54. Emmett
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
EMMETT
I f you had asked me whether I thought my twin brother was capable of aftercare, I probably would have laughed in your face.
And yet here I am, handing him a glass of water for him to help Waverly drink while he has her bundled up in his lap with a soft blanket wrapped around her. He whispers soft praise to her as she comes back to herself, and I can’t help but feel a little jealous.
I loved providing aftercare after our scene at the club. When it was just us in our own little bubble, our bodies coming down from what we’d just played out. It’s true peace.
But I don’t begrudge Kade having this time with her.
Not like I thought I would.
I round the other side of the bed and prop myself up beside them. I brush my fingers down Waverly’s cheek, reveling in the softness beneath my touch.
“You doing okay, Little Temptress?” I murmur softly.
I turned all the lights off, apart from the bedside table, when I got up to get her water and a muesli bar, allowing the room to have a more relaxed feel as her senses calmed down.
She nods. “I’m good.” The words are whispered, but there’s a happiness in her tone I don’t think I’ve heard from her before.
We’ve thrown so much at her tonight, far more than I thought she would be able to handle. And yet here she is in my twin’s arms, her body soft and relaxed as he cares for her.
“You were magnificent, sweet girl,” Kade tells her. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than when you fell apart for us.”
Her cheeks heat, and she buries her face into his bare chest, but the soft smile that touches her lips is all the proof I need that she doesn’t regret anything that happened between us tonight.
“Have some more water for me,” Kade demands, his words gentle, but there’s no arguing with him as he holds the glass to her lips, and she drinks obediently.
God, she’s perfect.
She’s everything I hoped she would be and more.
“Are you tired?” I ask, and she nods her head as she stifles a yawn.
“How about we get some sleep, and we can talk more tomorrow?”
“Don’t you have to work tomorrow? It’s Sunday after all.”
I nod. “I do, but I should be back before you have to go to work, and we can talk all of this out.”
Worry fills her eyes, and Kade must notice because he tightens his hold on her. “He doesn’t mean it in a bad way, Waverly. He means we need to talk about how we’re going to move forward. Where we live. Who we tell. How we tackle our dad. Those kinds of things. Not whether or not we proceed.” He grasps her chin between his fingers, forcing her wide eyes to meet his. “I don’t want to talk for Emmett, but this is it for me. I spent years unsure why I was pulled to keep you safe. Why I was desperate to catch sight of you at every single opportunity. And now I know. You were made for us, and after what we just did, you’re never getting rid of me.”
Waverly’s eyes brim with tears, and her bottom lip wobbles slightly, and I’m moving without thought. I kneel beside them, making sure she can see both our faces and how serious I am about the words that are about to fall from my lips. “You’re ours, Waverly. There’s nothing we won’t do to keep you safe. But to do that, you have to give us your fears and your worries. We want to take them from you so you don’t have to bear the burden of them.”
She drags her bottom lip between her teeth and nibbles at it as her eyes flick between us. “I’ve never had anyone before,” she admits. “No one I knew was there, at least. I don’t know how to let someone look after me.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Kade assures her, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips before turning her face so I can do the same.
When my twin suggested sharing Waverly, I thought he was insane.
But now we’re here, and it feels right.
If only there wasn’t the threat of our father finding out hanging over our head.
I don’t know why Salvatore Draper still wants her after all these years, but there’s nothing we won’t do to keep her safe, including burning his entire organization to the ground right alongside my father’s.