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She sighed, looking tired all of a sudden. “You’re quite right.”

I blinked. That was probably the first time she’d ever said those words to me. And I felt I could be forgiven for not believing that there was a droplet of sincerity in them. She didn’t have the self-insight to ever realize when she was in the wrong, nor the willingness to self-reflect and consider that shecouldbe in the wrong.

“You have the right to sleep with whomever you please,” she went on. “And if you’re certain that Trace isn’t using you to get to me, I will trust your judgement. But could you at least keep what happens between the three of you behind closed doors?”

“Why? I can’t see how it affects you.”

“I would appreciate the luxury of not having to watch my daughter make the same mistake that I made. Group sex is fun and exciting. At first. But sooner or later, someone feels hurt or neglected or is harshly tossed aside.”

I let my arms slip to my sides. “It was different with you, Ansel, and Troy.”

“Not all that different.” She gingerly perched herself on the sofa, her expression one of pained nostalgia. “I was cut out. I was set aside by my own husband so that he could be withsomeone who should only ever have been our temporary lover. That’s all you are to Trace and Kaleb, Briar—temporary.”

I squinted. She hadn’t spoken the words unkindly. In fact, there’d been an element of reluctance in her voice … as if she would rather that she’d never had to make such a statement as it hurt her to hurtme. And I was not buying it. “You’re so certain of that?”

“I would question why you are not. I heard about their … proclivities at the Vault. They’re careful not to form attachments. They don’t even agree to arrangements at the club, do they? Like it or not, they’ll set you aside soon enough.”

As much as I wished I could argue that, I couldn’t. I had no damn idea what they wanted from me. “Maybe so. But there’s nothing wrong with me enjoying what I have with them while I have it.”

Annoyance flickered in her eyes. “And what is it exactly that you do have? Hmm? Have they made you any promises? Have they given you any sweet words? Have they offered you anything permanent?” Whatever she saw on my face made her give a confident nod. “I thought not. They might spend time with you in public, but they’ve made no commitment to you. They are merely using you for sex.”

“You make them sound like villains who are out to steal women’s virtues.”

She hiked up an imperious brow. “You think they’re good people, do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Even though they have offered you nothing?”

“Just because they haven’t yet committed to a woman doesn’t mean they’re bad people. And it’s not like they ever misled me into believing that they would offer me anything. There’s been no games, no manipulations, no lies.”

“You believe that they’re open and honest with you? Really?” she asked, doubtful.

They weren’t closed books. They didn’t dodge questions or topics. They didn’t make false promises. They didn’t play mind games. So … “Yeah, I do.”

“Hmm, I see.” She paused. “I was offered a part in a movie a few days ago. I was informed that Trace would be starring in it. More, he will be playing the role of my lover.”

My gut clenched painfully and did a slow, nauseating roll. I swallowed hard, battling the explicit images that tried swimming to the forefront of my mind. Images of them touching, kissing—

I locked my teeth to hold back a hiss.

“He didn’t tell you about that, did he?” A smirk flirted with the corners of her mouth—a smirk that was there and gone so fast I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t watching her so carefully. “Naturally, I’ll turn down the part, since it would be otherwise hideously awkward for you.”

My head almost jerked back at that.

“But other women won’t turn it down, or any other roles where they might play his lover. You’ll watch those sex scenes and you will know that they’re not real, but it will burn you all the same.”

Even though he wasn’t mine, yes, it would—that I couldn’t deny. But it wasn’t what was on my mind right then. No, I was busy chewing on something else she’d said. “You’ll turn down the part?” Even I heard the incredulity in my tone. Alondra wasn’t the self-sacrificing type.

“What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t?”

The same kind of mother she’d always been—one who had a complete disregard for my wants and needs if they clashed with her own.

“It might not bother Trace to take on the role of my lover, but it will bother me. Of course, it is unlikely that you and he will still be … sleeping together by the time filming begins, which won’t be for another five months, but it would still be awkward.”

For anormalperson, sure. For Alondra? No. No, it wouldn’t feel weird to her at all.

Looking down at her lap, she fiddled with her fingers. “I’m not a good mother. I must own that. But I do not wish to cause you pain.”

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