3. Hector
3
HECTOR
I glower over the edge of my beer bottle at the two men sitting across from me at the kitchen table. Hayden picks at the piece of crust still on his plate. His attention never fully leaves Emelia as she moves around in her room with the door open. My eyes flick over to her, catching her in mid-discussion with the demon dog she keeps to guard her home. I can’t hear what she’s saying, but her hands are waving around wildly.
The dog cocks his head to the side sharply and his tongue lolls out of the side of his mouth. Anubis closes his mouth with a snap and jerks his head to the side, as if sensing my eyes on him. His movement causes Emelia to look out and also meet my eyes. I hold my breath to keep from inhaling sharply.
She’s in a well worn Black Sabbath t-shirt and fleece pajama pants that have tiny ghosts with knives all over them. Her feet are bare, and her long hair is pulled up into a messy bun that has several loops and strands sticking out in every direction. Her green eyes crinkle as she smiles at me and scratches Anubis behind the ears. Her beauty steals the breath from my lungs and I fight to keep heat from surfacing in my face.
I look away and try to focus on what Declan and Hayden are talking about, but instead my mind keeps drifting back to her. She has always been stunning in her signature dark colors. Those tight fitted dresses and fishnets with her tall combat boots that she wears at the casino, her black full-body riding suits, and everything in between. My eyes squeeze shut and I fight the images that surface of her covered in blood and stripping down in front of me without hesitation.
Taking a deep breath, I push those images down because I do not want my dick hard while sitting at a table with two other men currently obsessing over the same woman. I wonder how that even works. Do they take turns going into her room at night? Do they do it at the same time? Who goes where and how do they decide? Do they do shit with each other too? My stomach dips at the thought. I don’t mind sharing, but I do not want another dick anywhere near my own.
That is a strictly ‘no dick’ zone.
“What are you guys talking about?” Emelia asks as she saunters into the kitchen, still barefoot.
I blink at the two men and shrug one shoulder, slightly embarrassed at being caught not listening to a fucking word they had said. But not enough to actually give a fuck. I rub my palm across my bald head twice before pushing to my feet. “I was just telling them about the modifications I made to your bike,” I lie easily, my tone light.
Declan levels me with an emotionless stare and nods once. Hayden stands and dumps his plate into the trash can. “He changed the suspension and added a new pair of frame sliders. I would have gone with a different exhaust, but it sounds decent enough,” Hayden comments with a shrug, walks into the living room, and drops his weight down onto the sofa.
I blink at him again, still not used to how he knows fucking everything that happens around here. He’s almost as bad as Emelia. Seriously, how the fuck do they do that? “It was what I had in my garage. I’ll probably adjust it again in the next few weeks once I get some different parts.”
He nods and turns on the TV. “Movie? You’ve had a long day, Angel, what do you want to do?”
I don’t know how much she tells them about what she does, but I know that she doesn’t tell them everything. They know about her breakdown, but I’m sure they don’t know what she was doing when she had it. “I should be heading home,” I say and stand. My hands slip into my pockets, fishing for my keys.
“Don’t go,” Emelia says and wraps her thin fingers around my wrist to stop me. “Let’s watch something mind-numbing and just forget about the real world for a while.”
Declan chuckles and also drops onto the sofa, leaving a spot between the two of them for Emelia. “Come on, Princess, we can watch Sweeny Todd again,” he calls over his shoulder and snatches the remote from Hayden.
“The fuck, dude?” he protests and lashes out, trying to grab it back, but Declan just leans out of his reach without even looking at him.
I let Emelia gently pull me into the living room. She turns off the light and practically shoves me down into a chair beside the couch. If she wants me to sit through a terrible musical, then I will sit through a terrible musical.
In all honesty, if she told me to jump off a bridge, I would do it without a second thought. Her word is law. It’s the only thing that matters to me. My chest constricts as I watch her stretch out between Declan and Hayden with her head on Hayden’s shoulder and her ankles on Declan’s thigh. A surge of jealousy rises up and shocks my system to the core.
I fight to control the scowl that is threatening to creep across my face as Hayden tenderly brushes a strand of hair behind her ear, and Declan gives her calves a squeeze. My stomach rolls and every muscle in my body burns. There are so many things happening right now, that I feel like my body is going to implode.
It’s too hot.
I can’t breathe.
My muscles are tingling.
My heart is breaking.
I shift in my seat as the movie plays and Emelia sings along, waving her hand in the air like she’s conducting an orchestra. I can’t even roll my eyes at her. All I can do is stare at her through the darkness and marvel at how the lights of the TV flicker across her features. The curve of her jaw, the dimple at the corner of her mouth when she smirks, her lips as they mouth the words, her green eyes as they flash with delight at the gruesome scenes.
It’s masochistic, but I spend the movie watching her from the corner of my eye, taking in her beauty and knowing that she will never belong to me. Knowing that she will always be here, but never will I be allowed to experience her.
Hayden clears his throat quietly, so as to not wake Emelia. She had apparently shifted sometime during the movie when I wasn’t watching. Her lithe body is curled into a ball with her head in Declan’s lap. A soft, breathy moan escapes her lips as Declan traces the shell of her earlobe, and my body reacts instantly.
I had spent the entire night mentally torturing myself with the thought of her, so when that noise reaches my ears, my cock hardens painfully fast. My eyes dart from her to Hayden, not daring to shift my weight. There’s no way I’m going to admit anything to them.
Hayden gives me a knowing look. “Don’t even try it. I’ve spent the entire night watching you steal glances,” he says quietly. “I know that look, man, so don’t deny it.”
I shrug my shoulders and lean forward, bracing my forearms on my knees. “It doesn’t matter, now does it?” I snap back at him. “She’s been with me for years and I’m never more than a second thought. The muscle to her brain,” I whisper before I can stop myself. I mentally wince, but they don’t seem to catch my meaning. “She saved my life once.”
Declan stops stroking her face and cocks his head. “Really?”
I nod once. “She’s had a hard time since her parents died. She only has a few people to hold her together when she gets too close to breaking. She took it hard. She lost so much in such a short time. Her home, her family, her friends.”
“What happened to them?” Hayden asks curiously and shifts so that he’s facing me.
“They died in a fire. Her parents were tycoons. Her father was in the hotel business and her mother was a fashion designer. They owned several department stores and hotels around the city, but they lived in The Lotus Blossom.” My eyes blur as I tell the story, but I still catch movement out of the corner of my eye.
Hayden visibly tenses and exchanges a hard look with Declan. Neither of them speak as I continue.
“There was a break-in one night. Apparently people had been canvasing the place for days, but no one realized until it was too late. They set fire to several floors, planted bombs for timed explosions on others, and then gunned down several people on their way to the vault.” I suck in a sharp breath as the memory surges forward. “I was shot trying to get people out, but Emelia found me and got me out before the structure collapsed.”
I stop talking, unable to fight the emotions crashing through me. That’s the night that my Little Bird broke. The night her soul shattered and became irreparable shards of broken pieces that would never completely fit back together again.
“I heard about that fire,” Declan says after a long silence. His voice is emotionless.
I look over at him and catch the two of them locked in a silent conversation. Hayden’s face is ashen and Declan’s fist is clenched and resting on Emelia’s back. I narrow my eyes at them, but say nothing as they end their conversation and look back at me. “She took it hard,” I say pointedly and watch Hayden’s eyes shift to Declan again.
Interesting.
“She’s a strong woman,” Declan says simply and finally unclenches his fist. “But I can’t imagine what kind of pain she has gone through.”
“I can,” Hayden mutters sullenly and shifts his body, crossing his arms across his chest.
I look at him expectantly, but say nothing, waiting for him to share on his own. If he doesn’t, well I don’t really give a fuck. I’m using this as a time killer to spend more time with Emelia. Even though she’s snoring on another man’s lap.
“My parents died a while ago. Tragically,” he adds as an afterthought and pulls a small pocket knife from his pocket. He spins it between his fingers absently, like a lethal fidget spinner. “A part of me broke that day, and I’m still trying to find something to fill that space.”
That explains the long look they shared. They have more in common with her than they even realized. Hayden is just as broken as her. Maybe that’s why he’s so drawn to her. Similar souls always seek each other out to mend the tattered pieces together.
I nod and exhale deeply. “I never knew my parents. I grew up in the system. Nothing more than a number and an extra mouth to feed.” I don’t add that I was also a human ashtray and punching bag, but that’s a story for a different touchy feely moment.
Declan lets his head fall back against the cushion and chuckles softly. “And that’s enough personal history for the night,” he says pointedly. “I’m going to put her to bed.” He stands and gently rouses Emelia. She yawns and follows him into her room. Anubis emerges from the shadows and trots lightly after them.
“Just tuck her in! We have shit to do!” Hayden calls loudly after them. One of Emelia’s ankle boots sails out of the dark room and almost hits Hayden in the chest, but he catches it with a laugh.
I stand and stretch the stiffness from my muscles before pulling on my leather jacket. My eyes drift back to the bedroom and my chest constricts again as another wave of jealousy rocks me to my foundation.
Hayden puts a hand on my shoulder and it takes everything in me not to push him off. “We don’t mind, you know,” he says quietly.
“Mind what?” I snap and lose the battle. I shrug out from under his hand.
“Sharing,” he says simply and nods toward the room. “You want her. How could you not? She’s beautiful and smart and strong. Fuck, she’s a literal goddess.”
That is one thing that we can always agree on.
“I can’t,” I whisper softly and shake my head. I can’t wrap my mind around sharing a woman. I am a monogamous kind of guy and I want no parts of any three or foursomes unless they are all with pussy.
Hayden holds up his hands and backs away as Declan emerges from the bedroom and closes the door with a soft click. They pull on their helmets and follow me outside. I lock the door and head to my car, fingering the keys in my pocket as I think about Hayden’s words.
“Hector!” Hayden shouts over the roar of the bike engines. “Think about it. If it’s what she wants,” he jets forward until he’s directly in front of me, “would you really deny her?” He doesn't wait for my answer. He flips his visor down and the two of them disappear into the darkness.
I sigh loudly and drop into the seat of my car. He infuriatingly has a point, even though I don’t want to admit it. I want no parts of a dick fest, but what if she wants me and is just too nervous to ask me?
Would I deny her if she truly wanted it?
The answer is absolutely the fuck not.
My queen always gets what she wants in the end.