Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
JASMINE
I can’t sleep. I’ve tried everything to stop thinking about what I saw on the landing tonight, but I can’t.
I never thought I would see the day Christian and Jason came to blows. They rarely have a cross word, let alone raise their voices to each other.
I’ve known for a while that Christian has held some level of blame on Jason for what happened to me, but I honestly thought he would get over it with time. Now Christian and Maximus, yes, that’s a fight I think we are all waiting for. They seem to be butting heads more and more recently, something they haven’t been able to hide from us. But Jason and Christian aren’t only brothers, they are best friends and more alike than the twins at times.
There is also the fact that tonight, Christian did something he has never done before: he laid his hands on me. When he grabbed my arm and dragged me towards my room, I was terrified. No one has manhandled me like that since I was rescued from Taylor and my mother. The irony is that I think Christian killed someone tonight for being in that house and being present when I was assaulted. Then he came home and treated me like that.
Maximus rolls away from me in his sleep, and I use it as an opportunity to get up and check on the puppy. Maybe some cuddles from Embry will make me feel a little better. Slowly, I climb out of bed, not wanting to wake Maximus and tiptoe out of the room. Closing the door quietly behind me, I head towards the stairs, planning on heading to the conservatory where the puppy sleeps because he still has the odd accident at night, and Christian doesn’t want him peeing everywhere.
As I walk quietly past Jason's room, I notice a light coming from under his door. I stand outside it for a moment and remember the way he looked at me after Christian had gone to his room. He didn’t want me to touch him, and he looked like he was guilty of so much more than he is. I can't let him blame himself for what happened to me anymore.
Not stopping to knock, I walk straight into the room and look at the bed where I expect Jason to be. When I don’t see him there, I look to his bathroom and see another light on. I walk quietly to the door and push it open, finding Jason standing in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist as he checks out his injured face in the mirror. There are tissues covered in blood in his sink, as well as a few other first-aid bits.
As I open the door further to enter, Jason turns around and stares at me for a moment.
“Jazzy, are you okay? What’s happened?” I notice that he doesn’t come closer. I refuse to let him hold himself back, so I walk up and wrap my arms around his waist.
For a moment, he freezes before letting out a deep breath and holding me back whilst burying his face in my hair.
We stand there like that for a few moments. Neither of us saying anything, just taking a moment to be in each other's arms.
“It wasn’t your fault.” I lean back a little to look him in the eye while staying in the safety of his arms.
“Jazzy, you weren’t here. You don’t know-”
“And you weren’t there . Nothing you did, even letting Hudson live, caused what happened to me. If it hadn’t been him, it would have been someone else. Every man that I saw in there had the face of someone who no doubt thrived off causing pain. I was always going to end up there; my mother would have made sure of it.” I reach up and cup his face, and I look deeper into his eyes, which look like they are filling with tears. “It was not your fault, Daddy. I need you to realise that and stop beating yourself up. I hate watching you blaming yourself. It needs to stop; you need to stop.”
For a moment, Jason looks like he’s struggling. But slowly, he nods and closes his eyes while leaning into my hand.
“I will never understand what I did to deserve your love,” he whispers before opening his eyes. “You are far too pure for our world, and I hate that we are dragging you into it.”
“You aren’t dragging me into anything; I’m choosing to be part of it. I’m choosing you four, and I always will, no matter what.” Lifting up, I kiss his lips before smiling.
“I’m going to check on the pup before going back to bed.” Stepping back, putting some distance between us, I smile, hoping to slightly lift his mood. “Go to bed and rest. I will see you in the morning.”
Jason wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to him, pressing his lips hard to mine.
“Good night, Angel. I love you.”
I can’t help but feel lighter after seeing a genuine smile on his face.
“I love you, too,” I whisper before kissing him again and leaving the room.
Standing on the large landing, I feel a little better knowing that he at least knows that I don’t blame him for what happened. Looking towards Christian's room, I realise I’m not ready to see him yet. I’m scared of what will happen if I go in there now and he's awake. Am I afraid of him? No. Even after he grabbed and shouted at me like that, I know he would have never done anything worse than that. He would never, ever hit me. Sure, he spanks me and disciplines me, but that is different, one word, and he would stop. Tonight was different, but I’m still not scared of him. I’m scared of what I will do. Being handled like that brought back some memories I have been trying my hardest to forget. The last thing we all need is me having another breakdown, adding more fuel to the fire. Knowing I’m doing the right thing by leaving him to it, I rush down the stairs and head to check on the pup.
Approaching the conservatory, I feel a slight draft coming from under the door and quickly start to panic. Throwing it open, my worst fear is confirmed. The back door leading into the garden is open, and the pup is nowhere to be seen.
“No. No. No.” I rush out of the door, not stopping to put anything on my feet. Desperate to check where my puppy is.
“Embry, where are you, baby?” I whisper, not wanting to scare him away. I walk a little away from the conservatory and listen out for the sound of my pup. I listen for a moment while taking a few more steps, my heart dropping when I hear the tiniest bark. I rush around to part of the garden, where I thought I had heard him. I move around a large bush and whisper yell his name when I see him playing around someone's feet. Not just anyone, Christian.
I watch silently as he picks up a ball by his feet and throws it for Embry before taking a sip out of a large bottle. Even in the dark, I can see he’s struggling as his head and shoulders are sagging. He rubs at his face, and I hear him letting out a deep sigh as he watches Embry running back with his ball. But on his way back to Christian, he spots me and lets out a yelp before running over. Christian spins around and sees me for the first time.
For a moment, we stare at each other. For the first time ever, I don’t want to rush to him. I don’t feel that excitement I get from the mere sight of him, and that hurts.
I’m thankful when Embry jumps at my legs, begging for my attention. Squatting down, I pick him up and make a fuss of him. As I pay attention to my pup, I notice Christian taking a deep drink from his bottle.
“Where are your shoes?”
My head snaps up to stare at him.
That’s how he's going to start this conversation. By going into Daddy mode? No. The fact he tries to chastise me after everything that happened upstairs seems to flick the switch in my brain from sad and hurt to damn angry.
“Inside, as I had no idea where my baby was! I thought he had gotten out by himself!” I snap, shocking myself at the level of anger in my voice. I stand with the puppy in my arms, staring at the man I am marrying in a couple of weeks.
“Watch your tone-”
“No!”
Christian stares at me for a moment, but I’m not done. “I will not watch my fucking tone!”
Christian opens his mouth to say something but seems to think better of it as I storm forward, closing the distance between us until I’m directly in front of him.
“You and I are going to have a conversation. For the duration of it, you are not Daddy, you are Christian, and I am Jasmine, your fiancée, do you understand? You will not discipline me or tell me to watch my language; you will listen to what I have to fucking say for once. Is that understood?”
Christian stares down at me for a moment, and I think he’s going to argue. But instead, his face softens, and he nods before lifting the bottle to his lips. I snatch it from his hand and pour it onto the ground beside me.
“What the fuck?” he snaps as he goes to snatch the bottle from me, but I continue to pour it onto the grass. “Do you have any fucking idea how expensive that bottle is?” he demands. The fact he is swearing and sounding like a teenager watching their mother pour away their hidden vodka tells me that he is in a worse state than I initially thought.
“What’s the difference between pouring it down your throat and onto the ground?” I ask, and he shuts up showing he has no answer. “Are you going to tell me what the hell that was about upstairs?” I demand. Christian looks at me again, and the pain is back there in his eyes.
“I am so sorry, Sweetheart. I don’t know what came over me, but I would never hurt you-”
“I’m not talking about that yet. I want to know why you felt the need to try and kill your brother?”
Christian's shoulders tighten as he stands taller, obviously still angry about everything, but as he does, he sways slightly. Any other time, it would worry me that he had drank so much it was having an effect on him. I don’t think I have ever seen Christian get to the point of being tipsy, let alone drunk.
“Get in the house right now!” I snap, pointing to the building angrily. “We will finish this conversation when you are sat down and not in danger of falling over!”
Christian stares at me for a moment, but the higher my eyebrows get, the more he seems to realise I am not playing. Christian turns and starts walking towards the house when he stumbles a little. I sigh and grab his arm to keep him stable.
“I’m fine.”
“You are far from fine in every sense of the word. This is why we are going to sit down, and you will listen to me for once.”
“I do listen to you,” he argues as we reach the conservatory, where one of his security guards, Justin, stands waiting for us.
“Is everything okay, Miss Jasmine?”
“Why did you let her outside?” Christian snaps at him.
“Because I thought she was heading to see you, sir. I stayed close until I knew she was safely by your side.” Well, that goes to show how preoccupied I was, as I never even noticed him there.
“Thank you, Justin, I’ve got it from here.” But he looks between Christian and me as if he isn’t sure if he should leave or not.
“Leave,” Christian snaps. I roll my eyes and offer Justin a small smile.
“Yes, sir,” he stutters before heading to the security office.
Once inside the conservatory, I close the door, and he falls onto the sofa. Embry instantly jumps down from my arms and heads straight to Christian, who picks him up and places him on his lap.
“For someone who said they didn’t want anything to do with the dog, you seem very fond of him now.”
Christian doesn’t say anything immediately; he just looks down and strokes his head.
“I think he’s the only one in this house that doesn’t hate me at the moment.”
His words shock me as they are the last thing I expected him to say.
“No one hates you,” I sigh, wanting to feel more sympathy for him than I do. He deserves some of this pain, especially after everything he has done to the rest of us. But I also know he carries more pain than he lets on. “Want to tell me what that was about on the landing?” I ask.
“Not really.”
“Fine, if you won’t talk, then you will listen,” I snap, my anger rising again. “You want to know what I think. I think tonight, the four of you had a good night turn into a shit one. I know that the blonde guy from that place told you a few things, and things escalated to the point Sean was injured, and you all had some sort of fight.”
“What did they tell you?” Christian snaps, causing me to push away from the wall I’ve been leaning against.
“Oh no, I gave you the chance to speak, but you turned it down. So now, you can shut up and listen to me.” I don’t give him a chance to interrupt again and carry on talking. “As usual, they won’t tell me anything, and I know that’s because of you. I know you think you are protecting me, but you aren’t, Christian. You are pushing me away.” I want to tell him how much it hurts and how much of a divide it's putting between us and our whole family. They all think I don’t notice the way they whisper together or change the topic when I walk into a room, but I do. But once again, I don’t get to voice my concerns as Christian shakes his head and stands from the sofa, placing the dog down before heading for the door.
“Where are you going?” I demand, following him, being sure to close the door behind us so Embry is safe.
“I need a drink.”
“No, you don’t,” I snap, storming after him. We are in the main hallway when I realise he is heading to the sitting room. “Christian, stop!” I shout as he turns down the corridor towards the room, where I know there are plenty of bottles for him to choose from. I rush towards him and stand in front to try and stop him from going further.
“Stop!” I warn firmly as I place a hand on his chest. “Drinking isn’t going to help this. All I want is an adult conversation, and you are shutting me out again!” my voice is getting louder, but my anger and hurt are getting the better of me.
“I love you, Jasmine, but you need to get out of my way.” His voice is firm, and I know he is getting angry, too.
“No!” I shout, surprised by my own tone. “I’m not getting out of your way. You are going to talk to me. You are going to listen-”
“Listen to what? How precious Jason isn’t to blame for you being assaulted more than once? How he did nothing wrong by letting that fucking arsehole live? How I’m meant to just forget that you were not only assaulted with a knife but sexually assaulted by the same arsehole? How everything you have been going through this past week is all because of what happened to you? Yet here’s the kicker: you still go to him for comfort, not me! No, I won't listen; I know what I know, and it's all his fault!”
Christian spins on his heels and heads away from me, and for a moment, I panic he’s heading to the stairs to attack Jason again.
“Christian, stop!” I shout trying to get in front of him. But he doesn’t stop at the stairs; he heads straight to the kitchen. “Stop!” I shout again, terrified, as a load of different scenarios rush through my head of what he’s going to do. Sure, he’s going for a knife or something. I grab his arm and try to pull him to a stop. Christian grabs my wrist to pull me from him.
“Get off her!”
I look up in time to see Jason jumping down at least ten stairs and landing beside me. He grabs my hand and pulls me behind his back, pushing Christian away and getting between us.
“What the fuck is going on?” Maximus demands, appearing beside Jason, Sean on the other side. All of them blocking my view of Christian.
“Get out of my way!” I yell, trying to push between them so I can see Christian and talk to him, but Maximus tightens the gap between him and Jason. I hear footsteps behind me and turn to see Justin and another security woman beside him. I hold up my hand to stop them. “Stay back,” I order.
“Oh, here we go! Once again, I’m the bad guy when precious Jason is the knight in shining armour,” I hear Christian laugh, all of them oblivious to the fact we have company.
“Are you drunk?” Jason asks, the surprise evident in his voice. Maximus and Sean both curse under their breath.
“What did you do to her?” Maximus demands.
“Nothing, you idiot, we were arguing,” I yell, trying to get around them again but failing. “For fuck’s sake, fucking MOVE!” I scream as loud as I can, causing all three to spin around and look at me surprised. I use their shock to my advantage, push past them, and stand between them and Christian, keeping my back to him so I can look the others in the eye. Sean reaches out to grab me, but I move out of his way.
“I’m not in any danger,” I sigh, staring at them all. “He won’t hurt me again,” I add quickly.
“That’s not how it sounded,” Maximus answers, staring at his brother.
“What did you do to her?” Jason demands again.
“Nothing, it was me stopping him from doing something like going to the kitchen to get a knife to kill you!” I yell, throwing my arms up in the air dramatically.
“I wasn’t going to kill him; I was going for a drive,” Christian sighs behind me. I spin around and stare at him.
“Yeah, that’s so much better, considering you couldn’t stand without swaying five minutes ago!” I snap, shaking my head at him. “Moron” I mutter under my breath as I turn to face the others again.
“Jazzy, come here. Let him do what he needs to get this out of the system, and we can talk to him tomorrow,” Jason says softly whilst giving his older brother a death stare.
“Yes, don’t want to upset prince Jason,” Christian scoffs. I spin around and stare at him, furious.
“I swear to God, Christian, if you don’t shut up with the name-calling, I will lose my shit!” I snap, glaring at him. “I have never had a favourite, and you fucking know it. If the tables were turned, I would fight as hard for him to hear me out. I don’t know how many times I have tried to tell you, but Jason was not to blame for what happened.”
“He let that bastard live when he should have killed him years ago. It was his fault.”
“It wasn’t his fault; when are you going to stop blaming the wrong person,” I yell, throwing my hands up in the air.
“The only other people to blame are dead, Sweetheart if you haven’t already noticed.”
“Oh, I noticed! Especially as I killed one of them to fucking save you, arsehole!” I yell. I step closer to him, but someone grabs my arm, stopping me.
“For fuck’s sake, can I not even argue with my fiancé without someone trying to save me?” I yell, throwing my hands up in the air before turning and staring at Christian. “The only reason you are going so hard on Jason is because you can’t go any harder on yourself without causing physical harm to yourself.” I step closer and see that I’m right. The guilt is there all over his face.
“You want to blame Jason for not killing Hudson in the first place. You blame Layton and Terry for the fact I was taken. You blame Maximus because he hired the guy who helped kidnap me, but most of all, you blame yourself because you let me go out and went against your better judgment. You blame yourself for not killing Hudson when you wanted to, but none of that would have stopped what would have happened. Either way, I had a target on my back, and someone was going to cash in on it.”
“You had that target because of us, so it’s our fault!” Christian snaps, tears in his eyes, the only indication that I’ve hit the nail on the head.
“No, Christian, none of it was your fault. None of you played a role in what happened to me. That target has been there longer than I have known any of you,” I say softer. “My mother was never going to stop. She was never going to stop using me to get what she wanted. Either it was money for her addictions or something else. She has been willing for me to be a form of payment for my whole life.” I reach up and cup his cheek. “Nothing that happened to me was due to any of you. Do you really think I would have never been assaulted if Jason had killed Hudson? She was sending men into my room when I was still a young child. That is what caused my pain the last few days, not what happened in that house, but what happened long before I even met you.
“She tried to sell my virginity more than that one time Christian. I slept at Amber's house more than once because I had run from what should have been my safe place. I often woke up to find her letting men into my room.” I want to close my eyes and hide from the images that flood my mind, but I don’t. I do what I’ve always done and look for sanctuary in his. “Hudson was not the first to assault me, and if you four hadn’t saved me, he wouldn’t have been the last. Nothing he did to me hadn’t been done before.” I reach out with the hand that’s not on his cheek and take his before squeezing it.
“That woman is to blame for everything that ever went wrong in my life. She forced me out of the first place I ever thought of as a home. She tried to take my dancing from me and stole my innocence. She killed my grandparents and tried to kill me. She abused me physically and mentally, and worse of all, she took everyone who cared away from me. But do you know the one thing I can never forgive her for?” I ask, ensuring he looks as deeply into my eyes as I am his.
“I cannot forgive her for what you were forced to do when you were just fifteen years old,” I whisper as he looks at me with wide eyes. “My father's death is completely in her hands, and so is the fact his blood has been on your hands all this time. She let a fifteen-year-old boy spend a lifetime beating himself up for being forced to kill someone who was just trying to give that woman what she wanted. I hate her for every second you have blamed yourself for a death that wasn’t your fault. You may have pulled the trigger, but you did not kill him; his blood was on her hands, and she didn’t give a shit!”
Letting my hand slide from his cheek, I keep it pressed against his chest above his heart, which I feel beat strong and fast under my palm.
“You, Christian O’Reilly, are the strongest man I know. Each of your brothers behind me will agree. You take on so much and do so much to protect us that you forget we are here to protect you, too.
“Stop trying to do everything yourself. Stop blaming your brothers and yourself for what you had no control over. You were as much of a victim as I was during all of that. Taylor and our parents played us all, wanting to get as much out of us as possible, but they didn’t count on one thing: our love for one another would conquer everything they threw at us. Nothing they did was ever going to stop us all fighting until the end to get back to each other.” Closing the gap between us completely, I grip his shirt and hold it tight, forcing him to look at me.
“You always say I belong to you, well guess what, Christian O’Reilly, you belong to me too, and there is nothing I am not willing to do for you. I just need you to stop blaming yourself and your brothers for what was out of your control. I need you to let us help you and for you to realise we will protect you just as viciously as you will protect us. Understand?”
For a moment, Christian looks at me as a single tear rolls down his cheek. I reach up and wipe it away before laying my hand back on his cheek as I look deep into his tear-filled eyes.
“Use your words, Daddy,” I tease with a small smile. It has the effect I hoped for as a short burst of laughter escapes him as his eyes close and arms tighten around me as he buries his face in my hair.
“Yes, Sweetheart,” he mumbles against my head. We stay in each other's arms for a moment as he breathes deeply. Eventually he pulls away enough to look deep into my eyes again.
“I am so sorry, Baby,” he whispers, cupping my cheek. “I could never hurt you, I don’t know what happened, I just-”
“Stop,” I whisper, shaking my head softly. “It was a shock, but I was never scared. No matter what, you would never hurt me, not really.”
For a moment, he rests his forehead on mine and breathes deeply.
“If I had hurt you, I would have-”
“Enough!” I snap this time. “You wouldn’t have; no matter how mad you get; you would never physically hurt me. I could feel you holding back.” I glance over my shoulder and spot Jason with even more swelling and bruising evident on his face.
“Shit, Jas. Did I do all that?” Christian asks. I turn so I’m beside him and able to see everyone.
The other three O’Reillys are still standing together, facing their eldest brother. I hadn’t noticed how close they were. They must have moved to ensure they could get to me if needed.
“Yeah, but I'm not sure if you’ve seen your face,” he shrugs, forcing a smile.
“No, I haven’t,” Christian smiles before approaching his brother. “I’m so sorry; all I could see was Hudson hurting her and nothing else. My anger blinded me, and I should have spoken to you about my feelings regarding it long before now.”
“Until tonight, I would have agreed with everything you said. That’s why I didn’t hit you back straight away; I deserved at least one decent punch.”
“Do I need to repeat myself?” I sigh dramatically, hoping to break up the tension in the air.
“No, Jazzy, you don’t,” Jason smiles, rolling his eyes. When they find me again, I watch his face become more serious. “But we will discuss a few things you just told us. I have questions, like why didn’t you tell us before?”
I look down at my feet, knowing I’m not ready to answer questions about everything.
“Not tonight. I think it’s safe to say we have all been through enough,” Sean says, stepping forward. The brothers all look at each other and nod.
“I know you will be having talks about whatever happened tonight, and I want to be there. I’m sick and tired of being kept out of the loop,” I snap, looking at Christian. “Hiding things isn’t protecting me; it’s making me feel like you think I’m too weak to deal with anything, and I’m not.” I step back, and all four look at me as I stand alone. “I want to prove to you that I am worthy of your love and the O’Reilly name.”
“You showed us that long before you realised it, Angel,” Jason says, stepping forward to take my hand and pulling me into his arms. “I don’t think you realise how strong we know you are. But yes, you deserve to know more.” I don’t miss the way he looks at Christian. “She’s right. It’s not protecting her.”
Christian looks at me in his brother's arms and nods.
“I know that now. You’ve shown me once again how strong you are.”
“She must be strong to have the courage to stack up the number of punishments she earned tonight,” Sean laughs. I look to Christian with an arched brow, who is smiling whilst shaking his head.
“She told me under no uncertain terms that there would be no punishments issued for anything said or done. Tonight, we were just two people arguing, like any other couple.” A smirk appears as he stares at me. “Although Maximus, you might disagree when you hear she poured over half a bottle of your favourite bourbon on the grass.”
I stare at him, shocked, before looking at Maximus.
“I didn’t know it was yours! I was trying to stop him from drinking himself into a coma!” I protest as Maximus takes a step forward.
“Do you have any idea how expensive that bourbon is?” he demands.
“Well, he was drinking it straight out of the bottle, so you wouldn’t have wanted to drink any more of it anyway.”
His head snaps up as he goes from staring at me to Christian.
“You owe me a bottle, arsehole,” he declares before rubbing his face. “I’m going to bed. Are you coming, Shorty? Or are you staying with one of the others?”
“I’m going to my room. I need some time to think,” I admit. Maximus nods before kissing my lips and wishing me a good night. Sean is behind him and kisses me quickly before the two of them head to bed, leaving Jason, Christian, and I standing in the hallway. I glance to where the security had been, but they have also gone, probably realising it was a family matter and no one was in any further danger.
I look between the two brothers and realise they need a little time to talk.
“Did I get through to the two of you?” I ask. “Do you finally accept that neither of you is to blame, and this arguing needs to stop.” I check I have both men's attention. “I will never choose one of you over the other, but I cannot handle the two of you arguing and fighting. You are more than just brothers; you are best friends and have been through too much to act like a couple of spoilt rich kids.” I look between the two of them, hoping it’s sinking in. “I hate violence, but I accept that it’s a part of being with you and have come to terms with that. But I will not accept it in our home, especially with each other.” I turn to Christian with raised brows.
“Now, you two obviously need to have a long chat, and it’s up to you when that is. But I suggest it is soon because otherwise, I will be forced to activate nagging wife mode before we are even married.”
“Yes, Sweetheart,” he smiles before looking at Jason. “I am sorry.”
“I know, me too. I think talking sometime soon would be a good idea. We’ve gotten so good at reading each other that we are also good at hiding shit too.”
Christian nods before looking to the stairs.
“But not now; I need to pass out and sleep off some of this alcohol before dealing with anything else.” He rubs his face as I smile at him.
“Yes, you do, as well as shower. You smell like a brewery.” I rush towards the stairs as Christian goes to grab me.
“Your time of being just Jasmine is coming to an end, Sweetheart. I will start punishing you again,” he warns with a smile. I stand on the bottom step and look at the two of them.
“On that note, I’m going to bed before I start being bratty then,” I smile before turning around and skipping up the stairs.
“Sweetheart?” I turn to Christian’s voice to find him standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me seriously. “Thank you. I think you were the only one who could have gotten through to me tonight, and you did it without a moment's hesitation. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but whatever it was, I’m grateful for it. I’m forever grateful for you.”
I stand on the step for a moment, looking at this man. When I saw him in the garden, I hadn’t gotten that loving feeling I always get when I look at him. But now, all I can feel is my love for him. I nearly trip as I rush down the stairs and throw myself into his arms. He catches me with ease and holds me close as I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face into his shoulder.
“I’ve always got your back, even when you think you don’t deserve it,” I whisper before lifting my head and looking at him. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, Sweetheart, more than you will ever know.” I kiss him once on the cheek before he lowers me back onto the step. I smile one more time before heading back up the stairs.
“Oh, one more thing,” he calls. I turn around, rolling my eyes.
“Daddy, I’m tired,” I groan dramatically, hoping to keep the smile on his face, and it works. Christian grins before nodding up the stairs.
“I was an arsehole tonight and stopped Maximus from coming in to see you when we got home. He wanted to be with you tonight, and I think it may be what he needed.”
I look up the stairs and think about how tightly he held me when we got into bed. I smile at Christian and nod before rushing up the stairs.
I don’t stop until I get to Maximus’s room, where the door’s open a little. I walk in to find him sitting up in bed. His head snaps to the door, and he looks confused.
“Shorty? I thought you wanted some space tonight?”
I climb into bed and snuggle up to him. He’s warm, and I realise how cold I had become since slipping out of bed earlier.
“I decided I would rather be back in here with you,” I whisper, smiling into his chest as he settles us back into bed. “As long as you don’t mind,” I add, already knowing the answer.
“I would spend every night cuddled up to you if I could. You know that.”
“I do,” I whisper as Maximus tightens his hold on me for a moment and kisses the top of my head.
“Get some sleep, Shorty.”
“Night, Daddy,” I whisper as I find sleep a lot easier this time while safe in Maximus’s arms.