Four Brothers and a Bride

Chapter 10: Chapter 10

DEMI

| smiled when | felt the dip in the bed. Seconds later, his manly smell engulfed me. The heat from his body

caressed my back. Draping his arm across my body, he pulledcloser to his naked chest. Smiling, | turned to

stare into his cobalt blue eyes. My fingers streaked over the angles of his pretty face, traced his biceps. With a

mischievous smile, he slipped off the thins straps of my night shirt and pulled it all the way down. Then he

proceeded to cup my breasts. They weighed gloriously in his palms. A soft moan escaped my quivering lips when

his tongue fastened on my hardened nipples, sucking. My body raged with unbridled passion.

"Ash" | moaned, shuddering with delight.

He nibbled my ear and nuzzled my pulsating throat. "SAY MY NAME."

'Ash."

His eyes were dark and feral when he looked at me. In a flash, he vaulted my hips, splayed my legs apart and

positioned himself between my wet center. His lips brushed teasingly over my lips, fogging my brain.

"SAY MY FULL NAME."

Twining my arms around his neck, | stared into the gorgeous face of the man who was numbing my senses.

Why couldn't | recall? Which brother was on top ofright now?

A bright light suddenly washes into the dim room. | squint awake at the sound of hurried movement. Ashely is

standing by the window, fiddling with the remote as he watches the curtains parting. His face is bland when he

glances at me.

"What are you doing? It's barely 7am." Why is he in my room anyway?

"Ha. I'm impressed you know the time. Care to rejoin society?" He tosses the remote aside. | pull the duvet over

my head and try to go back to sleep but suddenly, it is wrenched from my grasp. | stare wide-eyed at Ashely who

also tosses the duvet to the floor and stands with hands in his pocket.

"Breakfast. Downstairs. Ten minutes," He reels out curtly.

| can't believe how rude he is being right now. He has barely comfortedsince the whole spinsters in Danvarr

have been trollingonline for two days now. | guess he is enjoying the attention he and Nicola have been

getting. | throw a pillow at him and grit my teeth when | miss.

"Get out of my room Ashely."

He turns toafter catching the pillow. His outfit looks hurriedly put together and visibly lacks his usual 'extra’

touch. How am | even noticing this while my head is steaming with anger over his blatant rudeness.

To my utter shock, he throws the pillow back at me.

"It's Ashton by the way."

My cheeks go red and | immediately cross my arms around my chest. Ashton sneers at my misplaced sense of

dignity. I guess we are thinking the sthing right now. Why is it okay for Ashely to seein my sheer

nightdress when our marriage isn't even real? His guess is as good as mine. Yet, | continue to cover myself.

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"Ten minutes, Branson. Don't keep the family waiting.". He strides off and shuts the door behind him. I bury my

face in my hands and muffle a scream. Why the hell did he cto wake me?

In seven minutes, | am done freshening up and join the family in the dining room for breakfast. The brothers are

all seated. As far as their fashion sense is concerned, they're as different as day and night. Asher seldom strays

from his bespoke suit and tie. Ashton is in a long-term relationship with leather jackets and pants. Black seems to

be the only color that appeals to him. With Ashely, even his casual wears have to be artfully styled. He can't help

himself. Ashal pulls off all types of looks and if his facial features aren't constantly marred by a look of

depression, | would have a hard ttelling which brother he is.

| shuffle to the empty chair next to Ashely and sit down. Mr. Rollins barely sparesa glance when | say a

greeting. Mrs. Rollins fixes my plate with motherly affection.

"Glad you could join us again, Demi." She says with a smile.

"Thank you, mother." The men at the table quirk a brow at my direction. Mother smiles and winks at me. Mr.

Rollins let's his mouth curve in a petulant air.

"Demi, | believe you've had enough twetting your pillow over the lousy comments made about you online.

I'll have you know that such weakness is not expected of a member of this household and would not be tolerated

in the future. In this family, we don't hide from our problems; we tackle them as best as we can."

I swallow hard. "I understand, Mr. Rollins."

His face remains set as a rock as he returns to his meal.

"Demi dear, you have nothing to worry about. It will all blow over soon and something else will take their

attention off you. In the meantime, you're going to need a makeover. Ashely has everything sorted out."

Ashely gives a half shrug when | look at him. We continue breakfast. When | steal glances at the brothers, | can't

help but sense skind of tension between them. What did | miss? | wonder.

Ashal picks his food with a disinterested look on his face. Asher has an iPad in his face, watching the stock

market reports while his food is mostly untouched. With deft strokes on his iPad, he pulls up accounts and

studies them. Ashely eats at a normal pace, only that his phone endlessly vibrates. When he glances at the

caller, he ignores it and sets it down on the table. | hate the quick tug of jealousy I feel just thinking Nicola is on

the other end of the line. Is he refusing her call because | am right next to him?

My eyes meet Ashton's. He is one brother | suspect | will have a hard tfiguring out. Little flicks of fear always

twine my gut whenever | meet the cold pools of his eyes. His eyes, they usually look atin a way that makes

my skin tingle with fear and my thigh muscles sing with lust at the stime. | avert my gaze from Ashton only

to find Mr. Rollins quietly watchingwith a suspicious glint in his eyes. | dip my eyes to my omelet and try to

focus on polishing off my plate.

After breakfast, | follow Ashely to his car.

"Is that what you're wearing to work?" He asks, giving my cropped white shirt, jeans and sneakers a onceover.

"What? Oh" | am glad he wantsto work with him but I don't think | am up for it anymore. "Right. I-| wanted to

talk to you about that."

He scowls impatiently atand takes off his amber tinted glasses. Silver winks along the shell of his ear as he

inclines his head. "About what?"

| wring my hands nervously as | collect my thoughts. "I-l am incredibly grateful for your consideration but | don't

think I can cope in the fashion business. | know next to nothing about fashion icons or styling. I think it will be a

lot of pressure trying to measure up to the standard your company is known for."

Ashely's lips remained pursed. He slams his car door shut and comes around to the front steps where | am

standing. We are toe to toe now. He removes his glasses and those powerful blue eyes make my insides go

mush.

"Is this really about your competence or about the incident that happened days ago?

"Both?"

"Look Demi, | know | haven't said it enough but | am sorry you had to go through that. Being bashed online is

almost a norm around here. We make the news for ugly reasons more often than good ones. My family has

grown numb to online trolling. | was genuinely surprised you shut everyone out to deal with it yourself. | kept my

distance to let you process things the way you saw fit. | am sorry if you mistook my reaction for indifference

because we are from different economic brackets."

"You don't oweany apologies."

He smiles softly. "Contract marriage or not, | believe | do. My fans had no right comparing you to my ex." He

sighs. "Nicola and | are through. Our relationship is strictly professional now; I design clothes and she models for

—

You can hire any supermodel of your choice. Why does it have to be your ex? | query him in my mind but say

nothing.

"Again, Ash, no apologies necessary." | turn to leave when he utters sshocking words.

"Say my name."

Faint images of my sexual dream cause a deep blush to seep into my cheeks.

"What?" | face him, ignoring a quick flare of heat between my thighs.

"Say my full name, Ashely. There are three other guys that go by Ash around here and you can't tell them apart.

You wouldn't like the awkwardness of nclashes, trust me."

| inhale deeply. "Thank you, Ashely."

He replaces his glasses. "Better." | watch him head for his car. "I guess working withis off the table. The

wardrobe makeover is still on though. There's no getting out of that one." He jumps in, ignites the engine and

zooms off.

It amazeshow the quads all drive cars that resonate with their personalities. Asher who exudes class and

power rides a G-Wagon. Ashely is more fixated on the beauty of a car than it's features so he is prone to change

his cars or their colors once he gets bored of them. Ashal rides a simple, white Mercedes. The car is slightly old

but Ashal isn't interested in getting a new one anytsoon. Ashton only drives fast cars as can be deduced

from his Bugatti Chiron, McLaren and Porsche collection. He is obsessed with speed. | sometimes wonder if it's

just the way he is or because he runs the automobile subsidiary of the Rollins Group. He literally tests and sells

cars for a living, especially fast cars.

Feeling sick of the mansion, | have a bodyguard taketo Soul Foods as recommended by mother. | text Anna

to meetthere. It's only been a few days away from has | know it but | feel really nostalgic. When she

arrives, we hug tightly before making our orders.

"How are you feeling?"

"| still feel like crap. | mean, | thought | was tough but reading those hateful comments did a number on me."

"You're human after all." Anna sets her drink down. "How is life in the mansion? Are you under surveillance all

the time? Does anyone suspect you?" Her eyes survey the restaurant as she leans forward conspiratorially.

"Have you been in touch with Mr. S?"

My eyes flit across the room too. We can't afford to be heard. "We text mostly at night. He is rather impatient. He

keeps forgetting | cup with this whole plan in the first place." | rub a hand over my eyes. "He's not my boss

and doesn't get to call the shots."

"You haven't given him much to write about on Billion-Err. You can't let him think you can't be trusted." Anna

whispers concernedly.

"Can't be trusted? This is MY revenge gfor MY late parents. He's just ssilly rival of the Rollins Group

who wants to knock them off from the top. My life is riding on this and he dares suspect me?" | can't believe it. "I

haven't even been in that house for up to a month. Does he expectto go sniffing around for information

despite the cameras in every damn corner?" | suck in a breath. "Mr. Rollins suspects me. Ashton and Asher too. If

| am not careful in playing the ‘innocent, weak and naive' card, they could catch on pretty fast and everything

will be over."

Anna reaches forward to squeeze my hand. "Take a deep breath. You've cthis far all by dint of your hard

work. If anyone can pull this off, it's you, Demi. Nobody ever suspects a face like yours."

We chuckle. I look adoringly at my best friend. "Thank you, Anna. | couldn't have done it without you. Blue Cove

was a vital part of my plan. If you hadn't managed to sneakin or spike one of the quads’ drinks, | wouldn't be

here."

| mean every word. Anna doesn't say it but she has money problems. Her mum and kid brother are dependent

on her for their livelihood. The club is her major source of incbut it rarely covers her family's expenses. It

had taken a lot to convince her to risk her job by sneakinginto the club and gettingin the VVIP session

where the quads loved to hang out.

On that fateful evening, one of the Rollins sons was having a low day. Anna had quickly informed me. | knew

Iman was cheating onevery tmy back was turned. That night, | called ahead to inform him | wouldn't be

coming over just so he would invite his side pieces to his apartment. True to form, he did. | needed a reason to

drink, or at least pretend to consalcohol. The rest, as they say, is history.

| dig into my purse and pass Anna smoney in an envelope. "I'll get you smore as tgoes on." Her

eyes go blurry with tears.

"You know | would do this for free if | wasn't neck-deep in debt."

"I know."

We share a warm smile as we dive back into our meals. Half-way through, my phone buzzes.

"Is it Mr. S?" Anna asks. Her smile wanes at the worry etched on my face. "Who is it, Demi?"

"Someone's been blackmailing me. They claim to know everything that transpired that night at the club."

"Impossible. How could they? No one saw us. | was extra careful."

"I don't know. This person knows | wasn't drunk that night. If they haven't spilled anything by now, I'm guessing

they're doing this for money."

"What does the message say?" Anna asks worriedly. | pass my phone to her to read the text.

[You're not the first daughter-in-law of the Rollins family, | AM. Welcto hell, Sis-0.D]