Chapter Four
Several minutes passed before she finally began to settle, exhausted but calm and relaxed. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt free. Free to speak how she wanted. Free to talk with them and let them hold her.
Camila curled against the men's bodies for the comfort she so desperately needed. The last time she’d been held was before her father died, which had been so long ago. She was finally able to inhale a deep breath that steadied her, and her crying lessened until it was gone.
“I’m so sorry you’re going through a rough time,” Aiden said.
Malik gripped her knee. “Baby, you don’t have a husband or a boyfriend, do you?”
She shook her head.
“That’s good,” Aiden said and kissed her head. “Do you feel better?”
She tilted her head back so she could see both men.
“Yes. Thank you. I must look awful.” She knew how she looked. Red nose, swollen eyes, and a blotchy complexion. If she’d been at the house, she would have been locked in her room without food for the rest of the day because he couldn’t allow her to be seen disheveled or distraught.
Malik smiled tenderly. “Not at all. You look beautiful. Don’t be embarrassed, sweetheart. You’ve had a rough time.”
His tone was so gentle she had the strongest urge to touch his face, and she had to fist her hand to keep from reaching for him.
“Can you talk about it yet?”
She turned to Aiden and shook her head.
“Baby, consider this. If you’re running from someone, we can’t protect you if we don’t know who it is.”
Camila hadn’t considered that, but could she trust them? She might not have a choice. They were the only things between her and her nightmare. She decided to give them the basics and hoped that was enough for the time being.
“It’s my stepfather. He has ... unrealistic expectations. He won’t let me be anything but perfect. Perfect body, face, hair, and manners. Anything less is unspeakable.” God, if they only knew the half of it, she thought.
“Jesus,” Malik said. “Is your mom still alive?”
“Yes.”
“What does she think about this?”
She tried to laugh. “He’s the same way with her.”
Malik scowled. “And she puts up with it and allows it to happen to you?”
“Let’s just say my mother isn’t a strong person.”
Aiden hugged her against his chest and kissed her forehead.
“You don’t have to worry anymore. We’ll take care of you.”
She stared up at him. God, she hoped he was right, but she had a feeling they wouldn’t be able to keep her when Edward showed up. He was much too powerful.
“Do you think you could eat more, honey?” Malik asked.
She shook her head. She wasn’t hungry since they gave her more to eat in that one bowl than she was allowed for a day, but the thought of a slice of bread was more than she could take. “Maybe a slice of bread.”
Malik grinned. “You’ll love it. It’s about done, so you’ll get it hot and fresh with sweet butter.”
She almost groaned. Butter, God, she hadn’t had that in longer than she could remember.
“I’d like to try a small slice.”
“You got it,” Malik said and set her legs back on the sofa. “I’ll be right back.” He looked at Aiden and snorted. “I’m not going even to ask you because I already know the answer.”
She and Aiden watched him walk away before he looked down at her.
“He knows I could eat a whole loaf if he let me.”
She laughed. “Really? A whole one? Have you ever done it?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said and grinned. “But it was his own fault for leaving me with it while he went into town.”
Malik came back with three plates and handed one to each person before he sat down with his own. “I was only gone an hour for God's sake,” Malik griped. “You’d think I left him for days.”
She giggled so hard she almost dropped her plate.
Malik grabbed it with a smile while Aiden sat her up with her back against the cushion between them. Malik handed back her plate and dug into his slice of bread.
Malik had slathered on the butter, and it melted over the freshly baked bread. She took her first bite, and her eyes rolled. “Mmm.” She chewed and swallowed. “Oh, my God. That is the best bread I’ve ever eaten.”
“Thanks.”
They were all quiet as they finished their food.
Malik took her plate and set it on the table beside the sofa.
She rested back, placed her hands over her stomach, and groaned. “I’ve never felt this full before in my life.”
She couldn’t remember the last time her stomach was satisfied. The hunger she always felt became a part of her life, so she just dealt with it.
Her daydreams were what got her through the years.
She would stare out a window and dream of having a family of her own.
Her children would be out in the backyard playing with her husband, and she would come out with chocolate chip cookies and lemonade.
After their snack, the family would play together until they were all exhausted, dirty, and a bit sunburned—everything she wasn’t allowed in her real life.
If her stepfather had figured out her dreams, she would have been locked in her room forever. But thankfully, the daydreams were all hers, the only thing she had of her own, and no one could take them from her.
Just then, the lights flickered and went out. She sat up abruptly with fear taking over.
“Easy, love,” Aiden said. “It’s just the electricity. We knew it would go out.”
“What should we do?”
The men smiled at her.
Malik brushed the hair from her face. “Nothing we can do. Whenever it storms, it goes out. It's part of living the way we do, so we’re used to it.”
“How long have you lived here?”
Malik thought about it for a minute. “About five years, right, Aiden?”
Aiden nodded. “I think that’s about right. This used to be Malik’s uncle’s place, but he gave it to Malik when he passed. At the time, we were overseas.”
“You traveled?”
Malik grunted. “Not the way you’re thinking. We were in the military, and we spent a few years over there.”
He didn’t say where they’d been, and she got the feeling they didn’t want to talk about it.
“So, you came back and made your life here?”
Malik smiled. “Yes, it seemed like the best place, and we’ve been very happy here.”
She smiled at Malik. Happy was a term she didn’t know a lot about.
“Do you miss going to the movies, bars, anywhere guys hang out?”
Aiden shook his head. “No. I can honestly say I don’t care if I ever see any of it again.”
Camila tilted her head. “It’s got to have its drawbacks, like losing the electricity.”
Malik and Aiden shared a look.
Aiden cleared his throat. “The only drawback we’ve learned is that it’s hard to meet women. This might shock you, but Malik and I share.”
“Share?” she asked, confused.
“Women,” Aiden said bluntly.
Her eyes widened. “Women?”
“Yes,” Malik popped into the conversation. “We want a woman to live here with us, have our children, and make a family.”
She sat in stunned silence because she had no idea what to say. She’d never heard of such a thing.
“It happens more than you think.”
She turned back to Aiden. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. There are towns that have popped up all over the US for people in menage relationships.”
“Do you find that offensive?” Aiden asked.
She shook her head at Aiden. She really didn’t know what she thought, but she wasn’t repulsed at all. In fact, the opposite could be true.
“Not at all.”
“Listen, it’s getting late. We usually crash down here when the electricity is out to stay warm in the winter. I’ll go grab some blankets and pillows. We’ll sleep in front of the fireplace, and you’ll be on the sofa right above us.”
“Oh, I don’t want to take anyone’s bed.”
“You’re not, baby,” Dan said as he moved the sofa back. She grabbed onto the cushions. How he could move the large piece of furniture with her on it was beyond her.
She watched the men make one large pallet on the floor in front of her and then two beds on that with a space between them.
She couldn’t help but imagine herself in the middle of the two, and it shocked her how right it felt. They’d only known each other for a few hours. How could she feel safe with them enough to feel attraction at the level she did?
Camila inhaled and tried to calm herself. The exhaustion was starting to creep up on her, and she could feel her eyelids begin to droop.
There was plenty of time the next day to think about her feelings. She wasn’t up for it right then.