“Oh, no, hot isn’t . . . I just want to not be modeling a bathrobe or my pajamas.”
Shutting us into the room, she waggled her eyebrow at me. “Girl. Just you wait.” Heading to her giant closet, Francesca began throwing clothes onto the bed. Occasionally she’d mumble about how “this isn’t your color” or “nope, this is too slutty.”
My worries only grew when she threw a lacy pair of blue panties and a bra my way. They looked extremely expensive, and extremely sexy. But . . . it was better than nothing, so I struggled into them.
As I tried on the tight black pants she’d handed me, I faced away from her. Clipping the button, I spun back and said, “These might be a bit tight—jeez!”
Francesca was as naked as a babe on its birthday. Blinking at me like I was acting crazy, she held up a white crop top next to her full-on bare breasts. “Do you think I need a bra with this?”
Covering my eyes, I peeked through my fingers. “Yes, yes, double yes.”
Sighing in a way that showed me exactly how her boobs could shake and shudder, Francesca dropped the shirt. Even if I hadn’t wanted to, I again saw the small tattoo of a crown across her upper ribs.
Now that I knew that she and Kain were twins, I was extra curious about the meaning behind their duplicate ink.
Turning away to hide my hot blush, I wriggled the pants to loosen them. “Hey, uh, can I ask something?”
“Sure thing.” I heard clothing rustle. “Hm. Maybe I can rock some cutoff jean shorts instead. It’s supposed to be warm out.”
Sliding the too-low-cut green tank top on, I adjusted the front. “That tattoo of yours.” Just say it! “Kain has one just like it.”
“Of course he does.” A zipper crunched. “We all do. Well . . . everyone but my sister, I mean.”
I glanced at her—saw her bare ass—and looked away again. “Why do you all get them?”
“Daddy says it’s tradition. We do it when we turn eighteen to remind us of who we are.”
“What, rich as kings?” I asked, laughing.
“Almost.” She clicked something shut loudly. “We’re royalty.”
I spun around so fast that I knew I’d feel it in my neck for days. “Ex-fucking-scuse me?”
Dressed in jean shorts that showed off her excellent legs and a tight black top that hid her chest—thank goodness—she stared at me. “Did Kain not tell you?”
“Of course not! I—are you serious?”
Tugging her shirt lower, she eyeballed her floor-length mirror. “He usually tells it to every girl he likes. I figured that was how he got you into his bed.”
“That—I—bwah.” Stumbling over my words, I fought for what to say. “It’s not . . . what you think.”
Her mouth shrank into a little pucker shape. “Gawd, I don’t care if you did anything with him. If anything, I have him to thank. If you weren’t still here the next morning, that dumb bitch Monica would have walked down the aisle with him instead.”
This was all too much. Sitting on the bed, I stared blankly at my feet. Kain is royalty? How is that possible?
“Here,” she said, offering me a pair of white flats. “No hurting your feet today.”
I took the shoes, but I was still dazed. “Fran, it’s hard for me to believe all of this.”
“Why?” She pulled her hair up, watching me in the mirror as she tied it back. “It doesn’t change anything. We’re not ruling the world, it’s all just a technicality. Dad’s brother is king in his homeland. I’m not sure why he left, but hey, he met Mom and they had babies and now I’m here to give you awesome clothes and make the world a better place.” Laughing, she winked at me. “Too bad, though, I would have kicked ass as a princess in a royal court.”
Kain’s a prince.
I’d slept with a prince.
If I’d kept a sex bucket list, I might have made a check mark next to that.
“Instead of running a country or getting married, I just get dragged off to jail thanks to my asshole family,” she mumbled.
That’s right. The ceremony was interrupted. Studying her, I noticed how tight her jaw was. “I’m really sorry about that. When are you and Midas going to finish tying the knot?”
“Never, at this rate.” Slamming her palms onto her vanity, she huffed. “Daddy isn’t going to let anyone onto the estate until things settle down. He trusts no one right now, not even a priest, of all people.”
An idea crossed my mind, but I didn’t get to voice it. Knuckles banged on the door, startling us both.
“Hey,” a rough, oddly quiet male voice said. “Is she in there with you?”
“It’s Costello,” Fran said, scowling at the door. “Give us a fucking minute!”
I flinched at her swinging mood. She really doesn’t like him. I wondered what the scarred brother had done to earn her ire.
Opening the door, I stared up at the tallest brother. He didn’t wear a comfortable smile like Kain. He also lacked that casual, predatory curiosity that I’d seen on Hawthorne. With a face as still as a pond in spring, the pale-eyed brother looked down on me.
I’d meant to tell him to relax, here I was. Somehow, faced with his steady, somber eyes that dug through mine and kept on searching, I lost some of my backbone. Maverick didn’t scare me, but Costello . . .
Dressed in a loose, burlap-textured shirt with a laced-up neck, his lean body was like a master swimmer’s. Everyone in this family was graced with stupidly good genes.
Has he even blinked yet? I wondered.
Costello turned away, and I had the oddest sense that I’d failed some test. “This way,” he said boredly.
Collecting myself, I followed him down the stairs. “Where are we going?”
“Maverick wants you.”
“Did you guys find photos from the wedding?”
“We did.”
Making conversation with him isn’t easy, ugh. I was saved from having to bother. Pushing the den open, he motioned for me to enter. I slid under his arm, not having to duck to do so.
The men were all standing around a table inside. They looked up, the air full of expectancy. How long had they been waiting for me?
Kain’s eyes were hollow, the lower edges purple and shiny. He looked flat-out tired. When he spotted me, his exhaustion lifted away so that he could grace me with that half smirk of his that I found so thrilling.
“There she is,” Maverick grunted.
I waved, but the soft rumble of my stomach said hello before I could. I didn’t blush, though; how could they not expect me to be starving?
“Good,” Hawthorne said. “Let’s get this going.”
A wave of lightheadedness shook me. “Before I do anything, I need something,” I said.
The guys all shared a look. Maverick eyed me warily. “Whatever it is, just ask.”
With all seriousness, I said, “Food. I need to eat something before I collapse.”