Elegant Sins (Dark Secret Society 1)

“We didn’t want to see you go down and as these trials are exactly that—a time of testing—we wanted to test just what kind of man Montgomery was before allowing him into our ranks. A selfish man with only his personal interests at stake would have risked nothing, let you be arrested, and assured his inheritance in the Order since your own foolish recklessness would have landed you in prison.”

St. Claire glared down Montgomery’s father. “What Montgomery showed us instead is that he’s level-headed, loyal, wise, with good judgment for the greater good of the group. He put someone else—you—before himself. He is the exact kind of man we need to be part of the Order. If it were not for this recruit, we would have lost an Elder which is not respectable or good for our organization. And rather than you betraying one of your brothers of the Order—not to mention your own flesh and blood—why don’t you thank the man before you?”

When my father said nothing but sat with his mouth pursed and arms crossed instead, St. Claire turned his attention back to Montgomery.

“The Order of the Silver Ghost believe that not only did you pass the Initiation, Montgomery Kingston, but you went above and beyond to show your loyalty to the brotherhood. Because of this, your request to take over the company as the CEO and to become a member of the Order is granted.”

He then directed his attention toward Grace. “And what is your one desire for completing the Initiation, Grace Morgan?”

Grace looked at the Elders, then at me, and then back at the Elders. She didn’t say anything for what felt like an eternity, and the silence was confusing me.

She did it. We did it.

Why was she not blurting out an atrocious amount of money? Why was she not claiming an amount that would alter her life forever? Her dream was about to come true. What was the hold up? I knew she’d already figured out almost to the dollar how much it would take for her Ivy League education and then to open up a restaurant and support it for two years until it became profitable on its own. Why wasn’t she blurting it out?

“I thought I knew what I wanted,” she finally said, eyes on the floor and voice quiet before slowly gathering strength as she continued to speak. “When I came into the manor, I had one focus and that was to get enough money to start a business of my own. Money was my end game.”

She turned so she could look at me. “But I know if I take the money and walk out that door, I risk never seeing you ever again. You said it yourself… our worlds are different.”

She took a deep breath and raised her chin as she stiffened her spine. “I know what I don’t want, and that’s to lose you.”

She turned slightly so she could face the Elders. “I’ve changed my mind on what I want as my one desire. As to my dream.”

She refocused her attention on me with tears glistening her eyes.

“I’ve made my choice. I want to be part of your world. I want to continue helping you with the business. All I want is you, Montgomery Kingston. Nothing else. I just want you.”

24

Grace

Montgomery grabbed me by the shoulders, looked deeply into my eyes, and frowned, shaking his head slightly. “That wasn’t the deal.”

I held my breath. Shit. I was doing this all wrong. Or worse, what if he didn’t want me? What if all this time, he’d just seen us as partners helping each other out—and okay, yeah we’d slept together. But maybe that had only meant something to me.

He was just a guy. What guy was gonna turn down free tail? He’d never said a word about commitment beyond the Trials.

And hadn’t I heard his horrible father talking while I was hiding behind that awful silver curtain with the elder Mr. St. Claire—

But my spinning brain didn’t have time to keep twisting in on itself because Montgomery had hold of my elbow and was pulling me out of the white ballroom, into the foyer, and then out the front door of the mansion.

It was the first time I’d been through the front door.

It was dark and there was a fearsome wind sweeping across the lawn as the moon disappeared behind dark clouds overhead.

“What are you doing?” Montgomery barked. “If you’re not careful in there, you’ll lose everything. They’re literal. They’ll give you only what you ask for and not a penny more.”

The first drops of cold rain splashed on his sharp, angular jaw, only highlighting his gorgeous face as lightning cracked across the sky.

I didn’t know if it was the stress of the past three months or if I was just so emotionally raw now that it was all over—but I didn’t have the energy for pretending anymore.