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“So,” I finally said, tracing one of his angular black tattoos over his peck. “You’re saying you don’t want me to leave?” I teased.
He shifted, looking down at me. “I don’t want you to leave.”
I released a blissful little sigh, tucking my head against his chest.
“Good,” I said, continuing with my almost sleepy study of his too-good-to-be-true body. “Because I like it here.”
CHAPTER 11
Gareth
“Good to see you, man,” Crossland said. “I know every time I reached out, you asked for time to explain, but now that we're all together, I think that time has come.” His tone was partially teasing, but mainly serious.
And I understood that. My friends had always respected that there would be some things I couldn't tell them regarding my family and my past, but this was not exactly those two off-limit subjects.
This was Serenity, and from the barrage of calls and texts I'd gotten over the last month and a half, I knew they all cared about her. Asher and Weston had let the subject lie when I’d seen them in Charleston, but I knew I couldn’t keep them in the dark forever. Especially since everything had changed between Serenity and me.
Asher, Weston, Ethan, Crossland, and I had awoken before dawn this morning, even after doing a rigorous training course the night before, only hours after we'd landed in Norway.
It had been a hell of a plane ride over, for both Serenity and myself, and despite distracting her and assuring her I’d keep her safe, she couldn't help the nerves that overwhelmed her, knowing her father would be at this game.
I'd managed to wrangle all the boys before dawn to bring them up to speed.
“Our last poker game, on New Year's Eve?” I asked, looking at my friends as they nodded. “Serenity called in her favor chip.”
“No shit,” Crossland said. “I knew it.”
“We all knew it,” Weston said. “Did you think Gareth was going to change his entire personality overnight and get married on a whim?” Weston rolled his eyes.
“You guys are one to talk. All of you are getting engaged or married like falling dominos,” Cross argued.
Ethan nudged him with his elbow. “Weren’t you just talking about a very important Valentine’s Day date coming up next week?”
“I was talking about before me and Aspen, obviously,” Crossland fired back.
Asher cleared his throat, eyes on me. “We're getting off topic, gentlemen,” he said and nodded to me, having regained the attention of my spiraling friends.
I folded my arms over my chest, glancing at my watch. We didn't have much time before we needed to report to our guide, who’d be driving us up the cliff in order to base jump. It would be fun to compare leaping off a cliff as opposed to the side of a skyscraper.
“I have to give you the short version. I know I owe you the long one. I'm not trying to be a dick, but I needed the time to sort out my shit.”
“Have you?” Western asked. “Sorted your shit out?”
I contemplated this. Emotionally? Kind of. I’d at least decided to stop denying Serenity out of some moral obligation to keep her safe. I may not deserve her, I may not be worthy of her, but for now, she wanted me. So she fucking had me. The other stuff, involving her father and the Irish family? Not so much.
“Short version. Serenity called in a favor because her father was trying to sell her to an allying family.”
A collection of hisses and shaking heads erupted among my inner circle.
“She wanted me to take her virginity to make her unsellable.”
“Fucking hell,” Crossland snapped. “They still do that?”
“I can't begin to break down the political habits of rivaling families,” I explained.
“But you didn't do that, did you?” Asher asked.
“No. I wasn't about to do that to her, not when she was having to make a rash decision.”
