Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
EMILIA
They hadn’t noticed me.
The second I stepped into the dining hall, I felt them — my gravity.
Luca, head bowed like he might explode.
Bastion, clenched jaw and twitching hand, glaring down at a half-eaten plate.
The moment felt heavy.
Everything in me ached to go to them.
I hadn’t wanted to stay away for two nights. I hadn’t wanted the photo ops, the political whispers, or the patronizing tone from my brother when I said I needed to leave.
But this world didn’t always care what I wanted.
So I made my choice.
Straightening my posture, I walked directly to their table. The air shifted as I passed.
I didn’t speak.
I placed my hand on the back of Bastion’s neck. He looked up, startled.
Then I leaned in and kissed him .
Not just a soft press of lips — I kissed him like I belonged to him.
Because I did.
Next, I turned and tapped Luca’s shoulder.
He leaned back, stunned, and I climbed onto his lap without asking. One leg over his, my dress pulling tight, and I tilted his face toward mine.
His lips parted.
And I kissed him too.
Possessive. Slow. Certain.
His hands locked onto my hips like he was afraid I’d vanish again.
When I finally pulled back, their eyes were locked on me — twin shades of stunned devotion and fire.
“I’m home,” I whispered.
And every rumor in the room shattered at our feet.
Their eyes darkened.
Bastion leaned across the table and kissed me again — deeper this time. One hand gripped the side of my face, the other grabbed the fabric of my dress like he needed something to anchor him.
Luca didn’t let go.
He just held me tighter, grounding me to his lap as Bastion’s mouth moved over mine with unspoken fire — not rushed, but deliberate. Almost like he wanted someone to take a photo.
To broadcast the truth.
To spread it like a warning: She’s ours. Don’t fucking forget it.
When Bastion finally pulled back, Luca turned my face with two fingers and kissed me again.
Slower, but no less intense.
His lips dragged across mine, stealing the breath Bastion had left behind .
I barely noticed Bastion’s hand moving then — trailing up the outside of my thigh, under the soft hem of my casual dress, fingers brushing bare skin.
My heart stuttered.
My thighs clenched on instinct.
Then Bastion growled low and dragged me closer, kissing me again — harder this time, teeth grazing my bottom lip. It wasn’t gentle.
It was claiming.
His tongue swept mine like he was reminding me who I belonged to. Who I came back to.
I could feel this possession.
Luca’s hands clamped tighter on my waist as his mouth moved to my neck, teeth dragging lightly over the spot he knew made me squirm.
I gasped — caught between them, body overheating in the middle of the dining hall. In front of everyone.
Then Luca said it.
“Fuck it. Let’s take her to bed already.”
His voice was low. Dangerous.
Bastion didn’t answer.
He just stood.
The dining hall emptied around us.
Or maybe it didn’t.
I couldn’t tell.
All I could focus on was the heat on my lips.
The way Bastion had looked at me.
The way Luca’s grip hadn’t loosened since I sat on his lap.
They didn’t say a word.
Not one.
They just rose — one on either side of me.
Silent.
Stalking .
And I followed.
Through the academy halls. Down the stairs. My heels clicked against the marble, echoing too loud in the quiet.
No one spoke. No one had to.
The silence between them was louder than any threat. Thicker than tension.
It pulsed between their shoulder blades — between the twin shadows they cast as they opened the heavy black doors.
The moment we stepped inside, the air shifted.
My back hit the door as it closed behind me.
Luca’s hand pressed flat beside my head. Bastion stepped in close — too close — fingers brushing the strap of my dress, his eyes locked on mine.
“You came back,” Bastion murmured, voice low. “You walked right into the lion’s den, baby.”
I swallowed. “Because I’m yours.”
Luca’s hand slid around my waist, anchoring me. “Say it again.”
“I’m yours.”
He exhaled, lips grazing my ear. “ Fuck. ”
Bastion’s hand moved to the side of my neck, thumb brushing over my pulse.
“You think we didn’t notice,” he said, dragging the words. “How the headlines shifted. How the Caplans tried to replace you. How you wore that dress and didn’t send us a single fucking photo.”
Luca chuckled, but it was dark. “You were testing us.”
“No—”
“You wanted to see what we’d do.”
Bastion’s fingers slid slowly down the zipper of my dress.
“So now we’re going to show you.”
The zipper stopped at the small of my back. Neither of them moved to undress me completely. They just stood there — watching . Breathing. Crowding.
“Take it off,” Bastion said softly. “ Slowly. ”
“Face us when you do it,” Luca added, stepping back and dropping onto the bed behind me. “I want to watch every inch.”
My hands were shaking.
I reached for the straps.
Pulled them down, inch by inch.
The dress slid lower.
Their eyes never moved.
The fabric pooled at my feet.
Only my white lace bra and matching g-string remained.
My skin flushed under their gaze, my pulse skittering.
“Turn, baby,” Bastion said, voice rough. “Let us see your ass.”
I hesitated for half a breath.
Then did exactly what they asked.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The slip of lace hugged my hips — barely there, barely decent — and the way they both groaned made my legs weak.
“ Fuck, ” Luca muttered, his voice reverent. “We love it when you listen.” He got up from the bed and stepping behind me.
His hands slid over my hips, thumbs stroking the line between lace and skin. Possessive.
He leaned forward, pressing a kiss just above the curve of my spine.
“You’re so fucking beautifully,” he murmured.
I let my hand drift back, resting gently over his on my hip .
“I need to tell you two something.”
Everything in the room changed.
Luca’s grip stilled .
Bastion’s breath caught.
They didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
I turned, heart pounding, and saw it clearly — how fast their eyes had gone sharp.
How the trauma threaded through them like instinct.
“I told my brother.”
Silence.
“My brother,” I whispered again. “Alexander. I told him… about you two.”
They didn’t speak.
Bastion moved first — shoulders rolling like he was trying to shake something off. He stepped forward, eyes burning.
“What exactly did you tell him?”
My stomach tightened. “That I’m not confused. That this—” I gestured between them “—isn’t a phase. Or a mistake. That I chose you. Both of you.”
Luca exhaled, stepping beside Bastion now, his jaw tense. “And what did he say?”
“He said…” I swallowed. “He said if I’m willing to burn bridges for you, I better know what I’m standing on. And he was grateful this phase was at the academy.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at that.
Bastion’s hand came up to my face. He held my jaw — gentle.
“And do you?” he asked. “Do you know what you’re standing on?”
“I think I’m standing between two men who have never been chosen first. And I wanted you to know that… I did. I do. ”
While I had a choice, I was theirs.
Luca stepped closer, resting his hand on my lower back .
“You told him.” His voice was quieter now. “You told your family.”
“I told them everything.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. Just looked at me.
“You told them you’re ours ?”
I nodded.
Bastion stepped forward so fast I didn’t see his hand until it was already cupping my face.
“ Good fucking girl. ”
The words ripped through me.
Pride.
Possession.
The kind that made my knees weak and my heart race.
His thumb dragged along my cheekbone. “You stood in front of them and chose us?”
“I did.”
Luca’s hand tightened on my back.
His head dropped for a second like he was grounding himself as if he was trying not to lose control.
Bastion leaned in, nose brushing mine.
“You don’t know what that does to us, baby.”
“I think I do.”
Luca’s mouth was at my ear then, voice husky. “Say it again. Tell us.”
“That I’m yours?” I whispered.
Both of them exhaled like I’d taken the air straight out of their lungs.
“Yes,” Bastion rasped. “Again.”
“I’m yours.”
Luca’s lips ghosted down my neck. “You don’t get it, do you?” His voice was a rough breath. “What that means to us. What that does. ”
I was trembling now, and not from fear. From how tightly they were holding back.
Bastion’s hand dropped from my face and traced down my neck, over my chest, then stopped just under my bra.
“Take it off,” he said softly. “Let us see what belongs to us.”
I reached back, unclasping the bra.
Their eyes darkened.
It slipped from my arms, falling silently to the floor.
Luca hissed through his teeth. “ Fuck. ”
“She’s perfect,” Bastion muttered, almost to himself. “She’s fucking perfect. ”
His hands cupped me — gentle.
Luca stepped around, standing behind me, his chest warm against my back. I felt the lace of my g-string being traced by his thumbs.
“You wore this for us?” he whispered at my ear.
“Yes.”
“ Good girl. ”
My breath hitched.
Bastion kissed the top of my breast, then looked up. “We’re going to take you apart slowly.”
Luca’s hands gripped my hips. “But you’ll love every second of it.”
I nodded, speechless.
“Say it,” Bastion said, lips brushing my skin. “Say you’re ours again.”
“I’m yours.”
They didn’t move.
Not right away.
They just looked at me — like I was something holy. Something theirs.
Bastion’s hand slid beneath my hair and curled around the back of my neck. Not hard. Not soft. Just certain .
“You don’t get to say that and not be touched,” he murmured. “You know that, right?”
I nodded, throat thick.
Luca sat on the edge of the bed behind me, his hands on my hips as he tugged me back — just enough for my spine to press to his chest.
Bastion dropped to his knees in front of me.
And the breath left my lungs.
His hands pushed my thighs apart, gently, like he was opening a gift he already owned.
His fingers ghosted over the inside of my knees.