“Honestly? I was thinking about how I would miss class today and…I didn’t care. I love photography, but I don’t think I need a degree for it. I mean, I can take those classes whenever I want, and missing one isn’t the end of the world. I don’t know, I still want to learn, but this entire situation has really put things in perspective. I just…I just want what I’ve always wanted.”
Yates let out a knowing hum. “A family.”
I smiled. “I shouldn’t be surprised you know that.”
“I know everything about you.” He ran his hands up my waist. “When we were kids, you always wanted to play ‘house.’ Not school. Not tag or pirates or princesses… Not anything else, just house. I remember you used to make us all do stuff to help out, and then make us all sit down for dinner together with that fake plastic food you had in your toy room.”
I blushed. “Did I really do that?”
“Oh yes.” He chuckled softly. “It was adorable. I’m also positive that all of us were your husband.”
“See?” I teased, “I didn’t even want to choose then.”
“And you never will have to,” he promised. “You never have to do anything you don’t want to. Don’t go to school if you don’t want to, Dahlia. I want to give you whatever you want, whether that means traveling the world or settling down and having a family.”
My brow dipped. “I guess I just feel guilty? I have so many opportunities that I could take advantage of, and instead I want to just have a happy home with all of you.”
“There is nothing wrong with that,” Yates insisted, looking completely confident, as if any decision I made would be the perfect one.
“You really like me, don’t you?” I didn’t mean for it to sound so silly, but it was a bit awe-inspiring to realize the command I had over this man’s feelings for me.
“I love every part of you,” Yates vowed.
“Where are you guys at?!” I smiled at Kingston’s voice as I heard Lincoln laughing behind him. Yates groaned and rolled off of me as I felt my eyes close and a yawn pulled from my mouth. I wasn’t tired enough to sleep though, and all too soon, I was curled up in bed with Sterling next to me, his arm wrapped around me and Dermot on my other side, laid out.
We had a movie on, one I didn’t recognize, as the other boys spoke in the living room by the big windows, about something relating to the FBI.
When my eyes finally closed, I hoped to be pulled into a peaceful memory, but was instead tugged into a nightmare…
Usually nightmares were vivid and strong. This wasn’t like that.
No, this felt like a living nightmare, my skin crawling as I felt pain push through me. Tears streamed down my face and adrenaline pumped through me, someone screaming in my ears to run. Everything from the past week began to slam into me, from Ian trying to attack me at the golf event, to the security guard that I watched Yates kill in cold blood. I could even feel the sensation of Ian’s chest as I pushed him off the cliff.
The scent of blood and the panic I felt as someone came running for Stratton. The gut-wrenching feeling of the world falling out from under me when Dermot’s father insisted my men had been killed.
I let out a scream, the idea of losing my men had me feeling like my heart was being ripped out and shredded through a meat grinder—
“Dahlia!” The dark tone of voice had me sitting up, out of breath and flushed, tears streaking down my face. I could hear someone speaking to me as shadows moved around the room, but I couldn’t stop crying, and I realized pretty quickly that this was the moment when I broke.
I was finally safe at home, and I just broke open. Sobs wracked my entire body. I felt like my chest was breaking open, and I didn’t even recognize that it was my body making the noises that filled the room.
I couldn’t tell you how long it took before I realized that it was Kingston holding me, his hand smoothing through my hair as he spoke gently in my ear. His scent was comforting, and despite trembling and clinging to him, he seemed to be just holding me protectively, his hands stringing through my hair as he spoke in an even, relaxed tone that was making me feel ten times better. My breathing began to slow as my tears grew less, and I lay completely limp against him, unable to fully move.
I finally came back into life when hot water surrounded me and I was lowered gently into a massive tub of hot water, the feel of King’s body behind me as he pulled me against him. I sniffed and buried my head against his chest. I couldn’t hear anyone else around us, and instead of trying to apologize or get myself together—hell, any of the stuff I normally did—I just laid there and let my brain, heart, and body catch up with what had happened to us and the fact that we were finally safe.
“Princess.” I could hear King’s concern, no longer seeped with darkness. Instead there was a soft vulnerability that had me looking up to find his eyes dark green. The bathwater around us was continuously seeping over the edge and refilling, so it was constantly warm. I could have stayed in there forever, and I didn’t bother keeping track of how long we soaked. I wasn’t positive I cared because it was slowly thawing me from the complete meltdown I’d just had.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
His eyes flared with frustration. “What are you sorry about?”
“I just lost it.” I felt tears well in my eyes, hot ones that streaked down my face.
“Dahlia.” His voice was soft. “You have been the target of a nationally followed social media attack, followed by finding out that your boyfriends are part of a high crime organization, followed by being kidnapped and then having to kill someone, only to have a hit put out on you and being nearly shot in your bedroom before stepping in front of a gun to save Stratton… If you hadn’t lost it at some point, I would be far more concerned.”
I blinked and then closed my eyes. “I know you’re right, I just… All of you are so damn strong, and I feel like I am constantly needing to be saved.”
I didn’t have the energy to put it any other way than that. It was the bare bones of my insecurities.