At Rafe’s contemplative expression, I knew what he was thinking. I’d been in that room with him as we tortured our father. Gianni and I had both spilled Father’s blood, but it was Rafe who dealt the final blow.
With a ragged sigh, he said, “Regardless of all the unspeakable hurt they caused you and those you love, it’s harder than you could ever imagine to be the one to end it.”
Glancing around the table at the somber faces, I slammed my hand on the table. “All right, that’s enough emotional damage for the evening. We beat those bastards, and we’re surviving and thriving.”
“Leo, don’t ever change,” Maeve chuckled.
Winking at her, I said, “I’m serious. Tonight is about celebrating love and being alive. I say once we finish dinner, we find a club and go dancing.”
Drea bounced excitedly in her chair. “Ooh, I’m game.”
“Me too,” Maeve said with a grin.
Rafe sighed. “I guess we’re going dancing.”
CHAPTER THIRTY: DREA
With bodyguards trailing behind us, we made our way into the first club we came to. The thumping bass pulsed through me. It had been so long since I’d been out dancing. There was something about it that made me feel so alive.
“I’m going to grab a drink. What do you want?” Leo asked.
Since I knew I could fake drinking, I replied, “A dry martini.”
As he and Rafe went to get the drinks, Maeve and I stood on the outskirts of the dance floor. “You know, tonight wasn’t the first time I saw you.”
“It wasn’t?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Actually, it was the night my cousin and I snuck into Inferno.”
Maeve’s eyes widened as her face reddened. “Wait, you saw me…”
Now it was my turn to blush. Waving my hand in front of my face, I replied, “No, no, it wasn’t like that. You and Rafe were just about to go into Heaven.”
“Oh,” she murmured.
“I guess that means you and Rafe have… enjoyed Lust?”
A shadow of a smile played on her lips. “Yeah, we have.”
“How was it? I know Leo will want me to try it, but it’s overwhelming.”
“I don’t know how much of my past Leo has told you.”
“Just that your father allowed you to be raped.”
She nodded. “Part of overcoming my sexual trauma was allowing people that I choose to see me engaged in sex.”
“Like a voyeurism kink?”
“Pretty much. I mean, no one but Rafe could touch me. But it really helped me to get my head out of the past.”
“Oh, I know I wouldn’t want anyone but Leo.”
“Just try it out. You don’t have to stay or do anything that makes you uncomfortable.” She laughed. “And for the record, I’ve always stuck to Heaven. Hell was just too much.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I got an eyeful of Hell the night I went, and it wasn’t for me.”
A thoughtful look came over Maeve’s expression. “Was it hard seeing me that night with Rafe?”