Chapter 15
Locke
“You’re okay, Joey. I’ve got you. We’re almost there.”
She whimpers in response, and my heart splits in two. I hoist her up higher in my arms as I scale the last few steps up to the Nest. My traps will be screaming at me tomorrow, but right now, physical pain is nonexistent.
Because she’s here, in my arms. Her skin warm against my neck where she’s got her face buried. Her heart pounding out a rhythm against mine. Fuck. She’s clinging to my body, but I crave the connection just as badly, so I’m holding her just as tight.
Decker had her out there for over an hour.
A whole fucking hour.
Felt more like a lifetime.
A harrowing, infinite expanse that I never want to live through again.
I push in through the door, exhaling on instinct as I move us into the dark, quiet, cavernous space.
The Nest is Kylian’s domain, but I spend enough time up here to be familiar with the unique features of the space.
Between the floating floor, the soundproofed walls, and the near-total blackout features, it’s a sensory deprivation paradise.
But is that what Joey needs right now?
“Baby,” I murmur, perching on the end of Kyl’s bed. “Look at me,” I demand in the softest tone I can muster as I shift her on my lap. “What do you need? What can I do for you?”
She’s shaking in my arms, and her skin is clammy to the touch. Shit. If she’s been panicking like this for more than an hour…
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I grit out.
Kylian flies into the room and hits the panel on the wall, casting the space in blue LED light. Every piece of furniture, from his bed to his desk to his bookshelves, glows cerulean—it gives the three of us an eerie, extraterrestrial vibe.
“Up.”
I don’t know whether he means me or her. We both scramble to our feet on command.
I keep one arm around Joey’s torso, in case she needs the support. She runs her nails down my forearm affectionately as she leans into me and we stand side by side.
Kylian stalks forward, eyes darting from Joey to me, then back to her again. He scans her body, his blue eyes bright and unblinking behind his glasses as the LEDs reflect off the square frames.
“Turn.”
Without hesitation, she does as he says, spinning away from me slowly.
It takes everything in me not to reach out and hug her back into my chest, but I clench my fists at my sides and resist the urge. I don’t understand what’s passing between them, but I get the sense that I shouldn’t interrupt.
I trace my thumb along my bottom lip and watch as Kylian inspects our girl from head to toe.
And inspect he does. He gingerly lifts one arm, then the other.
Then he uses one finger to tilt her chin from side to side.
She’s shockingly responsive. Her submissive reactions to him stand in stark contrast to the forward, domineering attitude she typically asserts with me.
“You’re not physically harmed.” He nods once, the movement terse. “But he still hurt you.”
A clap of thunder booms outside, though it’s dulled to little more than an echo thanks to the soundproofing of the Nest.
Joey still jumps a foot in response.
Before I’ve taken a step her way, ready to soothe her, Kylian’s got his arms around her.
“You’re okay, baby,” he whispers into her hair, smoothing one hand up and down her back. “You’re safe. We’re right here. You’re safe. You’re safe. You’re safe.”
With a deep exhale, she arches back so they’re eye to eye. “This is all because of the storm. Decker and I… We talked. He explained what he was trying to do. I was okay out there with him.”
“Not initially you weren’t,” Kylian counters.
“True. But I read him the riot act, and he course corrected.”
I snicker quietly. They could easily be talking about an unruly toddler rather than a multi-millionaire team captain of one of the highest-ranked college football teams in the nation.
“Did he actually apologize?” Kylian presses.
“He told me about his mom.”
That confession practically knocks the air from my lungs, and I have to snap my mouth shut to keep from sputtering.
Decker doesn’t talk about his mom, and he definitely doesn’t talk about that day.
Not beyond the soundbites he’s been trained to provide when the media presses the issue.
Had we not all lived through the experience alongside him, none of us would understand the full extent—and lifelong effect—of the tragedy surrounding Danielle Crusade’s death.
But Decker was willing to tell Joey about what happened… while being out there, on the water… Significant doesn’t even begin to explain the implication.
I shift from one hip to the other. Now that my panic has ebbed, my hamstrings are on fire. After going a bit too hard on leg day, then carrying Joey up four flights of stairs between the beach, the deck, and the house, my muscles are smoked.
It’s a little awkward, watching my childhood best friend comfort my girl. But right now, Kylian is giving her exactly what she needs.
I consider excusing myself. She’s up here, after all. Safe. They’ll be okay.
But just as I shift a few inches toward the door, Joey peels out of Kyl’s embrace.
She doesn’t pull away from him, but she twists her torso and extends one arm, inviting me in.
I hesitate, unsure of what, exactly, she wants me to do.
“Nicky.”
It’s the softest whisper. A simple plea. If the room wasn’t so damn quiet, I may not have even heard it.
It’s the summoning of an angel, a siren song with the power to send me to my knees.
Without hesitation, I circle up and rest my chin on her head. “We’ve got you, Hot Girl. Whatever you need… whatever will help. We’ve got you.”
I lock eyes with Kylian so I can gauge his frame of mind, hoping like hell he’s okay with this.
I shouldn’t have wasted my energy worrying.
As soon as I catch his gaze, he tips his chin, nodding once.
“So we’re doing this?” he asks point-blank.
Joey peeks up from our group hug, looking so small in our arms. But there’s no denying the magnitude of her presence. Our girl is a fucking force.
“I want to be with both of you,” she declares, her voice shaky but sure.
“I’m in,” I offer without a moment of indecision.
“Me too,” Kylian confirms. “So that’s settled. Now we have to figure out how to deal with—”
“Shh.” Joey brings one finger to Kylian’s lips.
Nipping at her fingertip, he cocks a quizzical brow.
“I don’t want to talk about Decker tonight. Or Kendrick. He’s a factor in this, too. But that can wait until tomorrow. Right now, I don’t want to talk at all.”
“What do you need?” Kylian demands as Joey tucks herself tighter into my side. A soft rumble of thunder reverberates in the distance. Her responding shiver is almost indiscernible this time.
“Jo,” Kylian scolds when she doesn’t respond right away. “Answer me. What do you need? What can we do for you?”
She peers up at me, her eyes sparkling in the blue glow of the room, and sinks her teeth into her bottom lip. Then she turns that look on Kyl.
“Distract me.”
He grabs her chin, using his thumb to release her bottom lip.
“Black and white, baby. How do you want us to distract you?” he rasps, tracing her lips with that same thumb.
The repetitive motion on her pink pout is giving me all sorts of ideas about where we could take this.
“Let me make good on my promise from last night. Make me feel good. Make me forget.”
Kylian squints in consideration. “With Nicky here?”
“With Nicky inside me,” she sasses, catching Kylian’s wrist. Without another word, she pushes his thumb deeper into her mouth.
“Get on my fucking bed,” Kylian growls. “You too, Nicky.” He jerks his chin. “You heard our girl.”