“Angel?” Stratton’s voice had me looking towards the door. Relief filled his face as I let out a surprised noise, his form darting towards me as I was immediately picked up and sheltered in his arms. Dermot made an amused remark while getting up to leave, and Stratton responded with something about going downstairs, but I wasn’t really paying attention. At that moment, all that mattered was that I was in Stratton’s arms.
“I’m so glad you’re up, that you’re okay. I came up as soon as the twins told me.” He gently sat me down on the bed, concern filling his face. “Sorry, shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to jostle you.”
“I’m fine,” I promised, leaning forward for a kiss. “I promise I’m fine.”
“Angel, I love you,” he groaned into the kiss. “I love you, I fucking love you.”
“Good, because I love you,” I admitted breathlessly.
“Thank fuck, or else I would end up feeling like a stalker,” he admitted when he pulled back. His gaze darted down to the tray, relief in his eyes as he said, “Keep eating. I’ve been worried about that, especially since you slept for so long.”
“Will you stay with me and then we can go downstairs?” I asked. Instead of feeling pressured to eat, the reminder he’d given me felt good. It felt like a soft reminder to pay better attention to my health, and I think that was how it would start, until I truly got back to ‘normal habits.’
Stratton sat behind me in comfortable silence as I ate, his fingers running through my hair as he occasionally kissed me along my shoulder and neck. It was sexy, but it was also soothing.
It really was hard to not get turned on by him, though—between his muscular fighter body and the way his tattooed and ringed hands gripped my legs, the man looked like pure sex. I could practically feel his bright blue eyes on me, and I had to fight the urge to turn into him and straddle him, running my fingers through his dark hair.
“I decided something,” he said after a moment.
“What’s that?”
His voice was calm and measured as he said, “I’m going to work for the family.”
“You sure?” I asked softly, confused by his change of heart.
Stratton’s gaze warmed. “Yeah, angel. I need to take care of you. I need to build a castle around you, a fucking fortress, and that means I need the resources to build a system like that… Plus, I suppose I don’t mind the bastards.”
I almost smiled at that. “You don’t have to do that for me, Stratton.”
He nuzzled my neck. “It’s for us. Our future.”
I turned into him. “As long as that’s what you want.”
I couldn’t help but feel thrilled at the concept of us all being together. It was almost unbelievable that all my dreams, my biggest fantasies, were going to become reality.
After another moment, we stood up and held hands as we began to make our way downstairs. I could hear familiar voices coming from the office, and when I turned the corner, I couldn’t help but smile at seeing all my men together.
“King,” I whispered. The man looked up from his desk, the others still talking as I began to cross the room to get to him. He immediately stood and rounded the desk, wrapping his arms around me and burying his nose in my hair. A sound came from his chest as I felt his darkness wrap around me comfortably, the reality of who he was no longer a secret.
“Dahlia.” King sounded almost choked with emotion. “I have been holding you for hours in bed, fucking begging you to wake up. I am so damn glad you are up. I was fucking terrified.”
King terrified?
“I just woke up,” I murmured.
He pressed his forehead against mine, and the room stilled. The universe stilled. I knew that soon we would probably need to see my parents—all of our parents—but in that simple moment, it was just us.