Page 8 of Brazen Obsession

Love you both

I quickly go over to my chat with Nan.

Me:

Sorry been out of town. Will get in touch when I’m back home

Loved meeting you!

Fuck. It feels like ages ago, but it’s only been… What? A week?

I go back to my group chat with the girls. Drew comes over and sits next to me before I can read their messages. He puts a hand on my knee and I glance over at him from my phone.

“Are you okay with all of this?” he asks.

I set my phone down and sigh. “With moving in with you guys and my brother and his new wife until the rest of the Mafia crew that’s after us is rounded up? Is that ‘all of this’?”

He smiles. “Yeah.”

“It will be awkward.” I glance at the wall where I know Tom and Natasha are sleeping tonight. “But it’s been awkward for days. The strange thing will be returning to the hustle and bustle of life like none of that happened. Like I didn’t get taken.”

A little chill races down my spine.

“You didn’t want to move in before.” He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses it. “Is that still the case?”

I bite my lip and turn to see the others listening to us. I blow out a breath and look down at our joined hands on his leg. “It seems so fast. I haven’t made a move in years because I was worried it would be the wrong move. The wrong guy. The wrong friendship. The wrong choice.”

“We can move at whatever pace makes you comfortable, pip.” Dante sits on my other side. “This move is temporary. We might hate Drew’s house. We might want to go back to our apartment. This is just to keep you safe.”

“I know. And it’s not that I doubt any of you.” I lift my gaze to Dante’s cool blue eyes and then I meet the others’ in turn. “It’s that I doubt myself. I let Verity Baron into my life. She was my best friend. I told her everything. Shared things with her I’ve never told anyone else. And she used it as ammunition to bring me down.”

“We’re nothing like her, trouble.” Wyatt sits in the chair across from us and clasps his hands together. “We’ve known each other for years. The only one who’s new to this is Drew. And fuck, even I kind of see the appeal now.”

“I’m getting us best friends bracelets.” Drew smirks.

A laugh bursts out of me at the horror on Wyatt’s face.

“Please don’t.” Wyatt runs his hand through his hair.

“I don’t care if you want to sleep at your parents’ when this is all over.” Finn’s green eyes hold mine. “As long as you don’t mind me sneaking in to fuck you while you sleep.”

My mouth opens to tell him absolutely not, but then I shrug. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when we tell Mom and Roger. Or when we show up at events. It was rough for Madison at the beginning. But I’ve got good friends. And I love each of you.”

“Then what’s holding you back, pip?” Dante brushes a strand of hair behind my ear.

“That’s the thing. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the Verity block or maybe I’m worried what my family will think or maybe I’m twenty-two and barely starting out. I’ve never lived outside of my parents’ home. I’ve hidden away from the world, and when I did step out, I got kidnapped. Sure, it wasn’t throw you in the trunk and lock you in the dungeon kidnapped, but I was still taken.”

“That’s never happening again, flower.” There’s a certainty in Finn’s eyes that makes my heart melt.

I drag in a deep breath and take a second to meet each of their eyes. The love that shines back is almost as overwhelming as sex with all of them. “Can we just call this a trial run? And you guys won’t get mad at me if I tuck tail and run home when it’s over?”

“We’d never get angry at you for your fears, pip.” Dante draws my head against his chest. “You take all the time you need. It took us a while to get here. You can have time to figure out if this is what you really want.”

I breathe in his ocean scent and let my eyes close. “I don’t need to figure out if I want you or love you.” Lifting my head, I meet Dante’s eyes because he’s the easiest to say this to. “I just need time to adjust to this new thing without knowing it’s all or nothing.”

He cups my jaw and searches my eyes. “It’s never all or nothing, pip. We’ll have to adjust as we grow together. But if you need more time after this trial, none of us will hold it against you. And if you need space from Finn, I’ll lock him in his room.”

“Hey, I can respect boundaries.” Finn’s eyes dance with a mischievous light.