XXIV
Tori
“C an we go dance now?” Gemini asks me. When I don’t move, he shrugs. “Or we can just stand around, bored, waiting for that flaccid dick to arrive.”
Dancing is the last thing I want to do. What I want is to stay exactly where we are and keep watch for Preston, but even I can admit that hiding in plain sight is the best thing to do. Given that the other option is to act like Syn’s fiancée and go play nice with the other guests, I finally take the hand Gemini’s offering.
Gemini’s grip tightens around my hand, and he pulls it to his face, squinting so much, his eyes almost disappear. Then, wrinkling his nose, he straightens and looks at Syn. “Where’s the rest of it?”
“You realize that’s a six-carat diamond, right?” Syn asks, dryly.
My eyes go wide. “What?”
“Exactly.” Gemini nods. “What happened to the rest of the carats?”
“I see how it pales in comparison to the diamond you gave her.” Syn bats Gemini’s hand off mine. “However, thank you for pointing out the engagement ring on my fiancée’s finger, because if she’s walking into that room tonight, it’s with me.”
Gemini steps back and rests his elbow on Royal’s shoulder as he leans against him. Then he holds his hand out in front of him, palm up. “Ten grand, my friend. Pay up.”
Before I can ask what he’s talking about, Syn loops his arm through mine and starts to lead me to the main room.
The main feature of Milstein Hall is the life-size replica of the blue whale that hangs from the ceiling. I don’t remember going in this room the last time I was here, and if I did, I certainly didn’t appreciate the size of the creature hanging in it.
At the far end of the room, beneath the tail, there’s an ensemble of musicians playing an instrumental version of Wham’s Last Christmas on a large stage. Because food isn’t being served tonight, the room isn’t dominated by large tables. Instead, there are strategically placed small, taller tables, marking out the dancefloor where several couples are already dancing.
Each corner has a large Christmas tree that reaches up to the gallery above, and each column has lengths and lengths of festive garland wrapped around it, but no effort has been spared on the festive floral arrangements dotting the room. Although it’s lit with soft blue lighting, the effect feels more wintery than underwater.
The amount of money spent on this event has me wondering how much money they’re hoping to raise tonight.
A waitress carrying a tray of champagne pauses in front of us, and Syn lets go of me so he can take two glasses. He offers one of the flutes to me.
“Your parents are over there,” I tell him as I take the glass. “Do we need to go and say hello?”
Syn arches an eyebrow. “Do you want to?”
Of course I don’t.
“Wouldn’t it be weird if we didn’t? I do have this ring on my finger, after all.”
“It’s probably weirder that we’re here,” Gemini says as he and Royal join us. “I don’t remember the last one I went to.”
“Don’t your parents host this?” I ask.
Gemini nods and points towards the stage. Just in front of it, there’s a small crowd of couples standing in a semi-circle around a woman wearing a white gown. She has pale skin and auburn hair, and even though she’s smiling at the person who’s talking to her, there’s no hiding her stern features. “That’s Elena; the woman of the hour. Eric is probably at the bar, bragging to the other menfolk that this is going to cost him a fortune.”
“Where’s Virgo?” Royal asks before glancing at me. “That’s his sister.”
Almost at once, Gemini’s expression darkens. “Virgo, who didn’t want to come anyway, was told to stay at home tonight.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” I ask.
“Elena bought her a dress for tonight that was too small to start with, then decided that Virgo was too fat to be seen in public.”
My mouth falls open because there’s no way that can possibly be true. “She didn’t actually say that to her, did she?”
Gemini raises his glass to his lips and then proceeds to drink it all in one go. Once finished, he sets it down on the tray of a passing server before turning back to me. “Now, we dance.”
At the last minute, I hand my champagne flute to Syn and allow Gemini to lead me onto the dancefloor. “Is this a good idea?”
“I have to give Royal a chance to win his money back.” Gemini places a hand on my hip as he takes my other hand in his.
In time with the slow beat of the music, we start to move around the dancefloor. Like a lot of girls my age brought up in wealthy families, I had dance lessons when I was younger, though they stopped long before I went to middle school. But while we weren’t doing the waltz, Gemini was leading in a way that made me question how he knew how to move without stepping on my toes.
“What’s the bet?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“How long it takes for our Synnie to cut in. Royal’s convinced that Syn doesn’t like you like that to care.”
I snort. “You might as well hand Royal that money now.”
A grin spreads over Gemini’s lips. “That’s what he said when I bet him that Syn’d act like the rock on your finger is real.”
Frowning, I glance down at my hand that’s resting on Gemini’s waist. From this angle, I can’t see the ring, but I can picture the diamond in my mind. “That’s not a fake diamond. He even said as much.”
“I’m not talking about the ring.”
Whatever that means. “I thought I was supposed to stay out of the way and not draw any attention to myself.”
“Even if your hair wasn’t blue, there’s no way you couldn’t draw any attention,” Gemini tells me.
“Because everyone wants to know who’s dancing with one of the most eligible bachelors in here?” I tease.
“Because every man in here is mentally fucking you right now, and every woman knows it.”
Unable to help myself, I glance around at the nearby clusters of people. The only ones paying any attention to us are Syn and Royal, standing on the other side of the dancefloor. “I can see that.”
Gemini just shrugs. “That’s exactly what I’m doing, and I bet you can’t tell.”
“When aren’t you?”
“Vixen, not only do I have the ability to have my thoughts play out in my mind so clearly, that it’s like watching a movie, but I also have ADHD and the ability to have multiple streams of thought occurring at the same time, so when I say I’ve got more ways planned to make you come than the Kama Sutra, you should know I’m not exaggerating.”
My body feels hot, and I’m sure that my pale skin is turning pink in front of him, but I refuse to break our eye contact like I’m embarrassed. “Maybe you should write a book.”
Like I’m being serious, Gemini nods. “A Thousand Nights of Pleasure.”
“A thousand nights?” I chuckle.
“It’s not just about the positions, it’s also about the toys and the kinks. And with you, my little Vixen, we would have a lot of fun trying so many things out. Then, once you know what you like, I’ll have you handcuffed and blindfolded on my bed, so the only thing you know is coming next is you.” Gemini closes his eyes and smirks.
I hate the way my mouth goes dry as I can’t help but wonder what Gemini would do, and given the way Gemini’s smirk grows when he opens his eyes and looks at me, it’s probably very obvious what I’m thinking.
“Do you know how rare it is to find someone who’s not only able to enjoy sex without being embarrassed about it, but who’s also willing to explore all the possibilities?” he asks me, his expression getting serious as the smile slips from his face. “When you’re in our position, there’s a lot we can’t control, despite how much money we have. It’s almost ironic that the one person who could tame us would be you. Considering your origin story.”
The beat of the music has picked up, but the two of us have slowed to the point that we’re just stepping side to side.
“Just because there’s only one of me in the world doesn’t mean you won’t find someone else who can match your sex drive and kinks. And just because I do, doesn’t mean that we have a future together; not after everything that’s happened.”
Of these three guys, I’m the least angry with Gemini. I always have been. But standing by and watching things happen—and I don’t mean in the perverted way he likes to watch—doesn’t exonerate him of everything either.
“Then, I’m sorry.”
I stare at him, wondering if he can read minds, or if I somehow said that out loud. “Are you saying that because you think it will change anything?”
“Will it?”
Gemini is… Gemini. Beneath his good looks, beneath the childhood trauma, and beneath his kinks and quirks that his trauma probably led to, he’s someone looking for love and pleasure, and a connection. If everything that happened up to this point had never happened, I’d never have realized that. Maybe going down this path did make us a good match…
But an apology isn’t enough for us to have a real future together that could last longer than one night.
“Well, if anyone ever asks what it will cost to mend a broken heart, just know that twenty grand isn’t enough,” Gemini suddenly declares.