I’ve had too much to drink, because as ridiculous as this proposition is, it’s working. I don’t care if this man is trouble. He’s gorgeous, and I’m pissed off, heartbroken, and would love nothing more than to let this man help me feel better even if it’s just for one night. Judging from that one simple touch, he could definitely make me feel better. Good kind of trouble indeed.
“What’s your name?” I ask.
“Gabriel.”
For some reason, this makes me laugh. He definitely seems like a Gabriel. “You are a strange man, Gabriel, but I’ve had just enough alcohol to not care, so you have yourself a deal.” I hold my hand out to him the same way he’d done to me. “Take me home and cherish me for as long as you want.”
Gabriel leans back, eyes wide, and sucks in a breath. He stares at me so long I start to squirm. The way he’s looking at me has me gulping. When he said he wanted to cherish me, I thought he was talking about worshiping my body, if you know what I mean. But he’s looking at me right now as if I’m the answer to all of his prayers. It takes him a moment to speak, and when he does, his voice sounds almost reverent. “What’s your name?”
“Kinsey.”
“Kinsey,” he repeats softly. He reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, then takes my hand. His long fingers curl around mine. He brings my hand to his mouth and brushes his lips across the back of it. I shiver again. Those warm hazel eyes pierce me to my soul, and he says, “We have a deal.”
The instant the words leave his mouth, a strange sensation washes over me. It’s like being wrapped in a blanket that’s just come out of the dryer—warm and comforting. It seems to be coming from Gabriel and makes me want to lean into him until there’s no space left between us. It’s as if we’ve become tethered together, and I just know that I’ll never be able to be apart from him long. I belong to him.
Gasping, I meet his wary eyes and a spike of fear bursts out of me. “What’s happening?”
He runs the back of his fingers over my cheek. “Don’t be afraid, Kinsey. I’ll hold up my end of the bargain. You will be cherished forever.”
He leans forward and brushes a kiss to my temple. The moment his lips touch my skin, my world fades to black.
2
The room I wake up in is huge, and is every girl under the age of ten’s fantasy. I’m lying on a large, white four-poster bed with a peach canopy and an equally peach bedspread, with more pillows than I’ve ever seen in my life. There’s a matching white dresser, a mirrored vanity, and a large white wardrobe. The walls are pale lavender with white trim, and there’s a large bay window with a padded peach window seat. Sheer white curtains are pulled to the sides of the window, letting in a ton of natural light. It’s a gorgeous room, even if it screams princess in a medieval castle. I’ve never seen anything like it.
On the small table beside the bed lies a single red rose and a handwritten note on expensive-looking stationery. Welcome home, my love. Everything you need for a nice, hot bath is set out for you, and there are clothes in the closet. They should fit. Take your time, and just call out for me when you’re ready. I’ll hear you. Yours forever, Gabriel.
I blink several times as I read and reread the note. The rose is sweet, but my love and just call out for me? Mine forever? And why would he have a closet full of clothes that would fit me? “What a strange man.” I look around the room again and wonder just what kind of person I’ve gotten tangled up with. Some kind of eccentric billionaire or something.
I peek into the en suite bathroom, eye the huge Jacuzzi-style tub, and think What the hell. Why not? On the counter is a basket filled with all kinds of soaps, lotions, and shampoos. I’m busy smelling them all when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I flinch at the sight.
Normally, I’m very put together. As a junior partner in a prestigious law firm in Santa Monica, California, I feel it’s part of my job to look good. I eat right and exercise daily to make sure my tall, thin figure stays in its hourglass shape. My long, golden blonde hair is usually pulled back in a twist of some kind, not a single a hair out of place. I moisturize daily to keep my skin healthy, and my fingers and toes are always manicured.
Right now, I look like death warmed over. I’m still in last night’s clothes—the navy dress slacks and white blouse I wore to work yesterday. They’re rumpled all to hell. My hair is a crusty rat’s nest on my head, last night’s makeup is smeared all over my puffy-from-crying face, and I probably reek of the alcohol I had to drink. I’m a wreck.
I follow the note’s advice and take my time making myself feel human again. After I take advantage of all the expensive beauty products and blow out my hair, I poke around in the closet. I’m shocked to see that the clothes are all my size and are some of my favorite designer labels.
I pull on some skinny jeans, a beautiful cashmere sweater, and some ballet flats. The makeup I find on the vanity table is also oddly in my exact color palette. I’m starting to get a little weirded out, but I still use the makeup. I even dab on a bit of perfume. It’s the loveliest smelling fragrance I’ve ever come across. It must have cost a fortune.
Looking myself over in the mirror, I sigh. There’s nothing more for me to do. It’s time to quit stalling. With a deep breath, I venture out into the house. From the looks of the bedroom I stayed in, I almost expect to be in some kind of castle, and am relieved when it feels more like a modern mansion. The place is huge and lavishly—but tastefully—decorated. I see no one in the house, until I find my way downstairs and stumble across a man drinking a cup of coffee at the kitchen table. “Oh, hello.”
The man freezes when he sees me, and his mouth falls open. It’s definitely not the man I met in the bar last night, but he’s nearly as handsome. He has blonde hair pulled back into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck. Bright blue eyes blink at me from behind a pair of classic wire-rimmed glasses. He has fair, clean-shaven skin, and high cheekbones. I can’t tell how tall he is, but his shoulders are broader than Gabriel’s. He’s wearing a suit and tie that are as designer as the clothing I’ve got on. He looks like he’d fit right in at my law firm.
“Hi,” I say again, because he’s still gawking at me. I throw up a hand in a small wave, too. “Um, this is a little awkward, but everyone does a walk of shame sometime, right?”
The man blinks himself back from his shock and shakes his head slightly from side to side, as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing. “Who—where did you come from?”
I walk a little further into the kitchen and give him what I hope is a friendly smile. “I’m Kinsey. I…um…came home with Gabriel last night.”
The man’s eyes bulge. “Gabriel brought you here?”
I cringe. “Yeah, well, there was drinking involved—at least on my part. I’m a little foggy on the details, but we were joking around, and I agreed to come home with him. I don’t really remember anything after that. If he’s around here somewhere, though, I kind of need to get going. I really should be at work right now.”
The man’s jaw flaps a few times, until he finally scrambles to his feet and rounds the table to stand right in front of me. As he moves closer, something stirs in my chest. It’s the same strange feeling I got from Gabriel last night before my memory crapped out on me. It’s warm and comforting and feels like it’s pulling me to this strange man. It’s as if we’re somehow connected. I get the sense that I belong to him the same way I did with Gabriel.
“Impossible,” he whispers. Looking me over from head-to-toe with an awestruck expression, he reaches out as if to touch me but pulls back at the last second and fists his hands at his sides. “I’m Pierce,” he breathes.
I’m a little freaked, but years of being polite force me to hold out my hand and flash him a smile. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”
He grips my hand in both of his, holding on for a bit too long. When I gently tug it back, he shakes himself from another daze and releases me. “Sorry, I’m just…it’s lovely to meet you. Welcome to our home.”
At least he’s friendly, if a bit strange. Obviously, he’s Gabriel’s roommate. Maybe they’re both eccentric billionaires. I glance around the enormous top-of-the-line chef’s kitchen. “It’s a beautiful home.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”
I meet his gaze again—he’s still staring at me as if he’s never seen a woman before. “Um…so is Gabriel around here somewhere?”
“Of course.” The man raises his voice and calls out, “Gabriel! Cyrus!”
Cyrus? I don’t have time to ask before two figures appear in the kitchen. I jump and let out a startled yelp. They just appeared! Out of nowhere! “What the hell?”
Gabriel’s face lights up when he sees me. “Kinsey! You’re awake.” He rushes over to me and grips my hand in his. “You look beautiful this morning,” he murmurs as he leans forward to peck a kiss to my cheek.
“Where the hell did you come from?” I ask, stepping back. “You just…appeared!”
“Where the hell did you come from?” the newest arrival asks.
The man is huge. Taller than both Gabriel and Pierce and built like The Rock. His shoulders, pecs, and biceps are massive. Every part of him is huge. He’s gorgeous, if grumpy looking. He has midnight black hair and emerald green eyes. His smooth skin has a nice, deep tan, and his body…hot damn. Dressed in a tight black T-shirt stretched over his barrel chest, cargo pants, and combat boots, the man should be the poster child for every branch of the military. He should have his own wall calendar.
“Calm down, Cyrus,” Gabriel says. He grips my shoulders and steers me to the table, pulling out a chair for me. “I’ve got some explaining to do, so everyone have a seat. Kinsey, are you hungry? Would you like some eggs or pancakes or something?”
I want to get straight to the explanations, but my stomach is feeling very hollow. “Toast and coffee would be great, thanks.”
Faster than should be possible, Gabriel sets a plate of toast and a mug of coffee in front of me. The coffee has cream in it, and the toast has a light layer of jam spread over it. How in the world Gabriel knows exactly what I like has me remembering that something very strange is going on. “Who are you guys? What’s going on around here?” My current stress bleeds from my tone.
Cyrus glares at Gabriel. “What did you do?”
Gabriel takes a seat beside me and holds up his hands in a placating manner. “Relax, Cyrus. I made a deal with Kinsey. A deal that she suggested.”
I wrack my brain trying to remember what deal I made with him, but my memory is fuzzy. It’s odd that I’m having trouble remembering last night, and yet I don’t have a hangover. I hadn’t realized it before, but I feel great when I should be lying in bed with a killer headache.
Cyrus is even less patient than me. “What deal?” he asks again.
Gabriel sighs. “Kinsey offered up her soul for a steady relationship with a decent man who would love her forever. I took the deal.”
The jaws of both men sitting across the table from Gabriel and me drop. I wince as the memories of my ridiculous conversation with Gabriel come flooding back. “In my defense, I’d just been dumped via a Post-it note, and I was quite drunk.”
“You’re taking this rather well,” Pierce says, his brow knitted low over his eyes.
Cyrus shakes his head. “Because she has no idea what she’s done. Do you.” His eyes lock on mine and seem to cut right through me.
Swallowing back a bout of sudden nerves, I wave off his intensity and force an eye roll. “I got drunk and came home with a stranger. I’m not the first person to ever do that.”
“No.” Cyrus leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. His eyes are still focused solely on me. “You gave up your soul to a stranger. You bound yourself to him for all eternity.”
I laugh, but it dies almost immediately when none of them laugh with me. Their grave expressions make my heart race. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s not possible.”
None of them say a word. They just watch me, waiting for it to sink in. I shake my head. It’s not possible, and yet fear is beginning to claw up my spine. The guilty expression on Gabriel’s face makes my stomach churn. “What the hell are you saying?”
“We’re not human, Kinsey,” Gabriel says softly. “The exchange you made last night, the deal you struck with me, was real.”
My mouth falls open. I want to deny it, but deep down I know he’s telling the truth. The proof is in the connection I feel to him. Even now, there’s a tug in my chest that has me wanting to reach out to him. I felt it the instant we both agreed to the deal last night. And just like before, something inside me instinctively knows that I belong to this man—these men. I can feel the binding to all three of them. I can feel how…permanent it is. Forever. I’d asked for a forever relationship, and Gabriel promised me eternity.
The air leaves my lungs, and I shake my head, though I know the denial is exactly that. “No. No, no, no, no, no.” I jump out of my chair and back away from the three men watching my every move. “What are you guys? If you aren’t human, then what are you? Where am I? How is it possible?”
“Don’t freak out,” Gabriel says, slowly rising to his feet.
I shoot him a look. It’s a little late for that. “Who are you?”
Gabriel takes a breath. He looks to his friends, then gives me a hesitant smile. “We’re the Lords of the Netherworld.”
“Netherworld?” That doesn’t sound good.
Pierce stands from the table as well. The smile he offers me as he slowly approaches is kind. “The place where souls go after they leave their lives on Earth.”
“Heaven?” I gasp. My stomach drops at their silence. “Hell?”
“Both,” Pierce admits. “In a manner of speaking.”
Cyrus, still leaning back in his chair staring at me like he can’t decide how he feels about my presence, says, “Welcome to the afterlife.”
3
I need to sit down. I stumble into a large living room and plop onto the nearest sofa. Gabriel, Pierce, and Cyrus all follow. Gabriel crouches in front of me, taking my hand in his. Pierce sits down beside me. Not too close, but not very far from me, either. Cyrus is the only one who affords me any real space, but he still looms over me. He stands back leaning against a wingback chair, staring at me—almost glaring—with his arms still folded over his chest.
“Am I dead?” I ask, my gaze frantically bouncing from one of them to the next.
“No,” Gabriel assures me, stroking my hand. The soft touch is soothing.
“But you’re not the same as you were anymore,” Pierce says. When my gaze snaps to him, he gives me a soft smile. “You’re like us now. Immortal. Unchanging.”
“I promised you a steady relationship for eternity.” Gabriel brings the back of my hand to his mouth and brushes a light kiss across it. “You have my word that I will love, honor, and cherish you from now until the end of time. I’ll take care—”
“Hang on now,” Cyrus interrupts, moving closer to us. His arms fall to his sides. “If you made this deal between the two of you, why do I feel the connection, too?”
Gabriel blinks at him. “Excuse me?”
Cyrus pulls his shoulders back defiantly, or maybe defensively. “She’s bound to me. I can feel it.”
“To me as well,” Pierce adds, nodding slowly to Gabriel.
Gabriel’s mouth falls slack. He pulls out of his crouch and sits on the coffee table, facing me. He looks back and forth between his…friends? Roommates? Fellow Lords?
“They’re right,” I admit. My voice is rough from nerves. All three men look at me, but it’s Gabriel’s gaze I meet. I blush and give him a nod. “I can feel the connection to both of them, the same as I feel bound to you.”
“I have as much claim to her as you do,” Cyrus demands suddenly.
I don’t particularly like being spoken of like I’m a damn possession, but before I can say as much, Pierce says, “What exactly were the terms of your deal? The exact words
spoken?”
He waits, but I honestly don’t have a clue. The whole encounter from the night before is a bit fuzzy.
“The deal was her soul in exchange for a relationship with a man who would cherish her for eternity.”
“A man,” Cyrus repeats. “Not you, specifically?”
Gabriel winces. “I believe that was implied.”
Pierce shakes his head. “You know that’s not how those contracts work. The binding is in the exact wording. Any of the three of us could fulfill your terms.”
“Which one of us do you want?” Cyrus asks me.
I gape at the man, stunned. “What?”
“Which one of us do you want?” he asks again. “Pick.” His arms are folded again, and he’s staring at me with an intense gaze that’s almost a glower. It’s as if he’s…daring me to choose him.
Gabriel rises to his feet. “Hold on now. You can’t just—”
“You didn’t specify yourself in the contract. As Lords of the Netherworld, we’re as equally capable of filling your end of the bargain as you are.”
“He has a point,” Pierce jumps in. “Plus, I can feel the soul binding, and so can Cyrus. Technically, her soul belongs to us as much as you.”
Gabriel looks like he wants to argue, but no words escape his mouth. After thinking for a long, awkward moment he lets out a sigh. “They’re right,” he says to me. “I wasn’t specific enough. Technically, any of the three of us could fill my end of the deal.”
“So choose.”
“Cyrus,” Gabriel scolds. “Have some compassion. She’s clearly overwhelmed right now.”
“And you can’t just ask her to choose between three complete strangers,” Pierce adds.
“Why not? Gabriel wasn’t going to give her a choice at all.”
I feel like I should be part of this conversation, but I can’t seem to speak up. I have no idea what to say or how to feel right now. I’m still stuck on the I-sold-my-soul-to-the-lords-of-the-netherworld issue at the moment. Though, I suppose it’s a good thing that they want me to choose and aren’t just fighting over me like kindergartners over a new box of crayons.
Realms and Rebels: A Paranormal and Fantasy Reverse Harem Collection Page 149
