“Love.”
“What?” His eyes widened.
“It’s not just affection, it’s my love,” I whispered, looking over his shocked expression. “I’m in love with you, Dermot.”
I had known it for some time now, but my emotions had become crystal clear these past few days, and while my love was growing differently with Dermot than it had with my other boys, it didn’t change the fact that I was in love with this amazing, brave man.
A squeak left my lips as Dermot surged forward, kissing me hard, yet somehow managing to hold me so damn gently before pulling back, his thick accent causing heat to pool all over my body. “I’m crazy about you, baby girl. You fucking know that, right? Absolutely mental.”
“I think I do,” I blushed.
“I’m going to love you forever, Dahlia Aldridge,” Dermot said clearly and so damn seriously my heart nearly imploded. My eyes watered as I felt emotions roll through me that were so strong they didn’t seem possible.
“Good. I want forever.”
Dermot chuckled softly. “Thank goodness, because if not, your father probably would actually kill us.”
I rolled my eyes playfully. “Why do you guys keep saying that? My dad is literally so chill. The man can be such a dork—”
“Your father is not chill.” Dermot almost looked nervous for a minute, which was ridiculous considering how dangerous the man was. “Far from it, baby girl. But I don’t blame him. You are a fucking treasure; he would be an idiot to not flip his shit over the news that his little girl is dating six men…men who are not exactly a golden shinning light of morality.”
“You guys told him we were ‘dating’?” I mused. I had wondered what term they would use. ‘Dating’ did not fit this situation, but it would have to work.
“I mean, I think he knows it’s a bit more serious than that… Still, I didn’t exactly come out and tell him directly that I planned on claiming your little ass as soon as possible before putting some babies in you. Figured if I said that I would never get a chance to actually do it.”
My eyes widened. “Babies? What about marriage? Seems like you guys have done a lot of planning without me.” I was mostly teasing. It honestly was far more flattering than I wanted to admit that Dermot was openly talking about having kids with me.
“Well, you were sleeping, baby girl,” he teased.
“And what about this baby thing?” I ran a hand through his hair. “You and King are on about me getting pregnant, have you actually thought about that—”
“Oh, I’ve thought about it.” Dermot offered me a hot look.
I narrowed my eyes. “I feel like I fell asleep and you all got crazier.”
“Completely possible,” he agreed. “Which reminds me—you slept for a long time, how are you feeling now?”
I was totally coming back to this marriage and baby thing, for the record.
“Honestly, my ribs are pretty bad.”
“I have the doctor coming up here before we go downstairs. How about you get changed into something comfortable so she can wrap your ribs and give you some medicine,” he suggested.
I nodded and stood up, Dermot cursing as I stabilized myself. “Sorry, baby girl, I’m not sure what's taking them so damn long with the food. I brought a bottle of water.”
“That’s okay, my stomach is still a bit rocky.”
I took the bottle and chugged half of it before handing it over, Dermot’s eyes darting down to my lips with heat before he nodded towards the closet. Making my way over there, I let out a small yawn as I closed the door only slightly, exploring the space. I relaxed a bit, recognizing some familiar items as I shimmied off my robe.
I could tell by the end of today I would be exhausted. The emotional back and forth, paired with the adrenaline and pain from what had happened was…a lot at once.Hopefully all of them would sleep with me tonight.The bed was big enough.
Putting on a black cotton thong and bra pairing, I slid on a pair of loose sweatpants that I had to tighten around the waist, before grabbing an extra hoodie. I ran my hands through my wet hair and put on some socks and slippers as I came back out…to find a woman in the room.
I felt a momentary flash of jealousy because she was smiling at something Dermot said, but when she turned towards me, her eyes immediately lit with almost a maternal warmth that had the negative feelings melting away. Her black hair was streaked with silver and braided around her pale skin, light lines around her eyes making her look like she was maybe in her late forties. She was beautiful, and her eyes were a light blue that were so pretty I was a bit intimidated.
“Dahlia,” she offered with a soft smile, “it is so good to finally meet you now that you’re awake.”
I offered my hand, and she met it firmly as she went on, “I’m Rosin, the family doctor. I have been with the Rosses since I was maybe sixteen? I can’t remember now. My father worked security here and was in charge of the weapons vault in my teens.”