Page 58 of Grand Romantic Delusions and the Madness of Mirth, Part One

Christoph leans against the stone railing, his back to the lake view with his arms crossed. A glass of the same drink perches on the stone railing beside him. He’s seemingly standing upwind of the smoke filtering off Elias’s cigar.

All the conversation stalls at my arrival. Each of the three sets of eyes on me hold an expectant but not at all uncomfortable weight.

“Mir,” Sully drawls, tapping the side of the hot tub, “do you like the rest of your courting present?”

Elias huffs, exhaling a plume of smoke. “More like a present for yourself, Salvatore.”

Sully flashes the cool-toned mage a grin. “That didn’t stop you from joining me. Mir, there’s a bikini or two on your bed, but they’re not required to take a dip.”

I’m not sure why I do so, given that I had every intent of spending the rest of the evening alone. To think. But I step onto the balcony. Drawn there by something … so mething beyond myself? As if the three of them together are impossible to resist.

So I just don’t bother … resisting.

The essence-fueled heaters combine with the steam coming off the hot tub to make the air feel warmer on the balcony than inside my empty, barely lived-in rooms. The evening is lightly scented by whatever essential oil Sully has added to the water, along with the almost-sweet, ashy scent of Elias’s cigar.

I take three more steady and sure steps, until I’m leaning over the side of the hot tub.

I’m not dazed or disoriented.

I’m warm and relaxed. I’m … me?

Sully rests his head against the lip of the tub, arms spread wide to either side, stretching his delectable neck and chest partially out of the churning water. All that skin on display … seemingly eagerly.

On display for me. My increasing heart rate informs me.

All for me.

All of this for me.

For my attention. For my touch, my … lips …

Under the influence of that sharp focus, I lean even farther over. My hair falls all around Sully’s upturned face, the long trailing ends getting instantly damp. And I’m kissing him.

He wants me to kiss him. He wants … me. So I kiss him. Because I also want him. It’s possible I’ve wanted him … desperately but so, so quietly … for a long time now.

His lips are soft under mine, even slightly shocked at first brush. Then they firm, becoming more insistent.

My best friend.

I’m kissing Sully.

I want to be kissing Sully.

He moans quietly, threading his fingers back through my hair, angling my head the way he wants it and taking control of the kiss. His tongue teases against the seam of my lips, coaxing me to tangle my own against his instead of just invading my mouth.

That simmer of warmth that I feel whenever I’m with Rian quadruples, practically seething within my chest. And not just because I’m touching, kissing Sully, but because I can feel the weight of Elias and Christoph watching us.

The heavy but inviting weight of their combined gazes.

Sully groans, sounding as if I might be sucking on his cock rather than his bottom lip.

Then he tries to drag me into the hot tub with him. Fully clothed.

The next thing I know, I’m captured by strong hands. After a momentary tug-of-war and a lot of pouting from Sully, I’m hauled away. By Christoph.

“If the little awry wants to be in the tub with you, brat,” the bear shifter grumbles, “she’ll climb in herself.”

Sully cries out, feigning utter dismay. More than a little breathless from the kiss, I can’t help but laugh.

Christoph takes two steps with me still in his arms, then deposits me in the middle of the cushioned settee with Elias. He plucks a plaid wool throw off the back of a neighboring chair and drapes it over my legs.

Elias wraps his arm around me, tucking me slightly against his chest. And I just lean into him, as if we’ve done this a thousand times. As if we will do it a thousand times more.

Christoph retrieves his drink from the stone railing, then settles in the empty chair across from us. A curl of a smile graces his face as he takes me in snuggled up with Elias. He’s content, pleased.

Sully, floating on his front now, folds his arms on the edge of the tub, then settles his chin down, also grinning at me.

I pluck Elias’s seemingly forgotten cigar from his fingers, then take a drag. I hold the smoke in my mouth for a moment before raising my chin and deliberately blowing upward to keep it from floating over to Christoph. At least not too much.

Elias, smirking of course, offers me his whiskey.

Varying degrees of smirking seem to be the default expression for these men. Well, not Christoph. Christoph is simply either stoic— or as he is right now, intently focused. On me.

I take a sip of the whiskey, coughing as it burns through my senses. It’s way too strong and smoky, though the caramel notes linger across my palate as I push the glass and the cigar back into Elias’s hands.

The three assholes all laugh at me. Okay, Christoph just breaks into a grin. But from him, I get the sense that it’s a reaction equal to Sully’s cackling amusement.

“So …” Sully drawls. “You ditched Bolan already. Again?”

“Why?” I narrow my eyes on him, but he only widens his own grin in response. “Since when are you and Bolan more than friendly?”

Sully shrugs belligerently. “Since you need both of us.”

I shift, slightly uncomfortable as the conversation over lunch comes crashing back. “Sully, Isla was in no way speaking for me.”

“We know,” Elias says. “But we’ve all also been in conversation for the last day or so. And while we’ve come to some of our own conclusions, we also have a few questions for you. Your father isn’t being completely … forthcoming.”

I glance at the blond mage questioningly.

But instead of elaborating, he just snuffs out the cigar in an ashtray on the side table near his elbow, then takes a thoughtful sip of his whiskey.

His long legs are propped up on another low table, on which sits the whiskey bottle, three extra glasses, and a silver ice bucket on a silver tray.

“You can’t choose just one of us,” Christoph says quietly. “We’ve figured that much out, pieced that together.”

“But not all awry take multiple chosen,” Elias adds. “So … why are you being forced to do so?”

“I’m not being forced,” I say quietly, because it’s the truth.

“Right,” Sully says, heavy on the sarcasm. “Because Bastian Wilhelm would never constantly remind his child, his children, of their duty.”

“Reminding isn’t the same as forcing,” I say primly.

“But we four were still invited,” Elias interjects, smoothly getting the conversation back on topic. “By breakfast, the other nonbonded suitors had chosen to recuse themselves, leaving us, the Mertons, the Hernandezes, and the Landenbergs. Three well-established bond groups.”

“I don’t care why we’re here,” Sully says caustically. “I’m not fucking leaving.”

“No one is suggesting you leave, Salvatore,” Elias says with a tight twist of his lips. “In fact, only the Landenbergs have been preemptively eliminated. Am I correct, Mirth?”

“There was a misunderstanding,” I say.

“More than a misunderstanding.” Elias’s tone is abruptly dark. “Whether playfully intended or not, removing you from the protection of the property without your guards was rash. Unacceptable. And I would —”

“You think I can’t take care of myself, mage?” I shift to the side, sliding away from the comfort of his light embrace to meet Elias’s blue-eyed gaze .

He snaps his mouth shut, holding my gaze for a moment before inclining his head. “I’m saying you shouldn’t be put in a position by a suitor, a potential lover and bond mate, that would force you to defend not only yourself but silly shifters as well.”

Christoph huffs at the ‘silly shifters’ comment. Bears are very different than the cats of the Landenberg bond group. Not that bears, or wolves for that matter, can’t be playful.

Elias tips his glass to the duke. Christoph accepts the proffered apology with the slightest of nods.

“We’re off topic. Again,” Sully says sulkily, though he breaks into a come-hither smile when he draws my attention.

I flush a little, not only thinking about having kissed him— but contemplating doing it again. That warmth blooms in my chest once more as I smile back at my friend.

Elias shifts in his seat. His arm tenses around me for a moment, then relaxes. I frown at him questioningly.

But it’s Christoph who clarifies, almost gently, “It’s your energy, little awry. It’s enticing but intense.”

I sit fully upright, pulling completely away from Elias. The earl mutters a curse under his breath.

“I’m sorry,” I say stiffly. “I didn’t realize —”

“No one is complaining, Mir,” Sully says. “Plus, you only do it for us.”

“Excuse me?” And yes, I’m more than a little peeved at what he’s implying.

Sully grins. “That energy-reach thing you use to draw us closer.”

“Sully …” Elias says, a note of warning in his tone.

“You think I’m trying to … beguile you?” Perched on the edge of the settee, I struggle to get my legs untangled from the blanket .

“No!” Sully surges out of the water. “Mir, you’re overreacting.”

I blink at the expanse of glorious, candlelit, dripping-wet skin suddenly on complete display. Sully is wearing the tiniest of bathing suits … and he fills out the front rather magnificently.

Somehow, even while attempting to navigate that visual onslaught, I manage to stay focused. “I’m overreacting! You’re accusing me of —”

“No, little awry,” Christoph rumbles. “We’re just trying to figure out our place … with you.”

That gets through to me. “So … so am I.”

The duke nods.

“Settle back under the blanket, Mirth,” Elias says, though he doesn’t touch me. “We were just talking in circles before you arrived, and shouldn’t have barraged you with questions.”

It’s been a fairly light barrage so far. “I don’t … I would never try to influence you, influence anyone,” I say earnestly.

“We know,” Christoph says.