Staring at Severin but not really seeing him, she drifted in and out of awareness, as he held her close, stroking her hair. Okay, maybe she did still love him. Maybe.
Rodrigo came back from wherever he’d gone and warmed her back with his broad chest. His hand rested on her hip. Severin’s hand glided down her side to meet Rodrigo’s, and they laced fingers, resting their linked hands on her as if she was being blessed.
Severin kissed her forehead, and Rodrigo rose on one elbow, kissing her beside where Sev was, then kissing him. Their clasped hands separated, and they went back to stroking her body, helping the hum last longer in the aftermath of the ordeal they’d put her body through.
“You love her,” Severin said, stating it like a fact.
“You know I do.”
Minnow’s gaze came back into focus. Severin’s expression was oddly loving, wistful – almost melancholy.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop,” Rodrigo said gently.
Severin blew out a breath that tickled her face, and vaguely she wondered if his lips would still taste like her tears.
“If something happens to me, you’ll take care of her, right?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You honestly need to ask?”
“You’d marry her if something happened to me.” He traced his fingertip over her lips and she latched on, sucking.
“If you hadn’t found her first...”
“I know.”
Rodrigo cleared his throat. “We both love you, Sev. Our relationship wouldn’t be the same without you in it.”
“She’d be less bratty if you didn’t submit to me.” Severin pulled his finger from her mouth and kissed her temple, the bridge of her nose, her eyelid. He was always affectionate after he’d put her through the wringer, now. She basked like a cat when he was this warm with her.
“So? I like her bad.”
This conversation, though – she didn’t like it. She grabbed onto a lock of dark hair that had escaped Severin’s braid and clung to it. How could he be having such a serious talk about her when she was made out of jelly and couldn’t string words together? She rubbed the lock of his hair against her lips, deciding to let them talk and save her objections for later.
“But if something happens to me?” Severin prompted impatiently.
Rodrigo’s arm tightened against her belly. “I’d love her for both of us.”
*
A wild laugh claimed Minnow as they took the corner. Several teenagers smoking cigarettes on the sidewalk outside a small high school stared in open-mouthed awe as the three motorcycles passed.
On Severin’s absurdly loud Frankenbikes, they probably looked dangerous. Yeah, dangerous. Two rich guys and a...whatever she was. Not exactly biker material. Well – maybe Severin could pass. Rodrigo still looked debonair, even in old jeans, scuffed boots, and a beat-up leather jacket. The clothes were his and broken in through use, but he still gave the impression he was on his way to a photo shoot for a fitness and fashion magazine.
Severin and Rodrigo were at the complete opposite ends of the Types of Hot Guy Spectrum, and she was theirs. Lucky, lucky girl.
Loïc followed along behind them in an SUV, part of things, yet separate. He wasn’t a motorcycle kind of guy, but was more than happy to go to the metal show and drive them home afterward.
The sun was warm through her jacket. Severin and Rodrigo had insisted she needed her own stuff – a leather jacket, a fancy helmet – and had spent far too much time checking safety ratings and making her try things on. Some of their ogling had actually seemed like legit concern, but she’d gotten the impression they’d had far too much fun playing dress-up with her, especially since they’d kept touching her and eventually stripped her down and used her hard.
The roar of the engine made the bike vibrate between her legs, and the excitement of pursuing Severin down the highway while Rodrigo chased her kept Minnow’s pulse rate high. The new green of spring foliage zipped past. She hadn’t felt so alive and carefree since she was a child. This family – her new family – loved and accepted her, even if they argued sometimes, and even if keeping two men satisfied in bed was exhausting.
They took care of her.
The parking lot was already full when they arrived, but they followed the laneways to the back of the fairgrounds. Severin showed a tag to security that let them drive backstage, unimpeded. They parked in the VIP section and left their jackets in the SUV with Loïc before making their way to the trailers and tour buses. A guard admitted them to where the bands were hanging out pre-show. The traveling dressing rooms were a lot less fancy than she would have expected, considering the number of fans gathered in the field they’d driven past.
It was hard to say which band was more popular – the Kink Monsters, or Fitte, but Rodrigo had explained the day before that neither band cared. Odd that Severin and Rodrigo knew famous people, considering what a private and secluded existence they normally lived.
Three tattooed men with long black hair, were sprawled on couches, drinking beer. Even dressed in jeans and T-shirts they had a presence about them – a power that reminded her of Severin – dark, dangerous. About the same age too. They were watching three leather-clad people toy with a girl dressed in a flouncy white eyelet dress. One of the men had a hand up her skirt while the other two groped her breasts.