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When I clear my throat and glance away, she comes closer and pushes my hair over my shoulder. She touches a long, blood-red fingernail that is just this side of sharp along my cheekbone. “Youth is a gift we all squander,” she says. She brushes my hair back and is standing so close I actually take a step backward because she’s creeping me out.
“Excuse me,” I say, setting the coffee down. “I need my phone.”
“Mother, there you are,” a voice says when I’ve barely taken a step to the door. We both turn to look. Opposite how she looked at me, Evelyn Augustine actually smiles. I guess she isn’t thrilled to have me for her soon to be daughter-in-law. News flash for her, I’m not exactly jumping up and down for joy at the prospect of marrying Santos Augustine or having the evil queen as my mother-in-law.
“Caius, darling.” She goes to him.
He smiles casually, hair still wet from a shower, and glances at me over her shoulder as she kisses his cheek and bids him a good morning. He’s wearing a charcoal cashmere sweater and a pair of black slacks. He has his hands in his pockets, and I see on his wrist the deep blue stones on a bracelet that matches the one I’ve glimpsed on Santos’s wrist. Lapis Lazuli, I think. They look like prayer beads, but honestly I can’t see either of these men praying.
More like they think they’re the gods.
“Mother, I’m not sure Madelena wants to see you first thing in the morning after her first night in Santos’s bed.”
Santos’s bed? This is not his bed. Every drawer is empty. I open my mouth to say that but Caius winks at me.
“Walk of shame and all,” he adds.
“I… What?” Is this really happening?
Evelyn looks back at me with clear disdain. “Don’t worry, dear. We know you’re not that kind of girl. And even if you were, Santos is not that kind of man. He’ll wait until the wedding night. Caius is just being Caius, aren’t you?” she says to him, playfully tugging at the hair behind his ear.
I make myself walk toward the door. I mean to get past them. “I need my phone,” I say to Caius because he’s the one blocking my exit.
He glances to his mother, and they exchange some silent communication. I’m not sure if the brief movement of his head is him telling her to go or what, but Evelyn turns to me with that same empty smile and, without another word, leaves. Caius closes the door behind her and turns to me.
The smile is gone, and I wonder if it was for her benefit. For a moment, he studies me, and I make myself do the same. I can’t be afraid. Or at least, I can’t show it. They won’t hurt me. They need me.
As I study him, I think about how the brothers look nothing alike. Not a single thing. Santos has dark hair, almost black. Caius’s is a dirty blond, darker than his mother’s but similarly thick, too. Santos’s forest green eyes are worlds apart from Caius’s blue ones, bright like a summer day.
But there is nothing summery about this man. There is nothing light about this man. I know it in my gut.
Caius Augustine is dangerous.
“Do you mind?” he asks, picking up a strip of bacon.
“Go ahead,” I say, sitting on the edge of the bed because I don’t know what to do with myself.
“I’m starving. Missed dinner,” he explains. “And Santos and I had a little to drink after you went to bed.”
I didn’t exactly go to bed. I was locked in. I get the feeling he knows that, though.
“Needed it after…” He trails off, his gaze moving over me before returning to my eyes. “Well, let’s just say my brother is very protective of you.”
I feel the blood drain from my head, and I’m glad I’m sitting down. “What did he do?” I ask cautiously.
He eats another piece of bacon, then butters toast as he speaks. “I heard what your father did. Pretty shitty.” He bites into his toast, sending crumbs everywhere. “Good news is, I know for a fact he will never lay a finger on you again,” he says with a wide smile as he chews the rest of the toast before picking up my juice and drinking it all, washing his breakfast down. He makes a satisfied sound and sets the glass back on the tray.
“What does that mean?”
He wipes his hands on a cloth napkin then drops it. “Those details aren’t for a young lady’s ears.”
What the fuck is wrong with him? He’s enjoying this, without a doubt, and I don’t know what’s going on.
“Is my father okay?” I ask, scared of the answer as soon as the words are out.
He shrugs a shoulder. “Mostly. He won’t hurt you again. That’s what counts.” He checks his watch. “You should eat something. We have a few minutes.”
Feeling a sudden chill, I hug my arms to my chest. “I want to talk to my brother.”
