Chapter 12
WILLOW
I curl up against Ransom’s chest as he carries me through the living room and down the hall to the bathroom, letting him take charge completely. I’m too worn out to move yet, and the man holding me is warm and steady.
That was pretty close to the most intense thing I’ve ever experienced, a few times with Malice notwithstanding.
Being with these men is like a crash course in sex, in all the things I never knew I would want—or tried to deny I could ever want.
I had no idea how badly I needed that release, but after the last couple of days, it’s clear that I really did.
Now I feel boneless and fully relaxed for the first time all day.
Ransom draws the bath, grabbing some of the bottles I keep lined up along the back ledge of the tub and sniffing at them. He tips in a little of the peony and rose scented bath oil, and the soothing scent curls through the bathroom along with the steam from the tub.
Once it’s full, he helps settle me in and then climbs in behind me.
This apartment has started to feel a little like a prison sometimes, but the tub is nice and big, with plenty of room for both of us to stretch out comfortably.
For a while, we just soak in silence, and I close my eyes, inhaling the floral scent and letting the hot water soothe my sore body. Ransom drags his hands over my skin, his fingers wet and leaving trails down my arms and over my shoulders.
It’s relaxing and comfortable, and I nestle against him, drifting pleasantly.
“You know, I almost don’t want to wash this cum off you,” he says thoughtfully.
“Perv,” I tease without opening my eyes.
He snorts. “I just wish I could leave it there, as a reminder of who you belong to.”
I smile at the thought of that. “Possessive perv,” I amend, but it’s pretty clear from my tone that I’m not upset about it at all.
“You love it.”
“Yeah… I do. I like the idea of belonging to you and your brothers,” I admit. “I’ve never really belonged anywhere before. Or to anyone. But I feel like I do now.”
He strokes his hands up and down my skin, and the rhythm is so comforting, soothing me even more as I speak.
“I think… well, I think that’s what hurt so bad when I thought you guys had betrayed me with that video. Because it felt like I had finally found a place to belong and then lost it. It felt like it had all been a lie, and that really sucked.”
“I know. I’m so sorry it felt like that,” he says gently. “You always have a place with us. Always. No matter what happens. And from here on out, there will be no more secrets or surprises like that. We won’t keep anything from you, not even to protect you. The four of us are a team.”
I smile at that, nestling deeper into his arms. “I’ve never had that. A team. A family. I like the way it sounds.”
He holds me closer, as if he can keep the loneliness away with just the power of his arms around me. And maybe he can.
“What was it like when you were younger? Having two brothers you were so close with?” I ask, curious.
Ransom hums under his breath a little. “Sometimes it was pretty great. Sometimes it was a huge pain in the ass. You know how Vic and Malice can be.”
I laugh at that. “Stubborn. Angry. Impulsive. Well, not so much Vic for the last one, I guess.”
“True. But yeah, for the most part, it was great. Even though I’m the baby of the family, they never really treated me like I was a burden or anything.
They let me tag along with them for the most part, and when they didn’t, I could tell they were trying to protect me. Mom was really big on family.”
I listen closely as he talks about it, wondering what it would have been like to grow up in a house like that. With siblings, with a mother who actually cared and wasn’t always drunk or high or trying to take advantage of me.
“Malice would tease me sometimes, you know? Like big brothers do. He’d take my toys or Mom would tell him to share half of his cake with me and he’d take the bigger ‘half.’” He makes air quotes with his fingers.
“But that was all superficial shit, really. If I got into it with some asshole at school, Malice was the first person to show up and make it clear what happened when you fucked with his family. He taught me how to throw a punch and defend myself, and Vic showed me how to care less about what idiots thought.”
“That sounds really nice,” I say, and I can hear the wistful tone in my voice.
“It was. Mom made sure we all had each other’s backs.
I remember one time when Malice and Vic were having a fight about something.
I don’t even remember what, so it was probably something stupid.
But Malice ended up not waiting to walk home with Vic after school, and Vic got into it with some bullies from the next town over.
He held his own, but it definitely would have been easier with Malice, you know?
Mom was pretty pissed when he came home all bruised up and asked where Malice had been.
Vic didn’t rat him out, just said he’d walked home alone that day, but Mom knew.
She always knew. She sat us all down and told us that we always had to be there for each other.
That brothers were supposed to make sure everyone was taken care of. We took that to heart.”
It’s kind of amazing, hearing these stories and seeing how much they really did take that to heart. All three of them have each other’s backs, always, and even though they bicker and disagree, I’ve never seen one of them leave another behind.
“I can tell,” I murmur. “I remember thinking that when I first met you guys. That you seemed like such a strong team, even though you all have such different personalities.”
Ransom nods. “Sometimes I joke that if we weren’t brothers, we wouldn’t be able to work together at all, but it works out somehow.”
“Because you love each other.”
“Sure,” he says, smiling. “It’s funny that our mom taught us what family is, because our dad taught us what family isn’t. Just because we’re all related to him by blood, it didn’t mean shit. So we also learned that family is what you choose to make it.”
Family is what you choose to make it.
It’s a good point. Olivia is related to me by blood, but look how that turned out. Misty adopted me, and she was far from being a good parent, but at least she never tried to do anything like what Olivia’s doing.
“I’ll remember that,” I tell him. “It’s a good way of looking at things.”
“I tell myself that whenever I feel shitty about being just a half-brother, you know?” His voice goes soft as he speaks. “Even if we’re not fully blood related, we’re family because we choose to be.”
Something about the tone of his voice makes me turn in his arms, pressing my breasts against his chest. I look up into his face, taking in how open and relaxed he looks now.
It’s a big difference from the stormy way he pushed himself into my apartment hours ago, and I’m glad to see he seems to feel better now.
I wrap my arms around his neck and nuzzle against him, breathing in the scent of his skin.
“I think you should tell them,” I whisper against his neck. “Malice and Victor. It won’t weigh on you anymore if you just tell them, and I know it won’t change the way they see you.”
“How can you be sure about that?” he asks, an uncharacteristic note of uncertainty in his voice.
“Because of everything you just told me. You’re family. You’re a team. I know they’ll still believe that even after it comes out. They’ve loved you and looked out for you for years. Why would they love you any less just because your DNA is a little different than theirs?”
He sighs. “I’ll think about it.”
Before I can say anything else, he tips my face up and then leans down to kiss me. It’s hard to keep the thread of what I was thinking about when his mouth is on mine, so I let it go, falling into the connection between us all over again.
The next morning, I wake up in Ransom’s arms, warm and content. The floral scent from the bath we took last night still lingers on our skin and on the sheets, and I wish I could float in this haze of contentment forever.
I curl up against him, feeling comforted by his presence—especially considering what today is going to bring.
Olivia is expecting me, and we have to go dress shopping for the engagement party. I don’t want to. Not even a tiny little bit.
“What’s on your mind, angel?” Ransom asks, his voice raspy from sleep.
It sends a shiver up my spine, and I look up into his eyes and sigh. “I have to go shopping with Olivia today. I need a dress for the engagement party she’s throwing.”
Immediately, his expression hardens. He looks so much like Malice in this moment that it almost startles a laugh out of me, but I hold it back.
He doesn’t say anything, just glares for a moment, darkly furious. Then he pulls me in closer and kisses me hard.
The intensity of it takes my breath away, and I clutch at his shoulders to anchor myself as I kiss him back. There’s so much purpose here, so much intent, and I can feel it coursing through me as the kiss heats up.
Ransom’s hands are everywhere, skating down my back and over my ass, and then back up, coming over my shoulders and then down to my breasts. He squeezes them hard, and I gasp, breaking away from his mouth for a second to suck down air.
When I look at him, his eyes are still intense. There’s a storm swirling in those blue-green depths, and a spark of determination there that makes my heart skip a beat.
“What—” I start to ask, but I’m cut off by him rolling me onto my back and then climbing over me, looming with his hands on either side of my head.
He dips down and kisses me again, his mouth rough against mine. His tongue presses between my lips, and he kisses me hard and fast, swiping his tongue through my mouth like he wants to devour me—or make it so no one else can.
When he pulls back, his teeth graze my lower lip, and I arch against him, my naked body rubbing against his.
“Fuck,” he grunts. “Fuck, I want…”