Lola & the Millionaires: Part Two

by Kathryn Moon

  “It felt like I was bleeding emotions all over the room,” I said, frowning.

  That seemed to puzzle Eve, a little furrow appearing between two exquisitely shaped eyebrows. “Interesting.”

  I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to move away from her. “Thank you. For finishing it.” For not making me finish it, I thought.

  “I was paid,” Eve said with a shrug. “I’m not a hero. I get paid to kill men. Sometimes, for fun, I kill the men who pay me too.”

  Anger snapped out of me, sudden and shocking, but I leaned into it, stepping nose to nose with the woman. “If you’re threatening to hurt my pack, I will not let you walk out of this room.”

  Chai and oily sweetness swirled around me, and Eve sighed and swayed into me, cat-eyes batting her lashes at me. “Don’t tease me with threats, Lola. You have a pack, and I don’t like sharing.”

  Oh. Eve was…Eve was crazy. Possibly even feral.

  Of course she’s feral. She’s an alpha hitwoman.

  Sighing and rolling her shoulders again, Eve turned on her toes. “I’m taking this robe with me, and I’ll reset the security on my way out. Someone is on their way down.” She headed for the back hall, raising her hand in a little wave of her fingers at the top of her sleeve. “I’ve left my number in your phone. In case you get sick of your bonds. Or just want a girls’ night or whatever. We can throat punch someone.”

  Dear god, never introduce her to Baby.

  I blinked, and Eve was gone and my pack was shuffling down the stairs.

  Move!

  I windmilled my arms through the air as if it could disperse the scent of Eve’s visit. At least she’d been fresh out of the pool. For the most part, the room didn’t smell like her. Then I hurried to the coffee pot, dumping the contents she’d made in a mad rush. Had she poisoned the pot? Probably not, but I wasn’t chancing it.

  Matthieu made it to me first, wrapping himself around my back as I stood at the sink. “Ça va?”

  Was I okay? A little tendril of high school French left. I nodded and leaned into him. “Got kind of lost in yesterday. And I got grounds in the pot,” I said to explain why I was cleaning it.

  I didn’t want to lie to my pack, but I also didn’t want to see what happened when Wes found out Eve had broken into the house. To check on me. As long as that never happened again, I was willing to keep the secret once.

  “Let me,” Matthieu said, kissing my temple. “I think Wes has something he wants to show you.”

  Curious, I passed the sudsy coffee pot to Matthieu and slipped out from between him and the counter. Leo and Caleb were at the fridge, pulling ingredients out, and I pressed quick kisses to each of their cheeks. Rake was propped up against Cyrus, who snatched me around my waist and dragged me against his side.

  “You’re on my shit list, mister,” I said, feigning a glare at Cyrus, who grinned.

  “That's not what you said last night,” he said, his hand sliding down to squeeze over my mark. “I was thinking I could put you over Leo’s lap while I tend the mark. Watch you suck off Rake while I finger you silly.”

  My glare became heated for an entirely different reason. “You’re trouble,” I said, kissing him briefly. “Quit getting me all thirsty before breakfast. I had, like, corn chips for supper and that’s it.”

  My alphas growled at that announcement, and Cyrus’ wicked gleam softened as he took another softer kiss. “Noted. We’ll play later.”

  I bit my lip, a little tempted to start the game now, but then my stomach growled in warning and Wes reached out to tug at the back of my shirt. I turned to him, climbing up on his lap, careful to keep the partly healed mark on my ass from being irritated.

  “Hello, good lookin’,” I said, nipping over Wes’ eyebrows and then down to his mouth.

  “I’m just going to chop everything up into a massive scramble,” Leo said to Caleb. “We’re all too sex-crazed to prep a full English, babe.”

  “I drew you this,” Wes said, taking a folded piece of paper up from the counter and sliding into my hands.

  “Is it naughty?” I asked, eyebrows bouncing.

  “No, but I’ll take that into consideration for the revisions, sweetheart,” Wes said, grinning.

  I settled as comfortably as I could—thanks so much, Cyrus—and opened the paper, staring at the silly little drawing as tears started to well up in my eyes.

  “Oh, Wes,” I breathed. A giggle broke loose and I blinked the tears away, turning and pressing kisses over his cheeks.

  “Let me see,” Rake mumbled, rousing himself from Cyrus’ back and stumbling over. I passed him the page, grinning as he blinked at it. “Wait, is that our house? Why is there a dragon on top of it?”

  Wes blushed, and Matthieu laughed as he brought me a cup of coffee. “I’ve been thinking about the whole argument of your space in the house,” Wes said. “What do you think of a tower?”

  Caleb stretched across the counter as Leo dumped a cutting board's worth of meat and vegetables into the skillet to sizzle. Caleb frowned at the cartoonish drawing on the page. “I’m not opposed to a roof addition, but I am opposed to this architecture.”

  I giggled and leaned back against Wes as he ducked his head to hide from the others, his lips grazing over his bondmark and making me shiver.

  “Tower rooms are very trendy,” Leo said, smirking. “The reno will be hell, but I don’t see why not.”

  “But not with stone brick, surely?” Caleb said, brow furrowed.

  “And what does our princess think?” Matthieu asked, winking at me.

  I huffed and rolled my eyes, but I took Wes’ hands in mine and squeezed them. “If we’re going to make a fuss about a room for me—” I started.

  “We are,” Cyrus said.

  “It’s already started,” Leo confirmed.

  “I have wallpaper picked out,” Caleb added.

  I laughed and shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “Then…yes. I like this. I love it.” I blushed and smiled at all of them. “I love you, guys.”

  Wes purred as the others answered me, Matthieu and Rake both sneaking in close for kisses.

  We weren’t a fairy tale, but we were exactly as close to one as I needed to be. And I was pretty sure that it would all end up happily ever after from here on out.

  Epilogue

  I leaned into the car window, watching the slow hills of Malta’s countryside roll by, sunshine turning the grass golden, the sea sparkling in invitation past the cliffs.

  “Are you glad to be back?” Leo asked, squeezing my hand in his before returning it to the gear shift as he drove around a curve.

  “Mmm, very. I can’t believe it’s been a year.”

  “It was a crazy year,” Leo said.

  The beginning of it certainly was. And maybe the parts in the middle, when Wendy had finally gotten her digital enterprise, Glamazon, underway and came gunning for Designate right at the peak of the fall fashion season. Voir had decided to take the high road, which meant those of us left at Designate could only carry on as we had been, not allowed to return the shots fired. Glamazon’s opening subscription deal had shaken our subscriber numbers, but Wendy wasn’t prepared for my betas-only issue with Katherine Hughes. We’d gained back our numbers and then some with a new audience, and now Designate was on a path into arts, culture, society, and fashion. And Glamazon had their gossip column led by Betty. It was probably a draw in terms of success, but it was one I was proud of.

  “I wish the others had been able to come,” I said, trying not to frown.

  “Mm, me too,” Leo said, although he was feeling pretty chipper. Maybe he was glad for the time alone with me.

  The thought made me smile, and I squeezed his hand back, and then blinked out the window, wondering if I was imagining the familiar scenery. “Is this the route we took to the Grechs’ last time?”

  “It is,” Leo said, wiggling his eyebrows.

  All of his giddy excitement made sudden sense and I laughed. “Are we going
back? Ohh, but it will be so different now.”

  “It will,” Leo said, nodding and grinning.

  His enthusiasm bubbled into me, and my smile grew wider. Part of me almost hated to see any changes made to the little house by the cliff and the salt farm below, but when Leo was excited it was impossible not to share that with him.

  “Is it where we’re staying?” I asked.

  This visit, Leo had rented a car for us so we could travel more freely around the island, although I was still getting used to him being on my right for the driver’s seat.

  “We are staying there,” Leo said.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re being very close-lipped about this. What’s the secret? Do you own the resort?”

  Leo laughed and pressed his lips together, shaking his head. I tugged on his sleeve and he grinned. “Just wait. We’re nearly there, gorgeous.”

  “You’re being sneaky. You must be spending too much time with Rake,” I said.

  “I love the way Rake insists on spoiling you. I knew he loved being on the receiving end of surprises, but I didn’t know he’d take so well to the situation being reversed,” Leo said.

  “I see you trying to change the subject, babe,” I answered.

  “Oh, look! We’re here!” Leo cried, pulling off the road and onto a long gravel drive.

  That distraction worked at least. I sat up straight, waiting for the first glimpse of whatever kind of high-end resort the sweet little farm had been transformed into. There was no sign, no grand parking lot, no umbrellas and gate and beach chairs as we pulled up to a small, stone carport. The Grechs’ small home was now a much wider stone structure, although it looked like it was just a very tall walled off space not a house, and I stared at it with a frown, trying to puzzle it out.

  Not a resort but…I had no idea what it was.

  “Come on, we’ll go in first and then come back for our bags,” Leo said.

  “Ohhhkay.” I slipped out of the car, standing on the stone and staring at the stone wall. “What is it?”

  “You’ll see,” Leo said easily, and then he took my hand and tugged me along.

  There were a few trees planted around the wall, and glimpses of greenery peeking over the edge, but I didn’t even notice the humble little door until Leo and I rounded a pair of olive trees.

  “Leo…” I said, watching him take a key from his pocket and unlocking the door. “Is this a home?”

  “It will be. A home away from home,” Leo said. “When the owner arrives.”

  That was better than a resort at least, the Grechs' had got their wish in the end. I was about to ask who owned it, when Leo stepped through the door, and I gaped at the scene in front of me. If the outside was lightly landscaped, the inside was lush. There was a long stone footpath leading up to a lovely stone building that resembled the Grechs’ home in the same golden stone, although I could tell it was a new structure and a little more modern.

  Mostly though, I was staring at the long, crystalline blue pool on my left. At the bottom of the pool was a series of dark panels that I suspected were windows to an underground level. If we were staying here, we were allowed to use the pool, right? I was getting my first real vacation since I’d started at Designate, and I planned on making the most of our week here.

  “Think of the skinny dipping,” Leo said in my ear, and I grinned back at him, stretching up to my toes to catch a kiss.

  “I was. Want to take a dip now?”

  Leo hummed and his gaze was hungry, but he shook his head. “House first. And then yes, definitely.”

  The house was a flat rectangular structure with big bricked stone and small windows with blue shutters facing us. Leo held my hand as he led us to the door. There was no key this time, but as we stepped inside, I knew immediately why. We stepped into a decently long hall, filled with art and greenery—Caleb’s stamp was clear on the space, and the color of the walls matched the stone outside, the floor tiled with wild and colorful patterns.

  “Leo…who is the owner?” I asked, staring straight ahead at the full wall of windows. The house was poised right at the edge of the cliff. A set of industrial looking stairs led down at the windows, and I suddenly realized we were on the tip of the iceberg. The house was under us.

  “Come on,” Leo said, pulling me along. “There’s a bedroom and bath on either side of us. A little cozier than at home, but they could be for guests. And then down here…”

  I held my breath as Leo took us to the stairs, the view out the wall of windows dizzying and breathtaking, sea and salt flats for miles and miles ahead of us.

  “We have a living space, kitchen, and dining room in an open plan,” Leo said.

  I barely tore my eyes away from the sea before gasping at the room. It was vast, contemporary, and colorful. One of Cyrus’ cityscape paintings was hanging up on the walls, and my throat squeezed at the sight of a family photo of our pack on a table between deep and squishy looking couches that faced the water.

  Looking at the shimmering light falling over the massive dining table, I laughed as I realized the pool was directly above it. It was a beautiful light feature for the room, making everything ambient and almost like stained glass, but it definitely put an amusing spin on my idea of skinny dipping.

  “Downstairs there’s a master en suite, as well as a few private rooms. And for being two stories underground, it’s brighter than you’d expect. Every room has a natural light source, either cut from the cliffside, or tunneled from the yard,” Leo explained, and it was almost like he was pitching it to me.

  I pulled my stare from the lovely communal kitchen, an almost perfect replica of ours at home, and turned to face Leo. His back was to the windows, and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes bright as he waited for my reaction.

  “It’s ours?” I breathed.

  Leo raised a hand and wobbled it in the air. “It’s…it’s yours,” he said, lips quirking.

  I huffed and blinked at him, swallowing twice before I could speak. “Then it’s ours,” I said, because Rake trying to slip me a car at Christmas was one thing, but this place was…

  Magical. Perfection. Out of my wildest dreams.

  My eyes couldn’t stop traveling over every little detail. The whole pack had been involved, obviously. Rake’s thoughtfulness was in the details of comfort, Wes’ in privacy. Matthieu and Leo in the sheer gall it took to surprise me with a house in Malta.

  Leo stepped forward, hands wrapping around my shoulders and drawing my focus back to him. “Are you fritzing?” he asked, lips twitching.

  “A little,” I said, grinning. “But in a good way.”

  “I know it’s a big present—”

  “Okay, but let’s call it a family investment,” I suggested.

  “—but it’s an engagement present, so it ought to be a little extra,” Leo said.

  I stared at him, my mouth hanging open, my eyes drinking up every detail of this man I loved so much, it often stopped me in my tracks.

  “A what?” I breathed

  I didn’t even make it to Leo’s knee touching the floor, I was in tears before he was halfway down, hand reaching into his pocket.

  “Leo!”

  “Lola,” he said, grinning and staring up at me. “I know that we are a pack. We’re more than just us now, but I do want to celebrate what you and I have, how far we’ve come. And I can’t bite you, but I can marry you…if you’ll have me.”

  There was a ring in one of his hands, my own hand in the other, but I would worry about those later. My heart was singing, and I wasn’t the only one. I laughed through stupid, happy tears as Leo rang like church bells in the bond, the rest of the pack answering us both.

  “They’re here, aren’t they?” I asked, beaming at Leo.

  “I couldn’t leave them out,” he said, shrugging. He tugged my left hand closer, warm metal touching the tip of my ring finger. “What do you think?”

  “You know what I think,” I said. My cheeks hurt, but also
every single cell in my body felt amazing. When Leo looked bursting with anticipation, I tried to get the words out, my head nodding madly first. “Yes. You know I—Leo, yes.”

  There was a wild cheering from below, and I gasped and cried and laughed as Leo jumped up from the floor. The ring was on my finger and Leo’s arms were around me and my face was lifted to his and footsteps ran up from below, the moment rushing so fast, I wished I could stop the clock. We kissed, and it was easy and familiar, and desperate and thrilling at the same time. The pack surrounded us in a rush, arms and limbs folding us up.

  My alphas were joyous, Leo was incandescent, and I was having a beautiful out of body experience in my happiness. The marriage would be symbolic more than anything, but I didn’t care. The wedding would be pretty and the honeymoon heaven, and Leo and I would be tied together in our own way forever.

  There was just one sweet little fly in the ointment.

  I turned in the embrace of the group, accepting kisses from the others, and serving them pinches for keeping this whole surprise a secret from me.

  “Don’t play coy,” Matthieu murmured roughly in my ear. “You know you love it.”

  “I do,” I answered, and he kissed me again.

  Caleb was crying, Wes was giving Leo a bear hug that potentially threatened Leo’s ribs, and Cyrus had his arm around a beaming Rake. But there was no fooling me, I could feel the delicate bruise he was trying to hide. Cryus slid away as I stepped up to Rake, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and rising up to nuzzle against his lips and cheeks.

  “I am so happy for you, Lollipop,” he said.

  “I know you are.”

  We were quiet, and I wove my way through my bonds to tug gently on Rake’s hurt.

  “Don’t,” he said.

  “Tell me,” I answered, pecking at his lips.

  “I’m just a little jealous, but in a nice way,” Rake murmured. I kissed him again to encourage him, resisting the urge to laugh as he started to snuggle closer, cock growing stiff in his pants. “I know what we have is perfect and special. It’s just that the others get their bites on you, and Leo and you will be married…”