Lincoln’s dark-rimmed glasses were tossed aside in the space between Yates and him, a pillow tucked underneath his handsome, tan face. I frowned, suddenly wishing that I was the one he was wrapped around instead, that I was underneath him… andI was jealous of a pillow.That was an accurate and absurd truth that I blinked away as I refocused on the way his white-blonde hair seemed to glow with strawberry undertones because of the light falling across him and his twin.
Holy moly. These boys were far too attractive. It was nearly unfair.
Scratch that. Not ‘nearly.’ It was.
It was unfair because I had questions this morning and my body was betraying me, trying to convince me to go over there and kiss him awake. Or to crawl between Sterling and him until they were both looking at me with their bright, azure blue eyes.
Sterling, on his right, was fully stretched out on his back, his large semi-pro-rugby-worthy muscular arm bent underneath his mess of rich cinnamon-colored hair. His brow was tightened with a scowl that permeated his features as if he was having a bad dream. Something that had me wanting to cross the room to wake him up.
Yes, because that wouldn’t be weird Dahlia.
What would I even say if he woke up?
Hey handsome, just wanted to make sure you were okay… you know, because you were frowning in your sleep and I was worried you were having a bad dream. Yes. I was staring at you while you slept. Why? Is that weird? Surely not.
Then again, it wasn’t as if they had ever minded me staring at them, and I was nearly positive that they caught me more often than not. Unfortunately for my pride, mind you. My eyes widened, thinking about all the times that I had been caught staring at these men or used the excuse of photography to do the same.
Oh my. Was I a bit of a creep? Sort of…
My smile grew realizing that they knew I was and were still in love with me.
Well, that did loads for my confidence.
I think it was in that moment that I decided I needed to stop overthinking this. I had spent my entire life with these men, except for Dermot, and I knew that I was only overthinking any of this, any of their actions, because of my own insecurities. They knew who I was, and the recent revelation of what was going on with me wasn’t going to change how they felt.
I just had to continue to repeat that. To believe that. They knew my faults and they still loved me. I had to believe that wasn’t going to change because of what had happened yesterday.
“Dahlia.” Yates’s voice pulled me back from my thoughts as I met his gaze. “Everything okay?”
“Yes.” I sighed before adding, “It’s just been a very odd twenty-four hours.”
Yates examined my expression before nodding in understanding, his gaze following me as I turned from the bed and made my way towards the en suite. Despite the change in tone, now knowing how they felt, it wasn’t odd having these men in my room. It felt right. It should have been a bit awkward or even seem out of place, but I think because I’d been falling asleep at their houses from the time we were kids, it wasn’t as jarring as you would assume. I’d woken up between the twins more times than I could count. I smiled as a memory from this past summer sparked through my thoughts.
“It’s almost dawn,” I pointed out as a small yawn broke from my lips. I ran a hand over my face, no doubt leaving a trail of wet paint on my skin. Lincoln let out a grunt of agreement, his paint-splattered shirt tucked underneath his head where he laid out next to me on the futon Sterling kept upstairs in his studio. I tried to ignore how good Linc looked shirtless, but considering I was tired, I was near positive my eyes were wandering over his muscles. Muscles that had gone from lanky and toned to extremely built from training with his new rugby team.
If I wasn’t so tired, I would have tried to walk home. Honest. I didn’t trust my control right now. It was totally possible I was going to end up saying something really stupid or embarrassing.
“Is it?” Sterling’s gaze snapped towards the massive window of his attic studio that was opened, allowing for slightly cooler morning air to drift into the space. It brought a slight shiver to my skin, but it felt pleasurable in comparison to the heat flashing across my body because of Lincoln’s proximity.
It didn’t surprise me that Sterling had lost track of time. When he was working, it was the case more often than not. Linc and I had started helping him yesterday afternoon, and I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what was supposed to be on the canvas besides an array of stunning shades of green and pink that Sterling seemed to appreciate.
In my mind, that was all that really mattered. If he was happy with it, so was I.
I needed sleep though, and soon. I also needed a shower because my hands, arms, feet, and hair all were covered in pink and green. I wasn’t convinced I could make it through a warm shower, though, and stay upright, frankly. Maybe I needed a cup of coffee…
“Lay down, sugar,” Sterling insisted, his bright eyes alert and full of energy, unlike his brother and I. I looked down at the futon that Lincoln was so comfortably spread out on and knew that if I laid back, it would be an end game for me. I would fall asleep so fast it wasn’t even funny.
I looked over Sterling and tried to not stare at his cut golden chest and abs as well. Was it possible they were this cut and large? Maybe I was imagining it. I felt like I needed a closer look… or touch. I mean, I just wanted to make sure I was being accurate here! I really hadn’t considered what their new training schedule would do to my twins, and honestly, you wouldn’t hear a peep of complaint from me. I had always found the twins attractive, but this was just unreal.
“You need to sleep also,” I pointed out.
“Leave him to his insanity.” Lincoln tugged me backwards, his arms around my waist as I groaned, rolling onto my stomach and spreading myself half across his body. He cursed as I buried my nose against his throat, smiling.
What? He was the one who pulled me onto him!
I swallowed nervously at how hard he was, trying to not react because I knew it probably meant nothing. It was just a natural reaction to a woman laying on top of him in bed, obviously. So I would do my darn best to not be flattered by his attraction.
Letting out a sleepy, small sigh, my eyes closed as I finally resigned myself to taking that hot shower after a few hours of sleep. Plus, Lincoln was ridiculously comfortable—it would take a lot to get me off him.
Even better? When I had woken up a few hours later, I had found myself surrounded by two hard, muscular bodies, a twin sandwich in the truest sense. The early afternoon sun had been flooding the studio and heating it up, making me feel lazy and comfortable enough that I had laid there for nearly an hour before I finally decided to ‘wake up.’ At that point, I still hadn’t left their arms because they hadn’t acted as if it was a big deal and had continued to doze in and out of sleep until it was nearly night.
I wanted to smack myself in the head, feeling stupid for not seeing the obvious nature of our relationship this entire time. Talk about embarrassing.
Well, at least King had made it crystal clear how everyone felt. His method had been extremely effective. Subtle cues for several years? Constantly being a reliable source of affection and support? Possessive and protective tendencies? Nope! Pinning me up against the shower wall, making me come, and then telling me they all loved me? Yep. That had cleared up everything very quickly.
As I made my way into the bathroom, I considered telling them that was the best way to explain everything to me…
Somehow, I didn’t think they would mind.