AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You must be new here because I’d remember your friend if he’d been around,” she rambled on. My stomach grumbled again. “If you’re hungry, there are some leftovers from breakfast. Let me show you.”
She took off before I could respond, and I found myself following her to a buffet covered from end to end with muffins, fruit, cereal . . . pretty much anything a person could want. There was even some bacon in a warming tray. Sam and I went straight for that.
He sniffed, stretching his nose toward the scent. I opened the lid, and he put his paws on the edge of the table. If Trish minded, she didn’t say anything. I grabbed a piece of thick bacon and dropped it into Sam’s open mouth. He smacked a couple of times and swallowed it practically whole.
“That’s good, huh?”
He panted at me, those big paws doing a tap dance on the edge of the table. I gave him another piece, which he gulped down.
I turned my attention to—what was her name again? Oh well, it didn’t matter. “Last night, Mrs. Quinn had some sort of stew with rice for him.”
“We’ve got some of that in the kitchen,” she said. “I’ll go warm some up while you make yourself a plate.” Her smile was kind and completely undeserved, but I did as she said and piled a plate with everything that looked good.
I picked an empty table and sat. Sam put his head on my lap and looked up at me with those eyes. “You know exactly what you’re doing, don’t you?”
I fed him a grape and laughed as he struggled to eat it. He chomped until he finally got it down, then he put his head right back in my lap.
My laughter abruptly halted as a trio of gods stopped at a table across the room. Ifeltthem before I even saw them. Judging by the attention they’d garnered from everyone else, I wasn’t the only one.
I was a sucker for a man in a suit . . . or maybe I suckered a lot of men in suits. Either way, I couldn’t stop staring.
The distinguished gentleman who was the oldest—and if I was a betting woman, which I was—I’d guess was the other two’s father. They had a similar build—tall, broad shoulders, bronzed skin . . . striking. The three dripped of power, but it was different than Tamas, who was powerful enough in his own right.
These men commanded it naturally; Tamas begged for it. Not necessarily with words, but with his general demeanor. These three menownedit.
“Here’s breakfast.”
I barely heard Trish, my eyes locked on the one who looked like he was lost. He had the body of an athlete, dark brown hair with natural honey highlights, and filled out his suit like it was made for him. Well, minus the jacket and tie. And he was all kinds of pissed off, as if he’d sucked on the world’s most sour lemon, until Mrs. Quinn, who was at his side, spoke to him. That sourpuss look smoothed into pleasantness as he easily engaged the woman. He was an imposter, just like me.What was he hiding from?
“Trish, are men allowed here?”
Her gaze followed mine, a little knowing smirk on her lips. “They can volunteer. I bet you anything he’s with the crew Vivian Elliott brings around.”
“They all look like that?” I raised a brow suspiciously.
“Exactly.”
“How often do they come by?”
“One of them makes an appearance at least once a week.”
“Isn’t having men around sort of intimidating? I mean, they aren’t on my list of favorites right now,” I muttered, protesting a little too much.
“We can’t stay in a bubble. One day, we’ll be back out there.” She waved at the door. “We have to be able to handle ourselves.”
“I don’t need any practice at handling the real world,” I returned dryly.
“Sometimes, we have to learn how not to let the real world handle us.” I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant by that, my gaze drifting around the room as the person who stuck out like a sore thumb walked around. “I have to run, but I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, my interest three tables away.
I didn’t like this guy. I felt defensive of the women here, not that I thought he’d hurt any of them. Just that he didn’t want to be here. I could see it, though it might not have been obvious to anyone else. How noble of me to want to protect this place from someone here without the best of intentions. So it was fine for me to be here, but not someone else with an agenda? When had I become a hypocrite? Yet another adjective to add to my repertoire of personal descriptions.
Maybe I didn’t like someone else on my turf. I hadn’t really figured out what I wanted from this place other than somewhere nice to stay and some good food. I had this itchy feeling as if I had to make a decision now because of this guy’s presence, when before his arrival, I’d had the luxury of time to figure shit out.
I propped my hands underneath my chin and observed. All the signs were there. Expensive tailor-made clothes, not off the rack. Air of authority, my-shit-don’t-stink kind of attitude. Gold watch. I’d put money on it being a Breitling. He had that certain something wealthy men had that I never could quite describe. It was an aura of confidence. They didn’t take no for an answer; therefore, they always got what they wanted. If we were in an uptown bar, this guy would be my target. He was perfect, and it might be interesting. He had an edge about him that said he was off-limits and maybe a challenge. I was up for one.
Tamas punching me in the face might have been worth it, because he may have just handed me my next mark.
