Three Dirty Secrets (Blindfold Club #4) (26 page)

His single word sent a thrill through me.

We fell into an easy pattern of dates after that. Not necessarily seeing each other every day, but we always talked. Sometimes he’d work late into the night to finish a project, or I’d be assisting an investigation at the office that spilled into after hours.

Hope dwindled further each weekend that passed without hearing from Roland. I considered going to his office, but Shane advised against it. Not only would it skirt the edge of entrapment, but he felt strongly that Roland would have shown up if he had interest. Fuck, I’d been so sure I had him on the hook. Just another one of my instincts that was dead wrong.

It was early November when I took Silas out to celebrate the sale of his red piece, the one with the people having sex in the fog. He’d sold it to a decorator who was designing a fancy restaurant on the Gold Coast, and it made sense. The painting made me hungry.

We’d finished our meal when Silas laid his gaze on me, his expression unreadable.

“You have plans tomorrow night?” His voice was casual, but I picked up on the tightness. Was he nervous?

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“I’m doing Joseph and Noemi’s photo shoot.”

“Oh.” Conflicting emotions surged through me. Joseph and Noemi would be naked and probably fucking while Silas took pictures. I’d heard they were both exhibitionists from Payton.

I wouldn’t have said I was a jealous type, but Matt’s betrayal had knocked me sideways. And maybe I wasn’t jealous of my boyfriend looking at another woman, as much as I was jealous he’d be doing it without me.

But Silas was an artist, I reminded myself. Surely he’d used nude models before, and his tattoo work had to have put a lot of naked people beneath his needle. Not to mention, he’d already received the payment for the photo shoot. Payment that had been one of the hottest nights of my life.

Why had Silas asked if I was available tomorrow?

“You want me at the shoot?” My voice was coated in surprise. “Are they okay with that?”

His smile was cryptic and got my blood hot. “Yeah, Joseph said it was fine.”

“What aren’t you saying?”

He laughed lightly. “Joseph’s got an idea, but I can’t tell you about it.”

“What kind of idea?”

“Did you hear what I just said, how I can’t tell you?” Silas seemed to be enjoying this a little too much. “It’s a secret, Regan.”

“I’m great at keeping secrets.” It was supposed to roll out of my mouth with a fun and flirty tone, but I choked at the end. My stomach bottomed out each time I was reminded of my deception.

Thank God he didn’t notice. “Nice try. You’ll have to show up to find out what it is. You game?”

My pulse jumped. Obviously I didn’t have a problem watching other people have sex; I did it twice a week. Yet it was behind a monitor, and the filter kept me from feeling connected. It wasn’t live or interactive, and the couple usually didn’t have the chemistry of two people in a real relationship. How would Joseph and Noemi compare to the shoot Silas and I had done? I was suddenly anxious to find out.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’m totally game.”

Chapter

NINETEEN

Like last time Silas had done a shoot, I sat on his worktable and watched as he adjusted the lights. This time, though, there was no music. He’d said it would be distracting while he tried to give guidance to the subjects. He wore a red printed t-shirt and dark jeans beneath it, and my gaze flitted over his brawny form. He must have sensed my stare, because he turned and took me in, watching my dangling feet swing beneath the table.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked, an amused smile playing on his lips.

“I’m wondering what kind of patterned boxers you’re wearing today. Horseshoes? Shamrocks? One of the other marshmallows from Lucky Charms?”

He must not have remembered. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and peered down over his defined stomach to the orange waistband protruding above where his jeans stopped. “Penguins.”

“Christ, put your abs away or I’m going to need to change my panties.”

Someone cleared their throat behind me.

Joseph. He wore an immaculate black suit with a crisp white dress shirt and a gold tie. Beside him, Noemi looked stunning in a cream-colored cocktail dress that draped over one shoulder and left the other exposed. They were quite the pair, even with fifteen years separating them. She was soft and feminine, and he was hard and distinctly masculine.

“Wow,” I said. “You two look great.”

“Thank you,” Noemi said, her eyes shining.

Silas put his hands casually on his hips. “I’m all set up.” His gaze turned to Joseph. “You ready?”

“I suppose.” Joseph’s hand extended to the white backdrop, wordlessly asking Noemi to lead the way.

She walked on her gold heels and stepped cautiously onto the thick paper. “Just in the center?”

“Yeah,” Silas said. “I’ll need to take some test shots.”

Joseph stepped up and slipped an arm around Noemi’s waist, turning his head toward her so his lips were right by her ear. Whatever he whispered caused a smile, and pink color bloomed over her cheeks. Shit, I hadn’t thought this through. I’d forgotten how powerful it was to see Joseph like this. Intimate, and in love.

Silas snapped his test shots, evaluating the results in the viewer, and made adjustments.

Meanwhile, Noemi fidgeted. “I feel weird not smiling. Should I be smiling?”

“If you want to,” Silas said. “Do whatever makes you comfortable.”

“Are you nervous, baby girl?” Joseph asked, his voice soft and perhaps teasing.

She almost seemed shy, but I’d worked at the club long enough to know looks could be deceiving. There’d been a few quiet clients who’d morphed into alphas the second I’d left the room.

“No, I’m not nervous,” she said, her voice breathy. “Are you?”

“I am, a little.”

Her eyes went enormously wide and her head snapped his direction. “What?”

“I’m good to go,” Silas interrupted. “Joseph, go ahead and take a knee.”

Wait a minute.
I jolted upright. My breath stalled when Joseph’s hand darted inside his pocket and he sank down, his other hand clasped on Noemi’s.

“Wait.” Her voice trembled. “What are you doing?”

She wasn’t paying any attention to the furious clicks of Silas’s camera. Her focus was only on the man down on a knee who produced a small black box.

“
Wait
,” Joseph repeated. “I haven’t heard you use that word in a while.” He pulled the box open, revealing the diamond ring nestled in black velvet. It twinkled under the bright lights, and she gasped.

“Wait! Oh my God, you can’t do this.”

Confusion blanketed his expression. “I can’t?”

“I mean, my father. He’ll be upset you didn’t ask his permission first.”

A coy smile stretched across Joseph’s lips. “I already asked him, baby girl.”

“You did?” She looked concerned. “What did he say?”

A tight laugh escaped him. “He said no.” Her mouth fell open as if she were about to speak, but he cut her off. “He said he knew it wouldn’t stop me, and it was your decision to make. His daughters are the most important thing in his life, and although I don’t deserve you, as long as I spent the rest of my life trying to, he’d allow it.”

“Allow it?”

“Yes.” He smirked. “I had to bite my fucking tongue, but I did it.” His expression melted into one that was intensely serious. “I love you, Noemi. More than anything. Marry me.”

Her throat bobbed as she appeared to swallow hard. “Is that an order?”

“Only if you say no.”

Emotions welled in her eyes. “Yes,” she gushed. “Yes. Wait, no.”

The pleased look on Joseph’s face shattered. “What?”

“I have a stipulation, and you won’t like it.” Her teeth skimmed over her bottom lip for a second. “I can’t take your last name.”

She was right, he did not like that. His jaw set. “Sure you can.”

Her blonde hair shimmered when she shook her head. “It’s the name of the company.”

“No, Noemi, you misunderstand. You can keep your maiden name at the office or use a hyphen.”

“You’ll give me a hyphen?” she teased, although she may have been serious. Her nervous voice made it difficult to tell.

“If that’s what you need, of course. I’ll give you whatever you want.”

She sucked in an enormous breath. “Then give me the fucking ring.”

He grinned widely. “Telling me what to do? Do I need to correct this behavior?”

“Joseph,” she whined. She held her shaky left hand out to him, eager for the ring to find its home. He pulled it free from the box, snagged her hand in his, and slipped the ring on her third finger.

“When we met, I was living by the phrase ‘nothing lasts forever,’ but I was wrong. This lasts forever.” He held up her hand, giving her a better look at the ring. “Do you like it?”

“I love it.” She shook off his hold, threaded her fingers through his dark hair, and yanked him up into her kiss.

Witnessing this monumental turning point in their relationship made the earth tilt under my feet. The power knocked me back and I latched a hand on the table to steady myself. A force drove my gaze to Silas, who was busy snapping pictures, documenting Joseph’s proposal. I’d expected the evening to be about lust and sex, not love and romance.

I wanted to storm over to Silas, to rip the camera from his hands, and demand he kiss me with the same passion the newly engaged couple had. They’d inflicted all these feelings on me. I was so out of my league and drowning in emotions for the first time in a long while.

When Joseph and Noemi’s frantic kiss finally concluded, she stared at her hand on his chest, looking at her new ring much like she was in shock.

“It’s beautiful,” she commented softly.

He kissed her forehead and turned to Silas. “Did you get some good ones?”

The camera lowered to his side. “Yeah, definitely.”

“Great.”

Noemi’s fingers tangled behind Joseph’s head. “This was why you were acting so weird on the drive over.”

Joseph’s hands settled on her waist. “I thought you’d find the box in my pocket when you couldn’t keep your hands to yourself.”

She gave a sheepish grin. “I’m not responsible for what happens when you wear this suit.”

“Control yourself a little longer. We’re meeting your father and Claudia for dinner.”

“We are?” She straightened and her expression fell.

“I promised him. He said he wants to celebrate, but I’m fully expecting to be presented with a lengthy pre-nup. There might even be a team of lawyers waiting for us.”

She sighed, but her focus went back to the ring. “These pictures were supposed to be your birthday present.”

“They are. Now I have the moment you said yes forever.”

Joseph and Noemi didn’t stay long after that. Silas took a few portrait shots, and then they were off, leaving Silas and me alone in the studio. The dirtiest side of me was disappointed I hadn’t gotten to see Joseph and Noemi play. I was wound tight as a spring, ready to snap. There was a throbbing ache between Silas and me. Could he feel it as strongly as I did?

“I’m happy for them,” I whispered, unsure what to say.

“Yeah.” Silas set his camera down on the desk and hooked his fingers in his belt loops, like he wanted to occupy his hands. “Me too.”

His gaze locked on, sucking me in like a tractor beam. I should run before things got worse, but who was I kidding? It was already too late. I took a step toward him. Then another. All he did was stand there and wait. Flexing his power over me without doing a goddamn thing.

His broad shoulders lifted in a deep breath as I moved closer. And closer. I took his reaction to my proximity as a tiny victory. At least I wasn’t the only one whose heart was threatening to beat out of their chest.

My feet shuffled the final two steps until there was no space left between us.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hey,” I whispered back.

I shut down my hesitant or nervous thoughts, and did only what I wanted. My hand slipped up his chest and curled around the back of his thick neck, and I lifted up to slant my lips on his.

The kiss rivaled Joseph and Noemi’s somehow. I felt it all the way down to my toes when his soft, wet tongue tentatively slid over mine, asking for more. I loved the way he held me as he kissed. Trapping me as if he worried I’d bolt any moment, although that wasn’t an issue.

I was greedy. My fingers burrowed beneath his t-shirt and walked over the smooth and hardened plain of his chest. The kiss deepened layer after layer, but in the pit of my stomach guilt balled into a stone and weighed me down. At every turn with Silas I’d drawn a line in the sand and then immediately stepped right over it.

I could not fall in love with him. Not while I was lying.

So I set my hands on his chest and eased him back, pasting a smile that covered the turmoil I felt beneath.