He pulls my ponytail, the pain and pleasure intermixed.
“What do you want, Michelle?”
With that, Tom pushes me gently toward Gabriel, whose blue eyes look like the sky before a tornado. They’re dark and stormy, forewarning of what’s about to come. He catches me hard, his muscular arms immediately folding around me in a tight embrace.
“Kiss me,” he demands, and I shake my head defiantly, completely caught off guard by Tom’s act of passion and now Gabriel’s wild challenge.
Before I can wriggle my way out of his strong grasp, it’s Gabriel’s turn to press his lips against mine. Like his brother, Gabriel is good with his mouth. He pries my lips apart with intense, passionate pressure. My knees go weak with a flood of sensation and emotion, and I have no choice but to lean into his embrace and give into this darkness, if only for this one final time.
But it’s more than darkness, it’s light. I love being with these men, and I love the way they make me feel. Yes, I’m confused, hurt, angry, anxious and a whole host of emotions. But more than anything, I’m in love.
I push Gabriel off of me and stand in the middle of my tiny apartment, staring at each brother in turn as I pant desperately.
I love them, I love them, I love them, I repeat to myself, my whole body shaking with emotion. Hot, fat tears pour out of my eyes and run down my face. I don’t bother to wipe them away.
“Don’t run from us.” Tom says gently, his voice deep and compassionate. “We care about you, Michelle.”
“What do you want?” Gabriel asks softly. “Do you want us to leave? Do you want us out of your life?”
Both Tom and Gabriel look at me intently, their big bodies still.
I take a moment to observe each brother separately. Tom, who is always charismatic yet charming, a leader and never a follower, and always thoughtful. Gabriel, the funny one who brings joy to my life in ways I never thought I could know, with a smirk that I alternately want to kiss and smack off his face. Each brother a wonderful man on his own, but together, they’re perfect for me in every way.
I love them, I repeat. I want to stay with them.
But before I can say anything, Tom’s desperation comes to the fore. His handsome face dark, he seizes my hand.
“I am in love with you, Michelle Sutton. With your wild brown hair, your whip-smart comebacks, and your curious mind.”
Then, Gabriel takes my other hand, his own gaze intense with passion. “You are the kindest, silliest, most affectionate woman I’ve ever known. And I, too, love you.”
I stare at the two men, dumbfounded and in shock. Slowly, the words begin to penetrate the fog I’ve been walking in. They love me. They love me? They love me?
I can’t stand it any longer and ask out loud. “You love me?”
Both men laugh, although there’s tension in the sound.
“Head over heels in love, sweetheart, and we don’t want to be without you ever again.”
“You’re the perfect woman for us in every way.”
I look from Tom to Gabriel, my heart bursting with emotion. My tears fall even harder but I’m also smiling, my whole world finally falling into place.
“Well, I guess I should probably tell you how I feel,” I laugh a little through my weeping. Two sets of dark blue eyes stare at me, willing me to speak.
“I’m in love with both you too,” I sob. And at that, all the joy I feel in that moment bursts out of me in the form of a full, delighted half-sob, half-laugh. “I love you Tom. I love you Gabriel,” I murmur, elated to finally be able to say these words out loud. Words that I’ve been feeling for so long but had been afraid to speak.
Gabriel catches me up in one of his full body hugs, and to my surprise, Tom enfolds us both tightly in his arms. Each brother – usually so macho – has misty eyes, and it makes me love them all the more.
After a moment, we step out of our little embrace and I wipe my tears on the back of my hand, wondering what we do now.
“You know you left in such a hurry, you forgot something,” Tom says mysteriously.
I cock my head to a side, wondering what he’s referring to. Before I can ask, Tom reaches into his pocket and pulls out the stunning emerald necklace. The green jewels glint brightly in the overhead lights, winking at me like a cat’s eye.
“We knew that no matter what happened once we found you,” Gabriel says as he carefully fastens the elaborate piece around my neck, “that this necklace is yours, sweetheart. It has your name written all over it, and we bought it for you, Michelle.”