9. Audrey
AUDREY
I’ve spent the entire day thinking about two kisses.
I’ve tried everything, and I can’t get Bennett and Knox out of my head.
Which is ridiculous because I have much bigger things to worry about.
My father wants me dead or dragged back home.
My brother is still trapped with him or heck, he could have OD’d somewhere and been left for dead, for all I know.
My apartment is destroyed. I started a new job today for the family my father hates more than anyone in the world.
And somehow, all I can think about is kissing two men.
I stare at myself in the bathroom mirror and blow out a breath. This is crazy. I need answers.
By the time I walk downstairs, Bennett and Knox are both in the living room sitting down. Bennett is on the couch with his laptop open while Knox is sprawled out in the chair across from him. Both of them look up when I enter.
I point between them. “We need to talk.”
Knox grins. “That sounds serious.”
I nod and walk into the living room with my hands locked together in front of me. “It is.”
Bennett closes his laptop and sets it on the table. “Come sit down.”
I immediately shake my head. “No. I’m good standing.”
He gives me a look but doesn’t argue. I cross my arms over my chest and look between them as I suck in a breath. “What exactly is going on here?”
Bennett’s forehead creases. “With what?”
“With this.” I wave my hand between the three of us. “You kissed me. Knox kissed me. You two apparently know about each other kissing me, which is weird enough, and then Knox tells me you guys share women.”
Knox opens his mouth, but I hold up a hand. “I’m not finished.”
He closes his mouth, and I glare at him before turning back to Bennett. “Is this your thing? You bring women here, sleep with them together, and then move on to someone else?”
Both men immediately lose their smiles, and Bennett stands. “No. That’s not what this is at all.”
Knox leans forward. “Audrey, we would never treat you like that.”
I’m trying to make sense of all this. “But you do share women.”
“We have,” Bennett says.
I blink. At least he’s honest.
He steps toward me. “But you’re different.”
I let out a short laugh. “Right.”
“You are,” he insists.
I cross my arms over my chest. “How?”
Bennett looks at Knox and then back at me. “We’re thinking something more permanent.”
I stare at him. “What does that even mean?”
He takes another step closer. “It means we don’t want a fling with you.”
My heart starts to race, but I take a deep breath to try and calm myself. “So what do you want?”
Bennett is quiet for a second, then he says, “You.”
I roll my eyes. “That clears everything up.”
Knox laughs softly, but Bennett doesn’t. His gaze stays locked on mine. “My father told me I need to get married.”
I blink. “What?”
“In a few months.”
I shake my head. “Why?”
“Family. He wants grandchildren, and he thinks that we look weak as long as I’m single. He won’t let me take over until I’m married.”
That takes me back. “You’re taking over?”
“Eventually.”
Of course he is. I should have seen that coming. Bennett is treated like the man in charge of every room he’s in. I shake my head, trying to get back to the conversation. “Okay, so you need to get married. What does that have to do with me?”
He stares at me. “I want to marry you.”
Everything inside me goes still. “What?”
“I want you to be my wife.”
I stare at him. Then I look at Knox and back at Bennett. With my mouth hanging open, I shake my head. This has to be a joke. When he doesn’t even crack a smile, I shake my head. “You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
A laugh escapes me, but there’s no humor behind it. “Oh my God.”
“Audrey—” He starts, but I don’t let him finish. I point at him. “No. I get it now. This is about my dad.” I lift my hands up and put them together as if this all makes sense now. “What better way to get back at Victor Sterling than to marry his daughter?”
Bennett shakes his head and steps toward me. “That’s not why.”
I put a hand up, and he stops. “Come on, Bennett. Tell me the truth. I deserve that at least.”
He takes another step toward me. “I want to marry you because I want you.”
I blurt out a laugh and shake my head. “You barely know me. This is insane.” I look over at Knox. “What about you?”
His gaze locks on mine. “What about me?”
“What do you get out of this?”
His forehead creases, and I gesture toward Bennett. “I understand what he gets. I become a Kingston. I’m his wife. What are you?”
Knox stands. He comes toward me slowly, stopping on my other side. “You’d be Bennett’s wife, but you’d be ours.”
My pulse jumps. “Ours?”
He nods. “Yes.”
I step away from both of them. “No.”
Bennett’s face tightens. “No?”
“I’m not going from one controlling father to two men who think they can tell me what to do.”
“That’s not what we want,” Knox says.
I laugh. “Really? Because since yesterday, you’ve decided where I live, where I work, who follows me, where my office is—”
Bennett interrupts me. “To keep you safe.”
I point at him. “See? That. You just decide things and just make an excuse as if that makes it okay.”
He takes a deep breath. “That’s fair. I know that maybe I come off as bossy, but I am fine with you making your own decisions. I just want you safe.”
His answer surprises me. I blink. “What? So if I wanted to move out of here, you wouldn’t try to stop me?”
He seems to think about it. “If you don’t want to be here, I wouldn’t stop you from leaving, but you would take security with you.” Bennett looks at Knox and then back at me. “We’ve been making decisions because we’re worried about you. But we don’t want to control you.”
Bennett takes another step toward me. “We don’t want to take away your freedom, Audrey. We want to give you a place where you can finally have it.”
My chest tightens. I hate how much his words affect me. I look away from him. “You kissed me once.”
When he doesn’t say anything, I look back at him. “And after one kiss, you decided I should be your wife?”
His voice softens. “I knew I wanted you before I kissed you. The first time you walked into my office, I knew.”
My heart pounds harder. I can’t argue with him because the first time I saw them, I felt the same. I turn to Knox. “And you?”
He doesn’t hesitate. “Same.”
I shake my head. “You’re both crazy.”
“Probably,” Knox says.
I start pacing because I can’t stand still with both of them looking at me like that. “I can’t give you an answer.”
Bennett nods. “Okay.”
I stop. “Okay?”
He nods. “Yes.”
“You’re not going to argue?”
He smiles then. “Not tonight.”
Knox chuckles.
I point at both of them. “And even if I was considering this, which I’m not, I’ve never been with two men before.”
Neither one speaks.
I scrunch my nose up and feel my face getting hot. “I don’t even know how something like that works.”
Knox’s mouth twitches, and I point at him. “Don’t you dare laugh at me.”
He stands up. “I’m not.”
I look between the two of them and blurt out, “What if one of you gets jealous?”
They answer at the same time. “We won’t.”
I look between them. “You can’t know that.”
They nod at each other as if they’re speaking some unspoken language.
I shake my head. “This is insane.”
Bennett’s voice drops. “Do you want us?”
My breath catches. “That’s not the point.”
He comes closer. “Do you want me?”
I hate that I can feel my nipples pucker at his words. “Yes.”
His eyes darken. Then Knox asks, “Do you want me?”
I look at him. There’s no reason to lie. “Yes.”
Silence falls over the room, and suddenly everything feels different.
Bennett slowly walks forward and stops in front of me. “Sweetie, we’re not asking you to get married tonight. You have a lot going on right now, and we don’t want to add to it. I just wanted to be up front with you and let you know our intentions.”
I just stare at him. He reaches up and strokes his thumb across my cheek. “Are you curious… about us?”
I should say no. I should tell them both that I don’t want this and walk away now, but a part of me already knows that if I do that, I’ll regret it. “Yes,” I murmur.
Knox’s hands settle lightly at my waist from behind, and my entire body tightens.
He moves to my side, and then I have the heat from both their bodies against me.
Bennett leans his head down and looks at me. His voice drops. “Let us show you.”
My heart pounds so hard it feels like it might come out of my chest. “Show me what?”
His hand slides to the side of my neck. “How good it can be.”
Knox’s mouth brushes close to my ear. “No pressure. No expectations.” His hands tighten slightly at my waist. “Just us taking care of you.”
I close my eyes for a second. I focus on feeling Knox’s hand tighten at my waist. Bennett’s hand stroking my neck. My lower belly pulls, and I open my eyes.
They are both watching me, waiting for me to make the decision. I weigh my options quickly. I can walk away and wonder what if, or I can do this, the thing that has occupied my mind since I first met Bennett and Knox. I reach up and grip the front of each of their shirts. “Okay. Show me.”