CHAPTER TEN
Derek
“Are you serious?” I roared. “What the fuck?”
Mason shrugged, although his expression was grim.
“Yeah, Mayflower Lane or some shit like that. It’s the ghetto dude, our girl is living in the ghetto.”
Because Katie disappeared without a trace. It was unreal. One minute we were part of a trio, going at it non-stop, Mace and me spurting into the delectable female again and again. But now our girl was gone. Up in the middle of the night, in the middle of sex for crying out loud, she excused herself and made a getaway.
“How do we know she’s gone for good?” I asked grimly. “Did Katie leave a note?”
Mason just shook his head, growling with frustration.
“Naw, no note, but check this out,” he said, opening his palm. “She left this.”
And shit, but the ring was there, both diamonds glinting and winking like they were taunting us. What the fuck? That thing cost us six figures, but suddenly it seemed worthless now that Katie didn’t want it anymore. Storming into the lobby like two giants, Mace and I attacked the doorman.
“Did you see her?” I questioned Leo, hands gripping his collar. “What was she doing?”
But elderly man couldn’t help, trembling in his red and gold uniform.
“Miss had a bag with her,” he stammered, looking down, almost shaking with fright. “She had a bag and called a cab.”
“Well, where’d they go?” demanded Mason, blue eyes sharp, voice a growl. “Where was a young girl going by herself in the middle of the night? Did you think to ask?”
Leo shuddered visibly, shrinking into himself.
“I didn’t see,” he muttered, bottom lip trembling. “I’m sorry sirs, I didn’t see.”
I closed my eyes, a headache coming on. Shit, this was so fucking lame. We’d pounded her good, loving that sweet body, worshipping everything about Katie. So why had she taken off in the middle of the night? What the hell, it made no sense.
It was especially confusing, and my mind circled back to that ring. Oh yeah, that engagement ring cost us six figures, but it was the right thing to do. The two diamonds, one light, one dark, symbolized everything Mace and I couldn’t say to Katie. It glimmered, so precious, so starkly rare and beautiful, and most of all, one hundred percent real. Because these were real diamonds, no cubic zirconia or lab-grown anything. Even if our relationship existed in a bubble, it was still real in some sense. We felt something for one another, engaging each other in endless chit chat, jokes, and even deep conversation.
So why the hell had Katie taken off? What in the world? I wanted to beat Leo into the ground, but that was no way to treat a loyal servant, especially one who was nearing seventy. So instead, I turned back to Mace.
“We’ll find her,” I ground out, blue eyes flashing. “We have to.”
My lover almost roared again, the rage and anguish totally visible.
“But what the fuck?” he protested. “Why now? What the hell?”
I shook my head.
“Who knows? But whatever it is, we’ve got to find her.”
So yeah, our private investigator was on it the next morning. And within hours, he’d located Katie. It wasn’t hard. Yellow cab with sweet, nubile eighteen-year old, departing the Markham Apartments around midnight last night? She couldn’t hide, an email with her address popping into our inboxes by eleven a.m. But when Mace and I realized where she was living, the nightmare began.
“Are you serious?” I grunted again, disbelieving. “This is the place?”
Because we’d taken an unmarked car out to New Jersey, slowly coasting down the block where our girl was allegedly staying. And frankly, there was nothing to see. Or more accurately, what there was to see was such an eyesore that it was better to close your eyes. Cracked concrete lined the sidewalks, each box-like house saggy and faded, more than a few broken windows papered over with cardboard. There was no vegetation in sight, the sun beating down, hot air visibly rising off the asphalt.
“Guess this Aunt Mae wasn’t exactly rolling in it,” muttered Mace, shaking that dark head. “Why the hell would she come here?”
Exactly. Why would Katie leave the comfort and luxury of our home to live in this dilapidated saltbox? She could be taking a bath in one of our dozen bathrooms, soaking in bubbles, or working out in the private gym. Whereas here, the metal chain link fences were grim, barking Rottweilers lunging inside.
But it wasn’t too late. More than anything, we just wanted answers. Why was she doing this? What happened to the plan? What happened to the fake engagement? Even if she didn’t want to do that anymore, still. Why take off in the middle of the night?
So setting my mouth in a line, I grimly opened the car door, unfolding my huge frame. Shit, Mace and I stood out like two rampaging lions in the sad little neighborhood. Our thousand dollars suits stood out, two perfectly-groomed, powerful alpha males exuding confidence, like Roman emperors visiting the slums. But it didn’t matter. We were going to yank our girl back out and put her in her place with that ring on her finger whether she liked it or not.
Striding up to the front door, I pounded loudly.
“Katie,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Open up. It’s us.”
No sound came out even as Mace and I stood on either side of that faded, sagging door like two sentinels.
“Little girl,” I tried again. “What the hell? We know you’re in there. Let us in.”
This time, the shade in the window twitched a bit and an old lady peered at us from the darkened interior.
“Who are you?” came a cackly voice. “Get off my doorstep!”
Mace and I shot puzzled looks at each other. Seems our intelligence was wrong. Auntie Mae was supposed to be dead, but from the looks of it, there was a wizened female inhabiting the house.
“Auntie Mae,” I began. “I’m Derek Smith, President of Major Enterprises …”
That’s usually enough for an introduction, people fawn and swoon when they realize I’m an executive at a Fortune 500 company. But in this case, it didn’t make one whit of a difference.
“Do you think I care?” screeched the old woman through the shutters. “Do you think that makes a difference to me? I don’t care if your name is Goombah or Poombah, it doesn’t matter where you work! Now what in the world are you doing on my doorstep?”
My lover and I looked at each other with startled expressions. We’re used to the red carpet being rolled out, a bunch of sycophants bowing and smiling, jumping at our beck and call. So to be here, in a shady neighborhood, with a cackly old witch calling us out was a new experience for sure. What the hell? How to deal with it?
But Mace stepped into the rescue, ever smooth and confident.
“Auntie Mae,” he rumbled, that deep voice persuasive. “If you’ll just let us in, we ….”
But he was cut off rudely.
“No! Go away!” she screeched from inside, the shade snapping shut. “I don’t let strange men into my house, ever!”
There was a scraping sound from inside, like a chair had just been pushed up against the door, and Mace and I goggled at one another then. Seriously? Was this old bat off her rocker or what? Did she think one chair was going to keep us from getting to our girl? Did she think that she was going to be able to keep Katie from us, that her nasty words had any effect whatsoever?
Grimly, I backed up a step, pushing up my sleeves. Because thousand dollar suit or not, I wasn’t above kicking in this shitty piece of wood. Hell, it probably wasn’t even wood, the door was likely made from some cardboard composite, it was that bad
And Mace was doing the same. The look on my lover’s face was a mixture of rage and desperation at this point, even as he took of his jacket to begin the assault. But right as we both leaned back to attack, the door cracked open and I saw that we’d been wrong. The scraping sound hadn’t been a chair being pushed up as further protection. The sound had been of the woman pulling out firearms, loading a gun as she armed herself. And now here we were, staring down the barrel of a rifle.
It was like out of an old-time western. Auntie Mae couldn’t have been more than five feet tall, bent over with a big humpback, wearing a faded housedress. But the rifle in her arms was no joke. Almost as long as her, the firearm was polished and oiled, obviously lovingly maintained.
“Don’t think I don’t know how to shoot this!” she screeched, swinging the barrel at first me, and then Mason. “I’ve been going to the gun range every week since I was fifteen. Taken down more than a few with this baby here!”
Immediately, both my hands flew up.
“Lady, take it easy,” I murmured in a soothing voice. “Just take it easy.”
Mace did the same, backing away slowly, that dark form filled with repressed energy. But I could see that he wasn’t giving up. And before I could say anything, he was on the old lady in a snap, struggling with her for the gun.
“Stop! Stop! Or I’ll shoot!” she screeched. For someone so small and bent over, Auntie Mae was curiously strong because my lover actualy had to tussle with her for a few seconds before yanking the rifle out of her hands. Those gnarled fingers looked positively arthritic, how in the world was she going to aim and fire?
But Auntie Mae is a real crackerjack because even though Mason had the gun in his arms now, the old lady launched herself at him like a rocket-propelled missile, landing on that big form while screeching and hitting with clawed fingers.
“Give it back!” she screeched. “Give it back, that was my Great Uncle Joe’s Confederate rifle! Give it back, you big lout!”
And at this point, everything collapsed. Because Mace is an asshole, but he’s not about to go around hitting women, especially not old ladies who are seventy and frail. So instead, they tumbled to the floor, that huge form bouncing and rolling reflexively, but the crone collapsed like a bag of bones.
“Owwww!” she squealed, both hands gripping her back, writhing in agony on the doorstep. “Owwww!”
And it was then that Katie appeared. Shit, our girl was so beautiful, flushed and eyes wide, curls in disarray.
“What in the world?” she cried out. “You guys beat up my great-aunt? How could you?” she demanded, immediately dropping to her knees next to the old lady. “How could you?”
I was totally flummoxed, mouth opening and closing with no words. Because hadn’t she seen? This old bat was crazy, she’d waved a gun in our faces, threatening us with bodily harm. It wasn’t us, it was her!
But Katie didn’t seem to care.
“I can’t believe you did this!” she cried out again, her hands lifting Aunt Mae’s head so that the graying head was cradled in her lap. “I can’t believe you guys picked on a little old lady!”
At that, I had to step in.
“Listen, there is nothing helpless about this woman. She threatened us!” I protested. “Mace, show her the rifle. That rifle’s hers, it’s not ours. We didn’t bring it here from New York, she showed up on the stoop with that thing.”
The dark man held out the firearm like it was show and tell, nodding furiously. His suit was rumpled now, a lock of black hair falling over his eye, making my lover look like Superman. But even Superman can be cowed because Lois Lane wasn’t having it. Katie merely cried out again.
“Aunt Mae’s my only living relative! She’s the one who encouraged me to go to art school, my only source of emotional support! And now you guys have injured her! Oh my god, oh my god.”
I stared at the gray-haired old lady, still moaning with pain on the doorstep, her head lolling from side to side as if in agony. Shit, it wasn’t much of a fall, but who knows with old people? Supposedly, they can break a hip just from a bump, and maybe we’d done that to her. Maybe we’d permanently injured Katie’s precious Auntie Mae, and she’d never recover, bound to a wheelchair forever.
But as Katie looked up to yell at Mason again, suddenly Auntie Mae winked at me. I stared, unable to believe my eyes. But sure enough, the little old lady winked again while carrying on with her cries.
“My hip! My head! It hurts, it hurts!” she wailed. “Owwww!” came out a pitiful cry, punctuated with another wink.
And suddenly I realized what had happened. Katie had likely been stowed away in a back room, refusing to come out. And to get her to make an appearance, Auntie Mae had staged this whole thing. The rifle, the nasty words, even the fighting. It was all a ploy so that her niece could be enticed from her hidey hole, so that Katie would come out and meet her lovers.
And nodding quickly, I had an idea.
“Come on, we’ve got to get her to a hospital,” I grunted to Mason. “Let’s put her in the car. Katie, you’re going to have to come too. You’re her closest relative, and there’ll be a bunch of papers to sign.”
I half-expected the brunette to protest, to say she wasn’t going anywhere with us, but instead, the girl nodded, tears in her eyes.
“Hurry!” she cried out. “Hurry, Auntie Mae could be really hurt!”
I almost choked, but the old lady went with it, shooting me another sly wink.
“Owww!” she howled. “Owwww! Owww!”
Okay, now things were getting out of hand. Mae’s cries sounded more like a wolf baying at the moon than a human in distress, but some people really have a flair for the dramatic. So I gestured to Mason to pick her up.
“Dude, put her in the car, I’ll follow with Katie.”
Mace looked like he was about to protest, and I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to be locked up in a small space speeding down the highway with this crazy bat. But the thing is, she wasn’t crazy. Auntie Mae was working in our best interests, and the car ride would be a great time for him to find out.
So despite his mutinous look, I shot him a glare.
“Yo dude, really. Just do it.”
And with an enraged humph, he lifted Auntie Mae into his arms, gentle despite everything, and slowly carried her to the black sedan.
“See you there,” he threw over his shoulder, blue eyes going between me and Katie. “See you there.”
I nodded before turning to our best girl.
“After you,” I said with exaggerated courtesy, almost bowing. “After you, or would you like me to carry you?”
Her face grew pink, that creamy complexion flushing the most beautiful shade. But her aunt’s supposed injury was more important because instead of yelling or sniping back, she merely took a deep breath and pointed to the hatchback in the driveway.
“Well, if I can convince you to get into this deathtrap, then we can take off,” she said tightly. “Or is the ride not nice enough for you?”
I quirked a brow at her. Clearly, Katie was her old sassy self still, no wilting wallflower here.
“It’s fine,” I said with exaggerated courtesy once more. “But should I drive or do you want to? Seems like you’ve had some excitement recently, maybe it’d be better if I took the wheel.”
And rolling those big brown eyes, the brunette tossed the keys at me.
“Fine, let’s go,” she said shortly, getting into the beat-up old VW. Shit, this thing really was a death trap. The window wouldn’t roll down and the seatbelt on the driver’s side was busted, stuck as I tried to yank it forwards.
“You want me to drive?” my girl said archly to me. “I don’t mind going without a seatbelt. After everything that’s happened, that’s the least of our worries.”
I just growled once more, pulling again hard. No luck. Forget it. And looking straight ahead with a determined expression, I jammed the key in the ignition and revved the motor, the car roaring to life before settling into a distinct putter.
“Naw,” I growled. “No seatbelt’s gonna save me from this vehicle. If we don’t explode in a ball of flames on the highway first.”
Katie just rolled her eyes again, crossing those arms over her soft breasts.
“We’ll be fine,” she said sarcastically. “We’ll be fine.”
And I grunted, eyes fixed on the drive while pulling the car out onto the road.
“Hopefully we survive,” I growled.
But once the car got going, I turned to the girl, looking at her from the corner of my eye. The air inside crackled with energy even if it was silent.
“So what was that all about?” I asked, like nothing was wrong. “What was that?”
Katie turned towards me.
“That was my Aunt Mae trying to protect me,” she said tightly. “I told her everything about us. About me, you and Mason, about the fake engagement, the fake everything, and she was disgusted. She was just trying to protect me.”
I snorted because that statement was certainly wrong. Auntie Mae wanted Katie to be with us, it was the opposite of what the brunette thought, she just didn’t know it. But there was no point in getting into that just yet.
“But why’d you take off?” I asked, my voice a low growl. “Why’d you jet like we were lepers or fucking criminals?” Because deep inside, that was the part that hurt the most. Katie, Mason and I had developed a bond I thought, something real even though we were acting out a play. And even if she didn’t feel it, surely it was weird to take off with no warning? So why had she done it?
But the girl refused to answer, instead turning towards the passenger side window and staring out stonily, mouth in a line. I had half a mind to drag her into my lap even as we sped down the highway, to force her to kiss me, opening those lips and breathing some answers. But fine. We’d wait. We’d wait until Mason was here to start with the real Q and A.
And with a squeal of tires, I pulled into the hospital parking lot. Shit, there was the black sedan, and sure enough, there was a pair of orderlies wheeling Auntie Mae into the emergency room as the old lady clutched her leg, screeching, “It hurts! It hurts! Get me a doctor!”
So now it was her leg now, huh? No more back pains? I exchanged a glance with Mason, who trailed the wheelchair into the nondescript building. Clearly, he’d had a talk with Auntie Mae on the ride over, and knew exactly what was going on.
But Katie didn’t know and was frantic with panic.
“Is my aunt going to be okay?” she asked, rushing up to the front desk and gripping the counter. “She’s all I have.”
Oh shit, the brunette had tears in her eyes again, lip trembling. This was just a farce. This was just a small lie within our bigger make-believe story, and there was no reason to be so worried. But of course, the nurse had no idea that Mae was faking, and acted bored, snapping her gum.
“I’m sorry Ma’am, there’s no way we can tell without doing a thorough evaluation first,” she replied, not even looking up. “But we have a load of forms for you to sign, here you go,” she said, pushing a giant stack of papers towards Katie. “You’re next of kin right? Be sure to sign everywhere there’s a yellow X,” the woman said before turning back to her computer, fingers fluttering away at light speed.
And Katie almost collapsed then, eyes wide as she took in the mountain of yellow paper.
“I can’t,” she said in a small voice. “I can’t, not now.”
Despite the fact that we were angry with her, despite the fact that she was angry with us and there were so many unresolved questions in the air, our girl’s distress was real, and I pulled her into my arms.
“Things are gonna be okay,” my voice soothed, a low growl. “Things are gonna be okay baby.”
Mason came to stand by us, that dark form looming. So what if we were two guys with a crying girl in our arms? Emergency rooms the world over have seen this very sight.
“Don’t worry baby,” he rumbled. “It’ll all work out. Let’s step outside and get some sun, it’s fucking depressing in here.”
Slowly, with a sobbing Katie in our arms, we made our way outside, finding a bench next to a fountain. Despite Newark being a shithole of a city, this hospital was pretty nice, the water tinkling musically as flowers bloomed around us.
“Calm, little girl,” I said again, holding her in my lap. “Things are gonna be okay.”
“It’s not that bad,” added Mason. “Seriously, it’s not that bad.”
But that made Katie jerk her head up from my shoulder, looking between us.
“What do you mean, it’s not that bad?” she asked. “What’s not bad? The situation? My aunt? Me? You? Everything’s awful,” she cried, swiping at her cheeks furiously, trying to erase the stain of tears. But it was no good. She was so beautiful despite it all, the wild curls, the curvy, heaving body, even crying, our girl was gorgeous.
“It’s not that bad,” I repeated again soothingly. “It’s gonna be fine.”
And this time, she swung to look at me with blazing eyes.
“I don’t know why you keep saying that because things couldn’t get any worse,” she spat. “Things really couldn’t get any worse.”
I begged to differ. With that curvy ass bouncing up and down in my lap, the world seemed pretty good. But I nodded, encouraging her to continue.
“What is it baby girl? Spit it all out. Tell us why you left us.”
And Katie shook her head, frustrated.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said, gesturing wildly with her hands. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Mason cut in then.
“Frankly no,” he rumbled, blue eyes bright. “It’s not often we have a girl take off in the middle of sex, leaving me and him high and dry. So no, it’s not, an explanation would be great.”
Katie stared at us both, those big brown eyes wide with disbelief.
“Okay, where do I start?” she said slowly. “First, the fact that this is all fake. This is a fake engagement so that Mason can fulfill the terms of his grandfather’s will and get a load of money. None of this is real,” she said as she stared.
“Second,” she continued. “We’ve been doing the physical, going at each other non-stop. We shouldn’t be, because there’s no real need! And seeing that I’m bigger than most,” she said, gesturing to those lush curves, “people think there’s a baby anyways. So why the hell have we been tasting each other?” she asked plaintively. “Why?”
I was just about to interrupt, but the brunette shot me a hard look.
“And third,” she continued, “You and Mason are in love,” she continued. “You guys are head over heels in love with one another, you’ve known each other for years, built an empire together. So unfortunately, I’m a third wheel,” she said slowly, her eyes filling with tears once more. “I’m the odd man out in this trio that’s not even supposed to exist. I’m the extra, the leftovers,” she said woodenly. “So what the hell are we doing here?” she cried again abruptly, looking between me and Mason. “Why are you here? Why are you trying to help my aunt? I have to get away!” she cried out, scrambling off my lap.
But my arms were like a vise around that sweet body.
“Naw baby girl, not yet,” I ground out. “It’s not time to go yet.”
“Hold still,” chimed Mason, eyes blazing bright. “Because we have some words too.”
“What?” gasped Katie, still struggling furiously in my arms. “There’s nothing that could make this damned situation better, everything is so messed up!”
I pulled her closer even as Mason reached out to stroke those brown curls.
“Trust me, it gets better,” I hushed, loving the lush tits, the wiggle of her butt in my lap. Shit, even at this crucial juncture, I was so turned on by her body, so fucking aroused by everything that was Katie. “Shhh.”
And the brunette collapsed in sobs again. But this time we were ready. Because as her hand gripped my shoulder, Mason leaned forwards and pushed the engagement on her finger once more. She’d left it at the house, the diamonds taunting us. But no more.
“Will you, baby girl?” he rumbled, kissing her hand once he was done. “Will you, for real this time?”
Katie jerked to look at us, eyes bright, face flushed.
“Will I what?” she asked tightly. “Oh!” her mouth opened a little when she saw the ring, the two diamonds so bright and big on her finger. “I can’t,” her lip trembled, burying her face in my shoulder. “Don’t do this, I can’t right now.”
That’s when I stepped in.
“Naw baby girl, you can, you mean everything to us. And Mason’s asking you now. Will you, honey? Will you marry him and me? Him in the courts, and me in private, a bride to two men?”
Katie looked between us, stunned and shocked.
“What do you mean, get married?” she asked hoarsely. “Please don’t play with me, please don’t joke. I just told you all my insecurities, please don’t make me feel worse,” she begged.
But this time, we were for real. Because what else could explain our trip to Newark? The PI that we’d set on her trail? The scene with her aunt, a rifle brandished in our faces? We were head over heels in love with our fake fiancée, the brunette was the answer to our dreams, and Mason and I had moved heaven and earth to find her. Making it real was absolutely the answer to the dilemma. Marrying Katie, possessing her, marking her as ours for the world to know, no fakes, no pretend, nothing but the genuine thing was the way to go.
The problem was that our girl didn’t believe it. After everything that had happened, she wasn’t on board immediately, and I respected her for that. Katie’s a smart one and nothing’s solved so easily, with a snap of the fingers. So the brunette took a deep breath before replying, that bountiful chest heaving.
“So you want to marry me,” she said in a low voice, her voice slightly trembly. “But how would that work? And why? I don’t get it.”
Mason growled deep in his chest.
“What is there to get?” he rasped. “We want you, you want us, it’s as simple as that.”
But Katie wouldn’t be satisfied with an answer like that, so I went in for a try as well.
“What he’s saying, baby girl, is that we love you, and keeping you with us is the best solution to this problem,” I rumbled.
Katie’s brows shot up at that.
“Am I a problem?” she asked, her voice stronger. “I’m a problem in your lives?”
Shit, that hadn’t come out right. Oh shit, shit.
“Naw, not that, honey, that’s not what I meant,” I growled, cursing myself. What happened to words of honey and a slick tongue? Usually I was so good with women, and yet now I was tripping over myself like a fucking clown. But this was possibly the most important moment of my life, so I went in for another attempt.
“What I meant baby,” I continued, “Is that this fake engagement thing was just a path to the real deal. Sure, we needed to get engaged to release the money in the trust, but you know what? There’s no sense in faking anymore. Let’s really get married.”
Katie’s big brown eyes looked at me a bit before turning to Mason.
“But why?” she asked softly yet insistently. “What’s made you change your mind? I mean, why would you want to be tied to someone like me?” she asked. “You were getting it for free anyways,” she said softly, “so why wouldn’t you keep it that way?”
But this time it was Mason who interrupted.
“Honey,” he rasped. “I’m not great with words. But shit, Derek and I have been with dozens of women, hundreds. We’ve fucked females non-stop since college, there’s rarely a night when his bed or mine isn’t empty. But you know what? We were fucking empty inside, like dead men. And that’s no way to live life. We want you, and with you, everything’s different.”
Katie still wasn’t persuaded.
“But what is it about me that’s so special?” she asked again. “I don’t get it.”
This was hard, and yet so easy to answer. I took a deep breath, about to reveal my all.
“Because baby, you’re open-minded, you’re flexible, and you’re able to accept us as us, that’s why,” I said. “We’re bisexual alpha males. How many women would really dig that? How many women would go with it, engaging in play night after night, worshipping us both, allowing two men to taste one another? It’s not as common as you think.”
Katie shook her head slowly.
“Okay, but there are women who’d accept you guys,” she said slowly. “Especially with all the money you have.”
That made me snort.
“The last thing this is about is money,” I ground out. “And that’s why we love you honey. Because it’s never been about money for you. You’re not getting money for any of this, for being a fake fiancée, for pretending to have a baby. And you know what? You’ve never asked for it either.”
“So what you’re saying,” Katie repeated slowly, “Is that because I’ve never asked to be paid, you want me?” she said. “That because I’m not about the material things in life, you want me?”
I shook my head frustrated.
“That and about a million other reasons,” I ground out. “You’re the one for us baby girl. You’re sweet, funny, sassy, and able to entertain two men. You’ve gone along with this crazy fake engagement from the get-go because you knew we needed help. Mason and I were in a jam, and you came to the rescue.”
“I could have called the police,” said Katie softly. “I could have called the FBI or even Family Services, there were lots of options.”
“But you didn’t,” interjected Mason roughly. “You didn’t. You stayed and helped us, and for that, we love you. We love the fact that you’re generous and giving, able to tolerate our shit. And honey? You’re the only woman who’s ever been able to handle us. All the others,” he shook his head, “They were the fakes. They were the pretenders, not you.”
Katie bit her lip a bit, that pink pout so delicious. I hoped against hope that she’d accept it, that she’d come with us because the truth was that we couldn’t bear to lose her. Our brunette was so gorgeous, luscious and appetizing, a perfect foil for our personalities. While Mace and I were assholes, the female was inherently decent. While we were commanding and domineering, she was generous and kind, helping out two alphas when she didn’t have to.
Because Katie could have left. The stuff with the chains, the handcuffs, the threats of a beating, they were never going to hold up. We’d kidnapped a girl out of desperation, siccing everything we had on the cause.
But Katie saw through it all. She saw two men who’d been desperate to keep our company afloat, she’d seen two men who’d go to any lengths to protect their enterprise, even following the terms of a crazy will. And she’d helped. The brunette could have turned her back, could have gone running off to the police, screaming her head off, could have saved herself. But instead, she’d taken pity on us, understanding our motivations even better than we did ourselves, and for that, we loved her. She was our id, ego, and super-ego all rolled into one, our conscience when we had none.
So the ring on her finger was right. It signified our commitment, the two diamonds representing what we hoped for the future. Because Mason was dark, I was light, and Katie was the band that held us together. It was a circle of trust, a circle of understanding, of tolerance, and yes, there’d be more problems in the future, no relationship is perfect.
But for now, we were okay. We were better than okay. We were together once again, and this time, it was different. This time, there was no pretense of force or blackmail. This time, we loved her, and the little girl had to say yes.
So I pressed once more, desperate, my voice raspy.
“Will you, Katie?” I rumbled, taking a small hand in mine. Immediately, Mason took her other hand, forming a triangle, the three of us locked in love.
“Will you baby girl?” my male lover ground out, looking deep into her eyes.
The pause was unbearable, silence ringing in my ears. My heart started pounding like a drum, uncertainty coursing through my veins as a cold sweat broke on my brow. But then a sweet smile curved those lips, those big eyes limpid and sweet, and she murmured.
“Yes, Mason. Yes, Derek. Yes, let’s see where this relationship goes.”
My lover and I descended on her immediately, pressing deep, needy kisses onto her mouth, our hunger unable to be contained. But inside, my soul sang with joy, with release and freedom. Because finally, we were out in the open. We were going to make this thing legit, put a stamp of approval on it. Fake engagement or not, Katie was ours to keep.
So yeah, we’re a threesome. A dirty one for sure, two guys and a girl loving each other, sampling one another’s bodies, springing from unbelievable circumstances and forged in fire. But we’re also three people who adore one another, who’ve walked the hard road, all the way from pretend fiancée to a gun pointed at our faces. And you know what? It’s only made our bond stronger. It’s only made us more determined, more devoted, more responsive to one another’s needs and wants. There’s still stuff to work out, sure, like the role of Auntie Mae and that blasted will. But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and with this girl in our arms, success is guaranteed.