Chapter 9 – Mari
The drive home felt like hours. All I could think about was Cameron. Sleepovers with him and Rey in Antoni’s and my suites at the manse. Stuffy family dinners with starched clothes and too many drunk adults for comfort. Hiding bowls of candy in the house so the four of us could trick-or-treat safely. Birthdays where he’d sneak into my room at midnight with a cupcake he’d bought with his allowance, just so he could be the first to sing to me. So many memories of my cousin, and most of them were good. Hell, even the bad ones had good moments.
The two of us clinging to each other beside Rey’s pyre. The way they’d held me up when we burned Antoni.
The way he’d always pushed me to do more, to be better, to reach for the stars, even when I was fucking exhausted.
My whole body rebelled against the idea that Cameron would do this, but those were my emotions talking. I had to use my brain, and I saw the truth on Nate’s face. Ace wasn’t lying. Which meant Cameron had.
I was destroyed. Gutted. Joaquin taught me that family didn’t necessarily mean that someone was good for you, but Cameron was never supposed to be an example of that.
What did this mean for Joaquin? Cameronhad been the one pushing me to make a move against his father for years, and now I thought I knew why. Joaquin had a bad habit of shoving his nose where it didn’t belong. Had he found out about Cameron moonlighting as an Ace? Did he realize his son was a snake?
Did I kill the wrong man?
I wasn’t far enough gone to pretend Joaquin wasn’t a slippery fuck, but if Cameron was actually the one who had been working with Cash, what was my uncle’s crime? Was not agreeing with me punishable by death?
The whole situation made me sick to my stomach, and I wondered if it was something I would have to atone for in the future. Maybe not for my family, but for myself.
I didn’t remember getting out of the car or when we got into the elevator. All I remembered was blinking to find myself staring at the numbers, praying the damn thing didn’t stop.
I didn’t know what I would do if I saw Cameron. There was so much going on inside my head that I was as likely to sob at his feet as I was to shoot him. If Cameron had to die, I wanted an ironclad reason to do it. I couldn’t make my best friend a widow without at least that much.
Thankfully, we made it to the penthouse unscathed, and when the door opened, I was met with a welcome sight.
Greyson grinned at me from the kitchen. “Hey, baby. I’m home.”
Nothing in the world could have stopped me from throwing myself at my husband. Being in his arms felt like coming home, and when my world was untethered yet again, I needed the safety he brought me more than ever.
My men talked over my head as I focused on soaking in the comfort that was Greyson. Inhale, good. Exhale, bad. All my men were together again, my family intact, only to be shattered by this bullshit. It wasn’t fair.
But I already knew life wasn’t fair unless you made it that way, and that was exactly what I’d do to Cameron when I found my footing again.
“I missed you,” I whispered eventually. My voice felt as ravaged as my soul, and I clung to him more than I had since Antoni died. When I looked up, his eyes glowed with a mixture of sympathy and rage.
“I missed you too, reina.”
He hauled me into his arms and set off down the hall, despite my protests. Released from the hospital didn’t mean healed, but tell that to him. Finally, I let it go. Wrapped around him as tight as I could be, I let myself snuggle into the crook of his neck, desperate for a hint of that scent that was just Grey. I’d once thought if I could bottle the way he smelled, I’d never have another shitty day in my life, but it did nothing for my nerves or my sorrow this time.
I peered behind us, unsure what I’d find. Nate looked drawn, tired, and so fucking sad. Dominic looked as brutal as ever. Like he’d tear apart the building just to avenge my honor.
There was no stopping me as I reached my hand out to them. In sync, they stepped forward and held on, giving me their strength when I was feeling every brick of my life collapse. They only dropped their hold when Greyson twisted, pulling us to sit on the edge of our bed, but only long enough for them to sit next to us.
He pulled me closer, dipping his head so we were closed off to the others, lips brushing my cheek. “I’m sorry, reina.”
Those were the words that broke the dam inside me. Ugly sobs ripped from my chest, and I felt as if every breath was a razor blade slicing through me. My men ran their hands down my body, petting my back, my hair, my legs. They whispered to me, promising me I was safe. They were here. It would be okay.
The rat was my cousin. My best friend, outside of the men who huddled around me as if their bodies on mine could keep me intact. I couldn’t understand it. “He was supposed to have my back.”
I didn’t realize I’d said that out loud until Nate’s haunted whisper slithered across my shoulder where he perched his head. “I’m sorry, angel. I should have told you.”
“It’s okay.” It wasn’t.
I’d been avoiding the truth because I knew it would hurt. If it were someone who didn’t matter, Nate would’ve told me right away. I’d buried my head in the sand because the fallout felt too disastrous, and now I was paying the price.
“How can I fix this?” he croaked, hands clutching at my thigh like he was worried I’d walk away.
Didn’t he know I couldn’t do that? I’d tried once, and look how that had ended.
“You can’t. No one can.” No one except the man who’d broken it in the first place.
Eventually, I’d have to accept that my cousin had betrayed me in the worst way. He needed to be dealt with and his influence carved out of the family like rotten fruit.
But that was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, I needed something else.
I needed them.
“Touch me. Make me forget all of this.”
I tilted my head, brushing my lips over first Dominic’s, then Greyson’s, and finally Nate’s mouth. A light kiss for each of the men I loved more than anything. More than the power I held, the family I ran, or the city under our feet. They were my reason for existing, my reason to throw my shoulders back and keep going no matter what came my way.
I would succeed because it was the only way we ended happy. We fucking deserved that much, and they would be with me.
For now, I needed to feel something good. We needed a reminder that family didn’t always stab you in the back.
Nate threaded his hand through my hair and pulled me away from Greyson so he could reach me. Those fathomless blue eyes swept my face like he was memorizing it. Like he never wanted to forget the moment I reached for him, and it warmed me to my core.
“Anything you need,” he whispered against my lips before he closed the distance between us.
The kiss was a promise. A declaration of Nate’s love and a vow to hunt down whoever harmed me. My dark knight, my quiet love.
While he kissed the brain out of my head, Grey and Dominic worked together to slip off my clothes. I didn’t even realize they’d done it until four hands dropped me onto Greyson’s cock.
The unexpected sensation tore me from Nate’s mouth on a gasp.
“Oh fuck.” It was a tight squeeze since we hadn’t played first, but I didn’t mind. Some nights, we sucked and teased and licked for hours, but this wasn’t one of them. Tonight, I needed hard and desperate. Anything to burn away the sadness before it ate me alive. “God, Greyson. You shouldn’t be doing this.”
His fingers dug into my hips as he moved me. “Don’t worry, you’re going to do all the work.”
Dominic brushed my hair back softly, his other hand pushing me down so I took Grey in inch by inch. “That’s right, mariposa. Let us do whatever we want. You know we’ll make you feel good.”
I had no doubt they would, and that reminder was what let me fall into them and out of my own head. Nate was behind me, kissing my neck, rolling my nipples between his fingers, and grinding his cock into me so I could feel how much he wanted me. Greyson’s eyes pinned me in place as efficiently as his hands did, while Dominic coaxed me the whole time.
Roll your hips, baby. Yes, just like that. You’re taking him so good. Show us how gorgeous you are when you come, mariposa.That’s right. Give us what we want.
The first orgasm was just as surprising as the sex had been, but no less powerful for it. It rolled through my body in a wave of warmth that thawed the chill Ace’s news had set into my bones. I was so focused on how good it felt that I didn’t hear anyone move until I heard the sound of a drawer opening.
“Get her ready, fuckboy.”
Nate huffed against the back of my neck, making me shiver. “I prefer boyfriend.”
Dominic rolled his eyes, reaching in and tossing something into the air. “I prefer you do what I say.”
The bottle of lube landed next to me on the bed, and I frowned. “I don’t want foreplay tonight.”
“I don’t care,” he answered.
“Seriously, Dominic. I don’t want it. Just fuck me.”
Dominic snatched my throat in his hand and hauled me in until we were nose to nose. “We’re not taking your ass without stretching you first and using plenty of lube. It’s nonnegotiable, Mari. You don’t get to hurt yourself. Not like this.”
Nate brushed his lips against my skin, his voice vibrating my back. “Agreed.”
“Third,” Grey said, hauling me in for a searing kiss. “We’ll help you, but we won’t ever hurt you.”
Knowing they wouldn’t budge, I readjusted my position over Greyson so Nate had more room to maneuver. I tried to focus on my husband, but the click of the cap and the simultaneous slide of two zippers drew my attention.
Dominic’s wicked grin sent warmth straight to my pussy, and Grey groaned when I squeezed him.
“Naughty girl. Your ball and chain’s trying to hold out, and you’re gripping the life out of him, aren’t you?”
Slicked fingers rimmed my ass, pushing in a little at a time. I enjoyed every second of Nate working me over, forcing me to stretch while I rode Grey, with Dominic’s wicked words and sinful kisses keeping me distracted.
Together, the three of them pushed me into another orgasm and then another until I was no more than putty in their hands.
“She’s ready.”
“Yes, she is.” Dominic leaned in for another kiss and disappeared just as Nate’s hands did. I expected him to push inside me with Grey, but he stepped away instead, giving Dominic his place. “Wait, what?”
“I get your ass first,” Dominic whispered, grabbing the lube. When he was coated, he tossed the bottle to Nate, who poured it onto his dick so slowly I was mesmerized.
My men had beautiful dicks, and I so rarely got to appreciate them the way I should. When this war was over, I was going to do something about that.
“Why do all the work for none of the reward?” I asked. Nate’s crooked grin lit me up inside.
“You’re the reward, angel. Right now, I need to see you. Need to show you what you do to me.” He fisted his hand around his cock, stroking slowly so I had something to watch, and fuck, what a pretty show it was.
His stomach clenched as he gripped the base of his dick with a punishing hand. His jaw tightened, and his eyes were so dark, they looked black.
Fuck yes.
“Keep looking at me like that, and this is going to end quick,” he warned. Grey chuckled against my neck as Dominic shoved me down to his chest.
“Yeah, Mari. Give the kid a chance not to be a two-pump chump.” Dominic’s low voice skated over my skin. Nate rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. Not that I would’ve noticed when Dominic ran his cock along my ass, spreading lube everywhere he touched. He pushed at the ring of muscle, testing to see if I was truly ready, and I moaned as he did it again and again. Never truly entering me, never giving me what I wanted.
“Dominic,” I begged.
“I love it when you’re desperate for me.” He wrapped a hand in my hair and hauled me up just as he slid inside my ass again. Only this time, he didn’t stop.
“Fuck, I forgot how tight you get with two of us inside you.” Grey’s strangled voice came as he arched up and took my nipple in his mouth. Dominic moved his hands, one to bracket my throat again and the other to strum my clit like it was his favorite instrument.
That desperate ball of pleasure spun inside me, growing with every touch and kiss and whispered word against my skin. They wanted to distract me from the day, to make me forget about anything but them and what they could do to me, and fuck me running, it was working.
Dominic and Greyson worked me over as a team, never letting me rest for a moment, while Nate watched. Sometimes, he barked orders like pull her nipple hard, bite her collarbone, squeeze her throat,all the while stroking his cock until it looked so hard it hurt.
Orgasm after orgasm wrecked me until I could barely move and desperate pleas were the only words I could form. I didn’t know how long it took before Dominic’s pace changed, his breathing heavy on my neck.
“Damn it, I can’t last any longer.”
“Thank fuck,” Grey breathed, hauling my hips closer and thrusting into me from below. His injuries meant Dominic had been doing most of the work for the both of us, but apparently, that didn’t matter now that the end was in sight. “You feel so good, reina. It’s been hell to hold it back.”
“Come, then. All of you.”
Dominic’s grip on my throat tightened as he let himself loose, plunging into me so fiercely I knew I’d bruise just from how our hips connected. I didn’t care, though. They could mark me until I was painted in nothing but black and blue.
Dominic was the first to go, wringing every ounce of pleasure from my body that he could before he stilled. Even though he was finished, he held himself inside me while he stroked my back and kissed my temple. “You’re fucking heaven, mariposa.”
“So are you.”
I felt his grin on my skin before he gently pulled out. Greyson hauled me closer, taking my mouth in a stinging kiss. “My wife. You’re so beautiful when you come for us.”
“I want to do it again.”
“You will,” he promised. “But it’s my turn now.”
Unlike Dominic, Grey’s orgasm was almost immediate. He’d been holding himself back, waiting for the others so we could finish close together. Even now, Dominic sat next to us on the bed, his eyes fixated on me.
When Greyson finished filling me with come, he leaned back on his hands.
Two down, one to go.
“Nate, I want you in my mouth.” He shook his head, and I glared, watching as he stroked himself faster. Like Greyson, he’d waited, and if I didn’t get him where I wanted him, he was going to blow on me. “I don’t want a come shower. Either put it in my mouth or deal with it yourself.”
“Have you always been this bossy?”
“Yes,” Dominic and Grey replied together.
Nate shook his head again, this time with a laugh. “I wasn’t planning to come on you, but I’m definitely interested in that another time.”
As he spoke, he disappeared behind me, and anticipation tightened my sore muscles.
Would he take my ass? Haul me off Greyson and bend me over the bed? Would he force me to my knees and make me suck him off?
Any of those were good with me.
While I waited, Grey’s softened cock slipped out, just in time for Nate to flip me over and plunge inside my pussy while I was still resting on his lap.
“Nate—”
“It’s okay, reina. I don’t mind.” Grey wrapped his hands around my thighs, pulling them apart so we could all watch Nate—and fuck me, that was hot.
Dominic leaned in to toy with my nipple and run a slow, teasing hand to my clit, but once he got there, he made sure I didn’t get a single break. He played it exactly the way I needed, building me up until I was crying out in no time.
“There you go, angel. One more time for us. Give us one more,” Nate panted, chasing his own release as Dominic forced mine. My hands grappled to cling to something, scratching at whatever skin I could find. Anything to ride out the intense wave that took me under.
When I was almost done, Dominic moved his hand to my thigh and Nate bit down on my neck, his fingers hauling me closer as he came as deep inside me as he could get, mixing his come with Grey’s.
In the aftermath, all I could hear was the roar of my pulse pounding in my ear.
My men touched me, stroked me, calmed me down until my ears worked again. No way I could move a muscle, but I was sated and happy. What more could a girl want?
“Nothing else matters but this. Us. Our family,” Nate promised against my sweaty chest. He hadn’t released me yet, clinging to me like I was the only life raft in the world he could use, and when I ran my fingers through his hair, I felt the same.
“Our family,” I agreed, knowing he didn’t mean just the four of us. He meant Aislynn and Shara too. Moore and Tennessee. Marjorie and the people we loved more than life. They were our family, and no matter what happened with Cameron, they always would be.
When the others finally pulled away to wash off, Dominic came back quickly with a warm washcloth and slid it between my thighs until I was clean, kissing every fingertip bruise he found on the way.
No one got dressed after. Instead, we curled together, skin on skin. Greyson fiddled with the remote, and the ceiling fan above whirled to life, cooling us off. I watched in a daze as he found my favorite show and turned it on.
“Gargoyles?” Nate asked.
Dominic laughed. “Just go with it.”
I tried to settle down, but reality had a way of creeping in on even the most private moments. “How am I going to tell Ash?”
It was the one thing that kept coming up when I thought about everything. How was I going to tell my best friend that the husband she’d fallen in love with was a liar? Could I tell her at all? Would Cameron hurt her to get to me?
“We’re not going to do this right now,” Dominic said, cutting off my protests with a firm bite to the ass. I squealed, pulling away from him, but he crawled up my side, forcing me to stay. “None of this needs to happen right this second. When you’ve come to terms with things, we’ll make a plan and execute it, but save that for tomorrow. Tonight, all you have to do is rest with us.”
So, I did. We stayed snuggled up together watching my guilty pleasure. Everywhere I moved, I had at least one hand from each of them on me, and if I got up, they watched my every step. I’d never felt more cared for than I did with all their attention on me.
None of it made my cousin’s betrayal okay, but things always felt more manageable with my men by my side.