Chapter 28
I bite my lip, glancing at Reef.
He has a cheeky-as-fuck grin on his pretty face, and I know he’s on board already.
“How about tell a secret or take a shot. I’m sure one of you has a bottle of something harder around here someplace.”
Romeo is already on his way to the kitchen before I have a chance to even finish what I’m saying.
I feel Onyx’s death stare directed at me, but I don’t pay him any attention.
“I’m not drinking, and you shouldn’t be either,” he growls.
Reef chuckles playfully.
“Come on, Onyx, let her have a little fun. This dinner is awkward as hell.”
My eyes meet with his, and I offer a nod.
“Right. It’s either a game or I’m going to bed. We can adjust the fun for you, big guy. How about tell a secret or take a dare?”
I hear a grumble come from him, but it’s not an all-out no, so I guess we’re playing.
Romeo returns with a bottle of whiskey, three shot glasses, and a stupid grin.
“I’m going first,” he says as he takes a seat and pours the three shots, sliding them across to me and Reef.
I cast a quick glance at Onyx who is looking as grumpy as a bear with a thorn in its paw, his arms bulging over his chest he has them so tightly crossed.
“What’s the question then?” I ask, ready to start the fun.
Romeo grins at me, a flash of white teeth against his tanned skin.
“Sloane, what’s your biggest regret?”
I throw a look back at him, like is he serious?
“Easy, missing my party to spend the night with you,” I snip back, my voice not totally serious, but what did he expect?
That I would give him some life-altering regret from when I was a kid?
Fuck no.
He clutches his chest as if he’s in pain.
“Ouch. You could have lied to spare my feelings a little. But we both know you came back for seconds, so I won’t take it to heart too much.” He winks in my direction, and I hate to say it but he’s right.
Damn, I can’t stand how damn confident he is.
“I guess I didn’t learn my lesson the first time.” I raise a brow, challenging him.
To what I don’t fully know, he’s liable to jump on me and fuck me right here in front of the others just to prove a point.
Reef chuckles, and I turn my attention to him, already knowing exactly what I’m going to ask him.
I want to see if he’s willing to tell me anything real, give me something more than his charm and pretty face to go off.
“My turn. Reef, if you could change one thing about your past, what would it be?”
“Wildcat, going straight for the big questions.” He thinks on it for a beat, popping a grape in his mouth and chewing.
A flash of sadness comes over him.
“I would have stopped my mom from going out the night she died. I knew she wasn’t right, but I let her leave our place anyway.” His eyes meet with mine, and I know this is him trying to let me in a little.
Maybe our conversation out in the hall did have an impact on him.
He’s also willing to share something so personal in front of the other boys.
Even more curious.
My heart aches for him.
What an awful regret to carry around with you.
“You were just a kid, you couldn’t have saved her,” I say before I can stop myself, and regret it immediately when I see his reaction, because I shouldn’t know that little nugget of information about him.
But I do.
His brow rises, his eyes crinkling in silent question.
“Guess you’re not such a bad spy after all.”
My teeth sink into my bottom lip.
“I’m sorry about your mom, Reef,” I offer, not sure what else to say.
A slow, almost reluctant half smile touches his lips, an intimacy passing between us I didn’t expect in this situation.
Part of me wishes I could reach over the table and comfort him.
“It was a long time ago. If she didn’t die, my life would have been vastly different, but then I wouldn’t have ended up at this table with you.”
The way he says it like I’m already someone special to him makes butterflies take off in my stomach.
I can’t be, we hardly know each other, but I stupidly like the idea that I am.
“Your turn to answer. What’s one thing you’re afraid of that no one knows?” Reef asks, with his eyes still locked on me.
I feel all three sets of eyes fix on me.
They all want to know the answer to this question.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” I snip back.
“You didn’t look so good when the lights went out at the club the other night,” Romeo clips, thinking this question aimed at me is a little too funny.
I shoot a glare back at him.
“No one likes it when the lights suddenly go off, but I wasn’t afraid.”
“There must be something, Sloane.” Reef’s leg brushes up against mine.
My heart thumps a little harder at him reaching out for some intimacy in this odd situation.
“Why do you all want me to be scared of something? I’m not some frightened little girl who needs protecting. I was brought up to be strong, and I am.” I stare back at them, my face fierce, making sure they know just who I am.
“If you say so, wildcat.” Reef rolls his lips like he doesn’t believe me, and I wonder why it’s so important for him to know what my weakness is.
“What are you scared of?” I throw back at him, even though I know it’s not my turn.
“Losing you,” Reef responds without hesitation.
Onyx stiffens beside me, and I see the glare he directs at Reef.
I gape back at him myself, at a loss for words.
He hardly knows me. Yeah, we have this weird sexual chemistry, and I feel like I know him without knowing anything about him, but he can’t be scared to lose me.
“I… you don’t even know me,” I mutter, trying to find my words.
His eyes lock with mine with an intensity that actually scares me all the way through to my core because I believe what he is saying and it makes no sense.
“I know everything I need to.”
I glance at Romeo and Onyx to see what they make of that little answer, but neither of them seems at all surprised.
Yeah, Onyx is tense, but that feels more like he’s pissed at Reef for answering me truthfully.
Not that he is worried about his feelings toward me.
Reef just made some fucking declaration to me in front of them and they’re not bothered.
Shouldn’t they be jealous or at least angry or something?
Confused, I pick up a fig and pop it in my mouth to stop the crazy that’s about to start bubbling up and out of me.
This situation and the way the three of them are acting is weird.
“I can’t swim, I’m scared of the ocean,” I finally admit.
Onyx shows no surprise, a knowing glint in his eyes; but the other two stare right back at me, their eyes wide with shock and disbelief, or is it just surprise that I gave them something about myself.
“That wasn’t so hard was it, doll face.”
My eyes fix on Romeo.
“Don’t even think about using that secret against me, I will make sure you regret it. ”
A wide grin stretches across his face, and he looks at Reef.
Reef shakes his head.
“We wouldn’t dare would we Romeo, we just want to get to know you better.”
“Thought you already knew everything about me, didn’t find that in your research though did you,” I snip, collecting up some more cheese and crackers, totally over this question.
“Your turn Onyx,” I murmur as I pop them in my mouth.
“Romeo, what’s the worst lie you’ve ever told?” Onyx’s question hangs in the air, a challenge, as if he already knows the answer.
His gaze on Romeo, soft and knowing, hints at a deep-seated connection that has me questioning everything.
Romeo glances around the table while he thinks on it, his eyes lingering on mine, a guilty expression flashing through them.
Then he throws back his shot glass.
I tilt my head, taking him in with fresh eyes, knowing he’s lied to me.
The legs of my chair scrape along the ground as I push it back and stand in a rush, ready to take him on.
But he’s too fast for me, his hands capturing my wrists and pulling me into his solid body, my back to his front.
“What the fuck did you lie to me about, asshole, and why does Onyx know about it?” I stare at the other two as he holds me like a barbaric caveman.
What are they keeping from me?
Romeo’s face lowers to my ear, his breath warm and laced with whiskey.
“I was never going to rat Onyx out to the authorities for killing the man who tried to hurt you, it was just a good bargaining tool because I knew how you felt about him.”
I try to dig my elbow into his stomach but his hold on me is too strong.
“You’re an asshole.”
“I don’t even regret it, doll face. You’re here with all of us now, so it worked out.”
“I’m here because you guys tricked me.” I glare back at the other two, because from the tight hold he has on me, I can’t glare at him.
His lips press into my neck and a tingle goes all the way through me as he kisses me.
“You’re here all the same,” he whispers, and goosebumps erupt over my skin.
Keeping my arms captured, his free hand moves down my side, feeling over my curves, and I catch the hunger in Reef’s eyes as he watches every movement he’s making.
“Let me go, asshole.”
“Right now, I can’t trust you not to try and stab me, so I think I’ll keep hold of you a little longer.”
“Smart man,” I huff.
I feel the chuckle rumbling through him, and all I can wonder is how is this fun for him?
His hand slides down a little further to my ass.
“Sloane, who in this room do you trust the least?” the motherfucker has the nerve to ask next.
I look between the other two.
They all have their moments.
Reef I really don’t know all that well, but does that mean I can’t trust him?
I’m not sure. Onyx, I thought I knew, but after tonight, I’m not so sure, and maybe that means I can trust him the least, but I still know no matter what secrets he’s hiding from me, he would do anything for me and protect me with his life.
I would like to say Romeo after he tricked me, but there is something about him that tells me even though he might bend the truth to get what he wants, he’s in this room because he genuinely cares about me and would do anything to keep me safe.
And that realization has nothing to do with how close our bodies are right now.
Stupidly I think I trust all of them, but I’m not telling them that.
“I need my shot glass.”
Reef is happy to help collect it for me.
Romeo lets one of my hands slip free so I can take it and throw back the whiskey.
Reef bursts out laughing, and Romeo joins him.
“I thought she was going to say you for sure, Romeo.”
“So did I,” he agrees.
Is that what he wanted?
I’m not sure.
“Let her go, Romeo,” Onyx finally says, and to my surprise, he releases his grip on me.
With a careless shrug, I sidestep the issue, the air thick with unspoken tension and the scent of avoidance, but answering that question would have gotten me in more trouble than I am already in.
I move back to my seat, making sure to glare a few daggers in Romeo’s direction.
“Reef, how did you and Romeo meet?” I ask the question that has been on the tip of my tongue all night.
His grin widens, then he collects his shot glass and throws back his whiskey.
I raise a brow at the two of them.
“I guess next round I’m asking Romeo the same question since he has no secrets to keep from me.”
He smirks at me, but I can already see in his eyes there is no way he’s telling me that secret.
And now I want to know even more.
From across the table, I feel Reef’s leg brush against mine again, a light touch that sends a flutter through me and pulls my attention to him.
His face lights up with a flirtatious smile.
It’s his turn next, and he wants my eyes on him.
“Onyx, who in this room do you think is the biggest threat to you?” Reef asks, still looking my way.
Is he trying to distract me from the disappointment of him not answering my question?
“Sloane,” Onyx answers a little too quickly.
“Thanks,” I mutter, kind of surprised.
He has two men in this room he knows want me, and I’m the biggest threat to him!
Our eyes lock, a seriousness washing over him.
“You know you are, trouble. ”
He really does think I will get him killed, or am I more a threat to his heart?
That I could live with because I know he’s a damn big threat to mine.
“Now it’s Romeo’s turn to answer one of mine.” Onyx’s lips twitch up at the sides in a way I haven’t seen before, a familiarity passing between him and Romeo.
“If one person at this table had to obey your every command for a day, who would you pick?”
“You,” Romeo throws right back at him, surprising me.
I would have thought for sure he would want me at his beck and call, but Onyx?
What the actual hell.
Onyx doesn’t flinch.
He already knew what the answer would be, but he wanted the rest of us to know as well.
He has me intrigued.
The look they share intensifies.
“The other two members of this table already follow my command. It might be fun to see what I could get you to do, big guy.”
“Like hell I do,” I snap.
“Just making sure every fucker at this table is clear, I do not take instructions from Romeo.”
Onyx bursts out laughing, the sound so unusual I feel like I have just stepped into the twilight zone.
I toss back the rest of my wine, having had enough of this game.
I’m more confused than when we started playing.
I stand to leave, the warmth of bed calling my name.
“Sit and finish your food,” Onyx demands, his hand to my arm stopping me from taking off.
“Your game is fun, Sloane. We’re all getting to know each other, stay a while longer,” Reef tries to encourage me.
But the truth is, they’re freaking me out.
All these looks I don’t quite understand and very pointed questions.
I feel like the odd one out.
Romeo’s eyes fix on Onyx.
“If I asked you to tell me your darkest secret right now, would you tell me the truth or lie straight to my face? ”
“I don’t have any secrets,” Onyx huffs.
“The man who quietly watches people for a living has no secrets. Somehow, I doubt that. Why don’t you tell the lovely Sloane how you came to work for her family? I’m sure that’s a doozie. Or would you like a dare?”
Onyx shakes his head, collects my now refilled shot glass, and throws it back.
I gasp in shock. He really is breaking all his damn rules for me, but this one I don’t want him to break.
I want to know how he ended up here.
“Tell me, Onyx.”
“It’s best if you don’t know, you hate Syd enough,” he grumbles.
“Romeo is just trying to start trouble.”
I stand in a rush, adrenaline pumping through me.
“Tell me,” I demand, so sick of being kept in the dark when it comes to him.
His eyes meet with mine, a deadly seriousness coming over them.
“Sit down, trouble,” Onyx says after some time.
His voice cuts through the tension in a way that has me sitting down immediately.
Reef finds my eyes from across the table and offers a sympathetic smile.
I’m not sure what for.
Because Onyx is acting like an asshole or if it’s because I’m in the dark, when the three of them all seem to know each other’s secrets.
I know it’s my turn, but there really is only one thing I want to know right now, since Onyx has already made it clear he won’t be spilling.
“My question is aimed at two of you. Let’s see who can answer me first. Because if one of you doesn’t, whatever the fuck is going on here is done. The three of you might think you can hold me here against my will, but I will find a way out.” My hands tremble as I say the words, my anger starting to rise.
“What’s your question, wildcat? ”
I know I have to be specific so they can’t weasel their way out of it.
“Romeo and Onyx, how did you meet Reef?” I ask, trying to keep my voice as calm as I possibly can.
Romeo picks up his shot glass to drink but doesn’t throw it back.
He’s thinking over my question, his eyes locked with Onyx.
He tips his head toward Onyx as if asking him a silent request. Is Onyx the one in charge here?
Because it certainly looks like Romeo is waiting on him.
Onyx sighs heavily as if the weight of the world is resting on his shoulders.
“We all met in a group home back when we were kids.”
His words send a shiver slithering down my spine.
They have known each other for years.
I don’t get it, Romeo is the son of some massive mafia family in Italy, and Onyx has lived with us since he was sixteen.
“How is that possible?”
“Our childhoods were complicated, much like yours, doll face.”
I see Romeo differently for the first time.
I thought he had grown up in the lap of luxury and been handed everything he could desire by his daddy.
But if this is true, then he’s had to struggle his way to the top just like Reef did.
Romeo’s hand finds mine, and he brings it to his lips as I stare back at him, I think in shock.
“You done with the game now, doll face?”
I pull my hand back quickly, my pulse quickening.
“What do you three want with me, is this some teenage fantasy you all had? Find some girl and lock her away from the rest of the world so you can have your dirty way with her? Is that what this is?”
“You’re not just some girl, Sloane. We all fell for you individually, that’s how we know you’re the one.”
“The one to what?” I push my chair back.
“You know what, I don’t want to know. I’m exhausted, and this, whatever this is, is too much for me to process right now. Thank you for my meal. I’ll see you all in the morning,” I say, much nicer than I should be right now .
“Sloane,” Reef calls me back.
“Let her go,” Onyx tells him.
And I do. I march right from the room as quickly as I can, confused as hell.
I knew this wasn’t some big coincidence; they all know each other well.
The last few weeks flash before me as I try to remember every contact I had with the three of them, and how they interacted with each other.
It all blurs together.
All I do know is any one of them could have pointed this out to me at any time and none of them did.
But they know each other, and they all want to be with me.
For Christ’s sake, Sloane, how did you end up here.