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I held back my tears. "No."
"Then why?" His lips were so close. I could just tiptoe and kiss him, forget about everything I just said, and live in my fantasy for a little while longer. The memory of his mouth was fresh in my mind—sweet and sensuous, like an addiction I could never have enough of.
It took everything in me not to let my fingers rake through his silky hair. "It's the better option. It's safer. The paparazzi will start to leave me alone. My parents' reputation won't be tarnished. Your—" I stopped as I was about to tell them about what their mother said to me. Now that I was leaving, there wasn't any need to pit them against her.
Ryan kissed me. I didn't pull back. "We'll miss you. Was it last night? We were stupid, Scarlet. We got too carried away. We forgot that you are new to this, and we let ourselves go too far." I reveled in the light brush of his lips, the sweetness of them leaving too quickly. Why did he have to let go? His fingers traveled to my waist. I shuddered under his touch. Was it because of fear? Pleasure?
"It's not just last night, Ryan." I shifted my jaw from side to side nervously, not sure how to explain it to them. I wasn't sure if I could explain my reasons for leaving to myself. "It's... the things that have been happening. And... and I'm afraid I'm nothing but a plaything to the both of you. You made it seem pretty clear yesterday."
Riley pinched his nose. "Damn it, Scarlet. It's not like that."
"Then what is it like?"
"It's our fault, entirely. We forgot. We had... other girls come into that room before. They were experienced—they had done these things before. It's no excuse, but we saw you at the landing yesterday, looking so beautiful.” Knowing they were attracted to me sent a tingling to my chest. "We wanted you so badly. And then, we forgot. You always came off so strong, so independent. We thought you could handle it, but we forgot that you weren't used to such things." The sides of his lips curled down. "We had a rough week. We shouldn't have caused you to suffer because of that."
Jealousy grabbed me by its sticky claws. "Was I always like one of them? Like those other girls?"
"No!" He paced closer to me, studying me with his gaze, causing my pulse to quicken. "You were never like one of them."
"You're special to us, Scarlet," Ryan said. "We've never met another girl like you." His face was so close that I could feel his breath on my neck. "You are daring, strong, and everything we could ever ask for. Perfect."
I let out a nervous laugh. "That sounds like a confession."
"It is."
My jaw tensed. What should I make of this? It felt like everything, and all I ever wanted, was just handed to me on a plate. But it was too good to be true. Too perfect to even make sense.
They waited for my response as their eyes examined mine. Entrancing, dangerous...
Too perfect.
Not knowing what to do, I cried, then laughed. Was this some kind of cruel prank they were playing on me?
"Why are you crying?" Ryan said, concerned. His thumb trailed across my cheek, wiping a stray tear aside.
I shook my head. I was supposed to be strong, dependable, the A student, the quintessential modern day woman. That person was whom my parents raised me up to be and who I wanted to be.
But here were the twins, bending me like pliable straw under their strings, playing me like a puppet, sending me to tears like the weak woman the modern age taught me not to become.
I bit my lower lip in frustration. "You guys are the worst."
"We love you," Ryan said, wearing a dark look. He didn't sound like he was pleading, or needy. He said it as a challenge. He wanted me to succumb and accept.
I shook my head and backed against the wall, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. "I don't know." I shook my head. "I don't know what to do."
"Are you still resigning?"
"I'm not sure," I murmured under by breath.
Apparently, Riley heard me, because he responded, "We'll give you as much time as you need to think about it. I'll withdraw or process your resignation as soon as you're ready to give an answer."
I was thankful he didn't press me on our relationship any further. I should have been the happiest woman alive after having that confession from the two most eligible bachelors. But how could I be after what happened last night? I couldn't trust them with telling me the truth. I put faith in them in the bedroom, and they nearly suffocated me to death.
They might have been weaving a huge lie to keep me in the company. After all, the directors of TTA international were arriving. I read the brief today—our company had a big party planned, and it'd be troublesome for the twins not to have a personal as**sistant to help with organizing the event.
