Never Tell Secrets (18+)

Ch 26 - Wealthy B*stards

ATTENTION RADISH READERS! Please don't leave any spoilers in here or you'll be getting a spanking from Alfie. Or Elliot. Or Keira. Whoever you'd prefer. 😘

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The dawn rose on us, our bodies swaying as gentle as a still lake lapping at a pebbled shore. I didn't want to stop, not ever, and in the end, it was Alfie that pulled away.

"I should take you home."

I looked up at him. He looked so...content. It was an expression I wasn't used to seeing on his face. "You're volunteering to end this?"

"Trust me, I could stay here all day, but you need time to process. So do I." He cupped my face, his touch gentle. His tenderness surprised me now. Before he was full of so many sharp edges, and many of them were still there, that deep intensity would always remain, but he had a vulnerability about him now that wasn't there before. A vulnerability he seemed comfortable with in a way I had never seen. The Alfie I'd known fought every revealing moment, kept me at arms length like his life depended on it, now, he seemed okay with me seeing inside him. As if he had nothing left to lose, no reason to keep me out anymore. I'd seen the worst of him and I was still standing here, even if it was only for a little while.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired," I said, barely stifling a yawn.

"You can sleep here, if you'd rather not wait till you get home. Or, we could go to my place, it's closer than yours."

I considered it for a moment before shaking my head. "No, I need some space. Besides, I should probably check on Keira and Maia." My eyes widened then, "Are they still here? Oh my god, I left them alone all night." Guilt settled in my stomach. I was a shitty friend.

"They weren't alone, my Tellers took care of them." He pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking it. "They both left a while ago. Marx and West sent me a text when they removed their collars. Elliot drove them home. They're fine. Stop worrying."

I nodded, but I didn't stop. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too angry with me for ditching them all night. He stepped away, pressing a gentle hand to my back as he guided me to the door.

The Never Tell Clubhouse was a snoring monster sleeping off a night of drunken debauchery. Strewn everywhere were half-clad bodies, leftover remnants of alcohol, drugs and sexual props I couldn't even begin to name. A few giggles still echoed here and there, the last people standing winding down their night just like us.

We came to the stairway to the entrance hall and I moved to go downstairs to the front door but Alfie stopped me. "We aren't leaving that way?" I asked.

"We have to find Kal first. Unless you want to keep that thing on?" He nodded at my collar. I pressed my fingers to it, I'd forgotten it was there. And Kal had the key. "Come on, I know where he'll be."

He led me down another hallway, turning me in circles. I was getting so lost until finally he stopped at a door, laughter emanating from the other side. He stepped in and I followed, finding all four of his Tellers gathered round a snooker table in a dishevelled state.

Immediately, I thought of the article I'd read all that time ago, the first time I'd ever learned about the Never Tell Club. If I'd told that Lola that we'd one day be standing in that room, she'd have laughed her arse off.

"Alfie!" Damien lifted a half empty whiskey bottle, he slouched in a chair, one leg thrown over the arm, his trousers undone and his shirt lying open, revealing an impressive torso. "Come for a drink?"