The Sweetest Temptation
Chapter 87: Weird feeling

Chapter 87: Weird feeling

After they finished eating dinner, Damien left to make a phone call and Rhys asked her to accompany her to the bar which was part of the game room in the house.

When they reached the bar, he nodded at the counter.

"May I?"

Beatrix nodded, "Okay."

He lifted her so that she was perched on the counter top.

She swung her dangling legs and watched as he found a red Solo cup. He opened a cabinet filled with every liquor known to man.

"Wow," she breathed in astonishment. That was a lot of alcohol.

He grinned. "Pick your poison."

"I pick my poison and it’s ...." Beatrix trailed off.

"You!" She added.

"A woman after my own heart," he laughed as he pulled out several bottles of liquor.

Beatrix chuckled and shrugged, "Surprise me dear."

Rhys nodded and poured tequila, gin, whiskey, rum and vodka into the cup almost to the top and then added a smidge of Coke.

He found a little stirrer straw, dropped it into the drink and handed it to her .

Beatrix accepted it gratefully and took a long pull through the straw, drinking nearly a third of the liquid.

His eyes widened. "Wow little mouse, slow down."

Beatrix flushed , "Sorry....it’s so good what is this?"

"Long island iced tea." He replied with a cheeky grin.

If cooking was Damien’s expertise, mixing alcohol was Rhys’ own.

Damien walked inside the room and his face that was morphed into a frown suddenly lit up when he saw them.

"What would you have?" Rhys asked.

"Bourbon." Damien replied before his hand touched the small of her back and a warmth trailed through her.

He sat at the stool near the counter right next to her, his fingers interlacing with her own from her right hand before he brought the back of her knuckles to his lips.

"What’s wrong?" Beatrix asked, seeing his dampened mood.

Damien sighed, "Someone stole one of my tanks. It contained weapons and deadly poisons."

Beatrix was surprised that he had shared this information with her. Growing up she knew women had no place in the mafia business. All they had to do was sit home, look pretty and bred for their husband.

"Oh...do you know who took it?" She asked.

Damien nodded, "Yeah...fucking Russians."

Rhys placed his drink on the table and he took a sip of it.

"What are you going to do about it?" Rhys asked this time.

Damien’s lips curled into a menacing smile, Beatrix couldn’t help but shiver.

"Send a warning to them. If they want to play dirty, I don’t mind getting myself soiled."

He said, twirling his glass on his knee. Even slumped back in his chair, he looked powerful. It was hard to believe he was the same man who was dancing with her in the kitchen a while ago.

Rhys nodded and sat across from the two of them, some weird drink in his hands.

As she swallowed a sip of her drink the alcohol immediately warmed her insides, her muscles continuing to relax as she watched Rhys pull the glass away from his own lips.

"What are you thinking?" Damien asked.

Beatrix hadn’t noticed how she had been so quiet, her thought process continuing to swing back to how this was going to all work out.

"Nothing," she replied, taking another sip of her drink while Damien placed his glass on the counter.

He picked her up from the counter and placed her on his lap.

Beatrix flushed as his fingertips traced along the top of my shoulder.

"You’re such a bad liar, love." Rhys smirked at her.

Beatrix bit her lips as she leaned into Damien’s

firm muscular side further.

His lips place a delicate kiss against her skin.

The alcohol already causing her skin to tingle with just the slightest touch,

"You can tell us what is bothering you."

Beatrix picked her remaining drink from the counter and gulped down. She needed the boost for whatever she was about to say.

"I’m just confused..."she answered vaguely. She didn’t know how to tell them exactly how she felt, especially about them and how they had consumed her life since they crashed into it.

"Confused by?" Rhys urged, leaning his face down to grab her attention but she still couldn’t look at him.

Beatrix swallowed, mustering up her courage.

"How I feel about you guys" she replied meekly, feeling her stomach drop as she spoke..

Damien slid his hand down to rest on her hip, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"And how exactly do you feel about us?"

Beatrix took a deep breath to calm herself down before the words would get stuck in her throat.

"So when my father told me that I was going to marry you Damien I was angry—you poisoned him just so I could marry you. I hated you and wished nothing but the worst of luck for you."

He chuckled at her words, "Sorry about that darling."

"But once I got to know you I realized that you’re nothing like the man I assumed you were. Instead of a cold and overbearing mafia leader I got a man who made me the happiest.

I feel strong and confident around you. One of the things that makes my heart so full around you, is that you never forced me to change, you just want me to be myself.

And as I spent more time with you I couldn’t help but want you more. I have never been in love before and even though I’m a hopeless romantic I have no idea how it feels to be in love but what I know is that I’m the happiest when I’m with you."

Rhys took this like a blow he knew was coming but still wasn’t entirely prepared for. A look of hurt—real, awful hurt—crossed his face, and he lifted his glass to his lips and drained the entire thing in a few practiced swallows. When he was finished, he set the glass on the table next to him and looked at her with eyes the color of pain.

Her heart couldn’t help but thump in her chest.

"I’m glad my brother makes you the happiest." Rhys said softly.

"Not only him..you too Rhys. "

She saw him stiffened at her words.

"You confuse me more than anyone else I’ve ever met, and the first time I met you, you intimidated me to the point I couldn’t even think straight... I forget how to breathe everytime you just look at me, and I forget how to speak around you half the time too. I thought you were so confident and cool."

Rhys said nothing as he waited for her to speak.

"I tried to forget you when I went back home but I couldn’t. I searched for you for months but had no luck.

I thought I had gotten over my crush for you but when I saw you again I realized it never stopped.

I told myself that I needed to stay away from you when I saw you again because I was terrified of how much power you still had over me.

And when I found out you were Damien’s brother I was mortified. When you kissed me I knew I should have felt bad but I didn’t. I realized that no matter how hard I tried to convince myself that I could stay away from you ...I couldn’t.

Now I think I’m insane because my heart beats not for one but two men. But if being insane means I get to keep both of you, then I don’t want to be sane again."

Beatrix flushed with embarrassment when none of them said anything. Clearly they thought she was crazy. Why did she even say that? Yes it was the alcohol.

The alcohol was messing with her head.

The longer they both stayed quiet, the longer she felt like her lungs were constricting themselves.

She tried to stay as still and calm as possible, but it was not working, her heart was sinking further and further with each second.

Okay but why did what she just said sound like a love confession?

Beatrix’s heart thumped in her chest.

Love?

Could what she felt for both of them be love?

She had read hundreds of books and she knew there was no way you could fall in love with two people.

Society always says if you were able to fall in love with a second person while being with the first then you were never in love in the first place.

So—-

Rhys searched her eyes as if he was deciphering whatever rubbish she had just said. His gaze was intense, a frown on his face.

He poured himself a glass of whatever that he was drinking and gulped all of it down .

"I don’t understand emotions" he said abruptly, sounding confused by his own words.

"I don’t understand.. these.. feelings" he said rubbing his chest.

"It feels so weird..."