Theo’s words settle into my chest, worming into my heart to take up permanent residence there.
He’s serious. I can hear it in his voice. And I know exactly what he means. The feeling is entirely mutual.
I’m wrecked too.
I never meant to fall, but now I’m not sure I’ll ever find solid ground again. At least, not without these three by my side.
The feelings between the four of us are obsessive and manic, violent and overwhelming. I’m sure the shrink I stopped seeing years ago would tell me it’s not healthy. That it’s not sane.
But I’ve tried sanity. I’ve tried playing it safe. And all it did was turn my world a dull, numbing gray.
I can’t go back to that, even if it would be safer.
“Goddamn, angel.” Marcus lets out a breath, reaching over to the small table set beside his chair and grabbing a few tissues. He wipes himself off, then tosses the box to Ryland before tucking himself away. “You’re gonna fucking kill me one of these days. But it’ll be so damn worth it.”
A smile tugs at his lips as he speaks, but the mention of him dying makes a wash of ice pour through my chest. He’s kidding, and I know that. But I spent so many days thinking he might be dead, trying to talk myself out of believing that he was dead, and praying that we’d at least find a body. My rational mind can’t push down the wave of panic, and Theo must feel the tension that fills my body.
He wraps an arm around my waist, his touch turning from heated to protective in an instant.
“Yeah, speaking of you being alive,” he tells Marcus, keeping his tone light. “You better get some fuckin’ sleep. We need you back at one hundred percent, and you’ve had a hell of a day. Ry?”
He shifts his gaze to Ryland, who nods and rises from his chair, tossing several wadded up tissues into the trash can set in the corner. He’s tucked his softening cock away too, but I can still smell our lingering arousal in the air. The entire room smells like sex, honestly.
“Come on, man.” He crosses to Marcus, reaching down to offer him a hand. “And don’t even think about telling me you don’t need help.”
Marcus rolls his eyes but keeps his mouth shut as he rises slowly to his feet. I can see him suppress a grimace of pain, probably trying to mask it so I won’t worry. He leans against Ryland, the flush fading from his cheeks as he pales a little. He catches my gaze and gives me a tired smile.
“Don’t worry, angel. I’ll be all right.” His smile widens a little, and now I see it reflected in his eyes too. “I’m home.”
This isn’t even his house, but that’s entirely beside the point. He is home.
Ryland loops an arm loosely around his waist, shooting a glance my way before the two of them shuffle out of the room.
Theo helps me shift forward as he slides out of me, and I pad across the room naked to grab the box of tissues, returning and holding it out to him.
He grabs a few and cleans himself up, then takes his time cleaning me up. I look down at him as he works, smiling softly. His touch is both sweet and dirty, just like the man himself, and when he slides a finger through my folds before brushing it over my clit, I hiss out a breath, then chuckle.
“Still want more, huh?”
“Of you?” He looks up, his blue-green eyes warming as he teases my entrance with his finger. “Always.”
I lean down to kiss him, burying my fingers in his hair. It’s meant to be a sweet gesture, but just like his attempt to clean me up, it morphs from tender to dirty in three seconds flat. He tugs me toward him, and I find myself straddling his hips again, facing him this time.
His cock twitches, hardening a little beneath me. His pants are still undone, and my hand roams over the skin of his arms, chest, and stomach as we kiss, touching all the parts of him I couldn’t reach earlier while he was fucking me.
The kiss goes on so long that it turns as slow and deep as molasses, as if our bodies are melting into each other, two separate forms joining into one.
Exhaustion is finally catching up with me when we finally break apart, and I can only imagine how fucking tired Marcus must’ve been. It’s a miracle he didn’t pass the fuck out the second we got back to the house, although I’m selfishly glad he didn’t. We’ll all just have to make sure he gets enough sleep over the next few days to make up for it.
That thought strikes a chord in my chest, and I lean back a little, gazing down into Theo’s eyes.
“So, what happens now?”
“Now?” He catches a lock of my dark hair, winding it around his finger.
“Now that Marcus is back. Does it change our plan? Does it change our strategy?”
He chews his lip as he considers his answer. “I don’t think so. It just changes our focus. We know who shot Carson now. The playing field has changed. But our endgame hasn’t. We need to end this shit, and we need to win.”