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“Yes. I believe Ivanna is exactly who Mr. O’Reilly hopes she’ll be.”
but you’ll need to prove you can put my daughter first.”
How could I not sign on to watch her when taking my eyes off her is painful?
And his daughter—I guess she’ll double as my most important job and my new obsession. Not that he needs to know the latter.
“Here’s how this is going to work. I’m going to kill you, Larry. You touched what’s mine, so the sentence for that is death. Plain and simple. But I can be persuaded to make it less painful if you cooperate. Or I can gouge out your eyes, slice off your dick, and force you to choke on them. The choice is yours.”
“He’s connected to KORT.”
They stuck him on babysitting duty while they partied.
“Sounds good.” I frown, leaning in for a hug. “Sorry you had to stay with me all night. Get some rest.” He palms my head, his face filling with what looks like sorrow. What the hell is going on? “I was exactly where I wanted to be,” he says with a soft smile before wandering to his room.
Why are gage ty and liam gonna break me more than wells
“So, why did you do it? Why bring me here?” “Because none of this is your fault, Ivy. But there’s also no stopping it.”
“I really appreciate this, but I don’t want to get you in trouble.” “I don’t get in trouble. I cause it. Big difference.” His eyes twinkle, but then he scratches his scruff with a seriousness. “If it ever comes down to it, you throw me under the bus to save yourself.” Irritation and confusion pump through me. “What the hell does that mean? With Wells?” He leans into me. “With anyone.” Is this some sort of weird trust test? “No. You’re a smart-ass, but I’m kinda fond of you. That’s not how I work, Liam.”
Why am i gonna cry on this plane
“Start, Ivy.” He exhales, and a frustration I’ve never seen in him stiffens his shoulders. “Start thinking like a survivor and start listening to Wells. Fuck, by all means, give him shit. God knows it’s about time he met his match, and I’m here for it. I just wanted you to hear it from me because you don’t seem to need to fight me on everything. So, cooperate. Okay? The four of us will do whatever it takes for you. This outing was my little gift, one last hurrah because everything changes when we go back.”
“Food is the way to Gage’s good graces though. He probably loves these.” I fold my hands into a plea. “This is about the Big Guy?” “Yeah.” I shrug. “I mean, I’ll get some for Ty and Wells too. But I have a hunch Gage is a dick because someone screwed him over. It’s my mission to fuck with his head by making him like me.” Liam howls. “That’s a good reason to show up with beignets. I’m in.”
“Trust me, Little Storm, if I fucked you, you’d know. You’d be feeling me for days. An experience you’d never forget.” Good God.
“I felt perfectly cared for by the man I was with. Completely satisfied. No worries.” Liam snickers. And I’m being choked again. Wells isn’t exactly cutting off my airway, but he looks like he wants to. Either that or tear my clothes off and fuck me into compliance. Maybe both. Yes, please.
Ty emerges from his room. He gauges the situation, fetches my pool tote off the floor, hooks his arm around my waist, and peels me away from Wells. “Time to go, Freckles,” he says as he picks me up and carries me to the door. I keep my eyes on Wells the entire time. “So we’re clear, that conversation, regarding the unorthodox way of completing our business transaction, was a onetime offer. No worries about me complicating things again.” The door slams behind us with an exasperated sigh from Ty when he sets me down.
I’m mixed up in a world I don’t understand, and while they’re clearly trying to protect me, I don’t have any idea what I’m being protected from.
Basically, I’m alone and falling apart.
My sole outlets are baking while the rest of the house sleeps and texting with Rena. Chocolate chip cookies. Cherry-apple pie. Banana bread. I sent her pictures of my baked goods. She called me a sugary rebel. It seems she’s running out of piercing real estate and her brothers have been temperamental since we left.
Ty peeks in. “You’ve been sulking in here for days, Freckles. I miss you. What’s the story?” I prop myself up. “Truth?” “Always.” “I’m depressed, on my period, in no mood to train, and I miss Celeste, so I’m staying in bed and bingeing rom-coms today.” “Fine,” he says, flopping onto my bed beside me. “I guess we’re watching movies.” “You don’t—” “I do actually,” he insists. Liam struts in next. “Did I hear something about a movie day?” Seriously? “That time of the month,” Ty shares. I smack his chest. “That’s so fucked up.” Unfazed by my slap, he laughs. Liam crawls into bed on the other side.
...more
Before his words are even finished, Gage appears in the doorway. “What’s this about?” Liam waves his hand over his crotch. “Girl stuff.” What the hell? I scoff. “Did you just gesture to your mangina?” That makes all three of them cackle, which, I have to admit, is uplifting. Gage scowls. “Shit. You must be exhausted. Cramps?” There is not a moment with these men that isn’t mystifying. The guy who once leered at me with a murderous rage wants to know if I have cramps. “They aren’t so bad,” I assure him. “I’m just mopey.” His eyes droop as he scrunches his lips in commiseration before forcing a
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FUCK THESE THREE HAVE ME IDC
“Hate you?” He unravels my finger so the blood flow returns. “Wells definitely doesn’t hate you, Freckles.”
He shakes his head. “I told him what you said, but he arranged everything.”
Gage hands me a plate of Doritos, covered in melted cheddar cheese and jalapeños, saying, “Trust me,” as he sits in my velvet chair with his own feast. Liam settles in beside me with popcorn, and Ty shares the nachos. “These are fantastic,” I tell Gage after sampling his gourmet specialty. “Thank you.”
Wells looks at me, concern mixed with vexation. “What’s going on?” “Period party,” Gage chirps, which causes Liam to convulse with laughter beside me while Ty and I do our best to stay composed. “For all of you?” Wells snaps. “Moral support.” Gage nods, biting into his banana bread. Liam smirks. “Making sure everything comes out okay, Chief.” That’s it. Ty and I burst out cackling. Wells shakes his head. “Jesus Christ.”
and men who are starting to feel like family.
oh look im crying
Because I’ve missed having you there.” Good fuck.
She holds her breath with that, and everything in me wants to scoop her onto my lap and tell her I’m going to sort all of this out, fix it, protect her.
Bound and begging, screaming my name and quaking beneath me, while I slam into her wet cunt. Fuck me.
“Right. Thanks for the massage and the books,” she says, her voice cracking. She clears her throat. “I never thanked you for the books.”
“Wells”—she buries her head in her pillow, muffling a sniffle—“please go. Please.” Quietly making my way to the hallway, I stop by my office, grab my keys, and head out for the night. She needs to eat dinner, and I won’t force her to feel awkward with me there.
“You’re in love with her.”
It’s a goddamn mess. The thought that we’d turn her over and … I can’t even …” His tone holds more emotion than Liam ever has—a testament to how this is wearing on us all. A testament to how much he cares for Ivy. “I know you think keeping her at arm’s length will help you protect her. I get that. It’s the way we’ve always done things. But she’s already in your head. Your thoughts aren’t any clearer. And she’s lonely and upset. And probably fucking scared. She deserves … if you don’t give in to it, she’ll find someone who will.” I
She’s special. We’re all in this together. We won’t let you lose focus. I’m sure it comes as a surprise, but I’m not always a motherfucker, and I’m not blind. But if you don’t step up, you’ll lose her one way or another.”
But then again, these guys are also incredibly sweet. Even Wells—or maybe especially him. The wedding, the books, all my favorite foods stocked. That hotter-than-hell massage. He might not want me, but he is considerate about caring for me.
That small glass of scotch had my heart jumping out of my chest. Unfortunately, Wells has made it clear he isn’t interested in catching it.
“Yes. All four of us can do anything needed, but we each have a role we fit into best. I’m the best at hacking.” He says that like I’ve insulted him somehow. “Although I prefer tech genius, or God is fine.” I laugh while he continues, “Wells leads and keeps everything—big picture down to the microscopic details—in line. Ty helps Wells with in-person dealings and leads our pro bono work. And Gage is our enforcer.”
“This is all really strange, isn’t it? Me here with all of you?” “Not so strange,” he says. “You fit.” “You think so?” That comes out strained, my lungs and voice box and pounding heart betraying me with complete confusion.
I hope liam knows that those two words just killed me
“I know so, Ivy.” “Where do I fit? Because I’m finding everything confusing. I wish he …” My eyes flit toward the hallway, where Wells’s door can be seen. The sight makes me both hungry and nauseous, and I feel my heart bleeding out right here on this couch. “I mean, I wish things were clear.”
“As much as I wish this answer could be different, you fit with him.” He kicks his chin toward Wells’s bedroom.
“Then, he’s full of shit. You’ll have to trust me on this one. You’re his, in every sense, even if he isn’t saying it.” He tucks a stray piece of my hair behind my ear. “And like I said, I wish, more than anything, that I could answer you differently, change the past or the rules, whatever, but—”
Or the tattoo on his spine—a sword with an intricate handle, the blade piercing a stone. The Sword in the Stone.
“Liam, I love you like a brother, but if you value your life, you’d be wise to keep your fucking hands off my wife.” What in the ever-loving hell? Is he jealous?
I really do wish I could claim you. You’re a … rare gift. But the truth—a truth your eyes just screamed—is that you don’t belong to me. There are only three people in this world I won’t steal from. Four now, I suppose. And you belong to one of them.” He stands, folding his laptop under his arm, and plants a chaste kiss in my hair. “Good night, Ivy. Go get what’s yours.”
The truth is, I love that side of him because even though it produces a bit of fear, I know in my bones that he’d never hurt me.
“That’s the last thing I want, Ivy. I never want to hurt you.” I soak in his scent of sugar and scotch and his rugged citrus cologne, terrified the answer to my next question could rip me to pieces. “What do you want then?” “I want my wife.” A single tear spills down my cheek. “Like you …” I squeak. “You want me for real?” His nose brushes against mine as he lifts his face to answer, “Yes, Little Storm. I want you in every imaginable way.”
“You, Wells. I’ve wanted you all along, since the first day we met, but you … I didn’t think you felt the same.”
“It was vital that I waited until you knew what you wanted. There has never been anything mixed about how I feel for you. Only challenging situations. But you need to understand what this means. Once you give yourself to me, Ivy, there’s no going back. Not in five years. Not ever.”
“Tell me you’re mine, Ivanna.” For the love of all the pretty holy things, what is he doing to me? “I’m yours, Wells. Only yours.” He lets a heavy breath tumble out with my vow. “That’s my good girl.”
“I’ll be starting every morning like that, the flavor of your sweet cunt coating my tongue. Fuck, baby.”
“Wells, that was … I don’t know what that was. But I want more—to taste you, to have you inside me.” Planting an adoring nibble on my lip, he dusts his thumb over my cheekbone. “That’s good because we’re just getting started. I wanted you to catch your breath.”
