Happenstance(44)

Finally, Banks stiffens and falls down on top of me, bellowing into my neck, his lower body jerking with every ribbon of release, the other two men groaning, as if imagining what Banks is feeling. How it feels to release while inside of me, our bodies slip-sliding together.

“Elise,” Banks says between shallow breaths. “What you did to me…I can’t even put it into fucking words.”

“We’ll fight anyone who comes for it,” Gabe vows in a resonant tone. “Ours.”

“Ours,” Tobias rasps, visibly trying to hide his awe.

We plunge into what I can only describe as a catatonic state. Banks drops down, face up on one side of me, Tobias sandwiches me in from the opposite side, still appearing very deep in thought. And Gabe joins us, throwing himself down onto the mattress beside Tobias.

“Try to cuddle with me, Gabe, and you’ll regret it,” Tobias snaps off, reaching down to hold my hand. But when I squeeze it, he sighs and says, “Not that you don’t seem like a good cuddler. I’m just not the warm and fuzzy type, yeah?”

I’m shocked when Tobias reluctantly looks at me for approval.

I give him a dazed smile and he stares, his Adam’s apple visibly caught beneath his chin.

At least until Gabe bear hugs him from behind.

Tobias hastily disengages. “What in the hell did I just—”

“Gotcha,” Gabe yawns, rolling over to face the pillows.

Banks bursts out laughing and after a moment, we all join him.

Despite the encroaching panic that I was able to temporarily shed while we…made love? Is that what happened here? It feels like much more than sex, as much as I’m scared to admit it.

I take a long, silent breath.

Regardless of the panic I’m experiencing, I force the drowsy smile back onto my face, determined to enjoy the boneless peace and sense of safety they give me—for now. Come the morning, I’ll decide what the heck I’m going to do about these three men. Men who I suspect will make it harder than I thought to walk away.





Chapter Thirteen





My Uber lets me out on the sidewalk in front of my building and I give the driver a tired thank you while climbing out. I have every intention of going straight into my apartment and taking a long, hot shower—not to mention, a damn good look in the mirror—but a newspaper sitting outside of the bodega next door halts me in my tracks.

The headline of the Post reads: Leaked Mayor Email Bombshell.

My stomach plummets as I approach and scan the subheading.

No comment from Albany regarding the scathing insults toward the governor, but sources say the NYC mayor can kiss his endorsement goodbye…

This is what I overheard Alexander and Crouch discussing last night at the Conrad. The information I saw them exchanging on that thumb drive—God, they worked fast.

And I know how the story got leaked.

I know definitively that Alexander is the mole.

Furthermore, I have the closest thing to proof.

Instead of going straight to my apartment, I turn on a heel and jog across the street to the twenty-four-hour CVS. One of the great things about New York is walking into a drugstore in a pink party dress and raccoon eyes on a Sunday morning and everyone just minds their own business. The single employee behind the register doesn’t even glance up from his phone while I email myself the photograph I snapped last night and print it out in eight-by-ten glossy form on one of their instant photo development machines. I purchase a manila envelope from the stationery aisle and tuck it inside, holding the picture close to my chest.

What now?

Part of me wants to tear up the snapshot and pretend it never existed.

The more stubborn and destructive part of me wants to give it to Karina.

For now, I’m going to do nothing. It’s Sunday. I have time to think—and my lord, I have a lot on my mind. Three men, to be exact.

Quietly as possible, I slip into my apartment and remove my high heels, dangling them from a fingertip. The sun is barely up, so I should be able to escape an interrogation from Shayna. If I can just make it to my room without encountering my roommate, I will be four for four in terms of avoiding people, considering I crept out of the room at the Conrad an hour ago without waking a single member of my fan club.

I have to admit, the three of them looked insanely sexy in repose, disheveled and unshaven in their wrinkled tuxedos. There was definitely a few moments of hesitation where I considered waking up Gabe by licking his exposed muscles and giving him another chance to prove his stamina. There is something about helping him build back endurance after a long dry spell that makes me feel ticklish in places that shall remain unnamed.

And Tobias…

Without his cocky smirk, he resembles more of an angel than a devil. Facial muscles slack, two hands tucked under his head. Facing me, as if maybe he fell asleep watching me. Might as well admit it, I’m starting to soften toward him, especially after he tried to moderate his cutting remark to Gabe last night, not to mention the revelations about his former manager. Maybe I’m not softening completely, but I am growing more anxious to know about him. And the attraction. Unfortunately, it builds.

Then there’s Banks. I got the feeling he wasn’t actually sleeping when I left the hotel room. No, some intuition tells me he knew the second I woke up. I have a foggy memory of us both waking up in the middle of the night and him kissing and stroking me back to sleep. Like it was natural and we’d done it for years. I’m painfully attracted to Banks, but also comfortable with him, as I am with Gabe, while Tobias makes me feel uncomfortable. Itchy.