Page 76 of Unleashed By Eden

We stop just short of the penthouse door. The hallway light catches the diamond in her nose and highlights the gray in her eyes.

“You good?” I ask quietly, thumb brushing her knuckles.

She tilts her head up to look at me. On the surface she’s playing it cool, but her hand is not so subtly crushing mine. “As long as Liam doesn’t find out,” she says. “Then, yeah. I’m good. I want to be able to fall asleep in your bed every night.”

My lips twitch before I can stop them.

Fucking same.

Before I can say something stupid to ruin the moment, she pushes the door open.

The suite is dim, and the TV is off. The noise is coming from outside. We cut around the corner into the main living space, and there they are: my brothers. Kai, Theo, X, and Chris are spread out across the huge balcony.

Takeout bags and cartons of food cover the long outdoor table, chopsticks stuck at odd angles. Beyond that, Paris is laid out in lights, the whole city visible in the distance.

The balcony doors are open, warm air rolling in, and someone’s Bluetooth speaker is bleeding classic rock low under the noise of their conversations.

Theo’s trying to untangle two boxes of noodles. Kai has a beer in one hand and his phone in the other. Xander’s already halfway through a curry, shirt off, tattoos on display because . . . who the fuck knows.

All of them glance up when we step out.

Their eyes drop to our joined hands.

The silence that follows is almost comedic. Then they all go right back to serving up food.

Subtlety’s never been my thing, so I don’t bother easing into anything.

“Violet and I are fucking,” I announce, still holding her hand as I tow her toward the low couch by the railing. “What are we eating?”

Kai barks out a laugh, nearly spilling his beer. Theo blinks once, then reaches blindly for a takeout box and shoves it into my free hand.

“Pad kee mao,” he replies.

I pass the noodles to Vi and grab a red curry for myself. I draw in a lungful of basil, chili, and fried garlic.

Next to me, Vi covers her face with one hand. “Fuck, Carter. Do you not have any tact?”

“What?” I say around a mouthful of rice.

“About fucking time,” Kai says, lifting his bottle in a lazy salute. “Also, not news.”

“Yeah,” Xander adds, mouth full. “You two haven’t exactly been subtle.”

Vi drops her hand from her face and stares at him. “What does that mean?”

Snorting, Kai grins. “You want a list, or do you just want the highlights?” He tips the bottle back and drains a long pull without looking up.

Violet flicks me a glare and mutters something into her noodles that sounds a lot like “stabby.” Her shoulders shake, though. She’s trying not to laugh and failing.

I nudge her thigh with mine.

Something clicks in my brain, and I straighten abruptly, chopsticks still in hand.

“Oh. Ground rules.” I point the sticks at each of them in turn, conductor-style. “Anyone tells Liam before I do, I’ll rearrange your face. And I don’t mean a playful slap. I mean, I will fuck you up. That goes for telling the PrimeTime+ crew, too.”

Theo taps his bottle to his forehead. “Message received.”

“Loud and clear,” Kai drawls. “Terrifying, ten out of ten.”