Chapter Sixteen
Skye
I wake up to the smell of coffee and the sound of Zay singing off-key in the kitchen. My body is still sore from last night; Kain was possessive after some jackass at the grocery store tried to hit on me. I stretch out in the massive bed we all now share.
It has only been six months since my world turned upside down. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime, and sometimes it feels like only yesterday.
The space beside me is empty. Silas is always the first one up, unable to sleep past first light no matter how late we stay up.
I glance around and find him where I always do, sitting at his desk in the corner of our bedroom, his multiple monitors glowing as he works on his current security project.
“Morning, beautiful,” he says without turning around.
I wonder again how he always knows I’ve woken up when he seems so focused on what he is doing.
“Morning,” I murmur, shuffling over to him in nothing but his T-shirt from last night. His eyes track my movement in the reflection of his screen, and I catch the small smile that pulls at his lips.
“Sleep well?” he asks, finally turning to face me. His dark hair is messy from sleep, and there’s a slight purple bruise on his collarbone from where I bit him.
“I did.” I settle on his lap, and his arms come around me. “What are you working on?”
“New client. Some tech start-up thinks its ex-employee is stealing data.” His fingers trace patterns on my bare thigh. “Want to watch me teach them what real surveillance looks like?”
I laugh and swat his shoulder. “Not everyone can be a criminal mastermind like you.”
“Criminal mastermind?” Zay’s voice comes from the doorway, followed by the man himself carrying a tray with three coffee mugs.
He is shirtless, his pajama pants hanging low on his hips. The sight of him first thing in the morning makes me squeeze my legs tighter.
“Where’s Kain?” I ask, trying to ignore the throbbing.
“Conference call with a client,” Zay says, sitting on the bed. “It sounded super boring.”
It’s strange sometimes how normal this has become—all four of us together. I never would have thought how easy it could be.
“Speaking of boring,” I say, pulling out my phone to check my calendar, “I have coffee with my mom today.”
Both men groan, and I can’t help but smile. My relationship with my mother has been complicated since I moved in with my boyfriends. It took her three months to stop sending the police for wellness checks, and another month before she agreed to meet me in public without bringing a bodyguard.
“How is she handling the fact that her perfect daughter is living in sin with three criminals?” Zay asks, waggling his eyebrows.
“Former criminals,” I correct. “And she’s adjusting—slowly. Therapy is helping.”
It was my idea, though Mom resisted at first. But when faced with the choice between therapy and losing me completely, she chose therapy.
“She asked if the three of you would come to dinner next month,” I add casually, while watching their faces.
Silas nearly chokes on his coffee. “She what?”
“Apparently, Dr. Martin suggested that if she wants to understand my choices, she needs to meet the people I’ve chosen.” I grin at their horrified expressions. “Don’t worry, I told her you would think about it.”
“I’d rather be waterboarded,” Kain says as he walks into the room.
“Come here,” I say, holding out my hand to him.
He crosses over to us, and I pull him down for a kiss that tastes like coffee. When we break apart, he licks his lips.
“How did the call go?” I ask.
“Good. New contract, good money, and completely legal,” he jokes, a smirk plastered on his handsome face.
They decided once we got together that they would turn their businesses around and run them legally.
I come from two influential families, and my parents would be less than pleased if I got caught up in something shady.
My brother Ridge also may have threatened to make them disappear if they got me into any trouble.
“I have an idea,” I say, looking between the three of them. “For tonight.”
They all stare at me, Zay with a raised brow.
“Tonight is exactly six months since I signed the contract,” I admit.
“It’s our half-year anniversary,” Zay says with a grin. “I like where this is going.”
“I want to go back to the library. Where it all started.”
Silas’s grip on my thigh tightens. “Skye—”
“Not for the same reasons,” I clarify quickly. “Not to run or be chased. I want to show you how different things are now. How different I am now.”
I stand up and move to the center of the room, where I can see all three of them clearly. “Six months ago, I wanted to be free, so I signed a contract asking strangers to stalk me, and now . . .”
“And what do you want now?” Kain asks.
“You,” I say simply. “All of you.”
I walk to Silas first, cupping his face. “I want someone who can see the real me and love me for being that person. Someone who pays attention to the details everyone else misses.”
Then I shift to Zay, running my fingers through his dark hair. “And I want someone who makes me laugh and reminds me not to take life too seriously.”
Finally, I move to Kain, placing my hand over his heart. “And I want someone who will protect me, not only from the world, but from my own fears. Someone strong enough to catch me when I fall.”
“You have us,” Kain says, covering my hand with his.
“I know,” reply with a smile, then I step back, looking at all three of them. “So tonight, the tables will turn.”
“What exactly are you saying?” Silas asks.
I grin. “This time, I chase you.”
I watch as the idea sinks in, and they realize what I’m suggesting.
“Think you can catch us, pumpkin?” Zay asks.
“Oh, I know I can,” I say.
“What do we get if you don’t catch us?” Kain asks.
“What do you want?” I counter.
“You,” Silas says immediately. “Always you.”
“Then it’s a good thing,” I say, walking toward the door, “that either way, you win.” I pause in the doorway and look back at them. “Eight o’clock. Don’t make it too easy for me.”
As I head toward the shower, I hear Zay’s laughter echoing through the apartment.
Finally I have learned what it feels like to be completely seen by someone, and to have them want me—not despite my flaws but because of them. Turns out love doesn’t need to look like everyone else’s version of normal, and family isn’t only the people you share DNA with.
But the best part? Taking the terrifying leap six months ago and choosing the unknown—instead of what was expected of me—was hands down the best thing I’ve ever done. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m home.
If you want to read the quick anniversary scene.
Next in the Masked men Series
Filthy Puckers