Chapter Six
Gabrielle
I stared at my phone for several seconds, contemplating the phone number on the screen. Jackson had called me the day before, surprised when he found out that it was my cell that he was calling and not the shop. I explained that I wanted to be able to receive and make business calls no matter where I was, so I just had the shop number linked to my phone. Now I stared at his number, feeling oddly nervous about calling him. Finally, I pressed the button and squeezed my eyes closed as I heard it start to ring.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Jackson. It's Gabrielle."
"Hi," he said. "It's good to hear from you."
His voice sounded like it actually was and this made my chest feel warm. I couldn't resist the smile that curved my lips.
"I came up with a few ideas that I wanted to go over with you. Do you have time to talk?"
"Um," he seemed to think about this for a second. "Yeah, I could. But if you could, I'd rather have you bring some to the Club to show us."
"The Club?" I asked.
"Yeah. You can see where the gala is going to be held. That might help you better visualize the event and we can start talking about where to set up the different desserts and chocolates and everything. Besides, I'd like you to meet my other brothers."
At that, I thought about what Skylar had said. There were four brothers, not just the two gorgeous men who had come into my shop. My heart pounded at the thought and I couldn't resist the opportunity to meet the two others. I agreed to meet him at the Club, took down the address, and started gathering up the samples I had made. I was driving toward the Westchester Club when I made a sharp turn and headed back toward my apartment to change. Even though I was keeping the shop closed, the force of habit had made me put on my uniform that morning, and I decided that I wanted to change. There was no need for me to walk into a place like that, looking like that if it wasn't absolutely necessary.
I had been completely enraptured by the idea of two more men like Jackson and Lucas, and I wasn't disappointed. When I was escorted by uniformed staff through the elaborate building and beyond a set of massive wooden doors into a sprawling ballroom I knew that Skylar had not been exaggerating when she was describing the immense wealth and power of the Griffin brothers. In fact, she might have been underestimating it. As soon as I walked into the ballroom, however, thoughts of their wealth were pushed to the back of my mind, replaced by a surge of attraction to the four men standing in front of me. Just as Jackson and Lucas looked remarkably similar, the other two fit right in line with them. Jackson walked toward me smiling and I felt the same little leap in my heart that I had when I saw him and Lucas outside of the shop.
He took my hand in both of his, but rather than shaking it, he squeezed it. The touch was both familiar and electrifying and I felt myself being drawn further and further into him. We stared at each other for a moment, and then he turned and led me toward where the other three men stood. Now that I was closer to them I could tell more clearly that they were different ages. The two brothers I hadn't yet met seemed to bracket Jackson and Lucas, with one seeming several years younger and the other slightly older. The older one stepped toward me first and I saw that his eyes were a stormy gray, the expanse unbroken by a dark ring or change in color. He held his hand out to me.
"I'm Talon," he said.
"Gabrielle," I introduced myself.
"And this is Aiden," Jackson said, directing me toward the younger of the brothers.
He came up to me and I noticed his eyes were as vibrant and sparkling as Jackson's, but instead of the bright blue of his brother's eyes, Aiden's were a shade of vivid green. He smiled at me as he took my hand and I felt my attraction toward the four men raised even higher. I was intrigued by them, undeniably drawn to all four of them even though I'd only spent a few minutes with them.
"What do you have for us?" Lucas asked.
He was eyeing the cooler that I carried in one hand and I smiled at him, carrying it over to one of the small round tables that was positioned to the side. I placed it on the table and opened it, starting to pull out the treats that I had inside.
"Jackson and Lucas mentioned to me that the four of you thought it would be fun to do a Valentine's Day cocktail party as opposed to a banquet," I said. "You all wanted it to be very immersive and sexy, and of course that means plenty of chocolate. And the more that I thought about what they said, the more I thought about the different senses and how I would be able to bring those in with the desserts. I want to encourage all of your guests to get involved with the desserts rather than just eating them. Tapping into as many of their senses as possible will make them focus in on what they are experiencing, and hopefully, lose some of their inhibitions and be able to really enjoy themselves."
I realized that what I was saying made the party seem even more lascivious than how the brothers had described their vision to me, and for a moment I felt embarrassed. When I looked at the brothers, however, they seemed interested in what I was saying. I decided to dive headlong into the ideas that I had come up with, giving them everything that I hoped they were asking for. At the worst, they could tell me that I had gone too far and I could edit myself back. I pulled out several small containers of truffles and then the other desserts that I had designed. They were fairly elaborate and involved, which meant that if the brothers liked them, it would be a tremendous push to get them all completed by the time of the party, but I felt like they filled the request that they had made of me, and with the amount that they were paying me, they deserved nothing short of excellence.
"What's that?" Talon asked when I opened the top of a small bowl and took out a disposable spoon.
"When people think of appealing to their senses with food, they usually think about how it tastes or how it smells, or maybe even how it feels, and we'll definitely get to those, but I also wanted to really create visual appeal. The idea that you eat with your eyes before your mouth isn't anything new and presentation is always been a really important part of serving food, but I thought if you wanted to create a cocktail party around the concept of sensory experiences and indulgence, we should take the visual another step forward and create desert experiences that were engaging and dynamic even before they were delicious."
The bowl that I was holding looked like it was full of nothing but a smooth, creamy white chocolate ganache. While sweet and certainly tasty, it wasn't very interesting and the way that the brothers were looking at it, I felt like they were thinking the same thing. But that was exactly the initial impression that I had been trying to achieve. I took the disposable spoon that I had taken out of the cooler and scraped it across the top of the ganache, creating a shallow path through it. Then I dipped just slightly lower and scraped again. This time the tip of the spoon went beyond the white chocolate ganache to a thick raspberry jam.
"This thought came to me when I was thinking about trying to avoid the cliché of making the inside of my truffles pink by flavoring them with raspberry. The more that I thought about it, the more that I realized that it's a cliché because it's delicious and effective, but that didn't mean that I needed to do it the exact same way that everyone else did."
I lightly blended the raspberry into the white chocolate ganache, creating a soft pink. I delved a little deeper, gathering some of the center layer of blueberry and mixing that in. The result was a creamy lavender color. With a final push of my spoon, I scooped down into the last layer of the desert, pulling up a piece of the rich dark chocolate cake embedded with flecks of edible gold.
"I call this one a heart of gold," I said. "You might have to search for it a little bit and go through layers to find it, but when you do you've transformed, and it's absolutely worth it."
I knew that my explanation of the name of the dessert was a little bit cheesy, but the four brothers grinned at me happily.
"That's perfect," Jackson said. "Valentine's Day is all about people wanting things to be traditional and exactly what they've come to expect, and yet also wanting surprises. I think that that dessert blends those two things perfectly."
I smiled at him.
"Thank you," I said.
I picked up other disposable spoons and handed them to the brothers so they could try the dessert. They all made little moans of appreciation as they took several bites. I laughed and pulled the bowl back toward me, putting it behind me on the table.
"There's plenty more to try," I said. "You don't want to fill up yet."
"I don't think there's much risk of that," Aiden said.
I glanced over at him and noticed that he wasn't looking at the desserts that I had just laid on the table. Instead, his enticing green eyes were tracing along my body, taking in the curves accentuated by the simple black dress and heels that I had chosen to replace my uniform. The tip of his tongue ran along his bottom lip and I felt my breath get deeper.
"What's next?" Lucas asked.
"In keeping with the visual theme," I said, "I thought that serving something that was intended to be interactive between guests and not just between the guest and the desert might be a fun way to get people involved."
I reached into the cooler and pulled out a small bag. Inside were several pastry- grade paint brushes. I pulled one out and then opened several smaller containers that were sitting on the table, revealing a range of chocolate from a nearly black bittersweet to a pale milk variety. Besides the chocolates were a few brightly colored options, created by tinting white chocolate.
"What's that?" Jackson asked.
"A little arts and crafts project," I said. "It's not Valentine's day without getting creative. But who wants construction paper and glitter when you can turn each other into your own personal Valentine?"
I dipped the tip of one of the paintbrushes into a pot of chocolate from the middle of the range. I had crafted each carefully so that they would remain smooth and liquidy even at room temperature, and it came up on the bristles of the brush like creamy paint just as I had hoped. I extended my arm, turning it over so that my palm was facing the ceiling. I used the paintbrush to create a series of abstract swirls across my skin. When I was finished, I dipped my head and licked a little of the chocolate away. And then I looked up at the brothers they were all staring at me with hunger in their eyes and I felt my stomach clenched.
"Let me try," Talon said.
I offered him the paintbrush that I was holding, but instead of taking it, he took hold of my wrist and drew my arm up closer to his mouth so that he could lick some of the chocolate away from my skin. My breath caught in my throat and I gasped slightly. He smiled at me as he lifted his face away from my arm.
"That's delicious," he said.
"I thought that we could package several of these paint brushes together and tie them with a nice ribbon," I said, stumbling slightly over my words as I tried to keep myself focused on what I was supposed to be doing there. "We could have a basket or box sitting at the end of the table and each guest could take their own set of paint brushes so that they could use them in the different chocolates. They could then take the brushes home with them and continue with their art experiments if they were so inclined. "
"I think that we could just offer that as both the desert and the entertainment at the party and it would be considered a success," Aiden said.
"Then I think that I put far too much effort into this," I teased, "because I have a lot more to show you."
"Show us," Lucas said.
I spent the next hour going over each of the new flavors of truffles and the desserts that I had designed for them. We worked our way through each of the senses as I showed them the offerings that I had created for those guests who were more adventurous and for those who wanted a tamer, more traditional gala experience. The longer that I spent with these men, the more I could feel myself becoming attracted to them. They were charming, funny, and attentive, nothing like Skylar had suggested that they would be. That my sister had told me that their family had been one that had helped establish the Club and continue to be powerful and instrumental members, it didn't really sink in until I had been spending time with them. I saw the way that the staff interacted with them and could tell that they were looked upon with tremendous respect and even reverence. I did notice a few fleeting glimpses from the women who came into the room occasionally to ask if they needed anything and to bring us drinks, but I ignored them. I felt a hint of intimidation at the thought of their wealth and influence, but none of them had treated me like they thought that I was beneath them.
My mind was racing, filled with thoughts of tasting each of them, feeling their skin, touching their bodies. I was nearly overwhelmed with my desire for them and could feel the heat rising between us. Each time that they looked at me, my heart raced. Each brush of their skin against mine made me tremble. I felt surrounded by them as if they were each designed to appeal to a different part of me. They were all so similar, and yet distinct, like sides of the same person crafted into individual, irresistible men.
Talon
I made an excuse to leave the ballroom and then hesitated at the door when I returned so that I could watch Gabrielle from a distance without her noticing me. I wanted the opportunity to observe her, to get a different perspective of her than I got when I was right there with her. Being close to her fogged my mind and dragged my thoughts to the lushness of her body, the tenderness of her lips. I was incredibly impressed with her, taken by her in a way that I had never experienced with any of the other women I had been with. She was gorgeous, but she was also smart and funny, drawing me into her and making me want to spend more time with her.
Jackson had a quizzical expression on his face as he walked toward me, carrying a tiny bourbon-soaked cupcake in one hand.
"What are you doing over here?" he asked. "I thought that you needed to go check with the rental company about the table decorations."
"I did."
"So what are you doing now?"
I gestured for him to come stand beside me and then nodded toward Gabrielle. She tossed her head back as she laughed, her glossy dark hair falling in waves down her back. The sound was free and unrestrained, like a glimpse of what was really inside of her rather than the terse, measured laughs that we usually heard from the women who roamed the Club. They had been raised to be polished and sophisticated, to impress people with everything that they did. While they were happy to climb into bed with any of us, they weren't willing to open up, to show us their true personality.
Gabrielle, however, was different. She had been somewhat shy when she first came in, but soon she relaxed and I felt like with every moment that passed she was opening up more to us. The attraction building among us was obvious and when I caught her eyes, I could see the curiosity and the draw.
"Look at her," I said.
He followed my gaze and nodded.
"She's amazing," he said. "I've thought so since the first time that I saw her."
"She's what we're looking for," I said.
"What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean. Think about it. She has everything that we talked about. She's gorgeous. She's strong. She's smart."
"We don't know anything about her."
"We know enough for now. We know enough to talk to her about it."
Aiden approached us, giving me the same strange look that Jackson had given me as he came up.
"Gabrielle just asked if there's going to be coffee at the gala," he said. "What are you two over here talking about?"
"Our plan," I said. "Have you thought about it any more?"
"I have," he said. "I was thinking that maybe we should talk to Julie Banes."
"Julie?" I asked. "Are you serious?"
"What?" Aiden asked. "She's always available and always very willing. She comes from one of the more powerful families from the Club."
"Do you really want your child to someday ask you to tell them about their mother and your response to be 'she was always available and always very willing'?" I asked. "Besides, it doesn't matter what family she comes from. We're not marrying her. This is about our family. With a family like the Banes, we'd be fighting for custody and arguing over inheritance and their stake of our estate before the baby was even born."
"You're right," Aiden said. "She's a terrible choice. Maybe I should cancel my meeting with her tonight."
"You already set a meeting up with her?" I asked.
My youngest brother shrugged.
"I thought that I could go ahead and get a jump on it."
"That's an interesting choice of words," I said.
"Gabrielle," Jackson said, gesturing at her. "What do you think about her?"
Aiden turned to look at her and let out a long breath.
"I'm having trouble keeping my hands off her," he admitted. "I want to paint the dictionary all over her and see how many new words I can find with my tongue."
"So what about her?" I asked.
"Her?" Aiden asked. "You want Gabrielle to be the mother of our child?"
Jackson gave a short laugh.
"I'd like to at least give it a shot," he said.
"Me, too," Aiden said.
"She's perfect," I said. "All of us want her. Look at Lucas. His fingers are practically twitching he wants to touch her so badly. After she leaves, we'll talk to him and see what he thinks. If he's in agreement, then she's the one."
My brothers smiled and we all looked at Gabrielle again, our minds dancing with all of the delectable ways that we could try to bring our plan into reality. I couldn't wait to get started.
An hour later Gabrielle had packed up the containers that she had brought the samples in, leaving behind the few little bits of chocolate that were remaining, and we walked her to her car. I made sure that we took a fairly rambling path weaving through the Club so that she could see more of it. Seeing the type of lifestyle that was available to her and to our future child might help to sway her toward agreeing to our arrangement, though I didn't get the impression from her that she would ever be the type of woman to become fixated on money or to lose herself to the draw of a more luxurious lifestyle. But having access to more money and comfort than she ever dreamed was something that very few people would turn their backs on.
As soon as she left, I looked at Lucas.
"We need to talk," I said.
He looked back at me solemnly.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
I looked back toward the Club, noticing that more people were starting to arrive for the late afternoon and evening activities. Even though we had our private wing where no other guests were permitted unless we expressly invited them and accompanied them, I wasn't so dumb as to think that that actually meant that we were alone or that anything that we said in that place was truly private. Some of the other families in the Club were so blinded and influenced by their own wealth that they seemed to float somewhere just short of reality, ignoring what was really happening around them. It was those people who believed that when they walked into their private gathering rooms they were actually alone, that they weren't being listened to or watched by the staff that roamed through the hidden hallways, or even other members of the Club who knew how to learn things that they wanted to know about others. My brothers and I had already revealed too much talking about our father's will in the Club. The only place where we might be really alone was in the bedrooms located in our wing, but I would be more comfortable at home.
"Let's go back to the house."
I took my phone from my pocket and sent a message to our driver. A few minutes later we walked through the front entrance of the Club and got into the car. None of us spoke a word until we got home, but as soon as we were in the living room, I looked at Lucas.
"Gabrielle," I said.
He looked at me strangely.
"What about her?" he asked.
"She's the one," I said.
"The one?" he asked. He looked at each of our brothers and then back at me, his eyes widening slightly. "Her?" he asked.
His voice had risen and I knew that he knew exactly what I was talking about.
"Gabrielle?" he asked.
"Don't you want her?" I asked.
"Of course, I do," he said. "You saw her."
"She's exactly what we're looking for," Aiden said.
"Smart, sexy, funny...not in a family that will try to use our arrangement as leverage to try to get them to a better social standing."
"I get the feeling that social standing isn't what matters to her family," Jackson said.
"Look," I said. "All four of us want her. That's enough right there for me to want to get her in my bed, but she has everything else that we wanted, too. She is perfect. She's exactly the woman I would want to be the mother of my child."
Lucas nodded.
"She would be perfect," he said. "But I wonder if she would go for it."
"He's right," Aiden said. "We don't know if she has what it takes to have all of us and agree to the type of arrangement that we want."
"Then we have to ask her," Lucas said.
"How do we ask a question like that?" Jackson said.
"We don't," I said. "Not at first."
"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.
"We don't have to just spring it on her," I said. "The first thing that we need to figure out is if she would be willing to be with all four of us. If that's not something that she's interested in, if she's not interested in us or has something against being with more than one person at a time, then we don't even need to go any further with her."
"He's right," Aiden said. "If we sit her down and start telling her about what's going on and asking her whether she would be willing to be involved, and she isn't interested, she could go and tell anybody who'll listen."
"I don't give a fuck what anybody thinks," I said.
"Neither do I," Aiden said, "but the last thing we need is for girls to start throwing themselves at us so we'll choose them."
"Of course, because we've always been morally opposed to women throwing themselves at us," I said.
"You know what I mean. We don't need some desperate, clingy chick wanting us to sweep her off her feet because she hears that we want a baby."
"So first we find out if she's interested in us. We warm her up a little. Then if she's still what we're looking for, we talk to her about the arrangement."
"How are we going to do that?" Lucas asked.
"Jackson," I said.
"Why him?" Aiden asked, obviously offended I hadn't suggested him for the role.
"He met her first," I said. "If she's going to be comfortable with any of us, it's going to be Jackson."
"I thought that the goal was for her to be comfortable with all of us," Aiden said.
"It is," Lucas said. "And she will be. Jackson will ask her out and start warming her up, and then the rest of us will just ease our way into the situation."
"I don't want to ease into shit," I said. "She is far too sexy for me to take too much time. I want her as soon as possible."
My brothers made sounds of agreement and I felt my stomach tightening at the thoughts that had started making their way into my mind as soon as I saw her lush little body in that short black dress.