Chapter 433 - The Right To Know

Breathing heavily, Gael and Angela's heads hit the pillows as they quietly laughed, the poster bed creaking beneath them. After a minute of him exploring her body earlier, he moved her to the floor to prevent making sounds as much as possible. The noisy bed was an inconvenience. And he had to clamp her mouth from moaning too loud as she came all over his dick. The walls were thick, but he didn't want to risk it.

She scanned around the room, not remembering when was the last time she came here. The solid wood furniture pieces with a dark finish were appealing in contrast to the cream textiles.

"God, I missed you." He kissed her forehead and hugged her closer, their bodies slick with sweat, but neither of them cared.

Angela chuckled. "But we just saw each other a couple of hours ago."

"Not enough. I should've fucked you longer in the forest yesterday." She laughed again, playfully slapping his shoulder. "And you were gone the whole day today. You left me to suffer alone under Elias' scrutiny."

"Oh, no… What did he do?"

Gael slid his hand on her waist and began stroking her side and back as if he couldn't stop touching her all the time.

"While I was working in the library, he brought me coffee and a sandwich. He didn't leave until he made sure I ate it. I swear, even Rick doesn't do that to me. Elias could do so well as a principal."

She blushed. "That was me. I told him I'd get mad at him if he didn't feed you. He takes his job seriously."

He couldn't help but smile down at her, and she briefly pressed her lips to his. "I didn't think you'd sneak in," he said.

"Really?" she probed, giving him a pointed look as if she didn't believe that he didn't know her yet.

He was grinning now. "Fine. I expected you would come here on the first night. I was disappointed that you didn't after I swore you would. When you didn't, I just let it go. I would've gone to your room, but I don't want your father to think badly of me, screwing his little princess under his roof."

"I'm not little anymore."

"Definitely not."

She also thought that Gael could easily sneak into her room. With a sigh, she agreed, "You're right. That's part of why I didn't come here that night, even if I wanted to. And that's why I had to sneak to get here. He probably wouldn't mind, really. I think he knows I shared rooms with you in New York even if we didn't discuss it."

"I'm sure he does. I respect your father, Angel. And I want him to like me, so I need to stay on my best behavior. But it sucks that I have to miss this…" He kissed her lips. "This…" He palmed her breast and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then his hand slid down to cup her sex. "And this…"

"Mmm…"

Gael didn't take it any further, though. He wrapped his arms around her tight and tucked her head under his chin. They stayed like that for a few minutes before he spoke again. "You couldn't sleep?"

Angela shook her head, and then she looked up at him so she could see his eyes. "I was thinking about the ledger. Are you really going to tell me everything?"

"There's so much to tell. I can't exactly tell you everything right now—that would be boring and would take such a long time. But I will answer any questions you ask me. I meant what I said. No more secrets—so long as you can take the truth."

She sucked her bottom lip, feeling as though something light feathered around her heart at his promise.

"But aren't you under oath or something?" she asked and then grinned because she couldn't help herself when she added, "Not that it stopped you four years ago."

A small smile hinted on his lips before he appeared serious again. "Our family's secret is more of…an unspoken rule, although we exercise heavy punishments for those who break it. We don't live by the same code my great-grandfather had during his time. But it's a shared understanding that the women in our family would be aware of what we do. Not everyone knows everything, of course. It usually depends on their trust in each other and their background. Like my father's wife, she's aware because her family is also part of it. Others don't trust even their wives, so they don't tell them a thing."

"I've mostly only seen men who are not De Lucas. Are there no women in the ranks?"

"It's usually how it goes. Most of the wives are socialites and prefer to spend their husband's cash instead of working—which is better, in my opinion. There's only a handful of women in our family whom we can trust. Some of them even have roles."

"Like…Val?" When he nodded, she asked, "What does she do anyway?"

"She excels in espionage and surveillance."

"She's a spy?" Her brows nearly reached her hairline as Val's face flashed in her mind. No wonder she had this mystique air and confidence around her.

"Our best one. She's smart."

Angela nodded, letting out a small sigh as she gazed into his eyes again. She looked at him as if he held all the answers in the world. "I'm still trying to process all this. I wasn't going to ask you to give up what you do because it's part of who you are. I admit I've been so damn curious about a lot of things, so I really appreciate this, Gael."

He swept a lock of hair out of her face and cupped her cheek. "I trust you. Besides… You're Novokov's granddaughter, you have ties to this world whether you like it or not. It's only your right to learn everything there is to know if you so wish. I may not be able to answer everything about them as they have their own family secrets, but I can share mine."

Not knowing what to say, she could only bury her face against his neck, finding comfort in his scent as he tightened his arms around her. Angela felt so blessed to have his trust.

She wished she had his guts, though. She already told him a lot of things he should know, except one. Maybe someday, she'd find the courage to tell him about it even though she believed that there were things better left in the past. It wouldn't do anyone good. After all, sometimes, when you lose something, you can never get it back.. Angela was already doing so well; she just had to keep going.