Chapter 12
Accountable Plan
Sara
I look over the top of my laptop at Finn as he chews on a pencil. Looking at security images of a strip club should really be more interesting than it actually is. It’s getting late, and so far, I haven’t found anything useful.
Just the original file of the guys with Tom. No other sightings. Not even a glimpse of Tom. The only pattern I’m finding is which girls work when.
Drew shuts his laptop and stands. “Come on, princess, let’s take your pup for a walk.”
I rise before he changes his mind. My vision is blurring from staring at the images.
“Peabody,” I say softly.
He rises from the leather couch and stretches before trotting over to me. I bend down and pick him up. Dante stands too.
When I meet his normally cool blue eyes, I find them focused on me.
“I’ll join you.”
“The more the merrier.” Drew smirks. “He’ll look like the most guarded pup on the block.”
Smiling, I shake my head, but then Dante steps closer to me and I forget how to breathe. The scent of the ocean fills my senses and makes my knees weak. His hand settles on the small of my back like it’s nothing. Like I belong to him.
Fuck, I want to be his.
I swallow the lump that forms in my throat. We’re nothing more than fuck buddies. I need to remember that, especially when the guys go out on dates to keep up appearances. Otherwise, it will rip me apart.
Dante tips my chin up so our eyes meet. I want him again. To feel him inside me. To have him possess me.
His smile is almost too much. His attention is everything. I want to look away. To see if the others are looking at me the same.
But I don’t seek out Wyatt because I’m afraid it’ll be more of how he’s been tonight. He’s concentrating on the problem and I’ve become invisible again. My chest aches. We’ve done this dance for so long. He’s trying, but we both have long standing habits to ignore the other.
Instead, I keep my gaze steady on Dante. The heat in his eyes is electrifying. He makes me feel wanted, but for how long? How long before the cold returns to his eyes?
I don’t want an end date because I don’t want this to end.
Looking away from Dante, I follow Drew out the door into the elevator.
Drew wraps his hand around my hip and pulls me into his side. “You good, princess?”
His dark eyes search mine as Dante joins us and presses the bottom floor button.
“Just tired.” It’s a cop out, but I don’t need to open more shit to worry about right now. We’re engrossed in finding the clips for Mac and X so they’ll tell us what they know about Tom. My worries are for the future. This isn’t going to end tonight.
“Maybe we should take a break from the videos and look again tomorrow night.” Drew massages my hip.
“No.” It comes out before I can even stop myself. “We need to know what Tom has gotten himself into. What he’s gotten us into.”
Dante’s hand slips onto my back, supporting me, comforting me. Peabody yips.
This whole situation is because of Tom. If Tom had been here and I’d started dating Drew, would Wyatt, Finn, and Dante have given a fuck?
After all, I’ve dated people before and none of them cared.
Tom would’ve found out eventually and made his usual stink, but besides the club and his man whore reputation, Drew is the perfect guy for me to date on paper. And I really do like him.
The elevator opens and we all step off. Drew leads the way as I put Peabody on the ground so he can sniff and do his thing.
“Tom wouldn’t have left you in our care if he didn’t think you’d be safer with us.” Dante’s words are soft as his hand rubs a circle on my back.
I long to lean into him but I hold myself back. It’s stupid. I should just take what I can while I have them, but instead, I’m worried about getting used to them. About relying on them. For years, they’ve pushed me away and now they’re mine. At least for a while.
Things will end. This will end. And we’ll go back to how it was before, and I’ll have to learn to live with it. But I’ll know what it’s like to be held by them, taken by them. To own a part of them even for a small portion of my life.
My mood falls further as we walk to a small park. Once we’re there, Peabody takes advantage and runs around a little on the longer lead. It’s early evening and no one else is about.
Maybe Dante and Drew think I’m hung up on Tom and what we might find out, but instead, I’m worried about what happens tonight. To me.
Will I go to sleep in that big bed all by myself? Will they expect me to make a choice? To choose who to have in my bed? How could I even begin to pick? If I go to bed alone, should I sneak into one of their bedrooms? Is that allowed?
We haven’t had time to work out the logistics of our relationship, besides the obvious stuff. But what about the day-to-day stuff. We’re not boyfriends and girlfriend. I can’t just walk up to any of them and kiss them. Maybe? In private?
Dante tips my chin up. “What’s wrong, pip?”
My heart races at his touch. It’s all so complicated. I just want it to be easy. I want to sink into him and let him carry me away.
His eyes darken as his hand curves to hold my jaw. He lowers his head and I can’t help tipping up to meet him. His lips claim mine and a flood of sparks work through my system. How can I not be greedy and want this all the time?
He lifts his head and his eyes search mine. “You don’t get to do that.”
My heart skips a beat.
“Do what?” I’m still in a daze from his kiss.
“Not tell us when something is bothering you.” He tucks my hair behind my ear. “This is all new to us. We can’t help you if you don’t trust us with what’s wrong.”
I blow out a breath and step back, even as everything inside me wants to press forward. Lean into his warmth and let him take care of everything.
“It’s been a long day.” I look over at Peabody as he sniffs at a bush. Drew has his leash. “Everything’s happening so fast. We might get our first piece of the puzzle regarding Tom. I fucked you, Wyatt, Finn, and Drew. And really hope I get to do it again.”
“But?” Dante asks.
“But I don’t know how to do any of this.”
“You’re amazing already, princess.” Drew brings Peabody back over to us and smirks. “A natural.”
I give him a smile before glancing up at Dante. “Last night was easy. We all fucked. We all went to sleep.”
I let that hang in the air because I’m worried about tonight. Tomorrow we work. What does that look like? What does any of this look like?
“How tired are you, pip?” Dante takes my hand and reels me back into his side.
“We have to get up for work in the morning.” I don’t want to make decisions. I just want to be with these men and not worry about anything else.
“We should clear up any misconceptions.” Drew scoops up Peabody and nods back toward his place. Dante falls into step with him, bringing me.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Meaning it’s time to have the talk, princess.”
Finn looks up as we enter. The lamps cast a low glow over the open area.
“Did you find anything?” Drew asks.
Finn shakes his head and stretches his arms over his head. It’s like the guys we’re looking for are ghosts. We know they’ve been there, but we can’t find any evidence of them. Even with the security footage.
"We’ll try again tomorrow." Drew sets Peabody down. Peabody runs over to the couch, hops up on it, and lies down. "Right now, we need to make sure we’re all clear on what we’re doing with Sara."
Wyatt lifts his gaze to mine, and once again, I feel pinned by his attention. My insides swirl with a flurry of butterflies like it’s the first time he’s looked at me all over again. This is ridiculous. I’m not a teenage girl anymore.
Wyatt closes his laptop and holds his hand out to me. I swallow. I want to go to him, but I’m afraid of the rejection. His dark eyes soften.
"Come here, trouble." His voice is low and sweeps through me.
My feet move of their own accord until he draws me down onto his lap. I want to be angry at the way he treated me while we worked, but I know he’s worried about Tom. I just don’t want it to always be like this.
"Are you worried, trouble?" His fingers hold my chin as he searches my eyes.
I don’t want to lie and say no, but I also don’t want to say yes.
The others join us at the table.
"We need to discuss the rules." Dante leans back in his chair.
"No fucking others. No sex schedule. No specific end date. Drew gets date nights. Sara sleeps at our apartment. Sara lets us know if it’s too much." Finn smiles. "Easy."
"Not entirely easy," I say.
Finn cocks his head. “You aren’t already saying it’s too much?”
“No. Fuck, no.” I meet his green eyes and his smile returns.
"What do you need to know to make you comfortable?" Dante lays his forearms on the table.
I sigh. Fuck it. "We’re not all going to sleep together tonight?"
"We don’t really have the bed for that, pip." Dante glances at Drew and sighs. "We can’t always sleep in the hotel either. And honestly, I sleep better when I’m not surrounded by dicks."
Drew laughs. "You’re worried about us? I think the only one who has to worry about our cocks is Sara."
"Who do I sleep with tonight?" I widen my eyes and meet each of their gazes. "How do we choose? Draw straws? But is that a sex schedule then? Can I have sex with more than one guy on any given day?"
Dante nods. "Is this something you want to sort out? Or do you want it to be in the moment?"
Wyatt strokes his hand over my thigh. "Whatever you want, trouble."
I bite my lip. Part of me desperately wants to say all of them all the time, but that’s not reasonable. "I don’t want to decide."
Dante looks at the others. "We’ll sort it out then."
"I don’t want to sleep alone," I blurt out, afraid that will be the solution.
Wyatt chuckles softly.
"Not a problem you’ll have, flower." Finn smirks. "My guess is it will be like the Hunger Games every night deciding who gets to sleep with you."
"Count on it." Drew winks at me.
My cheeks heat and I shift a little on Wyatt’s lap, thinking of what it will be like to sleep with each of them. I got a small taste of how it will be with Wyatt. I want more.
Wyatt strokes my thigh. "We need to finish searching the security footage and figure out who Tom was working for. Then we can each work on our contracts with you. That way you’ll know exactly what to expect."
"What about at work tomorrow?" I ask.
"Fuck, flower. I’m going to need you to bring me coffee at least twice in the morning and once in the afternoon." Finn grins and rubs his hands together. "You get coffee breaks, yeah?"
My insides heat at what he’s implying. He got me off in his office once already. I arch an eyebrow. "I do like coffee."
"We need to maintain some decorum in the office." Wyatt shakes his head at Finn. "She’s there for an internship. Not to get fucked."
Honestly, I’m good with both.
"I’ll pick you up for lunch, princess." Drew stands and pulls me into his arms, hugging me close. I breathe in his spicy cologne. "We’ll use the time wisely."
He cradles my ass and draws me in close enough that I feel his cock harden against my stomach. That heat flows through my veins. Maybe we’ll break in his apartment tonight? Or does he want to do that when it’s just us?
He pulls away just enough to lean down and kiss me. I sink into it, knowing this is his good night kiss. Wishing tonight wouldn’t end but knowing it has to. Tomorrow we go back to work and pretend this weekend never happened.