. She had been emotional too, selling her paintings for so much money and also getting paid ten thousand for modeling that diamond. She had a lot to do. She needed to deposit that check to ensure it was real.
She had bills to pay, and paintings to go through, and she needed to decide what to show at a gallery event. Was that really happening? She dried her hair and thought about the money she now had. A cushion, a start to hopefully more money to be made. The James men made her nervous though. She wasn’t very business savvy and didn’t know about negotiating contracts or deals for something like this. Could she possibly ask one of the James brothers to guide her through this, or was that too personal, being too needy?
She heard the knock on the door.
“Yes.”
“I have your clothes,” Rylan said and she opened the door and there he stood. Six-foot-three, thick black hair, a sexy scruff along his chin, and those sexy killer eyes that ate her up. His smile even reached them.
She reached for the clothes. “Thank you.”
“We washed them and dried them, but the skirt may be a little damp.”
She looked at them.
“Um, no panties,” she said.
“Honey, when I came into the room last night you were completely naked. I’m thinking you lost them on the car ride over maybe,” he teased and reached up, cupped her neck and head, and pulled her closer before kissing her.
When he released her lips she felt like putty in his arms as he chuckled and then gave her ass a tap.
“Get dressed and we’ll head downstairs for something to eat.”
He walked out of the bathroom and she got dressed quickly and then walked out barefoot.
“My shoes?” she asked him and he looked around for them and then bent down and found them in the corner. She sat on the bed and slowly put the strappy heels onto her feet.
“You feel good? Not tired or anything?” he asked.
She smiled and it touched her that he was concerned.
“I feel fine. Thank you.” She stood up and he took her hand and guided her out of the bedroom. The sun shined through the many windows in the place and as they came to the staircase she was in awe of the view she missed last night of the beach. She stopped and stared out the large floor-to-ceiling window.
“Oh my God, that is incredible,” she whispered and took in the sight of the long, wide beach, the ocean coming up the shore, and what appeared to be a smaller house to the right. Like a cottage.
“What’s that?” she asked as Rylan wrapped his arm around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder.
“That’s a cottage that was the original house on the property. We restored it and kept it as a guest house.”
“It must have incredible views, sitting so close to the water.”
“Oh, it does. I’ll show you later if you want to see it.”
“Really? I mean you don’t have to. If you guys have work to do, I can get a cab and head back to my place.”
He narrowed his eyes at her and then quickly changed his expression to a smile.
“Come on, let’s eat.”
She wasn’t sure what just happened and why he looked angry and then recovered. She was already starting to feel a little awkward, especially at the fact that none of the other men were even around or wanting to see her. Had she made a mistake last night sleeping with six men she wasn’t even dating? God.
She felt her cheeks go flush and as she entered the living room and then the open kitchen she was in awe once again. Marble counter tops, crisp white cabinets, another view of the ocean. The décor was exquisite. “Incredible,” she whispered and then caught sight of Remo by the stove cooking eggs and bacon and Rome in a cushioned chair with his eyes closed and his lips tight like he was in pain.