Page 9 of Cherished by the Sinners (Sinners Never Die #4)

Darlene

D arlene was walking across the lobby before she knew it.

People turned to look in their direction, most moving away from Mason and Magnus.

The two men were tall, broad, and muscular, so just being conscious made them look like a threat.

But there were a couple of well-dressed ladies who looked at them and didn’t back away.

She didn’t blame them. Mason and Magnus looked yummy in their dark suits, shiny cufflinks, and ear buds. She was the one who didn’t belong. Old, worn jeans and an equally old t-shirt did not fit the dress code for the most exclusive hotel in the city.

One of the fancy ladies happened to glance at her in between eye-fucking the twins. The disgusted look on her face almost made Darlene laugh. She did grin at the woman. Yup, little old me is with both of them .

They almost got through the lobby and into the restaurant before someone called out to Mason and Magnus. The night manager must have just come on shift, and he was waving at the twins with a tense expression on his face.

“I’ll see what he wants,” Magnus said to Mason. “Go ahead and order without me.”

“Let us know if you’re going to be a while,” Mason said, shifting closer to her and urging her forward again.

Magnus nodded and strode off at a much more rapid pace than they’d just been walking.

They stepped over the threshold of the restaurant onto a burnished gold carpet that seemed to suck all the sound into it like a black hole.

Mason didn’t wait for a hostess to seat them, guiding her to a secluded booth at the back. The seats were a dark brown soft leather. So comfortable.

Mason handed her one of the menus resting on the table top. “I recommend the steak.”

She nodded absently as she skimmed over the list of dishes, and nearly choked on her tongue at the prices. “Mason, this is too expensive. I can’t possibly—”

“Darlene,” he said, his voice that soft, deep, dark tone that she just wanted to roll around in. “Stop looking at the prices. They’re irrelevant. I have more money than I can possibly spend in a normal lifetime.”

He looked at her with eyes that saw too much, saw how uncomfortable she was. He smiled, but it was a soft, subtle thing, not the smile he used with difficult customers. This one was real. He meant it .

What the heck was this conversation supposed to be about? Why was she important enough to even have it? Mason fit in the restaurant perfectly, with his expensive suit and perfectly groomed hair. She, on the other hand, looked like she was one step away from being homeless.

A waitress appeared beside their table. She looked at Mason, then Darlene. “Can I start you off with some drinks?”

“My usual, please, Susan,” Mason said. “Magnus will be joining us shortly, so bring his usual as well.”

“Of course, sir.” Susan turned to Darlene, her expression engaged and interested.

“I’d like a pot of chamomile tea, please.” There that came out sounding normal even though her insides were quivering from the anxiety of not knowing what Mason and Magnus wanted to talk about.

The waitress smiled brightly. “I’ll be right back to take your order.”

“Is tea your preferred drink?” Mason asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“I’ll drink coffee if that’s all that’s available, but I prefer tea. English Breakfast tea in the mornings, chamomile in the evening.”

Mason shifted in his seat. “What do you take in your morning tea?”

“Cream and sugar.” She tilted her head to one side. “Why would you want to know that?”

“Because,” he said, lowering the volume of his voice enough that she had to lean forward to hear his answer. “I like to know how to take care of people who are important to me.”

For a moment the whole world came to a stop. When reality restarted, her body and the air around her was saturated with endorphins. Every breath she took in added to the high.

“I... how did I become important to you?”

He lifted one huge shoulder and glanced away as if he were a tiny bit embarrassed. “You were just... you.”

She burst out in a laugh at the absurdity of his answer. “I am nothing special. In fact, I think I can say with some authority that I’m probably the least special person you’ve ever met.”

“Oh?” he asked with one eyebrow raised. “Would you like me to list all of your admirable qualities?”

She sighed. “How about I start with yours? Kind, generous, forgiving, strong, courageous, tactful, and polite.”

“Who are you describing?” Magnus said as he slid into the booth next to her. “Sounds like a patron saint or a pansy ass.”

His body radiated so much heat, there was a marked difference in the air temperature in the booth. She’d slid over to give him space, but his warmth was addicting. She inched over until she was nearly touching him. “I was describing your brother—and you.”

Magnus stared at her like she had spaghetti for hair. “You think my brother and I are tactful and polite ?”

“Yes. Maybe not all the time, but when it’s needed, you are.”

“Did she trip on her way into the restaurant?” Magnus asked Mason. “Somehow gave herself a concussion?”

Mason grunted. “No. I don’t mind if Darlene thinks all these things, as long as she’s the only one.”

Magnus sat back and nodded at his brother. “A valid point.” He turned his gaze on her. “You may, indeed, hold the opinion that my brother and I are tactful and polite.”

“Thank you for your permission,” she said, then lowered her voice and added, “Not that I asked you for it.”

The waitress returned with their drinks, setting Darlene’s tea pot, cup, a pitcher of cream, and a crystal container of sugar packets. In front of Mason and Magnus, she set down large mugs of black coffee. “Have you decided on your meals?”

Mason and Magnus looked at Darlene.

She cleared her throat. “I’ll have the... steak with a baked potato and whatever the house vegetables are today.”

“Make it a fillet Mignon,” Mason said. “And add some shrimp.”

“Do you like shrimp?” Magnus asked.

“Yes, I do, but—”

“Definitely the shrimp,” Mason said.

“How would you like your steak cooked?” The waitress asked Darlene.

“Medium, please.”

“For you, gentlemen?”

“Nothing for me,” Magnus said.

“Same,” Mason added.

The waitress smiled at them and headed toward the kitchen.

“You’re not eating?” Darlene asked. “After giving me shit for suggesting noodles?” She looked at the two men, who both seemed to be working hard to keep their mouths shut. “Oh, this is so unfair.”

“We have... very peculiar diets,” Magnus said.

“A lot of food allergies and intolerances,” Mason said quickly. Too quickly. What on earth was going on?

“So, you don’t eat out? Well, why didn’t you say something? We could have gotten some ingredients and made dinner in your suite.”

“Because,” Magnus said, leaning closer so he could speak into her ear. “If we took you back to our place, the only thing getting eaten would have been you.”

She was looking at Mason when Magnus spoke, so she saw the lust bloom on his face before he could shut it down.

Something inside her froze over. Where Magnus had been a source of warmth and comfort, he wasn’t any more. She’d thought he and Mason were safe, but they’d just lumped themselves in the same category as most men. With sex in the number one spot on their priority list.

They were two of the best looking men she’d ever met. Everything about them was sexy, and yet, they usually made her feel safe. In the safety of her imagination, she could picture having sex with one or both of them. It was always perfect.

Real life was never perfect. Frequently, it was dangerous and painful.

Had she been fooling herself, thinking that they were different? That they might want more from her? What did she really know about them?

A table full of well-dressed women nearby erupted in loud laughter, pulling the attention of everyone in the restaurant to them.

She used the distraction to carefully inch away from Magnus.

“Darlene?” Mason asked, his attention back on her. “Are you all right?” A frown pulled his eyebrows low over his eyes.

“I’m fine,” she said, flashing him a bright smile. “So, do you think it’s okay for me to continue cleaning the suites? I won’t have any more trouble with any of the guests?”

Magnus was frowning at her, too, but he didn’t answer her questions. He looked at his brother. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Agreed. You pushed too hard, and now she’s...” his voice trailed off and his gaze examined her. “Angry? Sad? Afraid?”

Darlene hunched her shoulders.

“Afraid...” Magnus breathed out. He covered his face with one hand. After a moment he pulled it away and turned to her. “I apologize for my rash statement.”

She studied him and the frown on his face. “But it’s what you were thinking, right?”

He didn’t answer, and that was answer enough.

She glanced at Mason. “Were you thinking the same thing?”

He nodded slowly.

They’d been so kind, but she couldn’t pretend to be the person she was before. How could she explain her feelings when they were confusing to her, too?

This conversation was going to suck.

“I have never, in my life, had sex with someone because I wanted to.”

Both men stilled. They didn’t even breathe.

“I don’t want to go back to... that.” Would they leave her now? Would they stop watching over her, stop thinking about her, stop worrying about her?

Mason reached one hand across the table, palm up.

“You never have to.” His gaze was almost incandescent with some foreign emotion she couldn’t recognize.

“You get to make all the decisions for you. Who you talk to, who you spend time with, and who you love. You never have to do anything with anyone unless it’s something you want. ”

“What did you think I meant?” Magnus asked.

She glanced at him. “I thought you were asking me if I would have sex with you.” She paused. “To pay back all of the nice things you’ve done for me.”

He jerked back from her, as if she’d burned him, and choked out, “No.”

“No,” Mason said, inching his hand a little closer across the table to her. “We would never ask you to pay us back for anything. We value you. You’re someone we have great respect for.”

Some of the stiffness drained out of her body. Their reactions were reassuring, but she needed to know more.

“Anna was right,” Magnus said, and his voice sounded sad. “We should have spoken to Darlene much earlier.”

“Spoke to me about what?”

“Our admiration for you,” Mason said. “Our desire to help you.”

“Our desire to have a relationship with you,” Magnus said.

“Not a transaction,” Mason wiggled his fingers at her. “A long-term, exclusive relationship.”

“With both of you?” She’d never imagined having a relationship with more than one man, but with Mason and Magnus...

“Yes,” Magnus said. “We know it’s a bit different—”

“No, I get it,” Darlene interrupted him. She looked from one brother to the other. Assumptions never led to anything good. “Are you sure? I mean I was a prostitute for a long time, and you saw my back. No amount of surgery is going to get rid of those scars.” She winced.

“You are the woman we want,” Magnus began.

“A strong, kind, courageous woman,” Mason continued. “Who is delighted just working in a place that’s safe with people who care about her.”

“You are also beautiful,” Magnus added.

She snorted at that.

“You don’t hide how you feel,” Mason continued. “And your smile rivals the sun.”

Darlene stared at his hand, waiting for her, and let herself consider it.

A nice normal relationship. With two men. Okay, so two men at once was a little extra, but... they weren’t lying. She’d gotten really good at spotting the lies men told her. Their words always had a slimy residue. A little too kind, too fast, and too pretty.

Mason and Magnus didn’t talk like that.

She’d learned to trust her instincts, and hers were telling her that Mason and Magnus meant what they said.

She slowly lifted her hand and set it on Mason’s. He closed his fingers around her and lifted her hand to his mouth, placing a kiss, not on her knuckles, but on her palm.

A zing of arousal went through her and she gasped.

Magnus held his hand out and Mason placed hers in his grasp. He kissed her palm as well and she had to swallow hard to keep from pulling him toward her.

His lips were so soft. She wanted to feel them on a lot more of her skin.