Irritation rises, but it doesn’t quite drown out the guilt. “If I hadn’t made mistakes, you two wouldn’t have basically strong-armed me into a sex pact to punish me.”
Beast gives that infuriating small smile and stretches his arms over the side of the tub. “Fuck yes, you made mistakes, Isabelle. You weren’t the only one, though.” His gaze flicks to Gaeton and then back to me. “Did you ever think that we offered the sex pact because we wanted to?”
He’s simplifying things and ignoring the anger that’s laced so many of our interactions since I showed up in the Underworld. I narrow my eyes. “Am I the only one required to be honest in this scenario?”
“Yes.” His gives a dry laugh at my outraged expression. “Tell her, Gaeton.”
The big man shifts against my back. “Speak for yourself. I was angry.”
“Was?” Beast lifts his brows.
“Stop twisting my words, asshole. I still am.” His touch is gentle on me. “But you’re right. It took three people making mistakes to get us to that point.”
Relief courses through me. At least we’re all on the same page there. It’s the tiniest of steps, but one we’ve taken together. I don’t know what it means for the future. There’s still the deadline bearing down on us, the choice I’ll be forced to make. Even if we move past the sins of the past, at the end of these two weeks, half my heart will be walking away from me. It’s just a matter of which half.
I don’t realize I’ve started to shake again until Gaeton gathers me close. “Stop thinking so hard. Enjoy the aftermath, let the hot water soak out some of the soreness, and then we’ll feed you.”
My stomach chooses that moment to growl uncomfortably loud. We took a small break for food earlier today, but I was too out of my head to eat a proper meal. Still … “I don’t understand how you can just focus on the here and now and worry about everything later.”
“Who said we’re doing anything of the sort?” Beast shakes his head. “We have a lot of shit to wade through, Isabelle. A lot. We treated you like spun gold, but you weren’t exactly honest, either. Did you ever actually tell either of us what you wanted, in the bedroom or out of it?”
My flushed skin has nothing to do with the heat of the water and everything to do with embarrassment. “Not exactly.” When he just watches me, I feel compelled to elaborate. “At first, I liked the pedestal you both put me on. But the longer it went on, the more I felt constrained by it. Every time I even tried to suggest something, I was shot down.” Could I have been more explicit? Probably, but my pride wouldn’t allow it. Even as I was starving for the things I needed, I’d somehow decided it was a better option than begging one or both of them to fuck me dirty. “Do you remember the dressing room when you were escorting me to pick out the gown for Sienna’s birthday party?” I had opened the door wearing only a pair of thigh highs and pulled him in with me for a quickie, except Beast just pressed a soft kiss to my lips and told me to get dressed before we were late.
That makes him look away. “Like I said; mistakes on all sides.”
We sit together until the water starts to cool and then Gaeton passes me to Beast and stands. I start to argue that I’m more than capable of moving my body around, but the sight of him rising out of the water like some kind of barbarian god stills my protests. Why waste energy arguing when I can enjoy the view?
He steps out of the tub and snags a couple of towels. I’m distantly aware of Beast going perfectly still behind me, but I’m too caught up in my voyeuristic tendencies to think about it too hard until his lips brush my ear. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”
I don’t know if beautiful is the right word for Gaeton. Beast is beautiful with his perfect cheekbones and model good looks. Gaeton is … “Powerful.” He looks like he’d be at home on an ancient battlefield, swinging an oversized ax and soaked in the blood of his enemies.
“Yes, powerful.” Beast’s rough voice goes the slightest bit deeper. “Thick thighs, thick torso, thick neck, thick fucking everything.”
Gaeton catches us watching him and frowns. “What are you two up to?”
“Nothing right now.” Beast answers for both of us. He gives me a nudge and I rise up on wobbling legs to allow Gaeton to wrap me in a surprisingly fluffy towel. He ignores my attempts to take it from him and dries me off while I stand there, feeling silly and cosseted.