Page 40 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

“I’m sorry, baby girl, back up one second,” Gareth cut in, motioning for me to rewind. “You caught him in the act of having sex with another woman?”

Not really wanting to talk about it, having finally gotten the image out of my head, I nodded.

“Fucking piece of trash. I hope his dick rots and falls off,” Lysse mumbled under his breath.

I covered my mouth to keep from laughing at the seriousness of his tone and how ridiculous the threat was.

“Okay, so dated for six months, then showed up one day and found him banging another chick. Is that the basics of it?” Warrick asked, rubbing his temples like he had a headache.

“Ah… well,” I started, then paused to take the mug Vili offered me.

This time there was a more reasonable amount of marshmallows, allowing me to take a sip. While the cocoa was hot, it didn’t burn my tongue, which allowed me to get the full experience of this cocoa. The flavors exploded in my mouth, making me moan and go back for a second sip so I could savor it longer this time. No wonder his grandmother didn’t give this recipe to just anyone—it was lethal and in the wrong hands, would be deadly. Never had I been so impressed with a mug full of liquid as this.

“Wow,” I finally said after my third gulp. “This is incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever had something this amazing before.”

Ulysses grabbed the mug with my hand still wrapped around it and stole a sip before I could even try to stop him. “What the hell? Not cool, man, so not cool.”

“Holy fuck,” he blurted. “That shit’s amazing.”

There was the sound of a smack, and Ulysses hissed, letting go of the mug.

“Don’t steal from her,” Vili scolded. “You want some, I give you some, but use words next time. They say I don’t speak so good, then you do stupid thing like that. No manners.”

Ulysses looked like a scolded child while Vili marched back to the kitchen, mumbling like an agitated grandmother. My sweet Alpha didn’t get ruffled by much, but it appears he would rally to my defense. Sneaking a look at Lysse, I stuck my tongue out at him, making a face.

“Rosie, I suggest if you don’t want me to put that tongue to good use, then keep it to yourself,” he warned.

Instantly, I sucked it back in and hid behind my cocoa. Warrick might have given me a few O’s in his office, but damn, it didn’t do anything to curb the need these men stirred up in me. A moment later, Vili returned carrying a tray with five mugs on it, ensuring everyone got their own. There was even a little pitcher that he used to top off my mug, still glaring at Ulysses.

“Now you have your own, but you didn’t deserve mallows, so you don’t have them,” Vili informed Lysse before taking his seat and sipping his own cocoa.

Watching the way these men interacted reminded me of my brothers—they were a real family to each other. It was the way packs should be, and I hoped it stayed that way. However, I’m not naïve enough to believe there can’t be issues within a family unit—even within my own family, there were fights. What mattered was how they ended.

“Sweetheart, I believe you were about to tell us another piece to the puzzle,” Yun-Sun said, bringing us back on track.

I slurped up another marshmallow before diving back into my heartbreak. “When I found him with the other woman, I’d been gone for the past three months. The final project for my Fine Arts master’s degree had to be done in person on campus. Up until that point, I’d been doing school online to keep my stress low. Also, with my many doctors’ appointments, it was easier not to find specialists in another city. For this final project, however, there was no other choice, I had to go, but Randall encouraged me to embrace the experience.”

“I’ll bet he did,” Gareth grumbled.

Dropping my gaze, I traced a finger around the rim of my mug as I continued, “We video-chatted most days, and things between us seemed good, or so I thought. In my effort to get the project done and presented to the Fine Arts faculty, I ended up being able to come home three days early. I have a key to his place, so it wasn’t like it was unusual for me to pop in unannounced. Seems he didn’t think I would show up randomly, or he wouldn’t have been so careless.”

Lysse squeezed me tighter in a comforting hug. “Rosie, you have nothing to feel bad about in this situation. His giving you a key meant you had every right to show up there whenever you wanted. If he didn’t have anything to hide, then none of this would have been an issue. Randall is the one who fucked up, not you.”

“Yeah, well, the only reason he was fucking her is because I can’t have sex like a normal person. You guys have seen how easy it is for me to set off my monitor. No one wants to deal with that in the heat of the moment,” I muttered, then chugged the last of my hot chocolate like I was taking a shot.

“Care Bear, have you already forgotten our afternoon delight? There were no alarms going off on my watch,” Warrick reminded me.

The guys whipped their heads to look at Warrick then back at me. Vili had a pleased smile on his face as if he fully supported the fact Warrick and I fooled around. Yun-Sun looked a little uncertain, but Gareth didn’t look happy.

“What the hell does that mean?” Gareth demanded.

A little taken aback, Warrick’s eyes went wide. “Are you asking me to give you a play-by-play?”

“No, but you were at the bar which isn’t the most private location,” Gareth reasoned.

“Wooow,” Warrick said, drawing out the word as he set down his mug. “What’s next, are you going to ask me if I let others watch? Made her scream loud enough everyone knew what was happening in my office? Or maybe you want to be a real ass and ask me if I pushed her to fool around while she was upset and vulnerable?”

Gareth recoiled like he’d just been slapped. “What? No, I would never assume you would do something like that.”