28. SIENNA
SIENNA
The city moves past the windows and I barely notice it.
I'm trying to put my hair up again but my fingers aren't cooperating. The elastic slips twice. My wrists feel unsteady. I get the elastic around the ponytail on the third try.
Adrian reaches over and catches a loose strand I missed.
He doesn't say anything. Just smooths it back, his knuckles grazing my cheek, sending shivers down my spine.
My whole body is still calibrated wrong.
Too aware of everything. His scent on my skin.
The faint tenderness at my lips when I press them together.
The heat that hasn't fully left my thighs.
The thoughts arrive and I can't stop them. Did I understand him right? He said he and Carter both want me, but what does that mean exactly? What does it look like? What are they actually looking for? A relationship between three people? I don't know how this can work.
"We're almost there." Adrian says, moving his eyes from the window to me.
He must read the troubling thoughts in my mind because he reaches over, takes my chin between his knuckles, tips my face up. "Hey." His voice is quiet. "Don't overthink this, okay?"
He pulls me to him, kissing me, quick and certain, and then stays close, his mouth at the corner of mine. "Just feel it," he says.
I don't have words. I just manage a nod.
The car slows.
Through the window I can see the line of people first, the sheer length of it. Women in gowns and jewels that catch the light, men in dark suits. All dressed in black according to the theme and all of it glittering under camera flashes.
Then I see the carpet itself. Red. Stretching out ahead, bright against everything black around it.
"Nobody told me about a red carpet." I blurt out nervously.
Adrian tilts his head. "Want me to ask the driver to go around the back?"
I look in his eyes and what I see is confidence so I borrow some of it.
"No." I say. "But let’s be quick about it, ok?"
He smiles, kisses me once more and gets out. By the time I've gathered my bag he is at my door, opening it, hand extended. I take it without hesitation this time.
The flashes start the moment I step out of the car.
I don't know where to look. There are people everywhere, voices, the rapid-fire percussion of cameras, and the only thing I can feel clearly is Adrian's hand around mine. It’s all so overwhelming that I welcome is anchoring touch.
"I don't recall your name on the guest list." A voice says near me. A familiar voice in its disdain.
I turn.
William.
Black suit, black shirt, black tie. Devastating. He is looking at me with an intensity that doesn't read as anger exactly, but it isn't far from it. His jaw is set. His eyes move over me once, sharp and complete, and I think that the heat I see in them is not the good kind.
My first instinct is to pull my hand from Adrian's. I know that this is going to cause trouble.
Adrian's grip tightens.
I try again, a small reflexive tug, and he holds on. Firm. Certain. His fingers lace through mine, not subtle and when I glance at his face he is looking directly at William.
He is not hiding this.
He is claiming me.
William keeps his eyes on me even though he is talking to Adrian. "You didn't tell me you were bringing a date."
Adrian steps forward, putting himself between me and William. "Is that going to be a problem?"
The way Adrian says these words gets Wiliam attention, that finally stops looking at me.
He looks at Adrian. "No problem at all," he says. "Enjoy the party."
William steps aside and carries on greeting the party guests as they arrive. The loss of his presence feels like standing in the shade after being in the sun and I absolutely hate that I feel it.
Adrian squeezes my hand and we move.
Inside Vanta the mood is completely different from the chaotic energy from outside.
It is all low amber light and the music is something between jazz and electronic, with a pulse underneath it that you can feel vibrating in your body. The bar runs the length of the far wall, champagne towers at one end catching the light and throwing it back in small hot points.
Adrian steers us toward the bar, stopping briefly when someone calls his name, but never fully pausing. He doesn't let go of my hand.
"Something to drink?" he asks.
I hesitate, not sure what to order.
"Champagne?" Adrian suggests.
"Yes. That."
He orders two flutes. Hands me one. We clink glasses. He pulls me in by the waist, kisses me once, and steps back to look at me. His thumb moves against my hip before he drops his hand.
I turn toward the room. And that's when I see Carter.
He is easy to find. Taller than most of the people around him, exuding confidence. He too is all in black, but he wears it with elegance, instead of the predatory vibe that William gave off.
He is talking to a man in dark Arabic clothes, when his eyes find mine and there is no hesitation. He excuses himself from the conversation and starts to move our way.
He doesn't stop for the people who try to catch him. Brief, polite refusals, and then he keeps coming. Through the crowd, toward us, and I feel Adrian's arm come around my waist and tighten.
This is the moment. Both of them. Here. Together. The reality of it is different from the idea of it. This reality has a pulse. I can feel mine in my throat.
Carter reaches us.
He looks at me and says, "I would say that you look beautiful, but that word is not enough to describe how you look tonight."
Heat floods my face immediately. "You look very handsome yourself." And then not wanting Adrian to feel left out I add. "Both of you."
Adrian's mouth curves in a smirk. "Both of us? Maybe later."
"Don't be rude." Carter says it at the same moment he reaches past me and pulls Adrian into a half-hug.
They break apart and something passes between them, quick, male, entirely comfortable.
I expected friction. I expected the specific discomfort of two men who want the same thing standing in the same room. But there is none of that.
Adrian looks at me, something warm and deliberate in his face. Then he leans in and kisses me, thorough and languidly. When he pulls away his eyes are dark and amused.
"I'll let you two talk," he winks at me, turns and disappears into the crowd.
I don’t know what to say or what to do right now. One thing is to think things in the abstract. Another thing is having one man you like kiss you in front of the other man you like.
Carter pulls me gently to his side whispering in my ear. "Breathe."
The feeling of his mouth so near my ear makes goosebumps appear in my skin. I tip my head up and he kisses me. Steady, like he has all the time and and we are alone.
"I missed you," he murmurs against my mouth.
I can only give him the truth. "I missed you too."
Our bodies are touching and I can feel the energy vibrating between us. The party continues around us, but it's reduced to background noise.
"How do you feel about this?" he says. "This situation. Between us."
I try to find the answer. It is not one thing. Nervous. Excited. Scared. Carter must see the conflicting emotions show in my face and starts to say, "If you don't want—"
I grab his forearms.
"I want it." It’s fundamental that he knows this. "I just don’t know how to… this is new to me."
He nods in understanding and he pulls me for another dizzying kiss. "It's new to me too. But you are worth it."
His hands move to my hips and pull me flush against him.
I can feel exactly how much he wants me, hard against my stomach, unmistakable, and I can’t help the moan that escapes me.
He exhales slow and controlled. He traces one finger from the curve of my shoulder all the way down my arm.
Slow. Deliberate. Closes his hand around my wrist. Lifts it. Presses his mouth to the inside.
His lips are warm against my pulse. "The things I want to do with you."
I am going to dissolve in front of all these people.
Someone clears their throat.
I do a little jump on the spot, startled. Carter just raises his eyes over my shoulder with complete composure.
"What is it, Steve?" and I can feel the strain in his voice.
Behind me is a young man, all black with a headset and a very red face. That makes two of us.
He clears his throat again. "My apologies for interrupting, but Mr. Karim needs to leave and he'd like a word before he goes."
Carter's thumb moves once against my wrist before he answers. "Tell him I'll be there in thirty seconds."
Steve practically salutes, turns on his heel and goes away.
Carter looks at me and sighs. "I’m sorry, I really need to speak with this man. We are thinking of a new project in Morocco. I need five minutes."
"Go," I say. "I'll be here."
He kisses me once more, brief and certain, and then he goes.
I lean back against the bar and press my champagne flute to my cheek, trying to cool down. I can still feel my body thrum with emotions.
To distract myself I watch the party. Now it’s in full flow, with people gathering, laughing andswaying to the music.
A hand closes around my wrist and I feel a pull.
When I look to see who it is I find William looking at me with a strange intensity.
"You're coming with me.” He demands. “Now!".