Chapter 26
Reece
We’re watching a movie again, the four of us, in bed. I can’t complain, since I’m here and Aurora hasn’t kicked me out, but it’s awkward.
When Jackson and Ethan returned, I was massaging Aurora’s shoulders. Her gaze followed Ethan like a lost puppy. He kissed her forehead and told her to give him ten minutes to shower.
Now, she rests between his legs, her back to his chest, his arms around her. Jax and I sit beside them, our order rearranged, Aurora no longer at my side.
I think about what Jackson said—how Ethan is his safe place. It’s clear he’s the same for Aurora. I knew this early on, knew who to call when there was a problem or if her anxiety spiked. I just hate how she needs him because of something I’ve done, and now, I don’t get to lie with her.
Jesus, I am whiny lately. Maybe Jax is right, and she’s my security blanket. Maybe I need her like she needs Ethan.
Before long, she’s whimpering, wincing, and arching her back again.
Jackson peers over at her, brows pinched in worry. “Should you be in this much pain?”
“It comes and goes. It’s like…spasms.” She twists in Ethan’s arms. Facing him, she rests her head on his shoulder and braces her hands on his thighs.
He glances at me for an answer.
“It’s not my area of expertise,” I reply. “We didn’t have pregnant women in the field—at least, not where I was—but I think it’s common. The baby is growing; her body’s adjusting.”
His fingers knead the tight muscles in her lower back. “How much water did you drink today, love?”
“Um…some?” She wrinkles her nose. “Does tea count?”
“Nice try.” His thoughtful demeanor changes instantly. “Absolutely not. Come here.”
She sits up with a grimace, her shoulders slumping as she sighs.
“What did you eat today?” he presses.
“I had pancakes with fruit for breakfast—plenty of food, Blackwood—and some cheese around lunchtime. I slept on and off.”
“Christ, Aurora,” he rumbles. “You haven’t eaten since lunch? It’s late. What was our deal?”
Jax slides off the mattress. “I’ll get her something.”
“A water bottle too, please,” Ethan calls after him.
“And not a cupcake,” I add.
She narrows her eyes at me. “I haven’t even had one yet.”
Ethan catches her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her face toward his. “What was our deal?” he repeats.
“My submission—I’d take care of myself and the baby. I know. I know. It was a rough day.”
“Your submission in exchange for what?”
“You,” she answers without hesitation.
“No, that’s not it.” He wraps his arm around her waist and draws her close against him. “I’m already yours. What did you ask me for, outside of everything I promised you?”
I should probably leave, but I watch with a mixture of discomfort, concern, and fascination. It’s as if no one else is in the room—it’s like this every time she needs him, whether she wants his direction or not. He handles her in a way that’s firm yet gentle, demanding yet caring.
She lowers her gaze. “My bodyguard.”
Wait—what? Me? I knew she’d asked for me to return as her bodyguard, but I had no idea I was part of some arrangement where she agreed to submit to him.
“Look at me,” he commands.
Though he’s speaking to her, not me, his voice carries that unmistakable authority that seizes my undivided attention—along with hers.
“Is it not working?” he asks, brows raised. “Do I need to find someone else for you?”
Ice floods my veins. Like hell that’s happening. No one else gets to be her bodyguard—no one. The twins are downstairs as backup for when the baby is born, and to protect Jax, too. Aurora is my responsibility.
I see what Ethan is doing. He may not be addressing me, but the words are meant for me. I didn’t take care of her today—I lost focus of my role, my job, my purpose. I put my emotions first, and I fucked up. “It won’t happen again,” I tell him. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Jax returns with a plate of food—more cheese, pita bread, hummus, some fruit—and a bottle of sparkling water. “Best I could do on short notice. I’ll order more groceries tomorrow. We can meal prep.”
Ethan’s intense gaze never leaves Aurora. “Is that true? Are you going to take better care of yourself?”
She gives a curt nod. “Yes.”
“Good girl.” He lifts her chin and kisses her pouty lips. “Turn around and eat, and I’ll massage your back.”
She settles between his legs. Jax cracks open the water bottle and hands it to her.
“Thank you.” She takes a sip, then accepts the plate from him.
I’m still restless. Ethan may have said his piece, but I haven’t.
“Eres mía. La prometiste,” I grumble under my breath, the words meant only for her.
She promised herself to me the first time we had sex, and I’ll leverage that promise if I have to.
“Nunca te dejaré ir.” My Spanish is improving thanks to popular music, and the phrase “I’ll never let you go” is common.
“Sí, Papi,” she shoots back, dripping with snark.
Except that’s not how it lands. It lands like a fucking grenade—obliterating the last rational thought in my head and detonating low in my gut. I fight to keep my breathing steady, to not drag her away from Ethan and claim what’s mine.
The four of us should never have had sex—there’s no other explanation for my madness. Ethan should never have threatened to take her from me. Now, I’m positively unhinged.
Jackson stands frozen at the side of the bed. “Uno momento, por fa-fucking-vor. What did you say?”
She laughs at his awful pronunciation. “Sí, Papi,” she repeats, playful and seductive.
It’s the equivalent of moaning, “Yes, Daddy,” and my dick twitches.
Jax glances down. “Why am I getting hard? How am I getting hard? I just blew a load like a fucking volcano. What the hell? Say it again.”
I reach out and clamp a hand over her mouth. “No. She said it to me, not to you. Fuck off.”
He gawks at Ethan for help, lips parted, his expression appalled, and I remove my hand.
But Ethan only steals a piece of cheese from Aurora, mumbling, “I’m staying out of this.”
Jax points to her. “If I hear you moan that while the four of us are fucking—”
She raises her chin. “What? What are you gonna do, O’Reilly?”
He drops his arm to his side. “I don’t know. I can’t think straight right now. All the blood has left my brain.”
Same.
After Aurora finishes eating, we all relax in bed and watch the movie. My mind, however, keeps replaying those two words. Sí, Papi. The way they rolled off her tongue with such ease makes me wonder if she’s said them before—to someone else.
I’ve searched her social media—as part of my job, of course—and didn’t find anyone besides Jackson, even while they were separated. They started dating when she was nineteen, and I assumed he was her first boyfriend, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I need to dig deeper.
Fuck, I’m losing my mind.
I keep stealing glances at her, nestled against Ethan. The baby must move or kick beneath his palm on her belly. She peers up at him, and they share a smile. It stings, but we could have that, too, if I’d only let myself.
As she pointed out, I’m the one resisting.
There’s no reason to cling to this jealousy—these self-imposed, unwanted boundaries ingrained in my head—when no one else is holding me to them.
No imaginary force is going to strike me dead for sharing the joy of this pregnancy, putting a ring on her finger alongside Jackson’s, or fucking around with the three of them.
Nobody cares. And if they do, fuck them.
Ethan and Jax have way more to lose than I do, but that didn’t stop them today. Maybe that’s part of my problem—seeing them shrug off societal norms and claim each other while I’m struggling just to take a bath with Aurora.
Damn, I need a therapist, or I could just—I don’t know—talk to those I’m in a relationship with.
The room darkens during an intimate scene, and Aurora’s eyelids grow heavy. Within minutes, her breathing slows and her head droops. Ethan gently places her onto her side, resting her head on the pillow, then curls in behind her, his face buried in her dark hair as his eyes drift shut.
Jackson leans over them. “They’re out,” he whispers yet keeps talking. “You know what we need? A family meeting.”
“We’ve been together all night,” I reply, confused.
“No—with the twins, Lucas, and Rocco. Put everything on the table. If you tell Rocco what’s going on with Bennett and Daniel, he’ll have some ideas. Guaranteed.”
“Maybe.” I shrug. Aside from protecting my sister and Danny, I doubt Rocco and I share the same goals. I want Daniel and my father stripped of their titles, their careers ruined, the medals torn from their chests. I want to destroy them. “You just wanna see Rocco’s house.”
“I do,” he groans. “Did your sister say anything?”
I nod, feigning nonchalance.
His face lights up. “What did she say? Did she send you the location?”
“Yes.” I can’t hold back the smile that tugs at my lips. “She said it’s not a cabin—it’s an entire compound.”
His eyes widen, as if he’s been promised another Christmas morning. “Location. Now. Text it to my phone, Viking. I have research to do.”
I gesture toward the TV. “What’s the point of watching a movie if you’re gonna ignore it?”
“Name one thing the four of us can do together that isn’t watching a movie—or fucking.” He pauses, then lifts a brow suggestively. “Would you rather fuck?”
He’s baiting me, trying to make me uncomfortable. But yes—yes, I would. I’d rather be having sex—Aurora beside me, my arms around her—anything to close this distance between us.
I hold his gaze without blinking until that infuriating, cocky grin spreads across his face.
“You need to—” I circle my index finger by my temple. “Fix this arrangement.”
He gives me a blank expression. “I don’t understand hand signals. What’s that mean? You need me to skate laps?”
I fall back against the headboard with a quiet, frustrated growl. “Never mind.”
He chuckles. “Fine. You want Aurora between you and me?” He lowers his voice. “You want me to pry her from Ethan’s arms? Are you bribing me?”
“Yes,” I grit through my teeth, more insistent than menacing. “You want the address or what?”
He narrows his eyes. “Is this about me? Are you obsessed with me? We have sex one time, and now you can’t leave my dick alone…”
“Don’t fucking start, or I won’t send you the location of the sprawling Mafia compound built in the 1920s.”
“Okay, you win. Text me the house, and I’ll sneak between her and Ethan.”