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Three weeks.That’s all it was, really. I hadn’t been living in the house for a month yet, and it already felt like an eternity. I was working more than ever, and even enjoying the extra long commute back and forth toShatter II. It gave me time to think. Time to clear my head.
And I could always use more ofthat.
I was teaching classes and blowing my own artwork at the new shop on the upper east side of Manhattan, where the best boutiques and finest restaurants brought in tons more foot traffic. I’d already sold more pieces than I had in almost a year of exhibiting in Brooklyn. The equipment was newer, the tools sharper — even the furnaces seemed hotter to me.
The best part was the whole thing felt like a vacation. The new shop was fun and exotic, but living in the upstate mansion was even better. Greenwood Lake was absolutely breathtaking, and there were tons of trails to jog and explore. When I wasn’t wandering the sprawling grounds of the estate itself I was usually out skirting the lake’s many shores, checking out the other houses and salivating over the amount of opulence all around me. I’d always considered myself a simple girl, with London broil tastes. But damn, I also recognized the deliciousness of fillet mignon and lobster, too.
The guys were fun and amazing, the few times they were around. I saw Aiden and Connor the most, but on any given day they could fly off at a moment’s notice and be out of town, doing a deal. They neverallleft, though. There was always someone in the house to check up on me, and to make sure I was alright.
And considering how well the house was stocked and maintained, by a staff of four or five? I wasmorethan just alright.
We had dinner together when possible, and I enjoyed those times most of all. Aiden was the outgoing and personable one, and Connor — believe it or not — was apparently a wizard with numbers. Elliot was the silent, enigmatic leader who spent most of his time away from the mansion. When hewashere though, he always made it a point to sit us down for meals together.
As a result I learned more about the their business, and how they were embedded within it. Aiden was the consummate charmer, tasked with meeting and greeting clients. His smile and wit generally won everyone over, and having spent the first several years as a hands-on contractor, his knowledge as far as project management was unparalleled.
Connor was solely responsible for finding and gathering the capital the trio needed to explode their business while in their mid-twenties, and from there he took over the bulk of the company’s finances. And goddammit, he somehow looked evenmorehandsome whenever he put on his black-rimmed glasses.
Finally there was Elliot, who did a little of both. According to the others, he had an uncanny talent for sniffing out the most profitable deals on only the best of properties. Since they’d ventured out into international markets, this meant he was away for most of the time. He was also a lifelong friend of Aiden’s, and the two had been inseparable throughout high school and college.
When they weren’t out in the field though, the guys worked from home. They had adjacent offices at the other end of the house, which turned out of be every bit as impressive as the rest of the place. This meant they were generally around, and that made me happy. They were charming and funny, and went out of their way to make me feel at home. Plus, I just always felt more at ease listening to the sounds of their voices reverberating throughout the mansion’s wide, spacious halls.
No, I was definitely in a good place. Mentally. Emotionally. And thanks to the amazing gym the guys had put together just down the hall, even physically too.
Stretching out across my unnecessarily giant bed, I let my hands wander down my own body. Things were tightening up all over. And I was feelingrandy, too. Probably because of the hormone therapy I was currently on, yes. But it also didn’t help that I had three ripped guys living a few doors down the hall from me, who sometimes walked around in less than their usual business attire.
Also, if we were being brutally honest? Mostly because, well… it had been a while. Even longer than I liked to admit.
My hands might’ve wandered lower, enjoying the other side of the cashmere robe. Instead, something happened to break me out of my little daydream.
Eight
JORDYN
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Three quick raps turned me in the direction of the door. Flopping over onto my side, I propped myself up on one elbow.
“Come on in!”
The door opened, and almost immediately something flew across my bedroom. An accompanying voice yelled: “Here!”
There was no time to react. Whatever it was landed on my head with a damp flop. I grabbed it and stared down at it, as Connor’s laughter filled the room.
“You left your towel in the gym again, precious. Third time this week.”
The way he omitted the ‘h’ in ‘third’ made the word sound like ‘turd’. For some crazy reason the thought made me laugh.
“What, that’s funny?” he teased. “You should actuallyusethat towel next time, to wipe things down. Instead of leaving your sweaty arseprints on the squat bench.”
“I didnotleave arseprints on the squat bench!” I protested.
“Oh no?” He was leaning back in the doorway now, arms folded. “Are you saying I’m the one with a dainty arse, then?”
He arched his back, and made a spectacle of trying to look over his shoulder at his own ass. I giggled, which of course was exactly what he wanted.
“From the size of the prints it’s gotta be your arse,” he deduced. “So let’s see it.”
Without thinking I rolled onto my opposite side and wriggled my cashmere-covered ass his way. By the time I realized what I was doing, it was already done.
