sneak back into the show,” I said. “Before all the hors d’oeuvres are gone.”
“Wait, there’s food?” Kade asked, rubbing his hands together.
“I don’t know if I’d call it food,” I smirked, thinking of the tiny puffed pastries I’d been wolfing down all night. “There was champagne too, but I think you missed that part already.”
Brock looked at Kade and frowned. There was still plenty of champagne of course, but I enjoyed messing with them.
“Well then lead the way,” he grumbled. “Before we miss anything else.”
Forty-Four
SLOANE
The show wasn’t anywhere near as good as I thought it would be. And that’s because it was better.
My pieces received lavish attention, and I was showered with praise. I tried keeping my distance as people stood around and spoke about them, because it seemed like bad etiquette to be hovering nearby. That said, it didn’t stop me from sending one or more of my three sizzling hot dates to ‘overhear’ things for me, and what they came back to report was astonishingly good.
“They said you were the best artisan they’d ever seen,” Brock reported, his voice going low enough to be a whisper. “Your angel sculpture made them cry. They stopped mid-show to go out for more Kleenex. Then they--
I elbowed him so hard he nearly spilled his champagne. “No!” I cried. “Really!”
“Well not really,” he laughed. “But trust me when I say they love you. They love your work.”
I passed in and out of the rooms with Valerio on my arm, pretending to look at the work of the other artists. I wasn’t, of course. It was all I could do to keep from bursting. Half the time I was watching the reactions of the exhibition’s attendees, the other half I was fending off grabs and kisses from my other two lovers. Whenever no one was looking, they were constantly on me. I couldn’t be mad though, because their faces were beaming with pride.
“Be careful,” I swore, after Kade stole a kiss on my bare shoulder from behind. The feel of his hot breath on my neck sent tingles down my body that made me momentarily dizzy. “If the curator sees you, I—”
“What?” Kade challenged. “What will he do?”
“I don’t know, but it won’t look good!”
It was a situation I supposed I had to get used to; having three boyfriends at once would lead to three times the PDA. Normally I’d be okay with it, but not here. Not while so much was at stake.
“Look,” I whispered, turning into him. “You don’t think I want you in that tux? You don’t think I want to strip you naked from the waist down and show you just how hot the three of you are making me?”
Quickly glancing left and right to make sure the coast was clear, I stole a grab of my own. Kade’s considerable package filled my hand nicely, even beneath his slacks. I gave it a promising squeeze.
“When we get out of here I’m all yours,” I said, just loud enough for Valerio and Brock to hear also. “The three of you can take me home. Strip off those ties and use them to bind me to all four corners of the bed, then ravish me any way you want to,” I smiled wickedly.
Kade’s left eyebrow went up, like it had a mind of its own. “Any way?” he asked.
“Uh huh,” I confirmed, not so innocently. “I’ll be all yours. Anything you boys want…”
I drew the word out enticingly, my already bad girl smile going truly evil.
“Alright then,” he sighed, taking a half step back. The distance caused my hand to drop away from him. Not that I wanted it to. “Deal.”
For the better part of the next half hour I enjoyed the fruits of my labor, standing back while complete strangers admired my work. When I saw a SOLD sticker go on one of my pieces I actually squealed with joy. It was one of my smaller pieces, but still…
“This has to be fun for you,” Valerio smiled. “All that work. All those long hours of—”
“I have to go.”
I whirled at the sound of Kade’s voice. Just by the sound of it, I knew immediately something was wrong.
“What?” I cried, noticing Brock’s expression was wooden, sullen. “What is it?”
Kade looked down in shame, staring at his shoes. Only it wasn’t shame. It was cataclysmic disappointment.
“It’s Brandon.”
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. My mouth went utterly dry.
“He needs to go to him,” Brock explained for his friend. “I’ll take