Chapter 20 #3
I unwind my arms from Tristan’s neck. “Come on, Sage has a smoke that will help you sleep.” I hold out my hand, and he takes it and lets me drag him outside.
“Fine, but I want you on my lap so I can check you over,” he bargains, and I smile.
“I’m okay with that.”
The balcony winds all the way around the top level, allowing access from all the bedrooms. There are chairs spaced along its length, but only two in front of this room. They are both chaise lounges, so Sage takes one and pulls Vienna into his lap, and Tristan does the same for me.
I make myself comfortable between his legs, leaning back against his solid, warm chest. He wraps his arms around me when I shiver, this time from the cool night air.
“Did the doctor see the other two?” I ask as Sage lights up the joint before passing it to Vienna.
“Yeah. Colton has a concussion and needed two stitches in his eyebrow. It was quite deep. Xavi has five stitches in his arm and pulled a muscle in his shoulder from where he stopped me from flying through the cab,” Tristan murmurs in my ear.
“Vienna’s okay. Colton took the brunt of the impact on that side and has bruises all over his body to show for it, but she feels guilty as fuck and is being maternal about it.
” He turns my head with one hand to look at the other two.
Vienna passes the joint back to Sage and starts running her hands all over his body to check that he’s telling the truth about being uninjured apart from aches and pains.
I roll my eyes, because his reaction is classic Sage.
He practically preens and purrs, leaning into her touch, the bulge in his briefs growing rapidly.
“Babe, if you wanted to get your hands all over me, you only had to ask.”
He hauls her against his chest with his free hand and proceeds to kiss the shit out of her.
I squirm in Tristan’s lap, because they look so fucking sexy.
“You would make her night if you suggested that the two of you sleep with us to reassure her,” he murmurs quietly as Vienna and Sage break apart.
He must not have been quiet enough, because Sage turns his attention away from the breathless goddess in his arms.
“That sounds like a pretty good idea.” He looks to me for confirmation. I want to say yes, but we still have some business to attend to tonight.
“We have that thing,” I remind him, and his face drops in disappointment, “but I can go on my own. It’s fine.”
He shakes his head. “Absolutely not. I’m coming with you.”
“Oh, what are you doing?” Vienna asks, taking the joint from Sage and putting it to her lips. “Maybe we can help.” She gestures to Tristan and herself before taking another drag, then holding it out to us.
Tristan takes it from her and puts it to his lips as I shake my head.
“Yeah, no, it’s work stuff, but thanks for the offer.” I try to let her down easily, but I can tell she’s disappointed. “But maybe we can nap here for a few hours before we have to leave,” I suggest, trying to soften the blow.
“Okay. I can compromise. That sounds nice.” Her smile is bright, even if it doesn’t reach her eyes. She does a good job of hiding her disappointment.
“And anyway, you don’t want to have to wake up and find Sage sprawled across the whole bed.
I swear, since we’ve been sleeping together, I wake up with more aches and pains than today’s accident gave me,” I joke, and he glares at me, but she laughs lightly, the rest of the disappointment fading from her eyes.
“Tris is the same, a complete bed hog. It’s why we make him sleep on the outside.”
Tristan grumbles behind me. Sage holds out his hand for a fist bump, and he quickly complies.
“Did you guys get some food?” I ask her. We were at our picnic a lot longer than I thought, and it was already dark by the time we emerged.
“Yes, Suzy fed us after the doctor left. She’s the best. You are so lucky to have such an amazing family,” Vienna says, sounding a bit envious.
“Yeah, we lucked out. My dad was amazing as well,” I reply quietly, and Tristan’s arm tightens around me, giving me a little squeeze as he passes me the joint. I take a drag, blowing out the smoke before asking, “Speaking of family, did Gio come home tonight?”
Vienna shakes her head. “No, he and Casey stayed in Suncity in your suite at the Lucky Diamond.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief that I obviously don’t hide too well.
“What’s with you and Gio? I thought you guys were tight, but since we moved in, I sense some tension between you,” Tristan asks casually, and I see Vienna’s attention turn from Sage’s creeping hands to me.
“Is it because of us?” she asks quietly, but I’m quick to shake my head.
“No, not at all. We were having issues long before you moved in.” I don’t tell them that I think the issues stem from his relationship with Casey and his interest in being more like them then running the family business.
“Don’t worry about us, it will all sort itself out eventually,” I assure her, even though the reality is there’s a good chance we might come to blows, and one of us may not survive.
We pass the joint around between us a little longer and talk about mundane things.
Vienna is excited for our spa day and the party over the weekend, and it’s nice to keep my mind occupied and not obsessing over tonight’s job.
Eventually, we decide to turn in. A few hours of rest will help keep my mind sharp, and if it’s spent between a sexy man and woman, I’m not going to complain.