Chapter 12 #2
“Good. Because I want to do the same thing.” The admission feels like ripping something open in my chest. “I want her, Steele. Have since she blew into that sitting room, talking a mile a minute.”
He studies me for a long moment, something like approval shining in his dark eyes. “And Anatole?”
“You saw him today. He wants her too.”
He crosses his arms, but I can see the interest in his eyes. “So, you’re ready to share her?”
“Why not?” I meet his gaze steadily. “We've shared everything else our whole lives. Why not this? Why not her?”
“She's not just a thing to be shared, Nox. She's a person.”
“I know that.” I scrub a hand over my face. “But she wants all of us. I see the way she looks at you. At Anatole. Hell, even at me when she thinks I'm not paying attention.”
Steele's lips curve into a slow smile. “Yeah. I know she does.”
I freeze. “You... know?”
“She told me. Saturday night.” He leans back against the truck, crossing his arms with obvious satisfaction. “After we fucked. Told me she wanted me even when she shouldn't because of Jus, because of you and Anatole.”
My jaw drops. “She said that?”
“She said that.” His smile widens. “Called it ‘wanting all the desserts at the table.’”
I bark out a laugh despite myself. “That's very her.”
“Yeah, it is.” His smile drops as he sobers slightly. “So I've been waiting. Watching. Seeing if you and Anatole would catch up.”
“Catch up?” My skin prickles with heat. “You mean you've known this whole fucking time and didn't say anything?”
He shrugs. “Wasn't my place to tell you how to feel, Nox. You needed to get there on your own.” He picks up his rag, wipes his hands again even though they're already mostly clean. “But watching you two get jealous over James today? Figured you were finally ready to admit it.”
“You bastard.” But there's no heat in it. My lips split into a rueful grin. “You've been sitting on this since Saturday?”
“Yep.” He smiles and I can’t even be mad because fucking hell, she wants us. “And it's been entertaining as hell watching you try to convince yourself you don't want her.”
“Fuck you.” I can’t stop my smile.
“Nah, but she might.” His grin turns wicked. “If you ask nicely.”
I flip him off, but I'm still smiling like a fucking dork. “Just so you know, I kissed her on Sunday.” His brows raise.
“Bet it was the best damn kiss of your life,” he replies, and I know my face confirms his words.
“So what now? We just... tell Anatole? See if he's on board?”
“That's the plan.” Steele's expression turns more serious.
“But Nox, I meant what I said. If we do this, we do it right.
She's not some girl we're just passing around.
She's ours. All of ours. We protect her, we care for her, we give her everything she needs.
And Jus stays with her. With us. That's not changing.”
“Agreed.” I don’t even hesitate. I meet his eyes. “She deserves that. Deserves better than what she's had.”
“She deserves better than us, honestly.” His voice goes rough. “But she wants us anyway.”
“Then we make damn sure we're worthy of her.”
He nods, satisfied. “Good. We need to wait for Ant to get there on his own. He's close, but he's not ready yet. When he is, we'll talk. All three of us.”
“And when will that be?” I feel twitchy, wanting to do it now. To claim her now. But I’ve always had low impulse control, and Steele looks at me like he knows I want to say fuck it and force the issue.
“Soon. Trust me. I know our brother. He's fighting it hard, but he'll crack.” Steele's smile returns, dark and knowing. “You saw him today. The way he looked at her. The way he got territorial over James.” He shakes his head. “He's already gone for her. Just hasn't admitted it to himself yet.”
“And when he does?” My heart thumps in my chest, the possibility that this is real, that we might finally have something of our own, is… fuck.
“Then we sit her down and tell her we're all in. Together.” He picks up a wrench, turning back to the engine. “Now get the fuck out of my garage. You're distracting me and I need to have this done by morning.”
I flip him off on my way out, but I'm still smiling.
Steele knew. Has known since Saturday.
And he's just been waiting for us to catch up.
Well, I'm caught up.
Now we just need Anatole to get there too.
That night, lying in my bed in the pool house, I stare at the ceiling.
James is gay. Not a threat.
But the way I reacted — the way we all reacted — that tells me everything I need to know.
I'm territorial as fuck over a woman I have no claim to.
Yet.
A woman who's fostering my best friend's little brother.
A woman who, without knowing it, handed Ant back eight years of fighting in about forty minutes.
A woman who Steele has already marked as his, if those hickeys on her neck are any indication.
A woman who apparently wants all three of us.
Shit, my heart beats faster at that knowledge.
Steele's been sitting on this information since Saturday, waiting for us to catch up. Well, I'm there now.
But Anatole?
He's fighting it. I can see it in the way he looks at her, in the way he got all territorial over James today, in the way that he won’t let himself close the gap between them.
He's falling just as hard as we are.
He just hasn't admitted it yet. He’s probably scared. Every good thing we’ve ever had, and there aren’t fucking many, has been taken from us.
But he will.
And when he does?
That's when we'll have the conversation. All three of us.
Until then, Steele and I wait.
We've been waiting our whole lives for something like this.
For her.
A few more days won't kill us.
Probably.