Chapter Twenty-Eight
LILY
I take a deep breath and place my palm in Jackson’s as he pulls me to my feet, his other hand moving to the back of my neck as he leans in for a stolen kiss. It’s brief but no less powerful. If these men continue to keep kissing me the way they do, I’m pretty sure I’ll self-combust. Having them all here is sending my hormones haywire. I want to say it has nothing whatsoever to do with the sex scene I just read between four vampires and a human, but I’d be lying. River caught me mid-scene, and then they were all here, kissing me. Tommy might not have kissed me along with the others, but I feel his underlying presence, nonetheless. All these men have a visceral quality about them that I can’t help but sense and feel in tune with.
Tommy moves to start the fire as Jackson leads me to the sofa and pulls me into his lap. River sits at the other end and lifts my feet onto his legs. It feels strangely intimate.
“Is this okay?” Jackson asks, and it’s only now that I see a rare glimpse of his vulnerability. I nod because, honestly, the thought of only being around these men for less than a day and not physically touching them makes my chest physically ache with acute awareness .
I stare at the orange flames as they dance and pop, the glow providing a serene hue over the room, but something tells me it’s all about to change. I listen while Jackson updates me on everything they’ve uncovered and then sit silently as I try to digest everything Jackson has told me, the entire thing making my stomach roll with unease and pent-up anxiety.
“I need a minute,” I say, carefully extracting myself from Jackson’s lap. Moving to my feet, I sway slightly, his hand gripping my hip to steady me. The second glass of wine might have been a little ambitious in hindsight, as it seems to be doing nothing for my equilibrium.
“I’m okay,” I mutter as I go upstairs to my room and straight into my ensuite.
I grip the sink and lower my head, trying to breathe through the onslaught of information.
“Sunshine?” Tommy says, stepping up behind me, a solid presence as always.
I swallow hard, raising my eyes to meet his in the mirror. “I always knew he was capable of some inexplicable things. But to sell images and videos of me. Knowing that men paid to... it’s just, it’s disgusting. I feel violated.”
His emerald eyes hold mine with so much understanding. “I’m so fucking angry,” I grit out. “I’ve never hated anyone more than I hate him. Yet because of him, I have Mia.”
Tommy’s hands gently press on my shoulders and guide me to turn around to face him.
“Yes, he helped create her, but from where I’ve been standing, that’s all he did. I’d hardly say he was present. All the best parts of Mia are from your influence, Lily, she’s lucky to have you. As for Richard, he will pay, but there’s no other outcome where he’s concerned.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Fingertips ghost my cheek and cause me to gasp in surprise, my eyelids lift and I find Tommy’s face so close to mine .
He continues to lean closer until his lips are pressed against mine, and then he’s kissing me. My hands move to his hips, his body tensing, but he recovers quickly.
I relax into his embrace and having him kiss me tonight feels like everything has finally clicked into place. I feel whole. These men each own a piece of me, and it’s time I embrace every precious moment. I feel like the guys coming here today were probably a risk, but one they were willing to take to see me. They could have easily bypassed me and not informed me of everything, but the fact they did makes me feel like I am, in fact, part of their team—their family. Other than Mia and Avery, a family is something I’ve been sorely missing.
“Come on, let’s go back downstairs; they need to see you’re okay now more than ever.”
I nod in agreement, knowing he’s right. Each of them gives me the strength and determination to be what they need, and that isn’t a weak, pathetic excuse for a woman. Richard has already taken so much from me, and tonight I refuse to allow him to infiltrate more of my thoughts than he already does.
“We made dessert,” River says as soon as we return.
Elliot makes a sound at the back of his throat.
“Okay, fine, Elliot made it, but I supervised.” And just like that, the tension is broken.
“Of course you did,” Tommy says with an overdramatic roll of his eyes.
I’m not naive in pretending everything is suddenly right with the world; knowing the lengths these men are going to go to get Mia back to me is a testament. But it’s also hard not to ignore what they’ve told me. As much as I’m sure they wanted to protect me. I couldn’t respect them more for being honest and transparent, even if I wished it wasn’t true, but that’s life in all its beautiful and tragic glory. It’s real and unyielding. I know I’ve been sheltered to an extent. I know how privileged I am. I can barely imagine what these guys have been through, even with the snippets they’ve shared. I glance at River as he jokes with Elliot, dishing out dessert. Eton Mess is what they made me, I realise with a small smile, which explains why Tommy took out the fresh strawberries from the fridge earlier. I know it’s predominantly a summer dessert, but it’s one of my favourites no matter what time of the year. It blows my mind the things they know about me in such a short space of time, and yet I also feel like I’ve known these men forever. I was always meant to meet them. It was inevitable—kismet.
“Are you okay, Duchess?” Jackson asks, coming up behind me and pulling me into his chest. A shiver rolls over me as he rests his chin on my shoulder, his lips a breath away from my ear. “I know it wasn’t easy listening to all that, but I don’t want to lie to you, even if it goes against my protective instincts. You’ve already had too many choices taken away from you. I won’t add to them.”
His words shock me; this man has so many layers, and I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface.
I turn in his arms and wrap them around his waist as I stare up into his piercing blue eyes. “Thank you. It means a lot that you told me.”
He studies my face and reaches to tuck my hair behind my ear. “You deserve so much more. Once we’re back, I’ll show you how you should be treated every day. I’ll get down on my knees and worship you at your altar if you’ll let me.”
Oh my god.
My skin pebbles with awareness, my nipples hardening beneath his intense gaze and his admission as his hands move to cup my arse cheeks and pull me into his obvious arousal. He leans closer, my eyes flutter closed, expecting him to make up the distance with a kiss but instead, I find his lips at the shell of my ear. “Something to look forward to, no?” His tongue darts out, swiping my earlobe before he nips it with his teeth. I shudder andswallow down my moan at the picture he paints because having Jackson Donovan on his knees for me is most definitely something to look forward to. After all, I know what wicked things he can do withhis tongue.
He pulls back to study my face. “What do you say, Duchess? Is it a date?”
I smile. “Yes,” I reply, breathless and wanton, unable to hide my desire. Part of me wonders why we can’t do that right now, but then I feel someone else’s fingers skating across my shoulder, and I glance back to see River standing there with a huge glass of Eton Mess.
“Come on, I didn’t supervise Elliot for nothing.” He tilts his head for me to follow, and Jackson squeezes my arse once more before letting go and taking my hand in his, leading me to the sofa.
I don’t think I can stomach any more food, not after everything, but the expectant look on both Elliot and River’s faces has me scooping up a spoonful and bringing it to my mouth, savouring the flavour and chewy goodness of the broken piece of meringue and juicy strawberry. I close my eyes and groan around the spoon, licking off the excess cream.
“Fuck me,” River says, causing my eyes to open and that’s when I find four pairs of very hungry eyes staring back at me.
I want to say I feel self-conscious, but the way they’re all staring at me makes me feel more emboldened than I ever have before.
“What?” I ask innocently.
“Just that you have no idea what you do to us, do you, love?” River says and doesn’t bother hiding as he adjusts his obvious erection.
“I think I have an idea,” I reply, my body hot all over, andit has nothing to do with the lit fire but from the heat of the attention I’mreceiving in abundance.
“Eat up, Sweetheart,” Elliot says, his voice rougher than usual .
River nods with a smirk. “Yes, Lily, eat up. The sooner you finish, the sooner we can have seconds,” he says, as his gaze roams over my body. “It’s been way too long since I’ve had a taste.” The promise in his voice brooks no argument. Not that I have one, because yes—hell yes, I want that too—in fact, I need it.
I squeeze my thighs together and blush under their scrutiny. “Let her enjoy her dessert,” Jackson chastises, even though his voice is gruffer than usual.
Tommy grabs the remote and turns on the TV, flicking through until he finds a film and lowers the volume slightly.
After we’ve all finished, Tommy starts collecting all the glasses, and I get up to help, but he holds up his palm. “No, sunshine, relax, I’ve got this.”
“I need to go over some things with Tommy,” Jackson says, leaning over to kiss the corner of my mouth before getting up to help Tommy.
Elliot moves to take Jackson’s now-vacated seat.
“Hey,” I say, feeling shy all of a sudden.
“Hi, Sweetheart,” he replies, tugging me into his side. A hand on my thigh has me glancing at River, who smiles, his arm going over the back of the sofa, his fingers caressing the back of my neck. It’s so gentle I close my eyes and let out a soft sigh before focusing on the black and white film playing. It’s not long before my eyes become heavy, and a yawn I can’t stifle leaves my lips.
“Come on, sleepyhead, off to bed with you,” Elliot whispers, and I blink awake, my heart racing. My cheek is resting on his chest, my legs in River’s lap. I’m surprised how quickly I succumbed to the pull of sleep. I realise that it’s having all these men around me.
“I don’t want to move,” I admit.
So when I’m carefully shuffled, then lifted into a solid chest, I close my eyes, savouring the familiar scent of River as he carries me up to bed. I’m far too content to argue.