Chapter 52: Friends in Low Places

“Mr. Wyn,” I said. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Wyn chuckled. “Oh, we don’t do that here.”

He pushed off the column and walked to meet me, offering his hand. “You can call me Nicholas.”

“Aurelia,” the beautiful woman said, stopping beside him.

Her gaze traveled over me, and it was the same kind I would have given someone like Helen ... or even Bobbi—slow, appreciative, and possessory.

I found myself unable to meet her gaze for long without it becoming uncomfortable.

Thankfully, Nicholas’s hand provided just the excuse I needed to look away. I grasped it and shook. His grip was firm, his stance open, and his smile was genuine and warm as we clasped hands. He had the kind of charm that immediately made me feel like we’d been friends for years.

“Marcus Upton,” I said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh,” Nicholas drawled, “We know damn well who you are. We’ve been looking forward to this. Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for having me,” I said again, feeling a little more at ease with the warm greeting. “I’m ... sorry I didn’t bring a gift. I didn’t know it was expected.”

Nicholas released my hand and waved dismissively. “They’re not expected—more of a tradition than anything. Most people just like showin’ off.”

Based on the general vibe out there, I got a feeling that he wasn’t entirely being truthful ... that, while perhaps it wasn’t strictly required, coming without a gift would result in some kind of unspoken consequence.

But considering I didn’t even bring anything, I thought it best to let the matter lie.

Aurelia tilted her head to the side, exposing the curve of her swanlike neck as a secret smile played across her lips. She reached out with a hand and delicately wrapped her fingers around my forearm. “Your presence is enough of a gift.”

She slid her hand up my arm and extended one pearlescent fingernail, running it along the length of a leather strap running along my side.

My body reacted instantly because it was an idiot, and I’d already experienced plenty of sexual tension without any payoff.

I caught Nicholas’s eyes flickering to where Aurelia was teasing me with her finger; he chuckled, turned, and headed toward the table with alcohol. “Want a drink?”

I swallowed, unsure of whether it was wise to do something about Aurelia’s teasing, and decided that, for the moment, it was best to just endure. “Um ... sure. I’ll just have whatever you’re having.”

“Comin’ right up!”

Aurelia’s fingers—she’d added a second—traced down the leather strap and across my abdomen, dipping a fingernail briefly into my bellybutton before turning and heading directly south at a slow and steady pace. It caught the skirt’s hemline, and I glanced up into her eyes, silently challenging and amused. Then her gaze followed her fingers.

Nicholas still had his back turned, making drinks, and he hadn’t seemed to mind in the least when he’d caught her teasing me, anyway. The way their bodylanguage had been around each other, I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn they’d been a couple, but I’d either been very wrong, or Aurelia was allowed a lot of leeway.

Studying the back of Nicholas’s head, I had a difficult time imagining what it was like to actually share your girlfriend with others.

Unless they really were just siblings ... or cousins—family ... and nothing more.

Or ... all of the above?

That thought made me shudder.

Aurelia felt me tremble under her touch and cut her eyes up at me, amused. “I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?”

That stare ... there was something of Astrid in it. She wanted me to admit my unease. It would have been like a sweet treat to her.

“No,” I lied. “I’m...”

I didn’t quite know how to finish the sentence without sounding like an arrogant asshole.

“Getting used to this sort of attention?” Aurelia said, practically reading my mind. The tip of her tongue settled against the center of her upper lip, more playful and thoughtful than overtly sensual. The gesture made her seem less like a sexy cartoon character and more like a woman who’d never been denied anything, drawn to something new and interesting.

She slowly slid her hand further down, palm pressing against my firm manhood. That look of thoughtfulness melted into an impish grin, transforming her features into those of a girl several years younger.

“There it is,” she said barely above a whisper.

Sharp heat flared low in my belly, and despite my discomfort, my hardon simply became... more.

Old Marcus would have been petrified by what was happening. He wouldn’t have known what to do ... or what he wanted.

I might have taken a little longer to react than was ideal, but I certainly wasn’t the man I’d once been.

I took a steadying breath and reminded myself of last night with Jessica—the begging she’d done. The dance of depravity that she and the others had engaged in at my command and my benefit. I remembered Erin over brunch ... Bobbi on the rooftop, weak-kneed and submitting.

I’d tamed the force of nature that was Helen VanCamp.

I wasn’t a helpless little bird to be toyed with.

I didn’t need to feel like a scared little boy.

These people wanted me here.

They valued me.

I had power.

I curled my fingers around Aurelia’s wrist just enough to stop her palm from grinding against my crotch.

She arched an eyebrow as she met my gaze.

“Thank you, Aurelia,” I said softly. “I’m flattered, but I’m saving it for later.”

Her smile didn’t falter. If anything, it deepened a fraction.

Aurelia’s palm lingered a moment longer, and then the heel of her palm pressed one last time into the tip of my clothed cock before pulling back, her fingers brushing my skirt before trailing away as I allowed her wrist to slip free of my grasp.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” Nicholas’s voice cut through the sexual tension like a razor, reminding me that he was actually in the room with us.

He was approaching and offered me one of the drinks he carried. “Aurelia don’t do subtle.”

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat without making it too obvious as I took the tumbler. It was full of deep-amber alcohol, garnished with a strip of orange peel and a faint layer of smoke hovering over it.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Thanks.”

Aurelia took a step back and took a drink from Nicholas, offering him a coy smile of gratitude that disappeared behind the rim of her glass.

Nicholas held up his glass, offering a toast, and as I raised mine to clink against his, he said, “To a bright future with new friends.”

I murmured the words back and then took a sip of the drink—strong, bitter, and sweet.

Nick did the same, sucking on his teeth to savor the taste as he studied me.

“We’ve been following you since we heard about the old man’s death,” he said. “Terrible shame, what happened to your grandpa.”

“You knew him?” I asked.

“Met him a few times,” Nicholas said. “Hell of a businessman, if a mite eccentric.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Aurelia said, eying me thoughtfully once again. “Leaving everything to a grandson he had no real connection to? One that no one even knew existed ... when he had a son, daughter, and grandchildren he knew so much better?”

“Well, you’re not really going to hear me complain,” I said. “But I’ve met the majority of my family, and between what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, they don’t seem like the most likable or responsible bunch.”

Nicholas shifted his stance and cocked his head at me. “And you are.”

The way he said it made it sound more like a challenge than an actual statement of fact, and I suddenly felt like I was being measured. Aurelia’s unblinking stare also felt a little judgmental.

“I ... like to think I am.”

“Hell, we all want to think we’re likeable and responsible,” Nicholas said. “But what we want and what’s real don’t always mesh.”

“Judging on what I’ve seen so far, he’s likeable enough,” Aurelia teased.

“Depends on who you ask, I guess,” Nicholas said. “Vic Smith seems to like him well enough. Steve, too.”

“But I’ll bet li’l Sachiko Tanaka would have a whole different story to tell, though.”

Of course the Tanakas would come up.

“You’ve heard about our little feud,” I surmised.

Nicholas snorted. “Who hasn’t? Whole world’s gone pear-shaped because of you two.”

“We’ve put a stop to it,” I said defensively.

“That don’t uncook the grits, now does it?”

Jesus Christ ... who talked like that?

“Just because Godzilla and Kong stop brawlin’ and have a beer together don’t mean buildings weren’t smashed in,” he continued. “Fortunes rose and fell because of y’all.”

“What do you want? An apology?” I snapped before I could rein it in. Had I seriously been invited to a party just to get lectured to by Colonel Sanders?

“Naw!” Nicholas said, flashing me a charming lop-sided grin. “I was just hopin’ you’d maybe help us make it right.”

I recalled what Psalter had said about the Wyns being essentially responsible for one of the world’s largest non-profit organizations. Their fingers were in everything from sponsoring doctors abroad to supporting political peace initiatives. They were essentially a corporate Mother Theresa.

This wasn’t a lecture. They were attempting to guilt me into financially backing them.

“I’m already trying to make it right,” I said.

“Yeah,” Nicholas said. “We’ve seen.”

“It’s actually pretty impressive,” Aurelia said, playing with her little drink straw in a way that was very suggestive. “You’ve even started your own foundation. The progress on your veterans initiative is remarkable.”