Marcus’s voice is confident and easy, and he grins at our daughter as he speaks. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that the two parts of my life can co-exist so naturally, but they do. Although domestic bliss and criminal activity seem like diametric opposites, somehow it all comes together in a way that just works.
Cassy starts repeating the story Ryland was telling her earlier, eager to fill Theo and Marcus in on all the details. My husbands listen intently as they move deeper into the house, heading toward the kitchen.
I hang back, glancing at Caleb. “You want to stay for dinner? It’s been a couple weeks.”
He grimaces, and I think I detect a slight flush in his cheeks. “Can’t tonight. Maybe next week though?”
“Yeah, sure.” I narrow my eyes a little. “Why not tonight?”
His mouth drops open partway, then he closes it, pursing his lips against a smile. “Damn. You’ve really got this big sister thing down now, don’t you?”
“That’s not an answer,” I remind him dryly.
He sighs, puffing out his cheeks slightly. “Fine. I’ve got… a date tonight.”
My eyebrows shoot up. We only started talking about this kind of stuff within the past year or two, as we’ve slowly reconnected and gotten closer. But even before that, I’m pretty sure I would’ve known if he was dating someone, and he hasn’t for a long time.
All that shit with his adoptive parents made him distrustful of people for a long time. Understandably, really. They lied to him for pretty much his entire life, using him as a pawn instead of loving and protecting him the way parents should do.
Now that I have a kid of my own, I actually hate them more for what they did. Now that I know what it feels like to have my heart outside of my body, to be willing to do anything to protect my baby girl, I cannot fathom the decision any of these men’s parents—real or adoptive—made to subject them to the ruthless, chaotic violence of Luca’s game.
“Who is she?” I prompt, curiosity rising inside me.
There’s a protective instinct too. I wouldn’t hesitate to beat a bitch down if she hurt my brother. But after keeping his heart locked up for so long, I’m glad to see Caleb is getting out there. And if the blush on his cheeks is any indication, he actually really likes this woman.
“We met at Gravity,” he tells me. “She came in with a friend but spent the whole evening at the bar with me.”
Gravity is a nightclub he bought a few years ago. It’s become a useful front and base of operations, and the thing he’s poured most of his time into. Sometimes I’ve wondered if the reason he keeps himself so busy with work and so closed off from new relationships is because he’s still trying to do penance for the shit he did in what feels like another lifetime now.
If that’s the case, I hope this is a sign that he’s finally starting to forgive himself.
I forgave him a long time ago. I’ve held onto a lot of grudges in my life, but that was one that didn’t feel worth clinging to. And I knew there would never be a chance in hell my men would forgive Caleb if I didn’t, so I had good reason to try.
“Name?” I prompt. I know I won’t get too much more out of him, at least not until they’ve had their first date. But he better at least give me that.
He hesitates for a fraction of a second before he gives in. “Ariel.”
I chuckle. “You’re dating a Disney princess.”
“Nah.” He shakes his head, smiling too. His eyes go a little unfocused, like he’s summoning up a memory of her in his mind. “She’s no princess.”
I laugh outright at that. Of course my brother wouldn’t go for a princess. We may all be the de facto rulers of Halston, but none of us are royalty. We’re not kings or queens, princes or princesses.
None of us are posh enough for that.
“All right,” I say, grudgingly letting him off the hook—for now. “But dinner next week. Definitely. I need to hear all about it.”
“Yeah. Okay.” He gives me an affectionate side-arm hug, then turns for the door. “Give Cass a kiss for me.”
“I will.”
He lets himself out, and I grin softly as I pad through the house toward the kitchen. It wouldn’t surprise me if the girl Caleb is seeing tonight is covered in tattoos and maybe a piercing or two. He hasn’t dated much, or at all, in the past few years, but I think I’ve gotten to know him well enough by now to guess his type.
My husbands are all gathered in the kitchen with Cassy. She’s perched on Marcus’s lap as he sits on one of the tall stools that lines the bar along one wall. Ryland leans against one of the kitchen counters while Theo rifles through the fridge, pulling out ingredients for dinner.
None of them notice me at first, and I hesitate in the doorway, just looking my fill—trying to soak up the sight and commit it to memory.
The three men are talking in low voices, the deep tones a perfect counterpoint to each other. Cassy happily plays with Marcus’s hand, her little fingers curling around his larger ones.
For a moment, my chest feels so full I almost can’t breathe. I don’t know how the fuck I got so lucky.
I grew up without a family.
But somehow, I found the perfect one.
***
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AMAZON TOP 100 BESTSELLER
Did you know ordinary people can be turned into demons? I sure didn’t. Until it happened to me.
One day, I was a regular college student, working a boring job and studying for finals—and the next, I was transformed into some strange creature of the night.
Now I’ve got powers I don’t understand, I can change my appearance with a thought, and I’m having all kinds of odd… cravings.
If I thought all this bullshit was gonna get me out of going to college though, I’ve got another think coming. Nope, I still need an education. Except the classes at Fallen University are on things like “Curses and Hexcraft” and “Magical Combat”.
It’s not all bad. There are these four hot as hell guys I keep bumping into—Kingston, Jayce, Xero, and Kai. I’m not sure if I should trust them; they’ve each got secrets of their own, and they’re definitely dangerous.
But that craving I’ve been having?
It’s pulling me right toward them.