Chapter 20
Ifollow behind Asher on the short ride back to our place, my heart in my throat the entire time. Seeing Cirella’s face raw and pained like that cut me wide open.
I hate that Adrianna has torn down her confidence over the years, that Cirella even believes her cruel words for a second. But I’m determined to help her rewire her brain, one day at a time.
I’m glad she’s skipping class to be with us today. She can be responsible tomorrow. Our time alone, without my father and Adrianna, is only temporary, so we have to enjoy it before they return.
Cirella’s taking a lot of chances, being with us, and that sacrifice doesn’t escape me. She’s risking Adrianna finding out and doing something awful to her parents’ house, which doesn’t seem that unlikely, given her explosive behavior we saw when we were hidden in Ciri’s room.
But I meant it then, and I mean it now—Adrianna will never hurt her again. I’ll make sure of it, even if I have to keep Ciri locked in our wing and out of harm’s way. Maybe I’ll build a tower for us to stay in, far out of Adrianna’s reach.
Our father will get out of this stupor one way or another, even if we have to show him proof of Cirella’s ties to the Chamberlain family at the altar of his wedding.
We’re hoping it doesn’t come to that, but that’s entirely up to him. Asher and I plan on talking to him when he returns, to end this before the rehearsal dinner even happens. One last chance before we expose Adrianna for the con woman she is.
We pull onto the estate, parking our bikes in front of the house before heading inside.
Asher takes her right hand, and I take her left, earning a few giggles as we squish her between us.
“You guys are ridiculous.” She beams.
“We’re just getting started.” I bend down, hoping Ash picks up on my plan, which he quickly does, crouching and shifting behind her legs.
In one swift movement, we scoop her into the air, her round ass resting atop our shoulders. She squeals as we rise to our full height, propping her up into the air, and we easily climb the stairs in sync.
“Put me down!” She giggles.
“Ash? Do we want to do that?” I ask him sarcastically.
“Nope.” He pops the P. “I don’t think we do.”
She rests her hands on our heads, sinking her fingers into our hair, and pulls tighter as we reach the tall doors. She ducks beneath the frame as we carry her through.
Myra is cleaning in the foyer when we walk inside, and a giant smile breaks across her face. She’s clearly privy to our relationship. “Hello, everyone.”
Cirella is a statue above us, and I brush her leg to remind her to breathe.
She mutters nervously, “Hi, Myra.”
“Can I get you guys anything?” she offers.
I respond, “I think we’ll be okay. Thank you though.”
She grins. “Let me know.”
“We will.” Asher gives her a thumbs-up, and we start moving again, carrying Cirella across the marble floor toward the grand staircase.
“Are you guys going to carry me the whole way?” she asks as we start ascending the stairs.
“Obviously,” Asher scoffs. “You’re a princess after all. You should be carried everywhere you go.”
“Fawned over,” I add.
“Worshipped,” Asher promises, a deep rasp in his voice.
“Devoured.” I refrain from growling, already feral with her proximity. “Isn’t that what we are for?” Turning my head, I kiss the outside of her thigh, digging my fingers into her leggings.
“It’s our main life purpose actually,” Asher says, and I can hear the smile in his voice.
Glancing up at her as we walk down the straight hallway to our wing, I find her eyes hooded and lips parted, watching us with curiosity and intensity burning in her sky-blue stare.
“Speechless now?” I tease her with a smirk.
“No. I just don’t have anything to add.” She purses her lips playfully.
“Hmm,” Asher hums as we bend at the knees, low enough so her head dips beneath the doorway as we pass through. “Princess speechless? I find that hard to believe.”
Our pace speeds up as we rise to our full height, and I wonder what she’d do if we took off running to the other end of the hallway at full sprint.
Probably pull at our hair so hard that we’d go bald. But it could be fun doing it anyway, knowing the joyful sounds she’d make would be worth it.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” Asher suggests as we approach my room.
Slowly, we lower her to the ground, and she turns to look at us, her face flushed to the max.
“You’re fucking cute when you’re blushing like that,” Asher murmurs, stepping closer to her and sliding his hand around the side of her neck.
He bends down, lining his lips up with hers.
“I wonder how red you’d turn if I told you I’ve been thinking every second of every day about how delicious you tasted when we shared you in the gazebo. ”
Her lips part, and she sucks in a breath, her pupils dilating. The pink in her skin darkens to a burning fire.
“Look at that. At least ten times redder, if you ask me.” Asher steps toward her, and she watches him with those big doe eyes. “Can’t you just stay up here with us forever?”
“No.” She smirks. “I would need Gus too.”
Asher chuckles, the sound deep and gruff. “Want to make a bet?”
“Unlikely. But enlighten me.” She gestures with her hand for him to continue.
“A race. You get a five-second head start. To the end of the hallway. First to touch the wall wins.”
She studies him with narrowed eyes. “And the prizes?”
Ash leans back against the wall, kicking one foot up. “What do you want to win?”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “I doubt you’ll agree.”
He exhales breathlessly. “Fuck, Ciri, I doubt there’s anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
“You have to take over cleaning your wing for a week with paid time off to the staff.” Ciri stands up proudly, which is fucking hot. “If you win,” she retorts, “what will it cost me?”
Ash smirks. “A kiss—for each of us, of course.”
I expect her to argue, to negotiate the terms, but she doesn’t. “Deal.”
Taking over as manager of the race, clearly the one in charge, I step before them as they split the hallway into two lanes, readying themselves.
“Ciri, you’ll have five extra seconds.”
Asher winks at me, and I want to roll my eyes, as if I hadn’t already planned to sabotage her.
“Are you guys ready?”
They both nod.
“Set.”
Ciri crouches down, ready to run for the cause.
“Go!”
She takes off running, and I let her past me, knowing in three … two … one … I’m going to stop her. Digging my heels in, I catch up to her, hooking my arms around her waist and hauling her into the air.
“That’s cheating!” she shouts as Asher takes off running, quickly gaining ground. “Put me down!”
Pulling her back against my front, I press my lips to her ears. “Oh, baby, we never said we’d play fair.”
She crosses her arms and huffs, spinning to face me as Asher reaches the wall and flattens his hand. “I hate you both.”
I click my tongue against my teeth. “I find that hard to believe. Especially after feeling your ass push back into me a second ago.” She fights a smile, and I smirk. “Yeah, I noticed.”
“Woo!” Ash cheers in victory, jogging back over to us. “I guess that means we win.”
“Bullshit,” she scoffs. “Cheaters don’t win.”
“But they just did?” I push her buttons further. “How about a compromise?” Stepping toward her, I hook my finger in a button hole of her cardigan and tug her closer to me. “We agree to clean the wing for a week, paid time off for the staff, and we get a kiss.”
She tightens her arms harder across her chest, and her tits push up in her tank top. My dick throbs as my mind wanders to dangerous places.
“Fine.”
I pull her hard toward me, causing her to stumble forward and crashing against me, her arms grabbing at my abs. “Whoops.”
Rolling back on her heels, she looks directly up at me, pushing her chest up. “Are you going to take all damn day, or are you going to kiss me—”
Her words get lost as my lips slam against hers, my hand instantly finding the base of her neck. I tip her back, deepening the kiss as I slide my tongue between the seam of her lips.
“Mmm,” I groan into her mouth. “I need you so fucking much.”
She pulls away, her eyes bouncing between mine as she wets her lips. “Then have me,” she says, decisiveness in her voice.
“Trust me, I want to. But—”
“You don’t want to? You’re not ready?” she asks, her hands gliding down my abs, making my knees go weak.
“That’s not what I said,” I groan, letting her push me back up against a wall. “I was going to say that we don’t want to rush you.”
She thinks for a second, her gaze falling before finding mine again. Her shoulders are relaxed, and her breathing is even, face certain. “I want you both more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. You’re not rushing me.”
“Princess,” Asher hums as he steps beside us, “it’s your first time. It should be perfect.”
“And it will be.” She smiles. “Because it’s with you guys.”
God, she’s making it fucking impossible for us to resist her.
“We’re trying to be gentlemen here.”
Walking backward with a devilish gleam in her eye, she smirks and drops her shoulders, letting her cardigan fall to the floor. Hooking her hands in the bottom of her tank top, she lifts it up over her bra and plump tits, tossing it to the floor as she strides backward to my bedroom.
“Who said I wanted gentlemen?” With a fast, breathy sigh, like she’s expelling any last hesitancy, she reaches behind her back and unhooks her bra, letting it slide down her arms and expose her perfect chest completely.
My dick hardens at the sight, my mouth drying out and heart pounding.
“Fucking hell, Ciri. You’d better know what you’re doing.” I step forward, watching her eyes darken as we follow her into my bedroom.
Sitting down on the comforter, she props her arms behind her, and I nearly melt to the floor at the vision of her topless in my bed.
“For the first time in my entire life, I know exactly what I want.” She extends her arms, offering each of us a hand. “Without a doubt in my mind.”