A Rose to Keep (The Society 1)

“You’re one hell of a dancer.”

The beat increased, and we parted ways, holding hands as we moved our feet, copying each other’s moves.

The music continued to change, and we must have danced for a good two hours straight before we escaped to the bar to get two sodas. I was so fucking thirsty. I finished mine in a few gulps.

“Wow,” Sian said.

“There is more where that came from.” I licked my lips, sated.

Sian took a more lady-like approach, sipping hers through a thin straw.

I wiped a hand down my face, feeling at peace.

“This is fun,” Sian said.

“Good. The best date so far?”

“I don’t make comparisons. You don’t need to either.”

I laughed. “That’s where you’re wrong. We’re going to make comparisons. It’s what we do.” I leaned against the wall Billy had around the edge of his bar. We’d moved a good distance away from all the noise. Couples were around the garden, making out, having fun. This was what I loved about Billy’s. There was no bullshit here. It all felt … real. I liked the normalcy of everything.

Life back home and at All Saints, it didn’t feel right all the time. Like the selection and the initiation. I wasn’t particularly comfortable with owning a woman of any kind. Sian was a beautiful woman, no doubt about it, but this wasn’t right. I knew that.

Also, the particulars of the past and the gaps that had opened up with the information Mateo had discovered, it didn’t exactly breed comfort.

“You’re lost in thought,” she said.

“Nah, I’m thinking it’s nice to get away from all of that crap every once in a while.”

“I get that. Drew told me it’s why she never embraced the wealthy lifestyle. She had prospects.”

“Did she ever tell you about them?”

“No. She always said it wasn’t good to look back into the past.”

“Your nanny might be onto something.” I sighed. There was so much I wanted to tell her and yet there was not a single thing could I tell her.

Running a hand down my face, I felt the perspiration at my back as it covered my skin. The night was still young, and I wasn’t going to let it go.

“Can I do something?” Sian asked.

“You can do whatever the hell you like.”

She put her drink down on the table and turned to me. I did the same, giving her my full attention. She placed her hands on my face and I stared down at her. Her pretty brown eyes filled my dreams.

“What do you want to do?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“You want to be all mysterious?” I asked.

She laughed. “It’s not so mysterious. Close your eyes.”

Sliding my eyes closed, I waited.

Her hands never left my face and as she pulled my face down, I followed without putting up a fight. The instant her lips grazed mine, I reached for her, not needing to see to hold my girl. Pulling her in close, I captured her lips, keeping mine closed as I ravished her mouth.

The little moan she released was everything. Sliding my tongue across the seam of her lips, I delved in, wanting to get inside this woman. How had I missed this girl? How had I let her nearly slip through our fingers?

Realizations like this made me so fucking happy for the selection. Our dads must have known how special she was.

I knew for a fact I wasn’t going to let her go. Not ever. Not even if The Society ordered us to.

Chapter Fifteen

Sian

Mateo’s house was huge. Arriving Friday afternoon an hour after classes had ended, I tilted my head back and looked at the large mansion. There was no way this was a lived-in house set back into a beautiful countryside. Mateo had driven us down lanes that looked like we’d stepped into some kind of historical novel, minus the expensive car.

“Wow,” Heather said, coming to my side.

I turned toward my friend with a smile. “You’ve got that right.”

“Don’t you live in something similar?”

“Nope. My family has a very small house in comparison.”

“But it’s a large one to me,” Heather said.

I took her hand, resting my head against her shoulder. I was still nervous around her, consciously aware of all the little touches I gave. Did she read more into it than was there?

Letting go of her hand, I followed Mateo, Gideon, William, and Dante up the five steps leading to the large door.

Mateo entered as a butler arrived. “Master. Robinson.”

“Steve, it’s so good to see you.” He pulled Steve into a hug. “It has been a long time no see. Did you make the bedrooms I asked you to?”

“Everything has been done and pressed to perfection. He works for me, Mateo, not you.” An older man who Mateo looked like, just a younger version, came down the hall.

“Yeah, but when you croak, I get to inherit all of this.”