The Dark Elite (The Dark Elite 1)

I want to give in, but I’m afraid of letting go of the light. I’m afraid that if I give myself freely into the darkness, everything will change.

Everything has already changed.

Pushing out of my thoughts, I force myself to move toward the bedroom door and pull it open. I make my way down the long hall and descend the stairs to the first floor. But instead of looking for another open window or trying the front door, I turn right and head for someplace familiar.

The kitchen.

I’m not really that hungry, but I poke around the large kitchen anyway, looking for something to distract myself with. The refrigerator and cupboards are well stocked, but nothing sounds appetizing.

My head snaps up at the sound of movement from the other side of the kitchen, my body instantly alert. But I relax when I see it’s only Zaid and Lucas. They prove exactly my point—even though I’m not tied up, I’m still being closely monitored.

I’m too tired for this, I think, starting to turn away from them.

But something intense burns in their eyes. Something about the way both of them stalk toward me tells me that they are not here as my captors.

They’re here with a different purpose.

I open my mouth to say something snarky, but Lucas grabs my hips and pulls me flush up against his body before I can say anything. His mouth comes crashing down on mine, desperately passionate, consuming me with his kiss. My hands instinctively reach up to brace myself against his chest as he growls against my lips, sending a lick of fire through my body.

“Lucas, what are—”

“That night between the three of us…” He steps away from me, and I instantly feel his absence. “That was meant to be just the beginning.”

“What do you mean?” My heart stutters in my chest.

Before Lucas can answer, Zaid presses me against the counter, his large hand palming the back of my head.

His kiss is nearly identical to his brother’s, and my body reacts to his touch, moving with him, pulling him closer, desperately needing something more. He leaves no space between our bodies, letting me feel the heavy arousal that grinds against my lower belly.

As our kiss deepens, he tugs me away from the counter, stepping backward as he keeps me pinned to his body. A second later, I feel Lucas step up behind me.

Completing the circle.

Caging me between the two of them.

Enveloping me.

He’s hard too. I can feel his cock against my ass, and four hands roam over my body, making me feel almost dizzy as I try to track which hand belongs to whom. But it doesn’t even matter. That’s the whole point.

It’s not about what one or the other of them is doing.

It’s about them both.

About the three of us.

“We were meant to be more, Grace,” Lucas whispers, nipping at my ear and sending a jolt of sensation straight down to my clit. “We were always meant to be more.”

Zaid grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger, breaking our kiss long enough to gaze down at me with green eyes that gleam in the dim pre-dawn light streaming through the windows. “It’s not over. Unless you say it is.”

I blink up at him, barely able to focus with the feel of their bodies so close, with Lucas’s warm lips teasing my neck and the curve of my shoulder. But I can see only truth in Zaid’s eyes.

He’s saying what I think he is.

He’s offering me a way out.

It reminds me of what Ciro said in the bathroom, when he asked me to stay instead of demanding I remain, and I wonder if any of these men have cleared this with Hale. What would their leader, and the son of Damian Novak, have to say about offering a prisoner freedom?

Would they go against Hale’s orders for me?