Gold(6)

She stepped inside the room, refusing to hesitate, and felt as if the world froze around her as she took in everything.

The room was beautiful, a mix of modern and ornate. Everything in gray or white or silver, except the couches, which were black velvet. The tile was gleaming marble flecked with gold and silver that sparkled as she watched.

Who had built such a beautiful place for them? Everything, from the crown molding to the elegant chandelier, was of the utmost workmanship.

She needed to get the name of the contractor so she could give a referral to other businesses.

The lights were dimmed just enough to provide a feeling of relaxed elegance, but she could easily see well enough to make out the men in the room and feel comfortable talking with them.

One of them, Adrien, was standing by the windows on the back wall, which looked over the sparkling cityscape. The windows were wide and spread along the entire back of the club, equally spaced and as tall as the ceiling.

As she took in the breathtaking view of the darkening sky and the lights of the buildings, she was glad she’d scheduled to come in the evening.

Then Adrien turned to look at her, silver eyes flashing, a coldness in his expression that hit her like a winter chill. “What are you looking at, woman?”

She almost took a step back, then held her ground. Screw that. “You. Get over it.”

Adrien’s whole face changed in surprise, almost boyish in its handsomeness. She guessed him to be mid to late twenties. The youngest of the group.

She looked around to see Dante sitting on the couch farthest from her, studying her with those inscrutable gold eyes.

He wasn’t at all as she’d expected from reviews. He was supposed to be the friendliest one. Overly friendly, overly charming, conceited, and unintimidated by women. A schmoozer.

He wasn’t schmoozing now. Instead, he was eyeing her warily, and even with his tall body leaned back on the couch, his legs crossed, his arms folded combatively, as if protecting himself from her, she couldn’t help but be wildly attracted.

He was perfection personified.

She’d been wrong. He wasn’t short. In fact, he was startlingly tall, probably a few inches over six feet. His skin was smooth and almost glowy. His eyes were a light amber that was almost golden like his hair. They were large, almond shaped, and slightly tilted up at the corners, giving him an almost feline appearance.

But then he had a long, strong, straight nose that was the kind of stuff dreams were made of. Full, deeply curved lips. A strong jaw paired with jutting chin, which was currently raised haughtily.

He was tensing his jaw muscles beneath his high, sharp cheekbones. As she seemed to be making him uncomfortable with her perusal of his face, her eyes wandered down the rest of his body.

Strong, muscular neck, then collarbones disappearing into a slightly loosened collar. Wide shoulders hard with muscle, large arms that flexed even in his dress shirt. He’d shed his suit jacket, and she could make out the lines of his huge pecs, his hard six-pack. Looking down below his trim waist cinched in a designer belt, she could almost make out his—

She snapped her gaze up, realizing how inappropriate she was being. She thought she caught a slight smirk on his face, but it was gone when she eyed him challengingly.

Still, it wasn’t like her to be disrespectful. She would have to try harder to stay in control.

He was just a good-looking man. It didn’t make him any better than anyone else. Just born lucky.

She looked around for Sever and saw him sitting by the wall at a small table, reading a book. He wasn’t even looking at her.

She was surprised to see a long, thick braid trailing down his back.

His powerful shoulders appeared as if they were about to burst open his suit jacket, and he was patently ignoring her as she stared at him, from his strong biceps to his huge calves.

Looking at Adrien again, she realized even he was much taller than she would have guessed. All of them looked to be over six feet by at least a few inches.

The room was dead quiet except for some faintly playing classical music.

An odd choice for such an odd environment.

She folded her arms and tapped her foot on the marble a few times, making a clicking sound with the low, chunky heel of her mules.

Sever looked over and then ignored her again. Adrien glared. Dante avoided her gaze.

“If you all hate it here so much, why are you working here?”

The surprise in the room was evident.

“Why do you think we hate it?” Adrien called out, walking forward, arms folded. He was an intimidating creature, wearing a three-piece suit without a tie. As he approached, the vest emphasized his strong chest and abs.

When he got a few feet from her, he looked her up and down with scorn. “You don’t dress like other women.”