6. Jaxson
JAXSON
Harper was here in my arms, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
It was hard to believe it was true. Harper was even more amazing than I assumed she would be.
There was an undercurrent of something fierce just waiting for someone to draw it out and up to the surface.
I caught a glimpse of it as she threatened Magnus and again right before she pulled me into the water.
The fashion world might have its own laws to live by, but it wasn’t doing Harper any favors.
She could be so much more. Twelve hours with us, and I could see a change.
She was questioning things and pushing back, demanding more from us.
Magnus always said Harper was too sheltered by Dax, and she’d surprise us given the chance.
I’d learned never to doubt him when he said things like that, knowing the majority of the time he was right.
If this was what life was going to be like with Harper, I couldn’t wait for the days ahead.
When we pulled back up to the house, the sun had set, and we only had the soft lights of the house to light our way up the cobblestone walkway to the front door. It made me laugh that we bothered to have a door when the whole place was open to the world.
Of course, it being the house of three assassins, nothing was like it seemed.
Eventually, we’d have to tell Harper what precautions we’d taken to protect our space.
If the alarm was armed, there was a certain way you needed to navigate around the house to be sure you didn’t trigger anything that might kill you.
Carrying Harper in my arms, I waited as Magnus deactivated the alarm system.
Once disarmed, I headed back to the bedroom and slipped off Harper’s kimono, so she was left in just the suit.
I wanted to take that off, but she seemed upset at the fact we’d left her naked when she woke up earlier.
Better to be safe than sorry for right now.
Once she learned how much more fun her life would be if she was always naked, that would change, but I wasn’t in a hurry.
What I couldn’t wait for was the first time.
I could talk her into having a shower with me.
That was my domain. What I craved and needed was to take care of her physical needs.
The thought of washing her hair and body, massaging aching muscles, and making sure I could serve her gave me the outlet I needed.
Magnus, of course, true to who he was as our leader, needed to control.
He wanted to rule over Harper’s life. Push her past what she wanted, knowing it would help like he’d done today.
Now that we understood her relationship with food, he would absolutely want control over that area to ensure she wouldn’t harm herself.
All three of us balanced each other out in one relationship. If we’d chosen to do the typical relationship, one of them would have been too overwhelming for a woman, but splitting it up between three, evened things out... or at least that was the plan.
Returning to the kitchen after I tucked her into our bed, I was greeted by both brothers waiting for me. “What happened?”
“Dax got shot,” Magnus answered. “Weston didn’t give us much other than she was in the hospital having surgery and would update us later.”
My gaze flicked back to where Harper was sleeping. “Do we tell her?”
“Let’s wait until we know more,” Magnus decided. “We don’t know much yet, and Weston knows we won’t reach out in the first week to ensure we’re safe.”
Part of me felt like this was a bad idea, but then again, if we didn’t have more to give her than her best friend being shot and rushed to the hospital, that would upset her more. “Fine, but I’m telling you right now, this isn’t going to go well if we keep it from her too long.”
“I have to agree with him, Mag. Dax is family to Harper, and she’ll see it as a betrayal,” Ghost added.
“I didn’t say we wouldn’t tell her, just not right this moment.
Once we have a full report to share, then we go to her with it,” Magnus stated, giving each of us a hard look.
“If we come to her now with what we know, she’s going to want to go back home or reach out to Weston, and I refuse to put her in danger no matter how mad it makes her at us.
This whole thing was to ensure her safety.
I’ll be damned if we lose her the moment we get her. ”
Sighing, I leaned back against the kitchen wall, knowing this was a no-win situation. What needed to happen was to build as much trust between us so when we brought this back up, she wouldn’t try to leave us. Not that it was an option, but I’d like to avoid that fight as much as possible.
“Let’s make dinner while she naps. We can’t let her sleep too long, or she won’t sleep later,” I suggested, moving to the refrigerator to pull out ingredients. Magnus might be the best cook, but I’m more than capable with a knife to chop things.
“I could think of a few ways to wear her out again,” Ghost said with a smirk.
He had a point, but I knew we had time. Our moment together was just starting, so there was no need to rush things. “Go wash the dishes from breakfast, so we have plates to eat off of.”
“I keep telling you we should have more dishes than four of everything. It’s dumb,” Ghost grumbled as he got to work.
Magnus rolled his eyes as he started getting the rice prepared. “There is no need to have more than we need in one house. Four people, four dishes, what more do we need when all we have to do is wash them to use again?”
“Yeah, yeah, saving the planet and all that. I suppose we’re going to ignore the fact we have fifteen houses, doesn’t that kind of make the less is more a moot point” Ghost challenged.
A slap upside the head was his answer and a warning to drop the subject.
We didn’t talk about our safe houses, never knowing who was listening.
They were our last defense if we needed to get away.
Just like we wouldn’t tell Harper where we were, no one knew about the other locations or how many we might have.
If I were a betting man, and I am, I’d say that Magnus might have a house or two we don’t know about either, just as added protection.
The three of us fell into a comfortable pattern of moving about the kitchen as we got dinner ready.
It was a simple meal of fried rice with a fried egg on top and a side salad to pull it all together.
Ghost set the table before he went to wake up Harper, and I put the last of the salad together, feeling it was best to put the dressing on the side, not wanting to assume she’d like the vinaigrette.
“What are you doing?” Magnus asked when he noticed.
“Ah, well, I wasn’t sure if she’d want it already dressed,” I answered.
“Do we have another dressing for her to put on it?” he challenged.
When I shook my head, he took the bottle and poured a healthy amount on it.
“She told us her dislikes. Anything other than that will be how we make it. Harper needs to learn how we function, and you would never have done that for either of us, so you don’t do it for her. ”
My brows rose at that. “Really? So the fact that we got her soy milk when none of us drink it isn’t treating her differently?”
“You and I both know it’s not. She never drinks normal milk and hardly has cheese or any other dairy product, so I’m under the impression she can’t tolerate much of it. When she knows she’s going to have pizza, she makes sure not to have any dairy besides that on the day,” Magnus countered.
“The fuck? How the hell can you possibly know something like that? Just how closely have you been watching me?” Harper demanded as she entered the kitchen, overhearing us.
Cringing, I tried not to flinch as I turned to look at her with a scowl on her face and hands on her shapely hips. “Harpster, we haven’t been secretive about keeping an eye on you. We know this like how we know everything else. We made an effort to know.”
Magnus stepped forward and pointed to the table. “Sit. Dinner’s getting cold. We’ll explain while you eat, and if you don’t eat, we won’t talk.”
“Oh, you’re not going to feed me this time?” Harper challenged.
I couldn’t help but snort at her sass. She’d learn soon enough not to pull that shit with our eldest brother—he doesn’t take it well.
“If you would like me to sit you on my lap and feed you again, I’d be happy to oblige. I thought we could be adults about this matter. Your choice, doll, sit and eat yourself or fight me on this, and I will ensure you eat everything I put on your plate,” Magnus threatened.
Ghost and I held our breath as the two of them squared off.
It was one of the hottest things I’ve seen—her chin raised, blue eyes flashing, with her lips pursed in defiance.
As she considered what he was saying, I wasn’t sure what choice she would make, but eventually, she let out a huff, walked over to the table, and took up her fork.
“Bring it on, boss man, I’ll make sure to win the clean plate award,” she stated, cocking her head to the side and flipping him off.
Magnus darted forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her finger into his mouth, where he sucked on it suggestively. “Don’t offer for me to fuck you if you’re not ready for me to bend you over this table and do the deed right here, right now. Do it again, and I assure you I won’t hold back.”