DAHLIA ALDRIDGE
“You’re going to lose to her,” Sterling casually pointed out, looking up from where he was flipping through a catalog of some kind. I hadn’t checked, but I think it featured boats, maybe? I was far too focused on the task at hand.
I was also very comfortable, tucked into the leather seat of the jet we were on, surrounded by a warm blanket as we soared towards Cote d’Azur Airport in France. We had been in the air for about an hour, so I knew we would be landing fairly soon.
I was hoping to finish this game before that. I had a point to prove.
Lincoln made a frustrated noise as he moved his checker piece forward, and I smiled to myself, knowing he was aware he couldn’t win this. Dermot shook his head, looking very amused from where he sat in the seat to my other side, a small aisle separating us. Unfortunately for my focus, he looked especially handsome this morning, his massive arms barely contained in the dark sweater that he wore.
Also, was it just me, or did they all smell ridiculously good right now? It should have been illegal to be trapped in a jet with six amazing-smelling men. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
“He’s not wrong,” Yates said in passing, walking back towards where King and Stratton were talking about something important. I didn’t know what, but I could tell it was important by how quiet they were being. I would have gotten up if I wasn’t loving how cozy I was right now.
Three turns later, I had in fact won, and Lincoln groaned, putting his head back as my smile grew. I sat forward slightly. “Sorry, Linc. Next time I’ll let you win.”
His eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. “Let me win?”
I squeaked, seeing the vengeance in his gaze, and hopped up out of my seat. I let out a small dramatic cry as he followed and caught me around the waist, nipping my neck. I winced, wanting to laugh instead, but overwhelmed by the pain radiating through my ribs as I felt almost completely breathless. I must have made a noise, because Lincoln turned me immediately, his hands gliding over my ribs as he offered me a horrified look.
“Fuck, I am so sorry Dahlia—”
“It really doesn’t hurt that much anymore,” I promised. “I don’t think they were bruised as bad as they looked.” Lincoln shook his head in disagreement, leaning forward and capturing my lips in a hard kiss that had me melting into him. Of course they still hurt, but I didn’t want him to feel guilty. That was the last thing I would ever want.
“Angel,” Stratton called out to me. I turned around, Lincoln grumbling, and went to where he was sitting, looking far more relaxed than before. He and King must have been done with whatever they were discussing. I sat down on his lap as King looked at me from across the table, seeming to consider something before he spoke.
“I want to talk to you about something,” King said.
“Okay, so saying that so doesn’t help my anxiety,” I pointed out and looked down at Stratton. “Who freakin’ does that?” His icy eyes filled with warmth and amusement as King chuckled and drew my attention back.
“It’s not bad, I’m just worried you may not like it,” King hedged. I huffed in exasperation. I swear to the lord, people who didn’t have anxiety had no idea the panic that the phrase ‘we need to talk about something’ created.
“Go on…” I motioned for him to continue. His eyes darkened at my sassy tone, so I flashed him a smile. I knew if I kept it up, one of them was going to do something fun instead of treating me like freakin’ glass. I just had to push the right buttons. Being sassy with King was almost always guaranteed to work.
“When we get back to Wildberry, you aren’t going to be able to go anywhere off the property without one of us or security.”
I shrugged, feeling like that was logical considering the situation at hand. “I mean, if you think that’s best. I don’t really go to a lot of places without one of you, and if I really need to, I get the need for security…” I paused before continuing, “But if I am going somewhere without one of you, is there any way it can be a female bodyguard? After that last incident, I’m just a little cautious.”
‘A little cautious’ was the understatement of the century. I wouldn’t tell my boys, because I knew it was an impossible situation to fix, but the mental image of security in their dark outfits constantly had the events of last week playing through my mind.
You know, that time when Yates got brains all over me. That one.
“Well, that was easy,” Stratton hummed happily.
King blinked at me and then chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, that’s perfect… I didn’t expect you to be so agreeable.”
“Why not?” I frowned.
“I just worry you are going to resent us for cutting off your freedom.”
I really loved how honest King could be.
I tilted my head. “But you aren’t. You are working to find a way for me to live exactly how I want but in a safe way. I want to be around you guys all the time. And if I ever need to go somewhere by myself or with our kids one day, then I would expect security. It’s clear our small town is way more dangerous than I thought.”
In fact, our world in general was far more dangerous than I had naively assumed.
King’s face lit up. “Kids?”
I realized in that moment that this was why the train was on the fast track for our relationship. Throughout my entire life, there hadn’t been much of anything I’d hidden from my boys. In fact, until Abby, the only secret I’d had was my feelings for them. But now we were being completely honest, so everything that popped into my head, from marriage to kids, was on the table. There was no game-playing or concern about bringing stuff up—it was just that simple.