LOGINJoella’s POVCallum groaned into my hair without waking up. “Make it stop, Asteraki. Throw it in the river.”I wriggled one arm free and reached over Cavern for the phone. My screen was lit up like a Christmas tree. Notifications stacked on top of each other so fast I couldn’t read them.I unlocked it.The first message was from Brie.Brie: JOELLA. JOELLA SMITH. WHY ARE YOU ON PAGE SIX?????Right under it was a photo. A newspaper page. And there, right in the middle of it, in full color, was a picture of me in a gown made of stars, laughing in Callum Kingston’s arms at the bottom of the stage steps.BILLIONAIRE’S MILLION-DOLLAR DATE: WHO IS THE MYSTERY WOMAN IN DELACROIX?Oh no.Oh no, no, no.Brie: Is this why you snapped at me?? Is THIS the complicated thing????? Wait. Is this the BOSS? No. The boss had a bow tie. This one doesn’t have a bow tie. JOELLA. WHY ARE THERE TWO OF THEMBrie: Bryan says you canceled Friday. He’s sulking. He ate a whole box of cereal.Brie: CALL ME. I NEED
Joella’s POVI really, truly tried.And then Aunt May came.Not a whisper this time. Not a soft little voice in the back of my mind. She came in loud. Louder than she had been in years. Like she had been sitting in the corner of the bathroom the whole night, arms crossed, in her good church dress, waiting for exactly this moment.Men cannot love anybody but themselves, Joella.I squeezed my eyes shut.Look around you, girl. Look at this bathroom. Look at this apartment. Look at the diamonds on your neck.The diamonds. They were still on my neck. I hadn’t even taken them off in the bath.Who bought you those? Who bought you that dress? That car? Those clothes you wore to work this week? Who paid a million dollars in front of a whole room full of rich people so he could take you home?My chest went tight.Money and sex, Joella. That is all they are good for. That is all this is.You stood on a stage tonight under a spotlight while rich men raised paddles. You were the last lot in an auc
Joella’s POVI stared at the little yellow smiley face.The smiley face stared back at me.Of all the times. Of all the nights in the entire history of the world, Bryan Collins had picked this one. This exact moment. While I was lying naked in a claw-foot bathtub full of lavender water, leaning back against one naked twin, while the other naked twin held my phone in front of my face like a piece of evidence in court.God really did have a sense of humor.And I was the joke.Behind me, Callum had gone very still. I could feel it. His chest had stopped moving under my back. His arms around my waist had gone tight, just slightly.“Friday,” he repeated quietly. “With a smiley face.”“It’s just a smiley face,” I said.“It’s a very confident smiley face.”Cavern didn’t say anything. He just kept holding the phone, his jaw tight, his eyes on the screen like he was reading a contract with a clause he didn’t like.The candles flickered. The water lapped softly against the sides of the tub. Som
Joella’s POV“You’re not being stupid,” Cavern said.He sat up and pulled me into his arms. Just like that. Gathered me up off the sheets and held me against his bare chest, one arm around my back and one hand cupping the back of my head, holding my face against his neck.“It’s okay,” he murmured into my hair. “It’s okay, Ember. This happens. It’s a lot to feel. It’s normal.”“It’s not normal. I’m crying naked on your brother’s bed.”“It’s very normal,” Callum said. He moved behind me and wrapped his arms around me too, so I was sandwiched between them, his chest against my back and his chin on my shoulder. “Your body just went through a lot. Six times. That’s a lot of feelings. Sometimes they come out like this.”“Six,” I hiccupped. “I only made it to six. You said sixteen.”Callum laughed softly against my shoulder. “Asteraki. You think we care about the number?”“You made a list! Cavern made a whole list! With numbers!”“The list was a game,” Cavern said quietly. He pulled back jus
Joella’s POVSixteen.He said it so calmly. Like a bank teller reading out a balance. Like it was a perfectly normal number of orgasms for one human woman to have in one night.I opened my mouth to argue.Callum kissed me before I could.It wasn’t a soft kiss. It was hungry. Deep. His mouth opened over mine and his tongue slid against my tongue, and I could taste myself on him, salty and sweet, and something about that made my whole body go hot all over again. Even after five. Even after I swore I had nothing left.His hand slid down my side. Over my ribs. Over my hip. He gripped the back of my thigh and hooked my leg around his waist.“You’ve been driving me crazy all night,” he murmured against my lips. “Do you know that? Watching my brother take you. Tasting you. Hearing you scream.” He kissed my jaw. My neck. “I’ve been so hard it hurts, Asteraki.”“Poor baby,” I whispered.He laughed into my neck. Low and rough.“That mouth,” he said. “That f*cking mouth.”Then he lined himself u
Joella’s POV“Wait—” I gasped. “Wait, wait, I’m sensitive, I—”“Now,” Callum said from underneath me, his voice muffled and cheerful. “Let’s talk about Bryan.”I froze.Even Cavern stopped moving. He stayed buried deep inside me, perfectly still.“Bryan,” I repeated weakly, my face still pressed against Callum’s stomach.“Bryan.” Callum gave my cl*t one slow lick. I jerked. “The very old friend. The one who played footsie with you under the table.”“There’s nothing to talk about.”“Mm.” Another slow lick. “Then why did your whole body just go tense?”“Because you’re licking me!”“Who is he, Ember?” Cavern asked behind me. His voice was calm. Too calm. He pulled out slowly, almost all the way, and just stayed there, the tip of him barely inside me. Not moving. “Tell us.”I groaned. “He’s Brie’s twin brother.”Silence.“Twin brother,” Callum repeated slowly.“Yes.”“So you have a type,” he said.“I do NOT have a type!”“You have a twin type, Asteraki.”Cavern pushed back in. Slow. One l
Those blue eyes. God, those blue eyes.Up close, they were even more intense than I'd noticed from across the room. They were the kind of blue you saw in pictures of the Mediterranean—deep and clear and impossibly bright. They held a sharpness to them, an intelligence, like he was taking in everyth
Lia’s POVThe words hit me like a physical blow. Like he'd reached across the space between us and punched me in the stomach.Better than I ever did.I thought about all the times I'd tried to please him. All the times I'd gotten on my knees for him, wanting to make him feel good, wanting him to wa
Lia’s POVA real smile, not the annoyed half-smile he usually gave me. His eyes lit up as he looked at her, traveling down her body slowly, taking his time."I don't need anything for now," he said, and his voice was different. Warmer. Friendlier. Flirty, even."Okay, sir," she purred, holding his
Lia’s POVHis words hit me hard. Like cold water thrown in my face. Like being slapped.I froze. My whole body went stiff. Those words kept repeating in my head. Like a little slut. Like a little slut. Like a little slut.The warm feelings I'd had—the wanting, the desire—all disappeared in a second







