The Secrets We Hide (The Four #2) - Becca Steele Page 0,64
of hate us.”
The lift doors opened into a cavernous cellar, with shelves full to the brim of bottles of wine and barrels stacked all along one wall.
“Huh. Money does strange things to people, doesn’t it?” I mused. “And by the way, this cellar is insane! Are we actually inside the cliff?” I ran my hand down the rough rock surface of the wall, the stone cold under my palm.
She shrugged. “It does, and yes we are. But without the money, we wouldn’t be here right now.”
I hummed non-committally. Sure, this house was literally like something out of a movie, and the Drummonds were clearly beyond rich, but was all the hassle worth it? I couldn’t answer that. I’d never been in that position to judge either way.
Lena interrupted my thoughts by directing me down an aisle, tall shelves either side of us, and began piling bottles into my arms. “We may as well take a load up with us. They won’t last long, with the amount of people drinking.”
“Uh… Lena? These are kind of heavy,” I warned her, when my arms were aching and I genuinely didn’t think I could hold any more without sending them all crashing to the ground.
“Oh, sorry.” She placed the bottle she’d been about to dump on me back on the shelf and indicated for me to follow her back out to the lift, her own arms full. I silently prayed that I wouldn’t trip in my heels.
Back upstairs, somehow with all the bottles intact, Cassius and Weston came to our rescue, taking the bottles and setting them out. Cassius reserved one of the bottles, a huge grin on his face.
“Watch this,” he said to me, heading back into the room where most of our university friends were gathered. He stalked over to the gas fireplace, pulling the samurai sword that hung on the wall down from its holder thing.
“What the fuck is he doing with a samurai sword?” I muttered to West, as he placed the champagne bottle on top of the polished white stone mantelpiece and stuck two fingers in his mouth, sending a piercing whistle into the room to get everyone’s attention.
“It’s a katana,” Weston informed me.
“Whatever it’s called, what’s he—”
Cassius stood at the front of the room, and with one smooth motion, sliced the top off the bottle with the sword. “Cheers!” he shouted, and cheers echoed through the room as everyone congratulated him on his skills. I smiled to myself, stepping back to the side of the room as he threw me a cheeky wink, a wide, satisfied grin on his face.
“Hi.” The voice in my ear sent a shiver through me, and I turned my head to look into Caiden’s stormy eyes, his body heat warming me as he slid his arm around my waist. Butterflies raced through me as he pulled me further back into the shadows, against the wall, and dropped his head to lick across my love bite. A soft whimper slipped from my mouth, and I gripped onto his arm, his muscles flexing under my fingers. Fuck. How and when had I fallen so hard for him? Tonight seemed to have solidified my feelings, and all I wanted to do was tell him how I felt, but I held off. If I pushed him, if I tried to make demands of him too soon, he would close up, I knew it. He had to be the one to admit his feelings first.
“Having fun?” I tried to act casually, but I think the tremor in my voice gave me away.
“I am now.” He nipped my ear, then licked at the shell, and all I wanted to do was leave the crowds behind and be alone with him, preferably naked. “Are you gonna kiss me at midnight?”
“Yes.” There was no way I was going to miss that. I’d never actually had a New Year’s kiss before, believe it or not.
“Good. I’ll come and find you later.” He released me after kissing me just below my ear, flashing me a quick grin. “Stay out of trouble.” Then he was gone, swallowed up by the crowd, and a shiver went down my spine.
Not the good kind of shiver. I turned my head, my senses on high alert, and saw Joseph Hyde watching me with a dark, almost malevolent look on his face. I glared straight back at him, daring him to try anything, knowing that the Four would have my back. He dropped his gaze, bringing the half-empty bottle