Borrowed Beauty

Chapter Eight: Big Plans

RENEE

I would have stayed in bed all day nursing my pounding head, but as soon as I heard the brothers moving around in their rooms, I dragged myself out of bed and straight into the shower. At least the hangover remedy Olivia gave me had taken the edge off, and I no longer felt like I was going to puke up my toenails.

I had to act like I was at my very best, even if I felt like s**t. I needed to look perfect, smell perfect, and dress perfectly. Last night, I had observed the way women practically threw themselves at the twins. There was plenty of competition for their attention and affection. If I was going to win them as my mates, I needed to be at the top of my game.

The hair, the make-up, the shoes, it all had to look ‘effortless’ before Aaron came knocking.

When he finally came in, not knocking, just walking right in and up to me, I felt his icy blue eyes run up and down my body in appreciation before they landed on my face. He leaned down to kiss me, and I could taste the mintiness of his freshly brushed teeth. By the time he finished, Brock was beside him looking at me with the same hungry, hooded eyes. “Mmm, you look good enough to eat.”

I smiled flirtatiously and moved closer. “Why don’t you come to have a taste?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” he growled, and I found myself pushed up against the wall a little roughly as he ravaged my mouth. I was already figuring these guys out. Brock liked it a little rough, and Aaron liked it low and slow. That made it easier to tell them apart when we hit the sheets.

“Listen, sweetheart,” he said when he finally released me and brushed the wrinkles out of his dress shirt. “Aaron and I have some work to do today, but don’t worry, we’ve got big plans for tonight.”

“Oh really?” I tried to hide my disappointment. Of course, they had to work, and they couldn’t spend all day every day entertaining me, but a girl could hope.

“Yeah really,” Brock leaned forward and nipped my earlobe with just enough pressure to make my belly tighten. “Wear something pretty.”

“She’s always pretty,” Aaron said smoothly, grabbing my hand and kissing my knuckles. “I hope you won’t be too bored while we are gone. Maybe it's a good thing you brought your sister along. At least you’ll have someone to hang out with.”

“Yeah right,” I grumbled, unable to mask the bitterness in my voice. Hanging out with Olivia was the last thing I was going to do.

Brock lifted one perfect eyebrow at me. “I don’t know what you’ve got against her. She seems nice enough to me.”

Alarms started going off in my head. That’s how it always started. Your sister is so nice. “You don’t know her like I do,” I said softly.

Brock merely shrugged, “Alright babe, if you say so. You can always watch a movie or something, there’s a theater room downstairs that’s got a great sound system.”

I pasted a smile on my face, “That sounds great.”

“Alright then,” Aaron leaned down for one more kiss. “We’ll pick you up around seven.”

They left me standing alone in the hallway, all dressed up and made up for nothing. And I was hungry. I’d missed breakfast and lunch, and now it was almost two in the afternoon. I didn’t suppose anyone would mind if I slipped into the kitchen to find a snack.

As I made my way down the staircase through the house and to the kitchen, everything was eerily quiet. I didn’t even see any of the staff around.

The kitchen, in contrast to the rest of the house, was ultramodern and full of gleaming stainless steel appliances and black marble countertops. It could have served an entire restaurant. It took me a minute to locate the walk-in cooler and then another minute to peruse the contents until I found some cheese and cold cuts to make a sandwich.

I don’t know who was more startled when I popped out of the cooler, me or the alpha. He paused with a coffee cup in hand and frowned at me. His dark gaze swept over the foodstuff in my arms and then dismissed me like I was unimportant.

“Miss Forest,” he greeted me cooly and then moved over to the coffee machine. It was one of those pod things that brewed one cup at a time.

“Alpha, “ I returned the acknowledgement, feeling a little guilty and silly for getting caught raiding the refrigerator.

“Bread is in the cupboard to your right,” he said helpfully as he scanned the assortment of flavored and specialty coffee pods next to the machine.

I fumbled with the bread as I watched him. He wasn’t nearly as good-looking as the twins, but damn if he didn’t just radiate s*x and power. Aaron and Brock might have the club, but Josiah Salvador had the whole damn city. I slapped some turkey and cheese on a slice of bread while I continued to track his movement out of the corner of my eye. The rich smell of coffee and hazelnut soon permeated the kitchen.

Having twin lovers was a novelty, but having an alpha… that would be a real trophy. I forgot about my sandwich and ran my hands through my hair. I’d gone through all this work to primp and prep. Why let that effort go to waste? I moved around the island that separated us and felt the hair on my forearms tingle from his aura.

He turned around with his freshly brewed cup of coffee in hand. He took a sip without adding any cream or sugar and eyed me warily. “Have you seen Olivia around?”

The question froze me in my tracks. Why on earth was the alpha asking for my sister? Why was he calling her “Olivia” like they were old friends while he was still calling me Miss Forest? A bad feeling started churning in my empty stomach.

“I don’t know,” I said, trying to sound casual. “She’s kind of antisocial. She mostly stays in her room and reads a lot.” In my mind, reading was the most un-sexy pastime I could imagine. I ranked it right up there with cleaning toilets and sorting mismatched socks.

“She likes to read?” He asked with apparent interest. “What else does she enjoy?”

I ground my teeth together in frustration. It was on the tip of my tongue to say she enjoys drowning kittens, grave digging, and oh by the way she’s a total lesbian and doesn’t do guys at all. Instead, I faked a smile. “Eating,” I said sweetly, “And cooking.” Eating to me was a vice, not a hobby.

Which reminded me, I was in the kitchen for a snack, not to talk about my sister. I pulled a stool up to the kitchen island, squished another piece of bread on the pile of meat and cheese, and took a big bite.

Nobody ever asked me what I liked to do, I thought morosely. Not even the twins. But maybe it was already obvious, I liked shopping, dancing, partying, and anything that made me the center of attention. I had come to terms with that a long time ago. Now it was the only thing I was good at. I also liked extra mayo on my turkey sandwiches. By the time I had fetched the condiment out of the refrigerator, the alpha had already departed with his coffee, leaving me alone with my snack.

I took a big bite and chewed it aggressively. I now realized not only did I have to win over the twins, but I also had to keep my sister away from the Alpha. There was no way I was going to let her top me.