“There’s no corner in this universe you could slip away to and keep us from you.” In English the words would sound poetic, but when spoken in his native tongue as he did they reach into me and create a bond.
Seeing his name in blue at the bottom of the contract next to Dante’s is a relief. Two down, one to go. Admittedly, this won’t work without all three. I know it just as much as they do. These three are the “one for all, all for one” kind of brothers. Together they are stronger than blood and in it until death.
Bastian exchanges a look with both Con and Dante making the acid in my stomach gurgle up with the fear of him walking out of the door instead of taking the bait.
Con and Dante both silently tell him something that I’ve yet to decipher as part of their bro code.
“We’ve been here before,” he states matter-of-factly. There’s a hint of hesitancy in his tone, too, but I don’t see him heading for the door. There’s hope.
I know he’s not referring to the club. “She used us and left us wondering if we would ever find someone who could fill this need we have inside of us to be together.”
I’m not stupid enough to give him a chance to tell me no, but I crave to know if I could be that special someone they want. I watch my next words. “Maybe you can let tonight be a new beginning?” I didn’t mean for it to be a question, but now that it is out there, I hold my breath expectantly.
“I can do that.” His expression fills with lust…anger? I’m not entirely certain.
Despite each step being an agony of sensations, I leave the bed and cross to kneel between his spread thighs. He visually strokes my curves but it’s my eyes that hold him captivated when I kneel in front of him. He’s leaning against the back of the sofa, his suit jacket open and his shirt neatly tucked in. I work the edges free and run my palms up the perfectly contoured flesh. Full contact seems to soothe both of us so I leave my hands over his heart and let the rhythms of our heartbeats sync.
“Let’s start trusting one another. You’ve not taken any step beyond having me as your bed partner for three months. Either we do this or we don’t.”
“Why the rush?” He moves a heavy swath of my hair from my shoulder. His palms circle my face and he sits up to kiss me lightly on either check.
I swallow thickly. I can’t tell them yet, but I’m dying to let them know we are all going to be parents. But not yet. I need them to know the true me. And then they can decide if I am worthy.
He considers me for a moment and understands I won’t answer the first, so he tries another. “Trust, huh?”
I nod. “Please,” I whisper, moving my hands from his chest to grip his wrists.
“Give me the pen, little birdie. You want your men to play. We play. But if you need four nights, I have to ask. How many secrets do you have to share?”
“Play to find out.”
Twelve
Bastian
Melody ruined me. She ripped my heart out and left me a shell of a man. It took months for me to even want the touch of another woman.
Not until Laila walked across our bar in New Orleans did I consider letting someone in my life outside my brothers.
Laila Romano.
She had no idea who we were but that didn’t hold her back from sliding between us and opening herself up enough to enjoy a one-night stand.
Brave and stupid.
She trusted us from that first night, I guess it’s only fair the three of us do the same.
I rise to my feet and bring Laila to hers. She’s so damn innocent and trusting it kills me to think someone else could have walked out with her that first night.
“Undress your man and do what you will with me. But remember this, trust is hard to earn and even harder to keep.”
Something close to fear registers on her pretty heart-shaped face. Why? Another secret we will discover?
“Then don’t break my heart.”
Our little birdie is good with her words.
Delicate hands slip beneath my jacket and it falls to the sofa behind me. She sets to work on the tie, loosening a tug at a time until it’s discarded as well. It’s hard to keep my hands to myself and let her have full control. It’s not in my nature to let a woman dictate how an evening turns out, but she needs this for some reason.