53 - Leonid
53
Leonid
—
Two days later, I find myself crossing the Sitka Sound on my yacht, heading toward Monty’s island.
Up ahead, the estate rises out of the fog, stately and lonesome.
I’ve felt anxiety before. Too many times to count. But never to the point that I want to puke.
Hanging my head over the side of the boat, I spit into the sea.
The nausea passes by the time I reach the island, but my nerves wreak havoc on my heart rate.
What if Monty and I can’t work things out? I don’t have a backup plan.
One therapy session isn’t going to stop me from punching his lights out. That’s exactly what I’ll do if he doesn’t cooperate.
I want my girl back.
Tonight.
Kody and I trimmed our beards, cleaned up our hair, and put on our best boxer-briefs this morning.
Yeah, we’re fucking hopeful.
He got held up at the distillery but won’t be too far behind me.
Oliver greets me at the door, his face expressionless. “He’s upstairs.”
I ascend the grand staircase, my heartbeat resounding with the echo of my footsteps.
I find Monty curled up in bed, looking worse than he did two days ago.
Sweatpants, shirtless, unshaved, and unwashed, he stares blankly at a black-and-white romance movie on TV.
“Is that Casablanca?” I walk in without knocking.
He glares at me.
“Is this your plan?” I gesture at the TV. “This is how you solve your problems?”
He continues to glare, the anger in his eyes burning through the shadows there. Then he turns his attention back to the screen.
“I started seeing your doctor.” My palms slick with sweat.
“I know.”
“Tracking my movements in the app? You fucking creeper.”
“Yes.”
“Then you knew I was coming here.” I spot his phone on the nightstand.
He doesn’t remove his eyes from the TV.
“You left me that package for a reason. The note…” I clutch my nape and shift my weight. “You wanted me to remember Wolf, to grieve him. Well, I’m here, and I’m grieving. But I can’t do it alone. None of us can.”
“That’s not why you’re here.”
“Yeah. You’re right. I’m grieving her, too. I miss her. I fucking need her.” I feel my temper rising, the familiar heat licking at my insides. “The only way I’m getting her back is with you and Kody.”
For a moment, I think he’s going to tell me to leave. If he does, I’ll have to break his face, and that would hurt Frankie.
He pushes to a sitting position and meets my eyes. “I’m not convinced.”
“Convinced about what?”
“Your purpose here.”
Christ, he’s not making this easy.
I scrub my hands down my face and look him dead in the eye. “Like it or not, motherfucker, the four of us have been in a relationship for five months. We lived together. We ate our meals, worked out, pursued our dreams, learned to drive, cried, laughed, and fought together. We made all our decisions together as a team. Hell, we still do. The only thing the four of us haven’t done together is fuck.”
He doesn’t even blink.
“What am I missing?” I cross my arms.
“I think you covered it.” Powering off the TV, he shifts to the edge of the bed and clasps his hands between his knees. “But you brushed over some significant talking points.”
“Such as?”
“Did you two get your shit worked out yet?” Kody strides into the room, his black hair soaked by the rain.
“No.” I arch a brow at Monty. “Which points did I brush over?”
“If we share her, we’ll face a slew of new challenges. Social stigma, time management, insecurity, jealousy, boundaries, legal and financial complications, pecking order…”
Kody grunts.
“What?” Monty squints at him. “I know you’ve had your share of complications with this already, but polygamy in the middle of fucking nowhere isn’t the same as polygamy in modern society, where the world scrutinizes, judges, and interferes.”
“You care what people think?” I ask.
“Not at all.”
“You can make all the other shit go away with your money and influence.” Kody snaps his fingers. “Like that.”
“I can’t make our internal obstacles go away. Strakh men are controlling, domineering, and stubborn as fuck. Put three of us in a bed together and what do you think will happen? I don’t want to fight with you for the rest of my life.”
“You’re overthinking this.” I lace my hands behind my head. “Kody and I already sleep in the same bed. When we disagree, we work it out. We would do the same with you.”
“We know a thing or two about overcoming obstacles.” Kody leans against the dresser.
“Understatement,” I mutter.
Monty taps his fingers together, studying me. “Why did it take you two days to come here?”
“Nerves.” I brace a hand on my hip and chew my thumbnail. “Considering I turn every uncomfortable conversation into a brawl, I didn’t want to fuck this up. Dr. Thurber taught me some breathing techniques, which I haven’t used since I got here. I prepared a speech, which I forgot about until now. But I’m here. I came crawling back to you, willing to fucking beg, because I love her and refuse to spend one more night without her.”
“Thank you for your honesty.” His voice scratches, eyebrows furrowing.
“Why did I find you in bed, staring at the TV like you gave up on life?”
“Classic romantic movies are my comfort. I’m not giving up. Not even close.” He lifts a shoulder. “I wanted to open myself up, let you see a part of me no one else does. This…” He stands, gesturing at his unkempt appearance, the bed, and the TV. “This is me when no one else is around.”
“If you expect me to judge you for that, you got the wrong guy.”
He nods and scratches his shirtless abs.
Then he squares his shoulders, and a transformation settles over him. The passive, chill, bed-rotting, classic-movie-watching guy vanishes, and the Monty I know stares back at me, his blue eyes sharp and icy.
His expression conveys a depth of intellect and unyielding will, but it’s his dominating presence that makes me stand a little taller.
“If I’m in, I’m all in.” He stalks into the bathroom. “That means equal parts in this relationship and our family. I’m your brother and her lover.”
Kody and I exchange a look and follow him.
In one smooth motion, he strips his sweatpants and continues into the walk-in shower, fully naked.
“You said lover.” I lean against the wall just outside the stall. “Not husband.”
“If we do this, she’s married to all of us, even if the law doesn’t recognize it.” He turns, facing us, with a hand on the faucet. “If we do this, we’re giving her our last name.”
A shudder runs through me, starting at the base of my spine and spreading like wildfire. It’s not just a shiver. A cascade of electric excitement lights up every corner of my body. I feel it in my fingertips, tingling and alive. It courses through my legs, making my knees weak. My breath catches in my throat. My heart hammers in my chest.
This is her dream.
But not just hers.
It’s mine.
And by the looks of it, Kody’s, too.
He strides past me, crashes into Monty, and wraps him up in a chest-crushing, balls-slapping embrace that might’ve been awkward under other circumstances. Monty stands there, stark nude and uncertain, with his arms hovering at his sides.
Considering what we’re about to do, about to spend the rest of our lives doing, a naked hug should be foreplay for those two.
“All in.” Monty surrenders to the affection and squeezes his arms around Kody.
“All in.” Kody steps back, breathing hard, and reaches for me.
We come together, our fists buried in each other’s backs.
“We’re going to get our girl,” he whispers, hugging me tighter.
“Yeah, we fucking are.” I smack a kiss on his cheek. “All in.”
We pull apart, grinning and jittery.
“We’re doing this my way.” Monty turns on the shower and ducks his head under the spray. “I lead. Every step of the way. Understood?”
“Tonight only.” I straighten, meeting his eyes. “We’ll see how you do. Then you can negotiate for more.”
A smirk twitches his lips. “Deal.”