one?"
"He's German and captivating and he kissed me and I hated it and loved it at the same time."
"I thought you loved Xavier?"
"I do," I breathed out, my heart racing just thinking about him. "I love him deeply, but there's something about Stephan that appeals to my primal side."
"You want to fuck him?" Anna said crudely and I blushed.
"No, of course not," I said quickly and honestly. However, that was only a partial truth. It was true that I didn't want to sleep with him, but a part of me that I hadn't known existed until tonight thought that it could be wild and exciting to just think about the possibilities of what could happen.
"So what's the problem, then?"
"I think I'm caught up in some sort of sexual maze and erotic mastery, Anna. I think I'm caught up in some sort of late night almost erotic kinky shit and it's scaring the hell out of me."
"What scares you the most?" she asked me softly and I sighed as I answered her.
"I'm scared by the fact that I'm as turned on as I am appalled. Does that make me a crazy person?"
"No." Her voice was warm. "That makes you human. That makes you real. That makes you as complicated and fucked up as everyone else on the planet. Listen to me, Lola. Think of this as your own personal sexual revolution. I know you're feeling guilty because you have the hots for another guy, even though you love Xavier. But Xavier has been an asshole to you in the past, Lola. If he truly loves you, then he'll have to understand whatever is going on."
"I'm scared, Anna. I wish you were here."
"I wish I was there as well. I want to meet the man that can tempt you away from Xavier."
"He's not tempting me away, Anna. He's just making it hard for me to think straight."
"Wet panties will do that to you." Anna laughed and I groaned.
"I have to go," I said hurriedly. "Thank you for being you."
"Have a good time, Lola. Remember that if you feel uncomfortable at any point, just leave. If push comes to shove, call me collect and I'll get you a ticket so you can come back to London."
"Thank you, Anna," I said and hung up the phone. I took a deep breath and turned around and hurried back to the men. Both Xavier and Stephan were looking at me as if I were the last woman on Earth and it made me feel a thrill of power and sexuality that I'd never wanted to own before.
***
We walked into a large room with couches on one side and a glass wall on the other side. There were four other men waiting in the room, including Casper, and three other women, including Violeta. I wasn’t happy to see Violeta and Casper in the room standing there, looking nonchalant. I checked out the other faces in the room, but I didn’t recognize any of them from the parties I’d attended with Xavier previously.
"Welcome, everyone. My name is Charles. I'm a member of the Dutch royal family and the inner circle of the Society of Brothers." The tall man with the long nose looked very pleased with himself and I couldn't help but stare at the smirk on his face. "I'll be the proctor today." He laughed. "I will go over the rules and placements and then we shall start."
"Are you feeling okay?" Xavier asked me quietly as we listened to Charles talking. "What did Anna say?"
"She said to stay as long as I feel comfortable." I made a face at him. "Honestly, I don't know if I'm okay and I don't know if I'm comfortable, but I want to do this for you. You want to make it to that inner circle, right?"
"I do." He nodded solemnly.
"Then let's get you there," I said and tried to ignore the feeling of warmth that had spread through my body as I'd noticed Stephan staring at me. “Let the games begin,” I said under my breath and I closed my eyes for a few seconds to stop myself from staring back into Stephan’s penetrating gaze. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but I knew I was more excited than I should have been, given the circumstances.
Chapter Eleven
Xavier
All’s fair in love and war they say. I don’t know if I
Victoria Alexander
Sarah Lovett
Jon McGoran
Maya Banks
Stephen Knight
Bree Callahan
Walter J. Boyne
Mike Barry
Kit Tunstall, R.E. Saxton
Richard Montanari