Chapter 32 #2
The air suddenly feels thick with heat and history. I look between them, sensing this is heading into dangerous territory. With them, it always felt too easy. I always felt too much.
Before I can retreat, Nik reaches for my hand, bringing it to his lips.
“Carolina,” he breathes, drawing my gaze. “Let us love you.”
“Please,” Axel adds, lips brushing the skin of my stomach. I shudder at the contact.
“I don’t know how,” I admit, voice cracking with fear I can’t quite hide.
Nik’s thumb sweeps across my knuckles. “Then let us show you.”
Breathless, I nod.
Nik threads his fingers into my hair and pulls me close until our mouths crash together. It’s hungry and desperate. Devastatingly familiar.
He only breaks away long enough to command, “Take her pants off,” before capturing my lips again.
I barely register Axel moving behind me, deft and patient, coaxing my jeans the rest of the way off while Nik devours me.
Axel turns my lower half to face him. His hands glide up the backs of my thighs, his touch reverent, before he peels my panties away and hooks one of my legs over his shoulder. His tongue sweeps through me.
I break away from Nik with a gasp. “Oh, God.”
Nik laughs, dark and low. “Let us show you what it feels like to be loved by us. To be ours.”
All I can do is nod.
My back hits the desk as Axel’s tongue works me open—sucking, teasing, licking until my thighs are shaking.
“Stop,” Nik commands.
Axel stops instantly.
“What? Why?” I whimper, desperate.
“Couch.”
Before I can argue, Axel scoops me up and carries me across the room. He lowers me gently onto the cushions. I look between them, breathless, heart hammering, not sure what happens next.
“Get her ready for me,” Nik says.
Axel grins, slow and wicked, and drops to his knees again. He yanks me to the edge, and his tongue returns to its task with laser focus. I moan, hips rolling against his face. I’m close, right on the edge—
Then Nik’s fingers curl in Axel’s hair, pulling him back.
My eyes fly open. “No, don’t—!”
“When you come,” Nik growls, “you come on my cock.”
Axel just smirks at my wide eyes. “Meet Daddy Nik.” He winks.
“Don’t call me that,” Nik grumbles, already stripping.
Holy Hell. I can’t look away. Toned abs. Broad shoulders. Golden skin dusted with pale hair and covered in tattoos. And a thick, pierced cock between his legs that makes my mouth go dry.
I lick my lips without thinking.
Axel sees. Of course he does. “It feels amazing,” he promises. “Trust me.”
I do.
Nik lays me back, positions himself over me, thighs between mine, arms caging my head.
“Later,” he promises, voice rough, “I’m going to take my time. But right now? I’m going to wreck you.”
“Please,” I whisper, clutching at his shoulders.
In a single move, he thrusts all the way in, burying himself to the hilt, and my world shatters.
Holy. Shit.
“Fuck,” he growls, withdrawing, then rolling into me again.
“I dreamed about this,” he admits. “I had to settle for Axel’s descriptions. How perfect you felt. How wet. How tight.”
Axel wasn’t lying. That piercing? It’s magic. Every movement pulls a sound from me I can’t control.
“But Carolina,” he murmurs, one hand bracketing my throat, his eyes burning into mine. “Nothing prepared me for this.”
His lips crash into mine, hips snapping faster. Every movement leaves me breathless.
“Don’t stop,” I cry.
“Never.”
“Nikolai—” I cry as my orgasm rips through me, violent and raw, making my body clench hard around him.
He groans, deep and guttural. “Fuck.”
We collapse together, gasping.
He kisses me, slower now. “You were worth the wait. You’re perfect.”
With that, he pulls out.
He smirks, glancing to Axel. “Axel.”
I turn. He’s already stripped bare, tattoos like a map across his arms, shoulders, ribs, thighs. I want to taste every single one.
“Flip over,” Nik says. “Hands on the armrest.”
I obey, heartbeat quickening.
Axel slides in behind me, his lips ghosting up my spine. “You good?” he murmurs.
“I’m about to be better.”
Unlike Nik, Axel takes his time filling me. He works himself in, inch by glorious inch, until I’m panting, rocking back against him.
“God damn,” he groans, fingers digging into my hips. “Keep using me. Just like that. Make yourself feel good.”
And I do. I fuck him slowly at first, savoring the stretch, the friction. For a moment, it's just me moving for both of us. Grinding, rolling, chasing every ounce of pleasure.
Then Axel shifts, gently guiding me forward until my chest hits the armrest. He follows, his body blanketing mine, his mouth at my shoulder. He starts to move. Short, deep strokes that angle just right, brushing my g-spot with maddening precision.
“Don’t stop,” I gasp, voice thin and frayed.
“Don’t want to,” he pants, barely holding it together. “But trust me, this’ll be worth it.”
He stills, breath ragged, as the soft pop of a cap cuts the air. Nik kneels behind him, slicking himself with slow, focused intent. Axel shudders as the first push comes. Tenses. Then eases, letting Nik in.
I whimper as they both settle. Then Nik thrusts, and the impact travels straight through Axel into me, fusing us together in one dizzying, perfect rhythm.
“You’re so goddamned tight,” Nik groans behind us.
Axel moans, buried deep inside me. “Not gonna last.”
His hand snakes between my legs, fingers finding my clit, circling just right.
“Axel,” I gasp, clutching the armrest like it might anchor me.
“Jesus, Nik,” Axel growls, breath hitching. “The way she just squeezed around me… fuck.”
“I know,” Nik grits out, going harder. “Trust me. I know.”
We’re a sweaty, tangled mess. Breathless. Ruined. Alive. And the sounds of it… the slap of skin, our combined noises of pleasure… only pushes me closer.
“I’m coming,” I sob, grabbing Axel’s hand, not sure if I want him to stop or keep going. The surge is so intense, bringing tears to my eyes and ripping a quiet scream from my lips.
“Me too,” Axel chokes, burying himself deep as he follows me over the edge. Warmth spills out of me, slicking my thighs, dragging another soft sound from my lips.
Nik’s rhythm stutters. “Fuck,” he yells, following us both.
We stay like that, tangled and trembling, the three of us pressed together. The sound of our hearts syncing up as reality slips in around us.
“Say, ‘thank you, Daddy Nik,’” Axel whispers in my ear.
“Thank you, Daddy Nik,” I echo out loud.
“Call me that again and I’ll spank that ass red.”
Axel snorts and we both shake with our stifled laughter.
Nik swears. “Brats,” he mumbles. “The both of you.”
“You know you love it,” Axel teases back.
After a minute, we start to untangle. I whisper, “So… now what?”
Nik pulls back just enough to meet my eyes over Axel’s shoulder. “Now,” he says simply, “you’re ours.”
“And,” Axel adds with a lazy grin, kissing the shell of my ear, “you’re getting another tattoo.”
∞∞∞
The tattoo machine buzzes into my spine, a low, steady hum that sinks into my bones. I'm straddling the seat, shirt off but taped to my chest, arms cushioned on the table. Nik sits beside me, holding my hand. Axel hovers behind me, focused and steady as he marks my skin.
I have no idea what he’s tattooing. I didn’t ask. I just… trust him.
The needle moves in smooth, deliberate strokes. The design blooming down my spine, starting from the base of my neck and trailing lower with every pass.
Eventually, Axel pauses, wiping down the skin.
“So,” he says, like he’s asking about the weather. “Is Sean in this too?”
My skin heats instantly. Out of everything we’ve shared—my body, my fears, my past—I never expected this to make me feel vulnerable.
“Yes,” I answer. “At least… he says he is. And I want him to be.”
I glance at Nik, searching his face for judgment, but I find none. He just holds my hands and listens.
“Sean’s been there,” I go on quietly. “Through all of it. He’s loyal. Safe. He sees me in ways no one else does. And I… I want him to feel seen, too. He deserves that.”
The silence stretches too long. I hate the quiet.
“I think I love him,” I whisper. “Is that… okay?”
The question is sharp-edged with fear. What if this is the thing that tips it all out of balance? What if I just undid everything?
Nik doesn’t hesitate. He squeezes my hand.
Axel smooths a warm palm down my back. “Yeah, Princess. It’s okay.”
Something eases in me. I breathe deeper.
Axel resumes the tattoo, and the buzzing fills the space again.
The three of us start talking about everything and nothing.
Movies. Old memories. Weird tattoo stories.
The kind of conversation that fills in the cracks instead of breaking them open.
It feels so much like old times, it makes my heart hurt a little.
Like it’s too good to be real. Like it can’t possibly last.
Because girls like me don’t get happy endings. We don’t end up with everything we want. Life’s never been that kind. But for now, I let myself enjoy this.
Eventually, Axel switches off the machine. The buzz fades into quiet.
“All done,” he says, tugging off his gloves. “Wanna see?”
I nod and slowly sit up. He helps me to my feet and guides me over to a mirror.
I glance over my shoulder. A single stem with multiple blooms runs down the line of my spine, delicate and fine, shaded with intricate leaves and petals. Woven into the stem, so subtle it takes a moment to notice, are four names written in flowing cursive:
Axel. Nik. Johnny. Sean.
I gasp. “Axel! What if we break up?”
“We won’t,” he says simply.
“What if I do something unforgivable?”
“You won’t.”
“What if you do something unforgivable?”
“Then we’ll grovel till the end of time,” Nik answers, standing beside me in the mirror.
His voice is calm. Certain.
“This. You. Us. It’s real, Carolina,” he says. “Get on board.”
I stare at the reflection, swallowing the lump in my throat. They’ve marked me. Claimed me. Permanently. And somehow, instead of fear or panic… all I feel is warmth. Peace. Like my skin finally fits.
Axel fucking branded me. And fuck me, I love it.
“I’m committed,” Axel says. “He’s committed,” he nods at Nik. “Sean is definitely committed. You should see the way he looks at you,” he adds.
“Now, we just have to get Johnny to pull his head out of his ass and call off this sham of a wedding.”
My heart lurches. There it is. The lingering fear and doubt that I foolishly pushed aside.
“Wedding?” I say so calmly, I almost scare myself.
Axel’s eyes meet mine in the mirror, before swinging to Nik’s. Panic fills his honey brown eyes.
“Uh…”
“Johnny’s getting married?” I ask.
Neither of them answer me.
Johnny’s getting married… and I didn’t know.
I remember the way he used to look at me… like I was gravity itself. And now, he’ll be standing at the altar for someone else?
“What the fuck, Axel?!” I whirl around to face him. “Johnny’s getting married to another woman and you just tattooed his name on me?!”
Axel opens his mouth. Closes it. Looks to Nik like he’s begging for backup.
Nik sighs. “It’s not what you think.”
“Oh, really?” I snap, stepping back from both of them. “Because what it sounds like is you permanently inked Johnny’s name onto my body without telling me he’s engaged!”
“Lina—” Axel starts.
“No,” I cut him off. “No more half-truths. No more secrets. If you want me to trust you—if you want any of this to work—then you don’t get to keep things from me. Not things like this.”
Nik runs a hand through his hair. “We didn’t lie. We thought you knew. It’s complicated.”
I laugh, sharp and bitter. “Everything’s complicated with Johnny.”
He reaches for my hand, but I pull away. Not yet.
“Jesus.” I rub a hand over my face, dizzy with anger. With embarrassment. “You branded me with the names of four men and one of them is planning a goddamn wedding to someone else.”
Axel’s voice is quieter now. Less cocky. “It was never about ownership. It was about belonging.”
“Well right now,” I whisper, throat tight, “I don’t know where I belong at all.”
The room stills, heavy with all the things unsaid.
Nik tries again, voice steady but soft. “You do belong. With us. With Sean. With Johnny, too.”
Axel nods. “He loves you, Princess. We all do. And yeah, maybe we should’ve told you sooner, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re not just some random game piece on his board. You’re the queen.”
I look at them. At the guilt behind their calm, the panic behind their words. And under that? The truth. They mean it. The ink. The gesture. The commitment. But that doesn’t erase the sting.
I take a breath. One that trembles in my chest before I steady it.
“I need to talk to him,” I say.
Nik nods. “We know.”
Axel steps close, resting his forehead lightly against mine.
“You could laser that flower off your back tomorrow, Princess, but it wouldn’t change a thing.” He pulls back just enough to look at me. “We’d still be yours.”
And damn it… my heart aches all over again.
Because I know, whether I like it or not, I already belong to them too.