expected."
"Fuck me," Steele muttered.
"Well. Suddenly all the assassination attempts make a shitload more sense," I murmured.
Because if Demi was telling the truth, then I was the heiress to South Africa's—and the entire world's—largest and most profitable diamond mine.
Holy. Fuck.
8
Demi had unraveled a whole shitstorm for me—about my mom, my grandmother... about an uncle I’d never even known existed, and most of all, about my real inheritance. It was a lot.
Archer insisted I ride back with him in the Range Rover—apparently my silver-sequined dress made me too easy of a target on the back of Steele's bike—but none of us really spoke much.
It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though, and I filed that away as one of the many things I loved about our unconventional four-way relationship. No one felt the need to fill silence with aimless chatter. Everyone was just on the same page that we needed to process internally first.
Demi hadn't had much else to tell us, except that the current CEO—Karl Kruger—didn't seem to have any familial connections. Despite saying that, though, she intended to keep her guys digging in case there was a link that had been buried.
After we parked, we all made our way into the house. Steele was in front, making a speedy exit, which reminded me we had a conversation to finish.
"Max Steele, don't even think about it," I snapped and he halted mid-step on the stairs. "You and I have cats to discuss."
His shoulders slumped, but he shot me a good-humored grin. "Fine. My room or yours?"
"Yours," I replied. "I'll be up in a couple of minutes. I need a word with Archer first."
Kody snickered and jogged up a couple of stairs. "Everyone's in trouble tonight. Feel free to come sleep with me when you're done spanking these two, babe." He shot me a wink, then carried on up to his room.
Steele followed him, and the sound of their banter faded away as they reached the second floor.
Archer waited patiently with his thumbs hooked into the pockets of his jeans. "Something on your mind, Princess?"
I leveled a deadpan glare at him. "Understatement of the decade, Sunshine."
One corner of his mouth slanted up in a half-smile. "Come on; I stashed some of those gross pear ciders you like in the back of the fridge so Kody wouldn't find them."
He led the way through to the kitchen, then handed me one of my favorite drinks. Then he opened one for himself, too.
"Uh-huh, so Kody doesn't find them?" I teased with a nod to the open bottle in his hand. "Sure thing, liar." I completely ignored the barstools and boosted my ass up onto the island. I just really liked sitting on the counter. It put me at a really good height against all three boys.
Archer just smirked and took a sip, then licked his lips when he was done. It shouldn't have been as sexual as it was, but nonetheless...
"Stop it," I growled before taking a sip of my own cider.
"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" He stepped closer and trailed his fingertips up my bare thigh. My tiny dress didn't cover a whole lot when I was sitting down. Or standing, for that matter. "Or was that a convenient excuse to get me alone and make up for last night?"
I grinned, sipping from my bottle but held his heated gaze. "Nah," I replied, before I placed my bottle on the counter beside me. "You looked like you had a great time all on your own."
His smile spread wider and more wicked. "So you did get my video. You never answered."
"I was busy." I licked my lips. His gaze dipped to my mouth, his body gravitating closer, but I placed a hand against his chest, stopping him. "I actually wanted to discuss something Demi brought up."
He let out a sigh, moving away slightly and running a hand over his facial hair. "Yeah, I figured you would." He took a long sip, then placed the bottle down on the counter. He laid his palms on my bare thighs, and I shivered at the cold from his cider bottle. "Ask away, Princess. I don't have anything left to hide from you."
I bit my lip, suddenly nervous. "Well, that's comforting," I muttered, somewhat sarcastically. "That certainly implies there's a bucketload that I don't know, but I just haven't asked the right questions."
His grin returned, and his fingers flexed against my skin. "I love that you read between my lines so easily. But you don't need