25. Sacrifice
Chapter 25
Sacrifice
CALLIE
I made a decision.
Sitting outside for a few minutes after Cole left, the exchange replayed in my head. During the heavy conversation, my focus hadn’t been on him. Not in the way he deserved. My thoughts and the conversation itself had also included Freddy and Marco.
My desire was the same. Despite my desperation for him to kiss me, it wasn’t solely aimed at Cole. Or Marco. Or Freddy.
There wasn’t even a slight preference for one over the others. Not a narrow-margin lead. Not a fraction of an advantage.
It was a perfectly equal three-way split.
Once I let someone in, I don’t let them go.
I’d wanted clarity, and his words had given it. I knew what I had to do.
Leave.
I would never be able to choose, and it was unfair. Not just to them but to me, too. I couldn’t keep growing attached, knowing I would lose two of them. Or all three if things went as horrendously as I feared.
We needed a clean break. Or as clean as we could make it. I would still see them at Parisian Crescent when I got the all clear to return to work. The lack of an apartment was also an issue, but I would ask Cole if I could stay in one of his unfurnished penthouses while I figured that out. Or maybe a discount on a room. It didn’t have to be anything special since it wouldn’t be for long.
Armed with a half-assed plan but a full-ass of stubbornness, I got up to find the men. It didn’t even have to be all three. I would blurt it out to the first one I found. I was anxious to get it over with.
I had no luck. Not even in the kitchen where Freddy had been all day, testing a new sauce.
Where the hell are they?
I went to the front door to see their cars were parked in the driveway before heading past the dining room. The three-season room—which I was fairly certain was a four-season room in Vegas—was positioned at the back of the house with a view of the peaceful yard. It would’ve been an amazing place to relax if not for the fact it was clearly underutilized and mostly empty.
Or it had been until Cole had filled it with two desks positioned to form one L-shaped one, a computer system that could pilot all of NASA, and four monitors.
Four .
While he’d set it up, he’d muttered about how crazy it was not to have a home office while Marco had pointed out that bodyguarding wasn’t exactly something that could be done from the comfort of his home.
A valid point.
Found them.
The men stood at the mega desk, their voices a low rumble as they spoke.
I didn’t think.
Didn’t slow.
Didn’t pause to listen or knock before disturbing them.
I moved with determination, my mind firmly on needing to get out my pent-up thoughts. I opened my mouth to blurt it out.
And then I froze when I saw my dead body on the monitor in front of them.
It was my uniform.
My chunky heeled shoes.
My backpack.
My blonde braid—at least it looked like it used to be blonde.
It was hard to tell because my dead body appeared to be floating in a pool of red blood.
A squeak escaped me, and three sets of panicked eyes turned to see me standing there.
Marco broke the tense silence. “Callie.”
My name was enough to snap me out of it.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for. The interruption? Being dead? Either way, it seemed like the right thing to say before I took off in a run.
I had no clue why I expected them to stay where they were. On TV, dramatic exits included equally dramatic name shouting, but no one ever moved to follow.
I didn’t have that luck.
They must not have expected me to sprint away because I did manage to gain a little distance before their footsteps thundered after mine. They caught up before I reached the stairs but didn’t stop me as I ran the rest of the way to Marco’s room.
“Whoa, hey,” Cole said soothingly as they entered behind me. They didn’t wait at the door or give me space. They closed the distance to surround me.
“I was dead,” I whispered before shaking my head. “ Someone is dead.
“It was a mannequin,” Marco reassured. “And red dye. No one is dead. You’re safe. You’re okay.”
Logically, I knew that I was fine. I was standing there. Alive. Breathing—albeit a lot faster than normal from my anxiety and the run.
But I’d thought it was an actual dead body. One who looked a lot like me. Not in a coincidental way. The details of it couldn’t be anything other than purposeful.
Right down to the frayed rip on the left side of the backpack pocket.
Seeing that image was facing death and my own mortality, all in one gruesome picture.
“No one is dead?” I needed to hear it again.
“No one,” Cole confirmed as Freddy rubbed my back.
“But it was supposed to resemble me.”
It wasn’t a question, but Marco answered anyway. “Yes.”
He didn’t give any more details, and I didn’t ask. I wasn’t in a place to hear them right then.
I took a shaky breath. And another. They didn’t help, and tears filled my eyes before spilling down my cheeks as I mourned a plastic dummy.
“ Mon ciel étoilé ,” Freddy murmured as he continued to rub my back.
Cole moved closer until he was positioned shoulder to shoulder with him. Cupping the back of my head, he held me to his chest as more tears fell. He pressed his lips to my hair and whispered reassurances that they would keep me safe.
Plus, a couple of exaggerated threats of what they would do to the person when they caught them.
The words worked anyway, and my tears dried. I shifted away.
Or attempted to.
They didn’t let me.
No longer driven by fear or support, the vibe of the hug changed. There was an urgency to their touches, their hands roaming. Up to my neck then down to just above my ass. Stroking.
No.
Caressing .
The air around us grew heavy with anticipation.
The balmy calm before a lightning storm.
Remembering my earlier decision, I half-heartedly tried to move away again. I barely gained an inch of distance.
Freddy’s index finger hooked into my belt loop as Cole gripped my braid. I thought each would pull me their way—a toy they were fighting for.
They held me in place.
Between them.
With them.
Lips parted, I tipped my head back to look up at them. I didn’t get what was happening, but that didn’t change the restless need that tightened my core.
Freddy met my confused gaze but didn’t offer any answers. He dipped his head to brush a kiss against my cheek.
The corner of my mouth.
His hand moved to meet Cole’s at the back of my head, and his lips finally pressed against mine in a soft kiss. That was all I got before he pulled away far too soon.
Using his hold, he turned my head until I looked at Cole. He held me firmly in place.
A sacrifice he was offering up.
And one that Cole took.
Unlike Freddy’s soft tease, his mouth crashed to mine as he forced his tongue in to taste. It was rough.
Greedy .
But also too fast as he quickly tore himself away.
Being in their arms. Kissing them—or rather being kissed by them. It was so much more than I’d imagined.
And I’d imagined it a lot.
Even in those wildest fantasies, I hadn’t allowed myself to actually hope for more than one of them. I’d thought about it, of course. Especially when it became clear that choosing would be impossible. But they’d been fleeting dreams.
Not an actual possibility that I could have two.
Or maybe three…
I twisted my head, searching for Marco. Selfishly hoping.
All I caught was his retreating back as he left the room.
My heart plummeted, but I couldn’t blame him for doing what was undoubtedly the smart thing.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try to stop him—even if that risked more rejection.
I was about to call his name, but I didn’t get the chance to speak. Freddy stole my mouth, his tongue sweeping in to dance with mine. His kiss—like his flirting—was more playful but no less exciting.
Lightness edged with a razor blade.
Cole’s was just blades. Destruction. Ownership. Domination. He plundered and used, moving my head how he wanted to take what he needed.
Wildly different, but equally as arousing.
It went back and forth like that. Dizzying kisses that only paused long enough to pull my shirt off. Then their own. I’d known Freddy was covered in a myriad of tattoos, but the few on Cole were a surprise.
Footsteps entered the room, and I twisted to watch with unfocused eyes as Marco moved.
Not straight to us.
But to yank one of the chairs across the room until it was positioned next to us. Still in his untucked dress shirt and pants, he sat and hung an arm over the back of the seat. His other hand lifted to rub across his jaw.
It wasn’t what I’d hoped for.
But it was so much better than nothing.
He raised his gaze from my bare torso and took in what he undoubtedly saw in my expression.
The happiness.
Surprise.
Gratitude.
His own face softened, though his eyes darkened and stayed hooded. “Was just turning off the oven, baby girl. We finally have you. Would fucking suck to have to stop if the house went up in flames.”
“I dunno.” Freddy’s lips trailed along my bare shoulder. “As long as this room stays safe, the rest of the world could burn for all I give a damn.”
“Agreed,” Cole muttered before dipping to twirl his tongue around my hardened nipple.
They took turns. Kissing me. Touching me. Cupping my breasts to flick or pinch my nipples. Sucking the hard peaks into their mouths. Biting. Licking.
It drove me insane.
As did the fact that Marco remained casually sitting in the chair every time I looked to the side, though his black eyes burned into me.
Freddy’s and Cole’s movements were unhurried, but the urgency to their methodical actions was as if they were forcing themselves to take it slow.
I didn’t want slow.
I needed more.
I don’t know who to start with.
Good thing I don’t have to choose.
Working between our bodies, I undid Freddy’s belt and pants, but I didn’t push them down. Not until I had a hold of Cole’s stretchy waistband to lower them, too.
Freeing them both at the same time.
Holy.
Shit.
I’d seen cocks before—accidentally and in porn, but still. I’d seen them.
I’d assumed the kind in the latter only existed in those movies. Actually, I’d wondered if they were fake. A prosthetic addition to make them more enticing. I hadn’t thought it was possible for one to be that large.
I was clearly wrong because two intimidatingly massive ones were right there. Hard for me.
Waiting for me.
And Freddy’s was pierced—a barbell through the gathered skin on the underside of the head.
My mouth went dry.
While they stepped out of the bunched fabric, I looked to see Marco was no longer leaning back in a relaxed position. He was sitting forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands hanging between his spread legs.
He stayed removed, and I didn’t want to force him to participate in something if he didn’t want to. But I needed him to be a part of it.
In some way.
I pointedly glanced toward his lap as I asked, “Please?”
He didn’t make me spell it out. His eyes stayed locked with mine as he unbuckled his belt, the metal clanging together. When he unfastened his pants and shifted, there were no boxers to move out of the way. An unreal hard-on sprang loose to stretch up his stomach.
“ Va te faire foutre ,” Freddy bit out. At my confusion, he clarified, “I told him to go fuck himself.”
“Show-off,” Cole added.
As if either of them was lacking.
I started to go for the two within reach, but fingers wrapped around my wrist before I could. My head snapped back to meet Cole’s eyes. I knew I had to look pathetically distraught, but his hard-on jerked as he stared down at me.
“Ask me first,” he ordered.
My plan is already out the window.
I might as well go for it completely.
I swallowed hard. “Can I touch you?” On a shaky exhale, I added, “Daddy?”
He let out a groan. “Don’t say what you don’t mean, baby.”
But that was the thing. I did mean it. I’d been thinking about the Daddy stuff since that night in Parisian Crescent. But I’d been obsessing about it since Cole had said it a few days before.
It was clear that it wasn’t just a casual nickname to him. His level of stern bossiness mixed with tender care proved that. And after a lifetime of working to be the responsible one, it’d been so freeing to let go and have someone else take care of things for a change.
Someones , technically.
He’d warned that there was no switch he turned on and off. I didn’t know what that entailed, but if the previous few days were any indication, it didn’t matter.
I wanted it.
My voice was steadier as I repeated, “Can I touch you, Daddy?”
His kiss was a violent cyclone, sweeping me up and leaving me a mess when he was done. He rested his forehead against mine. “We’ll talk about this more later ’cause if I tried to do it now, my dick and the other two would kill me. But if you say stop, that’s it. It stops, and we talk it through. Don’t do something you don’t want. Got it?”
I gave a frantic nod.
“Say it.”
“Yes.” At his expectant stare, I added, “Daddy.”
“Better than a million fantasies, baby,” he muttered as he stood straight. That show of softness was gone.
I reached for them again, but that time, it wasn’t only the hand going for himself that he stopped. It was the one nearly to Freddy’s pierced cock, too.
“Ask me first,” he repeated.
Freddy choked out a moan, and his hand lifted like he was going to grab himself before he dropped it to hang by his side.
“You?” I asked Cole.
Is he saying that because I’m his?
Or because Freddy is also his?
He arched a dark brow. “I don’t like to repeat myself.”
Since precum was steadily dripping from Freddy’s cock to make the head and his piercing glisten, he clearly didn’t mind.
Which meant I didn’t, either.
“Can I touch him, Daddy?” I asked.
He released me, and my fingers shook as I wrapped them around both.
“ Merde ,” Freddy gritted through clenched teeth, arching forward to press himself into my hand.
“Harder, baby.” Cole’s fist covered mine, and he used me to squeeze tightly. It seemed like it should’ve hurt, but the tendons in his neck popped out as he dropped it back to groan. “Good girl, just like that.”
I’m glad I’m still in my jeans, or my arousal would be dripping down my thighs.
My poor panties are already ruined.
They were about the same size, with Cole maybe a little longer and Freddy slightly thicker. I barely got to stroke before Cole stilled my movements. I thought I’d done something wrong, but it was his turn to take a shaky breath. “You keep going, this will be over before it starts.”
“Oh.”
I must not have done a good job hiding the surge of pride that went through me because he smirked. “Yeah. Oh.” He grabbed the end of my braid but not to tug it like he usually did. His fingers quickly undid the tie. “Been thinking about doing this since the first time I saw you.”
“Me, too,” Freddy echoed.
Cole combed through the bent curls. If it was a frizzy mess, I didn’t care. Just like I didn’t care when he added, “Like a damn goddess.”
Despite my snapped attitude when he said that word, my hatred of it decreased each time he used it. But it nearly disappeared at the reverence in his tone and the way he looked at me with awe in his eyes.
The good kind. Not the evil, calculating kind.
I wasn’t sure if Freddy expected me to get angry or if the timing was a coincidence, but he gripped my cheeks and yanked me closer. My body crashed into his with his hard-on trapped between us. His tongue surged in without the playfulness of earlier. The savage desperation stole my breath.
Cole shifted behind me, his own hardness pressed to my back as he teased his fingertips along the curve of my breasts, touching everywhere but the oversensitive nipples. I was about to beg when he finally used his thumb and index finger to roll them before giving a hard tweak. He dropped his hands to span my hips and pull me away from Freddy.
And harder against himself.
I braced for an argument—or at least mild bickering—but it wasn’t done out of self-interest.
Or at least not just that.
It was so he could access the closure on my jeans to shove them off. Once I was naked, he tugged me even farther away, dislodging my mouth from Freddy’s.
That time, Freddy did argue. “I wasn’t done.”
Cole’s hand skimmed down my stomach, leaving goosebumps across my skin. “You’ll get her back. But I can’t wait another second to have her taste coating my tongue until I forget what everything else in the world tastes like.”
“No, yeah, your plan is better,” he agreed.